Review of Religions April 2016

Good Mosques,
Good Neighbours
14
Jonahas
and the
Big Fish?
28
Why Alcohol is
Prohibited in Islam
42
The Economic System
of Islam
62
vol. 111 - issue fourapril 2016 www.reviewofreligions.org
religious diversity,
learning from leicester

When the help of Allah comes
and the Victory, and thou seest
men entering the religion of
Allah in troops, Glorify thy
Lord with His praise and seek
His forgiveness. Surely He is
oft returning with mercy.
Islam, the Holy Qur’an,
Ch.110:V.2-4.
O ye who believe, seek the
Help of Allah through
steadfastness and prayer. Surely
Allah is with the steadfast.
Islam, the Holy Qur’an,
Ch.2:V.154.
Ibn Abbasra
relates: I was riding
behind the Holy Prophetsa
one
day when he said: Boy, I would
instruct thee in some matters. Be
watchful of Allah, He will be
watchful of thee. Safeguard His
commandments. He will be ever
with thee. When thou must ask,
ask of Allah alone; and when thou
must seek help, implore Allah
alone for help. Remember that if
all the people were to combine to
bestow some benefit upon thee,
they would not be able to bestow
anything upon thee except that
which Allah has appointed for
thee, and that if all of them were
to combine to do thee harm, they
would not be able to afflict thee
with anything except that which
Allah has decreed against thee.
The pens have been lifted and the
ink of the books has become dry.
Islam, The Holy
Prophetsa
, Hadith of
Tirmidhi.
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Christianity, the Bible,
Psalm 46:1.
Be strong and take heart, and
have no fear of them: for it is
the YHVH your God who is
going with you; He will not
take away His help from you.
Judaism, Torah,
Deuteronomy 31:6.
Take refuge wholeheartedly in
him only, O Bhaarata. With his
grace you will attain supreme
peace and the eternal abode.
Hinduism, Bhagavad Gita,
18:62.
The Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa
prophesied
that the Promised Messiahas
would be raised near a
white minaret, east of
Damascus. This prophecy
was fulfilled with the advent
of the Promised Messiahas
from Qadian, India, a city
directly east of Damascus.
The Promised Messiahas
& imam mahdi
©makhzan-e-tasaweer
founder of
the review of religions
God’s Help
world faiths
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
, the Promised Messiah
and Mahdi was born to a noble family in Qadian, India.
From an early age he had a keen interest in religion and
developed a love for the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
. He
was also known for his honesty, friendliness and resolve.
Over time his knowledge and understanding of religion
and its application to society deepened. Being a Muslim
it was his firm belief that all religions were true at their
source but with the passage of time had drifted away
from their original teachings; he upheld the dignity of
religion and demonstrated its relevance to everyone.
His earnest defence of religion was ultimately blessed
when he started to receive direct revelation from Allah
– a blessing that he continued for the rest of his life.
His mission was to revitalise the truth that all religions
held within them and to revive the teachings of Islam. It
was through this that he would bring mankind together
and establish everlasting peace.
In 1889, under Divine Guidance, Hazrat Ahmadas
founded the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – a
community that has since grown in its stature and
strength and has remained active in conveying the
message of Islam to the ends of the earth.
Hazrat Ahmadas
had established himself as a respected
writer and had written over 80 books. His writings
have been translated into more than 60 languages and
continue to inspire readers to this day. One of his greatest
scholarly works was The Philosophy of the Teachings of
Islam, prepared as a paper and read out at the Conference
of Great Religions in 1896.
He also wrote a fascinating treatise in 1899 entitled Jesus
in India, a book that uncovered remarkable evidence
of Jesus’sas
journey to India. In 1902, the Promised
Messiahas
initiated The Review of Religions which has
covered a vast array of topics on religion, philosophy
and contemporary issues of the day. It is the longest
running English magazine in defence of Islam and the
values it teaches.
From 1889 until the time of his demise in 1908 tens
of thousands of people accepted him. This blessing
has continued and will continue through his Khulafa
(successors).
Currently under the fifth successor, we are seeing that the
tide of acceptance is worldwide and that the message of
Prophet Ahmadas
has really reached the ends of the earth.

8 Letters
10 Untold Stories
14 Good Mosques,
Good Neighbours
Keynote address at the inauguration of
Baitul Ikram mosque in Leicester, U.K.
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
, Worldwide
Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
28 Jonahas
and the Big Fish
Exploring the story of Jonahas
through the Bible and and Qur’an.
Fazal Ahmad, U.K.
40 Do Not Be Satisfied
with Fables
, the Promised
Messiah and Imam Mahdi
42 Why Alcohol is Prohibited
in Islam
Exploring the effects of alcohol
and why other attempts to
prohibit it have failed.
Aizaz Khan, Toronto, Canada
58 Fresh Signs
, the Promised
Messiah and Imam Mahdi
62 The Economic System of Islam
HAZRAT MIRZA BASHIR-UD-DIN MAHMUD AHMADRA
,
THE SECOND CALIPH OF THE AHMADIYYA MUSLIM
COMMUNITY
Front cover pictures:
Top: © Makhzan-e-Tasaweer.
Bottom three: (Accessed via Wiki Commons)
contents
april 2016 Vol.111 issue four
62
14
28

CHIEF EDITOR & MANAGER
Syed Amer Safir
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Nakasha Ahmad,Tariq H. Malik
RELIGION & SCIENCE
Editor: Dr. Syed Muhammad Tahir Nasser
Deputy: Dr.Tauseef Khan
ISLAM & CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
Editor: Shahzad Ahmad
LAW & HUMAN RIGHTS
Editor: Qudsi Rasheed
Deputy: Ayesha Mahmood Malik
ANCIENT RELIGIONS & ARCHAEOLOGY
Editor: Fazal Ahmad
Deputy: Rizwan Safir
CHRISTIANITY
Editor: Navida Sayed
Deputy: Arif Khan
Women’s Section
Editor: Aliya Latif
Deputy: Meliha Hayat
BOOK REVIEWS
Editor: Sarah Waseem
WEB TEAM
Mubashra Ahmad, Hibba Turrauf
Special Collections
Head: Razwan Baig
EDITORIAL BOARD
Mansoor Saqi, Bockarie Tommy Kallon, Professor
Amtul Razzaq Carmichael, Murtaza Ahmad, Fiona
O’Keefe, Hassan Wahab, Jonathan Butterworth,
Munazza Khan, Waqar Ahmedi, Mahida Javed
SUB-EDITORS
Munawara Ghauri (Head), Maryam Malik,
Nusrat Haq, Mariam Rahman
PROOFREADERS
Farhana Dar (Head), Hina Rehman, Amina Abbasi, Aisha Patel
HOUSE STYLE GUIDE
Maleeha Ahmad (Head), Sadia Shah
SOCIAL MEDIA
Tazeen Ahmad (Head), Mala Khan (Deputy), Nudrat
Ahmad, Hajra Ahmad, Mishall Rahman, Shumaila Ahmad
PRINT DESIGN AND LAYOUT
Ahsan Khan
INTERNATIONAL SUBSCRIPTION & DISTRIBUTION
Muhammad Hanif
ACCOUNTS & MARKETING
Musa Sattar
ART & CREATIVITY
Zubair Hayat, Mussawir Din
INDEXING,TAGGING & ARCHIVING
Mirza Krishan Ahmad (Head). Amtus Shakoor Tayyaba Ahmed
(Deputy). Humaira Omer, Humda Sohail, Shahid Malik, Ruhana
Hamood, Mubahil Shakir, Adila Bari, Hassan Raza Ahmad
MANAGEMENT BOARD
Munir-Ud-Din Shams (Chairman), Syed Amer Safir (Secretary), Mubarak Ahmad Zaffar, Abdul Baqi Arshad,
Ataul Mujeeb Rashed, Naseer Qamar, Abid Waheed Ahmad Khan, Aziz Ahmad Bilal
The world is passing through turbulent times.The global economic crisis
continues to manifest new and grave dangers at every juncture.The
similarities of the current circumstances to the build-up of the Second
WorldWar are stark. Events appear to be moving us rapidly towards a
ThirdWorldWar.The consequences of a nuclear war are beyond
our imagination.
In this book, the historic addresses of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
, Fifth
Khalifah of the Promised Messiah and Supreme Head of the worldwide
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, to prominent dignitaries at Capitol Hill, the
House of Commons, the European Parliament and other notable locations
around the world have been collated.The book also includes the momentous
letters sent by His Holiness to the numerous world leaders. Over and over
again, His Holiness has reminded all that the only means of averting a global
catastrophe is for nations to establish justice as an absolute requirement of
their dealings with others. Even if mutual enmity exists, impartiality must
be observed at all times, because history has taught us that this alone is
the way to eliminate all traces of hatred and to build everlasting peace.
Read online at: www.alislam.org
Purchase the book here:
http://store.alislam.org/

