Written by 
Written by Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul-Masih IV (rh)
Reviewed by Rameen Tahir
The book Murder in the Name of Allah (1), written by Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul-Masih IV (rh), offers a profound insight into the religion of Islam and is the first translation into English of “Mazhab Ke Nam Per Khoon.” This book aims to send a reminder that the purpose of any religion, whether it be Islam, Judaism, or Christianity, is to spread peace, understanding, friendship, and tolerance with each other. This book argues that the meaning of Islam, obedience and peace, has been corrupted by minority elements and ulema (learned scholars) of the Jamaat-e-Islami,(a religious political party of Pakistan) , especially their loudest voice, Maulana Abul Ala Maududi. Instead of pursuing peace in the name of God, the religion of Islam is starting to be abused by critics and used as an excuse for the spread of terrorism, violence, and disorder, exploited by the Mullahs (religious teachers or leaders) and presented to the world as a Medieval theocracy. Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad (rh) manifests the true spirit of Islam and Ahmadi Muslims, validating to adherents of religions that to sustain a future for humanity, the values of love, forgiveness, tolerance, and freedom of conscience are crucial.
From shedding blood in the name of religion to preaching violence in the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), a small minority has destroyed the origins of Islam. Muslims worldwide hang their heads in shame, and their souls cry out over today’s religious leaders who preach violence in the name of our Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), a man who not only strived for peace and responded with forgiveness but who also never said Islam was compulsory upon anyone. The Holy Qur’an portrays examples of people who used violence in the name of religion but had no religion. This fact is evident in the time of Noah (as) and Ibrahim (as); they both called others towards piety and righteousness sympathetically and lovingly, holding no weapon. However, people who wished to suppress their voices, such as Ibrahim’s (as) father, said: “If you do not detest from your belief, I shall stone you.” The words used by both enemies were identical to each other. Throughout the world, there are two conflicting views about how Islam was spread. Was it by the sword or by the Qur’an? Some Muslim scholars divided the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) into Meccan and Medina periods, saying that he was weak in Mecca, therefore, could not spread his message. According to this domain of thought, when the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) went to Medina, he gained power and resorted to the sword to spread his message. Maulana Abul Ala Maududi was the leading proponent of this view and kept true to his opinion that Islam could not be spread through spiritual force alone. Being a person who