Dear Editor,
Assalamo Alaikum.
I am most surprised and hurt by the
recent comments of David Cameron,
the Prime Minister of the UK. In banning
the head covering, his party could lose
the next election. Why? Because:
1. Employment:The high employment
rate of the country would go down.
Most hijab-wearing women are
such great professionals, replacing
them would be difficult.
2.The Economy/Credibility: Many
hijab-wearing Ahmadi professionals
I know of excel in their professions
as lawyers, teachers, scientists and
doctors. Big economic losses would
happen without them.The credibility of
institutions would also suffer as a result.
3.Tourism:When hijab-wearing
families leave Britain due to the ban
on hijab/language restrictions, their
families will no longer visit Britain.
4. Depression: Children of hijab-
wearing mothers will suffer from
depression/stress when their
mothers lose their employment.
5.The lack of self-confidence in
such people would increase.
The recent statements on head
coverings have hurt us. If I wear a
hijab, what difference does it make
to you? If my sisters in England are
performing their duties efficiently as
doctors, teachers, lawyers and scientists,
then why ban their specific dress?
When you ban the hijab,
you ban excellence.
Kind Regards,
Maryum Samar
Pakistan
Dear Editor,
The article entitled “The Keys to Peace
in aTime of Global Disorder” (January
2016) was inspirational. I do appreciate
receiving The Review of Religions booklet
and find so many articles enlightening.
Thank you for sharing. It does much
to explain the Muslim religion.
Jennie Lajoie
LETTERS
In recent times vested interests have
launched a ‘crusade’ against Islam.
Islam is labelled as a religion of terror,
backwardness and suppression.
Based on Quranic teachings, the author of
this book goes about disproving these notions
and professes that Islam provides practical
solutions to current issues; and argues that:
(1) Swords can win territories but not hearts,
forces can bend heads but not minds; (2) The role
of women is not of concubines in harems nor a
society imprisoned in the four wall of their houses;
(3) Richer nations provide aid with strings attached
and yet the flow of wealth continues to be in the
direction of the rich while the poorer sink deeper
in the red; (4) Religion does not need to be the
predominant legislative authority in the political
affairs of the state; (5) Irrespective of the thawing
of the cold war, the issue of war and peace does not
only hang by the thread of superpower relationship.
(6) Without God there can be no peace.
It also contains comprehensive discussion
on interest; financial aid; international
relations; and the role of Israel, America and
the United Kingdom in a new world order.
The message of this book is timeless and chalks
a blue print for the future prospects for peace.
Read online: http://www.alislam.org/books/
Purchase print copy: http://store.alislam.org/englishbooks.html
8 The Review of Religions | april 2016

many of the misconceptions about the
Community. Despite this, he had come
to our mosque on this occasion with his
Muslim friends.
After two weeks I came to know that
David’s father, who belonged to a
very rich and well-reputed family in
Guatemala, had been murdered. I went
to see him and his family to offer my
condolences. In this time of sorrow and
grief, my meeting proved very fruitful
and we developed a bond of friendship.
David started coming to our mosque in
search of the truth.
He was satisfied and immediately con-
vinced by our beliefs about the death of
Jesusas
after listening to our Qur’anic
arguments. He then went to a non-
Ahmadi mosque and enquired from
the Imam about their beliefs regarding
Jesusas
.In response,the Imam of the non-
Ahmadi mosque, an Arab Sheikh, said
“All the Muslims are unanimously agreed
on the life of Jesusas
and it is attested
by the sayings of the Holy Prophetsa
.
It is only due to denying this that the
Ahmadiyya Community is declared non-
Muslim.However,no specific verses from
the Holy Qur’an attest our belief.”
Respected David Gonzalez responded
to these comments by declaring, “That
means that the Qur’an does not support
the general Muslim view of Jesusas
. So
I will be with the Community which
accepts the Qur’anic teaching.” Hence
he came back to our Ahmadi Mosque,
completed the Bai’at form (Pledge of
Allegiance form) and embraced the
Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam.
In 2008,he had the privilege of attending
Jalsa Salana UK (Annual Convention).
A meeting with the Worldwide Head of
the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community had
a magical effect upon him. Thereafter,
he experienced the blessings of seeing
the Promised Messiahas
and Khulafa-e-
Ahmadiyyat (spiritual successors of the
A Pious Soul in the Land of
Guatemala
U
pon the instructions of
the Worldwide Head of
the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community, I arrived in Guatemala in
February 2007. It had only been a few
days when a group of local Muslims came
to our Baitul Awal Mosque. During
our conversation, they said that Allah
Almighty had given them the opportu-
nity to embrace Islam and so they wanted
to serve Islam.They said that our mosque
was desolate and hardly any worshippers
came to pray there, and they suggested
that we sell our mosque to them and said
that they would fill it with worshippers.
I told them that we belonged to the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,
whose main objectives are preach-
ing, the propagation of Islam and the
building of mosques. I suggested that
instead, they gain information about
Jama’at Ahmadiyya and study our lit-
erature. I assured them that the doors of
our mosque were always open for them.
I told them that they could come and
offer their prayers there whenever they
wished and to work with us in spreading
the message of Islam.
A young man, David Gonzalez, was
a part of this group. He had previ-
ously been stopped from coming to our
Ahmadi mosque and had fallen prey to
“That means that the Qur’an
does not support the general
Muslim view of Jesusas
. So I
will be with the Community
which accepts the Qur’anic
teaching.” Hence he came
back to our Ahmadi Mosque,
completed the Bai’at form
(Pledge of Allegiance form)
and embraced the Ahmadiyya
Movement in Islam.
10 The Review of Religions | april 2016 april 2016 | The Review of Religions 11

Community) in his dreams on numerous
occasions. He is presently serving as the
general secretary for Majlis Ansarullah
(auxiliary organization of men above
40 years of age) and is a director of
Humanity First, Guatemala.
Many such blessed souls have embraced
Islam through him, including the presi-
dent of Khuddamul Ahmadiyya (auxiliary
organisation of youth aged 15-40), Mr.
Daria Samayoa, who is a lawyer, and the
president of Lajna Imaillah (auxiliary
organisation of women), Mrs. Marta
Maria De Paz.
Moreover, he has accompanied me
on my missionary trips to Mexico,
Salvador,Costa Rica,Panama,Chile,and
Colombia,where we spread the message
of Ahmadiyyat and had the blessing of
establishing missions.
Abdul Sattar Khan, Imam and Missionary
In-Charge Guatemala

Do you have an
“Untold
Story”
you wish to share
with us?
Email us your unique story at
editor@reviewofreligions.org
THE
PHILOSOPHY
OF THE
TEACHINGS
OF
ISLAM
MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD
THE PROMISED MESSIAH & MAHDIAS
The Review of Religions
serialised the famous treatise
The Philosophy of the Teachings
of Islam, by the founder of
the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community. Initially written
for the Conference of Great
Religions on December 26-
29,1896, each speaker at the
conference was asked to present
to the audience the beauties
of their own religion based
upon its scripture, proving that
it was the true religion, based
on the following topics:
• The Physical, Moral,
and Spiritual States of Man;
• What is the State of
Man after Death?
• The Object of Man’s Life and
the Means of its Attainment;
• The Operation of the Practical
Ordinances of the Law in
This Life and the Next;
• Sources of Divine Knowledge
SERIALISED IN
The Review of Religions
Read online:
www.alislam.org/books/
Or purchase here:
store.alislam.org/englishbooks.html

Good
Mosques,
Good
Neighbours
Leicester is one of UK’s most
diverse cities—and an exemplar
of tolerance.The newest
Ahmadiyya mosque in Leicester
aims to cement those values.

After reciting Tashahhud, Ta’awwuz
and Bismillah, Hazrat Mirza Masroor
Ahmadaba
, Khalifatul Masih V said:
“All distinguished guests, Assalamo
Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahe Wa Barakatohu
– peace and blessings of Allah be upon
you all.
First of all I would like to take this
opportunity to thank all of you who
have kindly accepted our invitation to
the opening of our new mosque here
in Leicester. Your attendance proves
that you are openhearted people who
respect human values and who care for
the feelings and sentiments of others. It
is no exaggeration to say that these are
values and qualities that the people of
this city have displayed for many cen-
turies. Indeed for over a thousand years
Leicester has been home to the people of
various cultures and beliefs who realised
the importance of uniting together and
living in peace. If we look at the ancient
history of this city we learn that there
were some wars or conflicts between the
Vikings and the Anglo Saxons.However
ultimately they understood that living
together in peace and security and pro-
tecting the rights of one another was in
the interest of all people and mutually
beneficial. When I was recently reading
about Leicester and its history, I learned
that the city’s tradition of multicultur-
alism was not confined to the ancient
past, but continues today. According to
the 2011 census, Leicester remains one
of the UK’s most ethnically diverse cities.
Indeed, I read recently with regards to
Narborough Road that the city’s history
Inauguration of Baitul
Ikram Mosque,
Leicester, UK
Indeed for over a thousand
years Leicester has been
home to the people of various
cultures and beliefs who
realised the importance
of uniting together and
living in peace.
Keynote Address by Worldwide Head of
the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmadaba
The opening of this mosque, in one of the UK’s most ethnically diverse
cities, illustrates the inclusiveness of the people of Leicester.
The opening of this mosque, in one of the
UK’s most ethnically diverse cities, illustrates
the inclusiveness of the people of Leicester.
april 2016 | The Review of Religions 17

worship,it will also prove to be a beauti-
ful addition to the existing mosques and
places of worship in this city.In terms of
its purpose, a true mosque is a place for
Muslims to congregate in order to wor-
ship the One God.Furthermore,it is also
a place for Muslims to gather together to
fulfil the rights of God’s creation. Thus
where this mosque provides us with a
place to worship God Almighty, it also
presents us with a place to join together
to work for the betterment of society and
to serve humanity.
In Islam, Allah the Almighty has drawn
the attention of Muslims to fulfilling the
rights of all other people in accordance
with how closely linked they are and the
degrees of their relationship.In this con-
text I can say with certainty that the local
Ahmadi Muslims will deem the neigh-
bours of this mosque to be extremely
close to them and we consider fulfill-
ing their rights and needs to be of great
importance. I am confident that every
Ahmadi Muslim who comes to wor-
ship here will not only seek to fulfil the
rights owed to Allah the Almighty, but
will also seek to fulfil the rights owed
to the neighbours of this mosque and
indeed the wider community.Thus there
says that Narborough Road in Leicester
was officially recognised as the most eth-
nically diverse road in the entire country.
In my opinion this should be considered
as a badge of honour for this city and it is
evidence of Leicester’s successful model
of integration and inclusiveness. These
are qualities that should never be for-
saken or disregarded.
As we are currently living in extremely
precarious times wherein much of the
world is increasingly consumed by
disorder and injustice, it is the critical
need of the time that we promote and
spread the tolerant values that the city
has epitomised for so long. We must
all work towards uniting society under
the umbrella of humanity and seek to
foster a spirit of mutual respect for each
other’s values and beliefs.Drawing upon
this city’s past history and experiences,
it is imperative that the people under-
stand that peace and security can only
be achieved through love, tolerance and
mutual respect. Another quality of this
city is that apart from the different cul-
tures and ethnicities present, Leicester
is also home to various religions and
beliefs. I believe that this diversity is
something that enriches your city and
further increases its beauty and attrac-
tion.Indeed the fact that so many people
of different backgrounds are attending
the inauguration of our new mosque,fur-
ther attests to the excellent morals and
values of the people of Leicester.And so
with these words of introduction,I would
now like to speak briefly about the true
purposes of mosques according to Islam.
It is said that there are already around
200 mosques or Islamic centres in
Leicester and so the word mosque or the
building itself will probably not be a new
thing for the local people. Nonetheless,
we are extremely pleased that today,
with the grace of Allah the Almighty,
the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
has been able to open its new mosque in
Leicester. And I am sure that where it
will provide our members with a place of
Another quality of this city is
that apart from the different
cultures and ethnicities
present, Leicester is also home
to various religions and beliefs.
I believe that this diversity is
something that enriches your
city and further increases
its beauty and attraction.
inauguration of baitul ikram mosque -
leicester, uk
With a rich history and a bright future,
the city of Leicester is a model city in
terms of diversity and tolerance.
Photo licensed under Creative Commons license
to Wikimedia Commons user NotFromUtrecht.

is as true today as it ever was in the past.
Indeed when I reflect upon this point I
realise that if I want others to treat me in
a good way and with peace and security,
then it is incumbent upon me to treat
others in a like manner. As a Muslim, it
is necessary for me to desire true peace
for my neighbours.It is necessary for me
to desire true peace for those living in
my town or city.It is necessary for me to
desire true peace for my fellow citizens.
In fact, it is necessary for me to desire
true peace for every person in every part
of the world. The Holy Qur’an’s defi-
nition of a neighbour is extremely vast
and far-reaching and includes many
categories of people, including travel
companions and others. In essence the
true spirit underpinning the definition
requires a Muslim to consider all of man-
kind as his neighbour.
In chapter 4,verse 37 of the Holy Qur’an,
Allah the Almighty has linked the rights
owed to Him with the rights owed to
mankind, by saying:
‘And worship Allah and associate naught
with Him,and show kindness to parents,
and to kindred, and orphans, and the
needy,and to the neighbour that is a kins-
man and the neighbour that is a stranger,
and the companion by your side, and
the wayfarer,and those whom your right
hands possess.Surely,Allah loves not the
arrogant and the boastful.’
Therefore, Allah the Almighty has
is no need to fear this mosque because
only sentiments of love and compassion
towards our neighbours will reverber-
ate and echo in every direction from it.
Certainly you will see for yourselves that
our motto of Love for All, Hatred for None
is not just an empty proclamation or hol-
low slogan; rather it will become clear
to you that we sincerely seek to live our
lives according to this golden principle
as this is what our religion teaches us.
God Willing,each and every day you will
come to appreciate the true beauty and
magnificence of Islamic teachings.
As I mentioned earlier, this city has
a rich history of absorbing people of
different cultures and religions and is a
city where people have long united for
the greater good of society. Most surely
Ahmadi Muslims will forever seek to
uphold this noble tradition.In fact,rather
than just uphold it, we will always seek
to build upon those strong foundations
and further develop these qualities of
mutual tolerance and openheartedness.
According to the teachings of Islam, we
will love and care for our neighbours and
fulfil their rights in the very best man-
ner. Islam has made it crystal clear to
Muslims that their neighbours have great
rights over them.Just as the Holy Qur’an
stipulates the rights of a parent over their
child,in the same way it designates that a
neighbour has many rights.Muslims have
been taught to love, protect and honour
their neighbours.Indeed the Founder of
Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
once said that Allah the Almighty had
admonished him so repeatedly about the
rights of neighbours that it occurred to
him that perhaps a person’s neighbours
would be included among the rightful
inheritors of a Muslim.Furthermore,the
Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
taught his
followers to like for others what they like
for themselves. I believe that this simple
yet magnificent principle is the key to
establishing true and long lasting peace
in the world. This timeless proposition
Islam has made it crystal
clear to Muslims that their
neighbours have great rights
over them. Just as the Holy
Qur’an stipulates the rights of
a parent over their child, in
the same way it designates
that a neighbour has many
rights. Muslims have been
taught to love, protect and
honour their neighbours.
This mosque provides an excellent
opportunity for Muslims in the area to
worship One God and to play an active
role in the service of the local community.
leicester, uk

other religions or to harm their places of
worship,it is the duty of Muslims to pro-
tect them. I think most of you will agree
with me that if these teachings were
genuinely acted upon then we will come
to see a world of peace and harmony. If
these Islamic teachings were followed
then those people who claim that God
or religion are the root cause of disorder
and violence in the world would come to
see the error of their views.
Of course there are certain so-called
Muslims who are defaming the name of
Islam by perpetrating the most inhumane
cruelties and injustices.Any peace-loving
person can only be horrified when he or
she sees such barbarities or ignorance.
However let it be absolutely clear that
such people are acting completely against
the true teachings of Islam.Their actions
are indefensible and entirely unjustified.
Anyways, I am confident that following
the opening of this mosque,the Ahmadi
Muslims living in this area will come
to manifest true Islam more than ever
before. Through their conduct they will
shine a light on Islam’s peaceful teach-
ings.They will prove that Allah draws the
attention of Muslims to fulfil not only
His rights of worship but of all His crea-
tion.They will personally illustrate Islam’s
beautiful and pious teachings. They will
exhibit only love,compassion and sympa-
thy for others.At a time when the world
stands upon the precipice of disaster,the
need for mankind to join together and to
strive for peace is more urgent and criti-
cal than ever before. We must unite in
our efforts to promote peace and mutual
enjoined treating other people with
respect, love and kindness. This verse
is all-encompassing and proves that a
Muslim is duty-bound to serve human-
ity irrespective of colour, caste or creed.
Indeed alongside a person’s relationship
with Allah,every other possible relation-
ship is included in this verse.This is why I
said that when Islam teaches Muslims to
fulfil the rights of their neighbours and to
fulfil the rights of their relations,it actu-
ally incorporates all of mankind.Indeed,
the Qur’an does not merely require for
different groups to live side-by-side, but
rather it has actually established the
rights of all people and all communities.
Furthermore, contrary to the media’s
portrayal,Islam is the standard bearer for
universal freedom of religion and belief.
Thus, where Allah the Almighty has
established the rights of Muslims to wor-
ship,He has also established the rights of
all other religions.This is also proved by
chapter 22,verse 41,of the Holy Qur’an,
where Allah has commanded Muslims to
protect the places of worship of all reli-
gions. By virtue of this commandment,
the early Muslims were granted permis-
sion by Allah the Almighty to defend
themselves after years of sustained and
brutal persecution by the non-Muslims
of Makkah; but this verse makes it abun-
dantly clear that permission was granted
in order to defend the institution of
religion itself rather than just Islam. In
short the verse states that permission to
fight was granted because the opponents
sought to destroy all the religions. Thus
if the Muslims did not fight back, then
no church, synagogue, temple, mosque
or place of worship in which the name
of God Almighty was commemorated
would remain safe. Consequently, based
on Islam’s true teachings,I consider that
mosques are not only places to wor-
ship Allah the Almighty, but are also a
means of serving mankind and fulfilling
the rights of one another. Therefore it
is a duty of Muslims to live peacefully
alongside others and rather than oppose
In short the verse states that
permission to fight was
granted because the opponents
sought to destroy all the
religions.Thus if the Muslims
did not fight back, then no
church, synagogue, temple,
mosque or place of worship
in which the name of God
Almighty was commemorated
would remain safe.
Nowadays, Muslims are perpetually
portrayed negatively by the media. Hazrat
Khalifatul Masih Vaba
said that he hoped
that the new mosque of the Ahmadiyya
Community in Leicester would become
a beacon of light and a symbol of peace
within the city. His Holiness leads silent
prayers at the conclusion of the event.
leicester, uk

understanding so that the world can be
saved from that horrific destruction, in
the shape of a catastrophic world war,
that seems to be drawing ever closer by
the minute.In the past the people of this
city came to learn the benefit of peace
and tolerance after living through war-
fare and violence. Thus I pray that the
lessons of the past are enough for us to
realise our responsibilities to safeguard
our future. I pray that we recognise the
needs of the time before it is too late
and before we are once again engulfed
by warfare and devastation. I pray that
we come to understand the importance
of striving for peace and the fact that our
Creator,God Almighty,desires for all of
humanity to live together and to fulfil
each other’s rights.
At the end I also wish to say to the
Ahmadi Muslims who are living here
that they should seek to portray the true
teachings of Islam at all times.Their con-
duct and character should always remain
exemplary.They should always remember
that if they fail in their duties to serve
others, then their worship will neither
please Allah,nor will it prove any benefit
to them and nor will there have been any
benefit to having built this mosque.This
mosque has been named as ‘Baitul Ikram’
– the House of Honour. And so where
the people who enter this mosque will
seek to show love, honour and respect
to one another, they will also seek to
spread love,honour and respect through-
out the society at large. God Willing,
this mosque will come to be known as
a beacon of light which illuminates its
surrounding and will come to be known
as a true symbol of peace in Leicester.
May Allah enable the local Ahmadis to
fulfil the true purposes for which this
mosque has been built – Ameen. At the
end I would like to once again thank all
of our guests for accepting our invitation
and joining us this evening. May God
bless you all, thank you.”
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At the end I also wish to
say to the Ahmadi Muslims
who are living here that
they should seek to portray
the true teachings of Islam
at all times.Their conduct
and character should always
remain exemplary.
leicester, uk

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Introduction
The story of prophet Jonahas
is recounted
in detail in the Jewish Old Testament
and in the Holy Qur’an where he is
called Yunus or Dhul-Nun[1]
in Arabic.In
Hebrew he is called Yona and in Greek
Ionas.Jonahas
was a Jewish prophet from
the 8th
century B.C.E., from the time of
King Jeroboam II[2,3,4]
. His story of sur-
vival through a storm by surviving in the
belly of a big fish is well known to over a
billion people worldwide.What is often
forgotten or skimmed over is the context
of the storm, and the mission of Jonahas
.
But actually this is the most epic story of
repentance both at a personal and com-
munity level.
The histories and accounts of the Jews
and the people of Assyria, the two com-
munities associated with the story of
Jonahas
, have been intertwined for many
centuries[5]
. Abrahamas
originally came
from Mesopotamia before leaving his
polytheistic roots and heading west to
Palestine and Arabia. Thereafter, there
were several military exchanges between
the two communities before Jonahas
was
sent to the east to offer salvation for the
sinful people of the town of Nineveh.
After Jonahas
, their paths would cross
again when Nebachudnezzar would
force the Jews into slavery and exile,
heading back towards the birthplace of
Abrahamas
.
Before exploring the context of these
events, let us first examine the detailed
accounts presented in the holy books of
Judaism and Islam.
Old Testament Account
The Old Testament of the Jews describes
the story of Prophet Jonahas
in the book
of Jonah,and begins with his mission and
Jonahas
trying to flee:
Jonahas
and the
Big Fish
By Fazal Ahmad, U.K.
The story of Jonahas
is narrated amongst billions of followers
of the Abrahamic faiths, namely Judaism, Christianity and
Islam. We examine the context of the incidents around Jonahas
as documented in various sources, the background to the city of
Nineveh in Mesopotamia where he was sent, and to analyse
the moral message of the story for the current age.
The story of Prophet Jonahas
highlights the
true repentance of a servant of God. The
events that took place were remarkable and
the fortitude of Jonahas
was exemplary.
(Accessed via Wiki Commons)

the ‘violence that is in their hands’ pro-
vides a strong indication of the types of
misconduct that they were being warned
against.
Now let’s compare this account to the
one presented in the Holy Qur’an.
Qur’anic Account
The Holy Qur’an describes the story of
Yunusas
(Yunus being the Arabic form of
the name Jonah and relating to the same
prophet) in six places,including in some
detail in chapter 10, which is actually
named after him, but also in Chapters
An-Nisa, Al-An’am and As-Saffat. The
latter describes the story in the follow-
ing verses:
And surely Jonah also was one of the
Messengers, when he fled to the laden ship;
and he cast lots with the crew of the ship
and was of the losers. And the fish swal-
lowed him while he was blaming himself.
And had he not been of those who glorify
God,he would have surely tarried in its belly
till the Day of Resurrection. Then We cast
him on a bare tract of land, and he was sick;
and We caused a plant of gourd to grow over
him. And We sent him as a Messenger to a
hundred thousand people or more, and they
believed; so We gave them provision for a
while.[12]
The Qur’an reinforces the status of the
people of Nineveh for repenting:
Why was there no other people, save the peo-
ple of Jonah, who should have believed so
that their belief would have profited them?
“Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and
cry out against it; for their wickedness has
come up before me.” But Jonah set out to flee
toTarshish from the presence of the Lord. He
went down to Joppa and found a ship going
to Tarshish.[6,7]
On the boat heading from Jaffa towards
Tunisia,a huge storm appeared and after
much concern, the sailors reluctantly
threw Jonahas
overboard:
So they picked Jonah up and threw him into
the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging.[8]
But the Lord provided a large fish to
swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the
belly of the fish three days and three nights.[9]
So then Jonahas
, having prayed to God
in the belly of the big fish, honoured his
promise and went back to Nineveh:
So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh,
according to the word of the Lord. Now
Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a
three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go
into the city,going a day’s walk.And he cried
out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall
be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh
believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and
everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, removed his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in
ashes.[10]
Then all of the people of Nineveh, the
rich and the poor, and even the king,
decided to seek repentance. The king
then made a proclamation including:
“All shall turn from their evil ways and
from the violence that is in their hands.”[11]
This gives a clue as to the ‘evil ways’of the
people of Nineveh that caused a prophet
to be sent to them with a warning in the
first place.The fact that the king describes
The Old Testament details the story of
Jonahas
, including his time inside the
belly of a fish. Most religious scriptures
agree upon the mission of Jonahas
and
his persuasion of the people of Nineveh
to repent and seek God’s salvation.
The minaret of the mosque of Prophet
Jonahas
in Nineveh, Mosul. Jonahas
was
known for his just and pious nature, which
allowed him to comprehend his errors and
sincerely repent before God. Thus, his
prayers delivered him from his predicament.
jonahas
and the big fish

There is uncertainty as to the final resting
place of the prophet Jonahas
.Palestinians
claim that his sanctuary is at Halhul,just
north of Hebron whilst the Lebanese
claim his grave to be near Sarafand.
Another potential site is near the city of
Mosul in Iraq, not far from the ancient
city of Nineveh where he was sent with
his mission.
Now let’s try to better understand the
context of the city of Nineveh where he
was sent.
Nineveh
Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city
on the banks of the Tigris River in
Mesopotamia (near the city of Mosul in
modern Iraq). Ironically, the name itself
means ‘place of fish’.The city dates back
to around 5000 B.C.E.[17]
The ancient city was very advanced and
developed for its time. It had two big
mounds on either side of the Khosr River,
one to the north called Kuyunjik, and
a smaller one to the south now called
Tell Nebi Yunus (meaning the mound of
prophet Jonah).The city was surrounded
by eight miles of solid defensive walls
dating from around 700 B.C.E., which
were 16 metres high and 15 metres thick.
When they believed,We removed from them
the punishment of disgrace in the present life,
and We gave them provision for a while.[13]
In the Qur’an,Yunus or Dhul-Nun (him
of the whale) is considered to be a Jew
of the Benjamin tribe whose father was
Amittai. Unlike the Biblical account,
which not only suggests that Jonahas
neglected his mission, ran away from
God and was also upset when God for-
gave the people of Nineveh and didn’t
punish them, the Qur’an presents him
in a different light. In the Qur’an, he
went to Nineveh initially,but when they
didn’t respond to his message, he left
them; however, after being saved from
the storm through the big fish that God
had sent,he sought forgiveness from God
and went back to complete his mission.
This time, his preaching was so effec-
tive that ‘a hundred thousand people or
more’repented and were saved from the
intended punishment.
Yunusas
constantly recited a prayer
for forgiveness and was relieved of his
anxiety as recorded in the Qur’an in
Al-Anbiya:
And remember Dha’l-Nun (Jonah), when
he went away in anger, and he thought
that We would never cause him distress and
he cried out in depths of darkness, saying,
‘There is no God but Thou, Holy art Thou. I
have indeed been of the wrongdoers.’ So We
heard his prayer and delivered him from the
distress. And thus do We deliver the believ-
ers[14,15, 16 ]
.
The Qur’an describes Yunusas
as a pious
prophet, and distinguished for hav-
ing been successful in persuading his
people to repent. So having reviewed
the accounts of the story in the Old
Testament (Torah) and the Qur’an, let
us now explore in a little more detail the
background of Jonahas
.
Jonahas
Prophet Jonahas
is believed to have lived
and preached in the late 9th
and early
8th
centuries B.C.E. and was the son of
Amittai,from the town of Gath-Hepher
(as mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25),north of
Nazareth.He was the fifth of the Jewish
minor prophets.
Jonahas
was sailing to Tunisia from Jaffa
which was an active port at least as early
as 300 B.C.E.. The big fish threw out
Jonahas
onto the shore at Ashdod, and
even today, the hill at Ashdod is called
Givat-Yonah in Hebrew, and Nebbi
Yunus in Arabic, so it is clearly associ-
ated by the local people with Jonahas
.
Nineveh is located near Iraq and is regarded
as a very developed city which became
a major trading centre in its region.
Unlike the Biblical account,
which not only suggests
that Jonahas
neglected his
mission, ran away from God
and was also upset when
God forgave the people of
Nineveh and didn’t punish
them, the Qur’an presents
him in a different light.
jonahas
and the big fish

In reality,Nineveh was one of the super-
power cities of its time.For Jonahas
to go
to Nineveh and preach repentance would
have been the equivalent of a modern
prophet doing the same in Paris, Tokyo
or New York. It would have taken huge
courage and belief.
Given the extent to which the city even-
tually responded to Jonahas
and the fact
that even the king responded and raised
a decree,it would be interesting to try to
identify the king in question. The most
likely candidates are those shown below:
Adad-Nirari III (811-783 B.C.E.)
Shalmaneser IV (783-773 B.C.E.)
Ashur-Dan III (773-755 B.C.E.)
Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 B.C.E.)
Whilst there is no conclusive evidence
showing which years Jonahas
lived and
preached or which Assyrian king was in
a position to make that decree,it is inter-
esting to note that during the reign of
Ashur-Dan III,the Assyrian Empire was
struck by a major plague in 765 B.C.E.
and another plague would strike in 759
B.C.E.There was also a total solar eclipse
over Assyria on 15 June 763 B.C.E.
observed in Nineveh[21]
.It is possible that
if these coincided with the preaching of
Jonahas
,they could have been interpreted
as signs and warnings and contributed
to the remorse shown by the people of
Nineveh.
Following the redemption of the peo-
ple, Nineveh continued to flourish until
it was attacked and destroyed by the
Persians in 612 B.C.E.[22]
Nineveh also had a strong influence
on other neighbouring towns such as
Nimrud and Karamles[18]
. The great
Temple of Ishtar was built centuries
before the wall on Kuyunjik.The mound
of Nebi Yunus is considered to have been
the armoury for the city.
Soon after Jonahas
visited the city, it
took on greater prominence when
Sennacherib, the Assyrian King, made
it his capital[19]
and initiated a massive
construction programme that included
the great walls and gates,a new royal pal-
ace on Kuyunjik, public gardens, and an
impressive 30-mile aqueduct system to
bring in water from hills to the east of
the city.This signalled an era of military
conquests including attacks on Jerusalem
and Judah.Sennacherib also built a tem-
ple to Nabu[20]
, the god of wisdom and
learning. Later, Ashurbanipal built his
palace and a library on the northern
mound.The library housed thousands of
clay tablets on many subjects.It was actu-
ally from this library that the accounts of
the Gilgamesh Epic and the Enuma Elish
were discovered, shedding light on their
religious beliefs on creation and the great
flood.
By the time of Jonahas
, Nineveh had
become a major cultural, political and
trading centre in the region. It became a
religious centre for the worship of Ishtar,
the goddess of love and war. Nineveh is
mentioned several times in the Bible in 2
Kings, Isaiah, Jonah and Nahum (which
is an oracle concerning Nineveh). This
shows the significance of the city at the
time of the Jewish kings.
Above is a simplified plan of ancient
Nineveh, showing the city wall and
the location of its gateways.
In reality, Nineveh was
one of the superpower cities
of its time. For Jonahas
to
go to Nineveh and preach
repentance would have been
the equivalent of a modern
prophet doing the same in
Paris,Tokyo or New York. It
would have taken huge courage
and belief. Given the extent
to which the city eventually
responded to Jonahas
and
the fact that even the king
responded and raised a decree,
it would be interesting to try to
identify the king in question.
jonahas
and the big fish

Whale or Great Fish?
Although the Biblical account is often
associated with a whale, and certainly
sperm whales are large enough and do
exist in the Mediterranean Sea, the
Hebrew actually refers to a “big fish”
as does the Arabic. In Turkish, yunus
baligi refers to a dolphin. It has never
been resolved as to what kind of big fish
it actually was that swallowed Jonahas
for three days without killing him and
then threw him out onto the shores of
Ashdod, but it would have needed to be
large enough to swallow a man whole
and allow him to breathe for three days.
Centuries later,this story was referenced
again by Jesusas
.
Reference to Jesusas
Centuries later, Jesusas
gave a sign that
just as with Jonahas
, he would be in the
belly of the earth for three days and
would then recover.But unlike Nineveh,
Jesusas
warned that the Jewish people
might not be as fortunate as the people
of Nineveh, as the latter had repented
whereas the Jews were arrogant[23]
.
Moral of Jonah’s Story
It is interesting to delve into the detail
of the eras, places and people involved
in the story in order to verify that these
were actual historical events, and to
frame the context. As we have seen, to
say that Jonahas
was swallowed by a whale
is not accurate, and the term “big fish”
is probably more appropriate, but this
changes little in the key themes of the
story. At the same time, understanding
more about Nineveh helps us to under-
stand the nature and scale of the task
given to the prophet, and why he might
have initially been reluctant to go there.
However,the main theme of this story is
repentance,and this has two dimensions
within this story.Firstly,despite preach-
ing his message, when confronted with
the mission to preach to Nineveh,Jonahas
tried to escape, and yet after being swal-
lowed by the big fish,it is his repentance
within the fish (whale) that led to his
Timeline of events
Events in Palestine Events in Mesopotamia
c. 1800 B.C.E. – Abrahamas
migrates from
Babylon to the Middle East to establish a
monotheistic religion.
1800 B.C.E. – Temple of Ishtar is built in
Nineveh at the time of King Manistushu.
1813-1781 B.C.E. – Nineveh becomes
a province of Ashur under King Sham-
shi-Adad I.
1360 – 1270 B.C.E. - Mosesas
leads the
Jews from bondage in Egypt and receives
the Torah (Old Testament) through reve-
lation.
1400 B.C.E. – Nineveh undergoes sig-
nificant construction under the Assyrian
Kings Shalmaneser I and Tiglath-Pileser I.
1003 – 970 B.C.E. - Davidas
reigns over a
united Israel.
786-746 B.C.E. - Jeroboam II ruled as
king of Israel and extended its territory
and power. At this time, Israel had huge
trade links with Egypt and Assyria.
c. 770-760 B.C.E. - Jonahas
is sent to
Nineveh
763 B.C.E. – Total solar eclipse is seen
over Assyria.
701 B.C.E. - Jerusalem and Judah are
attacked by Sennacherib.
704 B.C.E. – Sennacherib makes Nineveh
the new capital of Assyria and builds a new
palace, public gardens, aqueducts and the
8-mile defensive walls and gateways.
612 B.C.E. - Nineveh is destroyed by
Persian forces.
587 B.C.E. – Nebuchadnezzar destroys
Jerusalem and sends the Jews into exile.
605 B.C.E. - Nebuchadnezzar becomes
King of Babylonia.
Jonah’sas
story highlights the power of
repentance and the need for man to turn
towards God in all trials and tribulations.
© buttet / Shutterstock.com
jonahas
and the big fish

prophecy about King Jeroboam II around 785
B.C.E.
4. Online Encyclopaedia Britannica 2015 cites
the King to have reigned in the 8th
century
B.C.E.
5. A major kingdom in Mesopotamia.
6. Jonah 1:2-3, New Revised Standard Version.
7. Jewish commentators recognise Tarshish as a
land far from Israel in the Mediterranean with
whom they did trade, probably Tunisia or even
southern Spain.
8. Jonah 1:15 NRSV.
9. Jonah 1:15 NRSV.
10. Jonah 3:3-6 NRSV.
11. Jonah 3:8 NRSV.
12. The Holy Qur’an, 37:140-149.
13. The Holy Qur’an, 10:99
14. Ahmad,The Holy Qur’an with
Commentary, Vol. IV, 2235. Jonah fled his
people in anger because they rejected his Divine
Message. He was not fleeing from God.
15. Ahmad, Holy Qur’an with Commentary,
Vol. IV, 1714.The Arabic word for wrongdoers
actually means that he put himself at risk and
brought distress upon himself rather than that
he committed a sin
16. The Holy Qur’an, 21:88-89.
17. LaMoine F. DeVries, Cities of the Biblical
World (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1997), 32.
18. DeVries, Cities of the Biblical World, 31.
19. De Vries, Cities of the Biblical World, 33.
20. De Vries, Cities of the Biblical World, 34.
21. NASA “Technology Through Time Issue
#32: Ancient Babylon”, http://www.sunearthday.
nasa.gov/2006/locations/babylon.php, accessed
on 7 March 2015.
22. Hershel Shanks, Ancient Israel: A Short
History from Abraham to the Roman Destruction
of the Temple, (London: Biblical Archaeological
Society, SPCK, 1989), 141.The armies of Media
and Babylon combined to destroy Nineveh.
23. Matthew 12:39-41 NRSV.
forgiveness and eventual survival. Then
having gone to Nineveh to warn them
of their impending demise for their evil
acts,the genuine remorse and repentance
of the people of Nineveh led to their for-
giveness and survival from the promised
calamity.So,both on a personal and col-
lective level,in this one story,repentance
is seen to lead to survival and forgiveness
by God.
Some commentators have focussed
on the human weakness of Jonahas
in
apparently failing to follow the com-
mand of God and trying to escape by
sea. However, having seen the stature
and size of Nineveh and the daunting
task of preaching to them, the impact of
the preaching of Jonahas
which led to the
entire population, including the king, to
forgiveness,tells us a lot about the quality
of his preaching and his belief in God.
In the modern world,too many religious
people assume that worldly people and
cities will soon face doom and destruc-
tion.There is often a blanket view taken
that ‘The West’ will be destroyed soon.
But this masks the fact that in all com-
munities,there are good and bad people,
kind and evil people, spiritual and non-
spiritual people. From this story, we
learn that if communities repent, then
no punishment is guaranteed for them.
From the story of Lotas
,we see that often
prophets prayed for redemption for evil
people, and had there been a decent
number of good people in Sodom, they
could have been spared their punish-
ment. Nobody is without sin, as Jesusas
illustrated in the discussion about casting
the first stone. If we wish for forgive-
ness ourselves, then we should wish for
repentance and reformation even for our
foes or those that we consider to be evil.
Fazal Ahmad is a long-serving member of the
editorial board and is currently the editor for the
Ancient Religions and Archaeology Section.
endnotes
1. Cyril Glasse, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam
(San Francisco: Harper, 1999), 428.
2. Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad,The Holy
Qur’an with Commentary (Tilford, UK: Islam
International Publications Ltd., 1988), Vol.
III,1040. Jonah was sent to his own people,
so either he was not an Israelite if he went to
Nineveh, or he was not sent outside of Israel.
3. Online Encyclopaedia Britannica 2015 links
Jonah with the prophet in II Kings 14:25 and a
jonahas
and the big fish

The
Promised Messiahas
& imam mahdi
( g u i d e d o n e )
founder of
G
od exists even now, as He did in the days
past; His powers too remain the same as
they were in the past, and He is still as
capable of showing signs as He was before. Then
why should you be satisfied with stories and fables
alone? The religion is dead and destroyed which con-
tains nothing more than stories of miracles shown in
the past and the people are a dead people on whom
God does not descend in grace and mercy,whom the
Divine Hand Itself has not come down to purify.As
a man is drawn towards the joys of this world when
he sees its attractions with his own eyes; similarly is
man drawn towards God when he comes to know
with perfect certainty that the spiritual joys are even
sweeter. The appeal of Divine beauty takes such a
hold on his mind that everything else appears to
him of no more value than mere trash.Man is freed
from sin only when he comes to know the power
of God, and of Divine retribution, on the basis of a
firm conviction.[1]
endnotes
1. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas
, Our Teaching, (Tilford,
Surrey, UK: Islam International Publications LTD., 1990),
25-26.
Do Not Be Satisfied
With Fables

Undoubtedly,the ancient custom of alco-
hol consumption is deeply woven into
the fabric of modern-day society.Despite
being consumed by almost two billion
people worldwide,of whom at least 76.3
million suffer an alcohol-related disorder,
alcohol is perceived as just another routine
of daily life.Statistics bear witness to the
fact that the devastating impact of alco-
hol consumption on human civilisation
is no myth and is becoming increasingly
apparent as society continuously fails
in its attempts to control drinking.[1]
In 2005, a United States government
study found that alcohol abuse was
linked to 75,000 U.S. deaths per year.[2]
That number increased in the following
years and from 2006 to 2010, excessive
alcohol use led to nearly 88,000 deaths
each year—making alcohol consump-
tion America’s third leading preventable
cause of death.[3,4]
More recently, a large
study carried out in the U.S. found that
“roughly three in ten U.S. adults have a
drinking problem or have misused alcohol
at some point in the past.”[5]
However,this
epidemic is not limited to the borders
of America alone. In 2012, 3.3 million
deaths worldwide (5.9 percent of all
global deaths) were attributable to alcohol
consumption.Globally,alcohol misuse is
the fifth leading risk factor for premature
death and disability, and among people
between the ages of 15 and 49, it is the
first.[6]
Such alarming statistics should
be, without a doubt, a cause for inter-
national concern. But as the world has
witnessed historically,the recurring fail-
ure of prohibition movements such as the
American Prohibition (1920-1933), has
caused a culture of drinking to dominate
and heavily influence the lives of billions
of people worldwide, drinkers and non-
drinkers alike.
As the world acknowledges the harm-
ful impact of alcohol and scrambles to
Why Alcohol is
Prohibited in Islam
by Aizaz Khan, Toronto, Canada
Alcohol consumption has become a fundamental cause of crime
globally. This addiction is inherent in modern society and seems to
be on the rise because of accessibility. Islam is the only religion that
has categorically prohibited alcohol for the good of society.
© Kamira / Shutterstock.com
From 2006 to 2010, excessive
alcohol use led to nearly
88,000 deaths each year—
making alcohol consumption
America’s third leading
preventable cause of death.[3,4]
More recently, a large
study carried out in the
U.S. found that “roughly
three in ten U.S. adults
have a drinking problem
or have misused alcohol at
some point in the past.

abuse. Certainly, the society and com-
munity established by the Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa
in 7th
century Arabia was
mostly cured of the plague of alcohol-
ism. This gives rise to a most pertinent
question—what was it about the Islamic
prohibition that allowed it to succeed
where other prohibition movements
failed miserably?
Prohibition in the United States of
America (1920-1933)
The prohibition of alcohol was not a
popular idea with many Americans.
Initially, under the 18th amendment
that prohibited “the manufacture, sale
and distribution of intoxicating liq-
uors”, the consumption of alcohol fell
by 20-40 percent. But then it began to
rise, and only one year after the prohibi-
tion was instated, alcohol consumption
began to make a sharp recurrence. From
1921 to 1927, it had increased to 60-70
percent of its pre-prohibition level.[7]
Social pressure and respect for the law
did not have an impact on the con-
sumption of alcohol. Simply put, those
who wanted to drink drank. Edward
Behr, author of Prohibition: 13 Years
That Changed America writes, “With
Prohibition, America was all set for a wild
drinking spree that would last thirteen
years, five months, and nine days.”[8]
In
fact, over the thirteen years of prohibi-
tion, Americans produced 700 million
gallons of beer each year in the confines
of their own homes.[9]
Furthermore, not
only did spending on alcohol increase,
but also spending on substitutes for
alcohol increased. In addition to pat-
ent medicines, consumers switched to
narcotics: hashish, tobacco, marijuana
and cocaine. These products were
potentially more dangerous and addic-
tive than alcohol, and procuring them
often brought users into contact with
a more dangerous criminal element.[10]
By 1933, the Prohibition experiment
failed and simply re-affirmed the fact
minimise its detrimental effects, many
are unaware that in the history of human
civilisation there does indeed exist a time
when a society was purged of the troubles
that accompany alcohol consumption—a
society whose people were delivered from
the shackles and stronghold of alcohol
The removal of alcohol during Prohibition
was an attempt by the U.S. government to
eradicate this ubiquitous intoxicant. It failed
due to the widespread addiction nationally.
© Vintage periods. (Accessed via Wiki Commons)
The data shows the detrimental effect alcohol
has upon society as well as individuals.
Alcohol is widely accepted in the West
but it has caused more harm than other
illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine.
“Scoring drugs”, The Economist. (Accessed via Wiki Commons)
why alcohol is prohibited in islam

other book, let alone religious scripture.
In John Chapter 2,Verses 1 to 11,we find
that the very first miracle ever performed
by Jesusas
and attributed to him was that
of the creation of wine from water. It
was due to this miracle of creating wine
that people first began believing in him.
Wine is also biblically regarded as a con-
comitant of joy (Psalm 104:14-15 and
Ecclesiastes 9:7) and its use in common
ceremonies such as Mass, symbolising
the blood of Christ,further demonstrates
its significance.Hence,it is unsurprising
to learn that even Christian clergy were
prone to excessive drinking and some to
even collapsing on pulpits.[13]
Although it is argued that drunken-
ness is a sin according to the Bible,
the fact that Biblical scripture permits
alcohol consumption paves the way to
a hazardous habit which was not even
practised by Prophet Jesusas
himself.[14]
The permissibility of alcohol can easily
lead to a neglect of healthy limitations.
The Promised Messiahas
regarding the
permissibility of alcohol in the Bible,
writes, “When man is blinded by a bigoted
and sinful life, he becomes unable to tell the
difference between what is permissible and
what is impermissible and renders all per-
missible things forbidden and all forbidden
things permissible;and he does not hesitate to
that the American people loved drinking
and were not willing to abide by a con-
stitutional law that prohibited alcohol.
As Amy Mittleman states in Brewing
Battles: A History of American Beer,“Both
retailers and drinkers refused to accept the
legitimacy of prohibition legislation.”[11]
Alcohol in the Biblical Context
Where the constitutional law failed to
bring an end to alcohol consumption,
religious law was no more effective. A
society under the influence of Judeo-
Christian theology cannot prohibit
the consumption of alcohol, as it is not
explicitly forbidden in their religious
scriptures. Of all religious scriptures, it
is only the Holy Qur’an which defini-
tively and categorically forbids the
consumption of alcohol. Expounding
upon a historical truth, Hazrat Mirza
Ghulam Ahmadas
,the Promised Messiah
and Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community,states,“There was, as it were,
no limit to the amount of drinking or gam-
bling practiced by the followers of these two
books (Torah and Gospels) because they both
suffered the inherent flaw that they did not
prohibit these two terrible deeds (alcohol
consumption and gambling)—and, con-
sequently, did not forbid lewd people from
consuming them and indulging in them. It
is for this reason that these two nations con-
sume alcohol as if it was water and indulge
heavily in gambling as well. In contrast
to this, the Holy Qur’an categorically pro-
hibited alcohol, which is the mother of all
vicious and atrocious things.This is a matter
of pride for the Holy Qur’an that it alone
definitely forbade alcohol—the same atro-
cious substance about which all of Europe
now grieves and wails over—and forbade
gambling in the same manner.”[12]
A study of the Bible further shows that
not only does it fail to forbid alcohol
consumption, but it also gives alcohol a
certain significance that is found in no
During the Prohibition period, American
citizens used every means imaginable
to procure alcoholic beverages. Drinks
were even acquired on medical
grounds. National pressure finally
caused the revocation of Prohibition.
Treasury Department. National Archives.
Christian dogma does not forbid the
consumption of alcohol, which is the
main reason for its accessibility in the
West, despite recognition of its ill-effects.
Only the Holy Qur’an has explicitly
prohibited it, proving the inimitable
wisdom of this divine scripture.
Copyright: (Accessed via Wiki Commons)

the Arab mentality that it was acceptable
was first changed by Qur’anic teachings,
thus everything else followed as a natural
consequence of this change in attitude.
Like the abolishment of slavery, where
slaves were not only freed but were fully
integrated into Islamic society and seen
as intellectual equals, Islam’s teachings
regarding alcohol struck at the very root
of the problem and changed perceptions
first. (Gradually advancing to a desired
outcome,just like a car gradually picking
up speed and merging onto a highway,
is precisely why the implementation of
Islamic injunctions was effective and
lasting.)
The very first Qur’anic revelation men-
tioning khamr (wine) was revealed in
the early Meccan period of Islam and
is mentioned in Chapter 16, Verse 68:
“And of the fruits of the date-palms and
the grapes, whence you obtain intoxicating
drink and wholesome food. Verily, in that
is a Sign for a people who make use of their
reason.”[16,17]
This verse speaks about both the good
and bad sustenance derived from the
same source, i.e., dates and grapes. The
wisdom in this Qur’anic revelation was
to focus the attention of the Muslims
toward intoxicating drinks and to allow
them to reflect on the issue themselves.
shun good deeds.Alcohol,which is the mother
of all vain things, is permissible among the
Christians but is definitely forbidden in our
Shariah (Islamic Law) and is referred to as
‘the abomination of Satan’s handiwork’. Is
there any priest who can show the impermis-
sibility of alcohol consumption in the Bible?
Rather, alcohol is thought to be so blessed
that the first miracle of the Messiah (Jesusas
)
was the creation of wine; so why would they
not be bold in its consumption? Perhaps even
the most temperate of them drinks at least
one bottle of brandy. Thus, the abundance
of alcohol in England has given rise to
new crimes.”[15]
It must be noted here
that the Promised Messiahas
argues the
permissibility of alcohol from a Biblical
perspective, which portrays Jesusas
as a
consumer of alcoholic drinks. However,
the Promised Messiahas
did not at all
believe that Jesusas
, a great prophet of
God,consumed wine—rather he believed
Jesusas
to be sinless and someone who
shunned the act of alcohol consumption.
Islam’s Stance on Alcohol
Consumption
In contrast to Biblical scripture,the Holy
Qur’an categorically forbids the con-
sumption of alcohol.The wisdom behind
Islam’s prohibition of alcohol is indeed
worth reflection. In order to completely
eradicate the consumption of alcohol,
The Last Supper revolves around
the sharing of bread and wine. This
reinforces the sacred connotations of
alcohol within the Christian Faith.
Copyright: (Accessed via Wiki Commons)
The map highlights the countries
in which alcohol is prohibited due
to the practice of Islamic law.
Copyright: Coldbolt. (Accessed via Wiki Commons)

found in any other religion,except Islam.
Had the first revelation of the Qur’an
been: ‘Do not drink,’it would have been
ignored and ineffective. Regarding this
exact scenario, Hazrat ‘A’ishahra
states,
“When people embraced Islam, the verses
regarding legal and illegal things were
revealed. If the first thing to be revealed
was: ‘Do not drink alcoholic drinks,’ people
would have said,‘We will never leave alco-
holic drinks,’ and if there had been revealed,
‘Do not commit illicit sexual intercourse,’
they would have said,‘We will never give up
illicit sexual intercourse.’”[22]
Therefore, as
the Qur’anic commentator,Imam Fakhr
al-Din Razi states, “The wisdom behind
prohibition being revealed in this order was
that Allah knew the people had a close affin-
ity with drinking wine.Thus, He knew that
had He prohibited it all at once, it would
have been very difficult for them (to conform
to the prohibition).”[23]
Thus, there is much wisdom to be found
in the methodology employed by Islam
in order to implement a new law. In
addition to this methodology, the Holy
Prophet Muhammadsa
also warned
believers of the evils of intoxication.Hesa
is reported to have stated, “Wine (alco-
hol) is the mother of all sins, and whosoever
drinks it, Allah will not accept his prayers
for a period of forty days; and if such a one
dies while there is alcohol in his stomach, he
dies a death of ignorance.”[24]
In order to completely and wholly purify
society of intoxicants, it was necessary
to forbid even the smallest amounts of
alcohol. It is a natural phenomenon that
those who abuse drugs and intoxicants
begin with small amounts and then, due
It was a subtle hint of the evils of such
drinks,which is juxtaposed to the idea of
“wholesome food.”
Following this revelation, alcohol was
prohibited in three stages with the fol-
lowing verses:
1. Allah first discouraged the believing
Muslims from drinking wine, draw-
ing to attention the fact that there
was greater evil than benefit in intox-
icants. Chapter 2, Verse 220 states,
“They ask thee concerning wine and the
game of hazard. Say: ‘In both there is
great sin and also some advantages for
men; but their sin is greater than their
advantage…’”[18]
2. Next, Muslims were forbidden to
pray whilst intoxicated. Chapter 4,
Verse 44 states, “O ye who believe!
Approach not Prayer when you are not
in full possession of your senses, until
you know what you say.”[19]
The fact
that there were five prayers spread
throughout the day (from before
sunrise to after sunset), encour-
aged sincere Muslims to abandon
the habit. Prayer was promoted and
given precedence over drinking,
because the Muslim Salat (obliga-
tory prayer) is fundamentally a
purifying experience that safeguards
one from committing sin and acting
unrighteously.[20]
3. Finally, alcohol consumption was
deemed an abomination of Satan’s
handiwork and was definitively and
strictly forbidden. Chapter 5, Verses
91-92 state, “O ye who believe! Wine
and the game of hazard and idols and
divining arrows are only an abomina-
tion of Satan’s handiwork. So shun each
one of them that you may prosper. Satan
desires only to create enmity and hatred
among you by means of wine and the
game of hazard, and to keep you back
from the remembrance of Allah and from
Prayer. But will you keep back?”[21]
TheWisdom of the Islamic Prohibition
of Alcohol
As stated earlier, the reason that Islam
successfully eradicated alcohol was that
it changed the prevalent perceptions of
alcohol at the time.Then,when the time
came to forbid it completely,it was done
in a gradual manner so that it could be
successfully implemented.Such a radical
change in attitudes prior to the imple-
mentation of scriptural injunctions is not
All alcohol consumption is prohibited by
Islamic law, although there has been a
tradition of drinking wine in some Islamic
areas, including Persia. This image is of
a 17th Century Persian woman pouring
wine and is taken from a wall painting
inside the Chehel Sotoun Palace.

prepared from ripe and unripe dates. Then
somebody came to them and said, ‘Alcoholic
drinks have been prohibited.’ (On hearing
that) Abu Talha said,‘Get up, O Anas, and
pour it out!’ So I poured it out.”[30]
It is said that upon the announcement
of the prohibition of alcohol, so much
alcohol was poured away that the streets
of Madinah became rivers or streams of
wine. Alcohol consumption was forever
abandoned by the society that Islam
created. In a day or two, the entire city
of Madinah became abstinent and the
greatest campaign that had ever been
launched against alcohol consumption
was brought to fruition.Indeed,this was
a great demonstration of the degree of
faith and conviction of the early Muslims,
who instantly abandoned a habit that had
been inherent in their society for genera-
tions.It is worthy to note that at the time
of prohibition,Muslims were not coerced
into abandoning the habit rather it was
their own conviction and faith alone that
to a lack of self-control and satisfac-
tion with smaller amounts, they require
larger quantities to sustain intoxication—
eventually becoming addicted. In order
to combat this natural phenomenon,
we find that the Holy Prophetsa
stated,
“Every intoxicant is unlawful and what-
ever causes intoxication in large amounts,
a small amount of it is (also) unlawful.”[25]
Just recently, medical analyses have
concluded that even small amounts of
alcohol are detrimental to health. Dame
Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer
for England, published a report stating
that, “Drinking any level of alcohol regu-
larly carries a health risk,” and that even
the smallest amounts of alcohol can
increase the risks of cancer and other
illnesses.[26]
Consequently, all doors to
intoxication were closed and remained
with regards to the ruling of alcohol
consumption.
However, Islam does not disregard the
fact that alcohol has beneficial proper-
ties. The Holy Qur’an acknowledges
the benefits of both alcohol and gam-
bling by stating that, “there is great sin
and also some advantages for men; but
their sin is greater than their advan-
tage.”[27]
Thus, Islam acknowledges that
alcohol has beneficial properties but
since its harms outweigh its benefits,
it is deemed unlawful. Furthermore,
it must be remembered that Islam is a
religion of moderation and although
alcohol consumption is prohibited, the
use of alcohol in medicines is permitted.
In fact, Muslim alchemist and scholar
Muhammad ibn Zakariyya Al-Razi,
who is generally credited with the dis-
covery of ethanol (pure alcohol),was “the
first physician to systematically use alcohol
in his practice as a physician.”[28]
After the
discovery of ethanol, alcohol was refined
and used by Persians in its distilled form
as a painkiller and an anaesthetic.[29]
Today, it is commonly used as a solvent
in homeopathic medicines by Muslims
and non-Muslims alike.
Did Islam Successfully Eradicate
Alcohol?
The question arises whether or not Islam
successfully implemented the prohibi-
tion of alcohol. To answer this, we find
Ahadith (sayings of the Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa
) which demonstrate that
not only was Islam able to successfully
purge society of alcohol consumption,
but Muslims abandoned it instantane-
ously,the very moment it was forbidden.
Hazrat Anas bin Malikra
narrates an inci-
dent regarding the day alcohol was finally
prohibited: “I was serving Abu ‘Ubaida,
AbuTalha and Ubai bin Ka’b with a drink
The prohibition of alcohol by the divinely-
guided Holy Prophet of Islamsa
caused a
revolution in Madinah. Here, alcohol was
immediately poured away in the streets
and Muslims immediately abstained from
its consumption. No secular campaign to
ban alcohol has ever been as effective.
King Abdulaziz Public Library. (Accessed via Wiki Commons)

we may speculate on the possible contribu-
tions of Islam to some new manifestation
of religion.”[33]
Final Thoughts
The adverse effects of alcoholism,if any-
thing, have shown that the teachings of
Islam are full of wisdom and benefit and
can indeed be implemented to positively
reform nations. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam
Ahmadas
, the Promised Messiah and
Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community states, “Many times it hap-
pens that if a certain thing is not widespread
enough, then its effects cannot be known.
Take for instance the prevalence of alcohol
nowadays in places like Europe—if this
prevalence did not occur, then how could
its negative effects become manifest, from
which the world today seeks refuge? And by
its prevalence, the beauty of Islam and the
Messengersa
of Islam is revealed,who stopped
this vice and deemed it unlawful.”[34]
Today,alcohol consumption and its det-
rimental effects on society has caused
widespread unrest and this unrest is
expressive of a desire for reform. In the
midst of such restlessness, the religion
of Islam suggests a solution to this crisis
and stands as a golden example of how
society can successfully be freed of the
shackles of alcoholism forever.
About the Author: Aizaz Khan has
completed a seven-year missionary
training course from Jamia Ahmadiyya
Canada, the missionary training uni-
versity of the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community in Canada. He completed his
dissertation on the topic of “The Impact
of Alcohol and Gambling on Society.” As
part of his training, he has served the
community in Benin, West Africa for a
short period. He is an aspiring writer and
host of MTA Canada’s program, “Roots to
Branches.”
endnotes
1. Mark E. Rose M.A. and Cheryle J. Cherpital,
Alcohol: Its History, Pharmacology and Treatment
(Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2011), 45.
2. “Alcohol Linked to 75,000 U.S.
Deaths a Year,”NBC News, accessed
January 14, 2016, http://www.nbcnews.
com/id/6089353/ns/health-addictions/t/
alcohol-linked-us-deaths-year/.
3. “CDC - Fact Sheets-Alcohol Use And
Health - Alcohol,”accessed January 14, 2016,
http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/alco-
hol-use.htm.
4. “Alcohol Facts and Statistics.”National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,
made them willingly give up alcohol con-
sumption forever.It is for this reason that
wherever Islam spread and became the
dominant religion,alcohol consumption
was purged from those lands. Professor
of History at the University of North
Florida, David Courtwright writes,“The
rise of Islam, which condemned wine as an
abomination devised by Satan, discour-
aged viticulture (cultivation of grapevines)
in North Africa and the Middle East, but
winemaking and drinking flourished in
medieval Europe.”[31]
To further answer this question, it must
be known that the potency of Islamic
teaching and the positive revolutions it
can create within societies, is not merely
recognised by Muslims. In his book
Civilization on Trial, British historian
Arnold J.Toynbee writes, “We can, how-
ever, discern certain principles of Islam
which, if brought to bear on the social life
of the new cosmopolitan proletariat, might
have important salutary effects on ‘the great
society’ in a nearer future.Two conspicuous
sources of danger, one psychological and the
other material, in the present relations of
this cosmopolitan proletariat with the domi-
nant element in our modern Western society
are race consciousness and alcohol; and in the
struggle with each of these evils the Islamic
spirit has a service to render which might
prove, if it were accepted, to be of high moral
and social value.”[32]
Toynbee goes on to state that the Islamic
spirit allowed tropical regions such
as Central Africa and Indonesia to be
entirely cleansed of alcohol consumption:
“This spirit may be expected to manifest itself
in many practical ways; and one of these
manifestations might be a liberation from
alcohol, which was inspired by religious
conviction and which was therefore able to
accomplish what could never be enforced by
the external sanction of an alien law. Here,
then, in the foreground of the future, we can
remark two valuable influences which Islam
may exert upon the cosmopolitan proletar-
iat of a Western society that has cast its net
round the world and embraced the whole of
mankind; while in the more distant future
We can, however, discern
certain principles of Islam
which, if brought to bear
on the social life of the new
cosmopolitan proletariat,
might have important
salutary effects on ‘the great
society’ in a nearer future.

20. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-‘Ankabut, Verse 46.
21. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Ma’idah, Verses
91-92.
22. Sahih Bukhari, Kitab Fadail-ul-Qur’an,
Baab Ta’leef-il-Qur’an (compilation of the Holy
Qur’an)
23. Fakhr al-Din Muhammad ibn Umar Razi,
Al-Tafsir Al-Kabir, Vol. 6 (Beirut, Lebanon:
Dar-ul-Fikr, 1981), 43.
24. Ahadith ‘an shuyukh abi Muhammad
ba’labaki, Hadith No. 43.
25. Sunan Ibn Majah, Kitab-ul-Ashribah, Book
30, No. 3392.
26. Nick Triggle,“Alcohol Limits Cut to
Reduce Health Risks,”BBC News, 8 Jan. 2016,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35255384.
27. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 220.
28. “Medical Science,”Tirunelveli
Medical College, http://tvmc.ac.in/
medicalscience_history/.
29. Houchang D. Modanlou MD, A Tribute
to Zakariya Razi (865 – 925 AD), An Iranian
Pioneer Scholar. Archives of Iranian Medicine
(n.d.): 673-77.Web. 4 Aug. 2014. p. 674. http://
www.ams.ac.ir/AIM/NEWPUB/08/11/6/0019.
pdf
30. Sahih Bukhari, Kitab-ul-Ashribah, Book 74,
No. 1.
31. David T. Courtwright, Forces of Habit: Drugs
and the Making of the Modern World (Cambridge,
MA: Harvard UP, 2001), 10.
32. Arnold Toynbee, Civilization on Trial (New
York: Oxford University Press, 1948).
33. Arnold Toynbee, Civilization on Trial (New
York: Oxford University Press, 1948).
, Malfuzat,
Vol. 3 (London, 1984), p. 405.
Mar. 2015. Web. 8 Dec. 2015, http://
www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/
overview-alcohol-consumption/
alcohol-facts-and-statistics.
5. “Three in 10 American Adults Have a
Drinking Problem: Study.”NY Daily News,
8 June 2015, http://www.nydailynews.com/
life-style/health/10-american-adults-drinking-
problem-study-article-1.2250854.
6. “Alcohol Facts and Statistics.”National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,
Mar. 2015. Web. 8 Dec. 2015, http://
www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/
overview-alcohol-consumption/
alcohol-facts-and-statistics.
7. Jeffrey A. Miron, and Jeffrey Zwiebel.
“Alcohol Consumption during Prohibition.”The
American Economic Review 81.2 (1991): 242-47,
6 August 2014. http://www.nber.org/papers/
w3675.pdf.
8. Edward Behr, Nick Triggle Health cor-
respondent,“Alcohol Limits Cut to Reduce
Health Risks,”BBC News, accessed January 14,
2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35255384.
9. Eric Burns, Spirits Of America: A Social
History Of Alcohol (Philadelphia, Pa.: Temple
University Press, 2004).
10. Mark Thornton,“Alcohol Prohibition Was
a Failure,”Cato Institute, July 17, 1991, http://
www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/
alcohol-prohibition-was-failure.
11. Amy Mittelman, Brewing Battles: A History
of American Beer (New York: Algora Publishing,
2008), 17.
, Chashma-
e-Ma’arifat (Urdu), Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 23, p.
267.
13. William Rorabaugh, Alcoholic Republic: An
American Tradition (Oxford University Press,
1979).
14. The Holy Bible, Ephesians-5:18 and
Galatians-5:21.
, Al-Hakm,
June 17th
1903, Vol. 7, p. 17.
16. Fakhr al-Din Muhammad ibn Umar Razi,
Al-Tafsir Al-Kabir, Vol. 6 (Beirut, Lebanon:
Dar-ul-Fikr, 1981), 43.
17. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Nahl, Verse 68.
18. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 220.
19. Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Nisa, Verse 44.
Your feedback is
important to us
Write to us with comments,
feedback and suggestions at
info@Reviewof Religions.org

The
Promised Messiahas
& imam mahdi
( g u i d e d o n e )
founder of
I try to call the people to come and stay with me at
times. I do so by making announcements that they
should come. This is all because I should like to
inform them of the God whom I have found and
seen and that I should show the shortest path to
reach Him, the path that ultimately makes a man a
Godly man.In fact I do not believe that mere stories
of the past can add to one’s God-realisation. It is
possible only through practical experience and that
is not possible without treading on the path that is
ours.One has not to pass through hardships to tread
on this path; it is the mind that works here. In fact,
God looks at the heart, and the heart that is full of
the love of God does not stand in need of an idol
to be before him.Idol worship can never lead a man
to correct and definite conclusions.[1]
endnotes
, Malfuzat, Vol. 1, p. 308.
Fresh Signs
In fact I do not believe that mere
stories of the past can add to one’s
God-realisation. It is possible
only through practical experience
and that is not possible without
treading on the path that is ours.

A
solitary voice, raised in
Makkah, was, under Divine
Command, calling people
to the worship of One God and
proclaiming that through responding
to this call would humankind achieve
true dignity, honour, prosperity and
happiness both here and Hereafter.
That voice was the voice of the Holy
Prophet Muhammadsa
, the Seal
of the Prophets. In this popular
biography, Hazrat Mirza Bashir-Ud-
Din Mahmud Ahmadra
outlines the
life of the most influential man in
history in an easy-to-digest manner.
Read online here:
http://www.alislam.org/library/books/Life-of-Muhammad.pdf
Purchase book
here: http://store.alislam.org/englishbooks.html

4. Force Needed to Uphold
Communism
The fourth flaw of Communism is that
whenever the system encounters a serious
difficulty or challenge,it gets replaced by
dictatorship,with consequences far worse
than before.The reason is that by destroy-
ing independent thinking, the system is
bereft of new ideas that might help to
overcome the challenge. As such, when
the process of decline sets in or the sys-
tem collapses altogether, there would
be nothing, other than dictatorship, to
fill the vacuum so created. Germany
accepted Hitler mainly because of the
Communist movements that had swept
the country.The experience of the French
Revolution also supports that viewpoint.
As the first wave of popular fervour over
the newfound freedom receded, it gave
rise to an autocrat like Napoleon.No one
from among the ordinary people could
assume the control of affairs under a
democratic system. Communism may
choose to call itself a proletarian or a
totalitarian regime. There is little doubt
that this kind of system eventually and
The Economic
System of Islam Communism may choose to
call itself a proletarian or a
totalitarian regime.There
is little doubt that this
kind of system eventually
and inevitably leads to
dictatorship. In fact, the
current situation is that
although they claim to
support representative
government, in reality they
do not share governance
with ordinary citizens.
by Hazrat Mirza Bashir-Ud-Din Mahmud Ahmadra
We continue with the serialisation
of the epic lecture delivered by the
Second Worldwide Head of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community,
Hazrat Mirza Bashir-Ud-Din
Mahmud Ahmadra
, later published
as a book titled The Economic
System of Islam. In this ninth part
of the series, the need to use force in a
Communist system as well as its use
of interest are discussed.
To read the first eight parts, visit our
website: www.reviewofreligions.org
*The photos used in this article were not used in the original
publication, but have been added to our serialisation by The Review
of Religions to help illustrate the subject matter. The Review of
Religions takes full responsibility for any errors in depiction.*
ra
Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad
THEECONOMICSYSTEMofISLAMMirzaBashir-ud-DinMahmudAhmad
U
ra

interest under this absolute ban. There
is no prohibition of interest in the com-
munist literature, which leads me to
conclude that Communism is not fun-
damentally opposed to the institution of
interest. I find, besides, that the Soviet
government borrows from other govern-
ments that lend only on interest.Thus,it
is clear Communism is not against inter-
est— indeed, it accepts its use. During
this war, the Russian government bor-
rowed from Russian people, which I
surmise must have been on interest. If I
am correct that Communism is not fun-
damentally opposed to interest (in fact,
various developments leave no other con-
clusion possible), it must be conceded
that the dearth of interest-based trans-
actions in the country is only a temporary
phenomenon and a consequence of the
extraordinary changes that occurred since
the overthrow of the old order.With the
expansion of Russian trade and industrial
development,the Soviet State too would
increasingly resort to interest-bearing
loans,just as in other European countries.
Accordingly, for the successful prosecu-
tion of wars and industrial development,
the branches of the state bank will be
established in the country,and the insti-
tution of interest would take the country
from Communism to Capitalism,just as
it did in the other Western countries.
6. Adoption of Prevailing Exchange
Rate System
The sixth flaw of the Communist eco-
nomic system—one that will not let it
supersede capitalism—lies in its adoption
of the exchange rate mechanism, which
emerged out of banks’manipulation and
government interference. Communism
not only supports this mechanism, but
has chosen to act according to its dic-
tates. As it is, the exchange rate (which
is the relative price of two currencies) is
no longer determined by a country’s bal-
ance of trade, but is fixed by the great
economic powers.In fixing the exchange
rate, these powers pursue basically their
own self-interest and trade strategy.They
take into account not only the current
balance of trade but also the develop-
ment of future commercial relations. As
far as the weaker or poorer economies
are concerned, their exchange rates are
in the hands of banks.Weaker countries
often complain about the prevailing sys-
tem but their protests go unheeded, and
they continue to face a disadvantage in
trade, as they lack sufficient economic
influence. As things stand, an exchange
rate between two currencies is essen-
tially artificial and can be utilised to their
advantage by banks as well as govern-
ments. As a result, international trade,
instead of being governed by supply
inevitably leads to dictatorship. In fact,
the current situation is that although
they claim to support representa-
tive government, in reality they do not
share governance with ordinary citizens.
There has only been dictatorship since
the inception of Communism in Russia.
Lenin was the first dictator,who was suc-
ceeded by Stalin; Molotov may well be
the third dictator,and so on.In any case,
such regimes cannot survive without the
use of force,and the Russian experiment
stands testimony to that.
5. Interest, a Part of Communist
Philosophy
The fifth flaw of Communism is that it
has not rejected the institution of inter-
est as part of its philosophy.It is claimed
that there are no private banks in Soviet
Russia that operate on the basis of inter-
est. I do not at the moment have any
certain knowledge that this is actually the
case.But the absence of banks that run on
the basis of interest is an entirely different
matter from rejecting interest as some-
thing fundamentally wrong.The absence
of such banks may be due to a number
of reasons: lack of facilities,general igno-
rance on the part of the public in regard
to the working of banks, or just expedi-
ency. When the necessary facilities are
installed, the public gets educated about
the banking system, or when the oppor-
tunistic policy is abandoned, individual
banks may start operating throughout the
country. But when something is forbid-
den as a matter of principle, no change
in circumstances can make it lawful or
acceptable. Communism does not put
the economic system of islam
When the Communist system
faces challenges, it is replaced by
dictatorship, as seen in Russia. Lenin
was followed by Stalin as dictator.
© De Visu | Shutterstock.com
I find, besides, that the Soviet
government borrows from
other governments that
lend only on interest.Thus,
it is clear Communism
is not against interest—
indeed, it accepts its use.

Review of Religions April 2016

Review of Religions April 2016

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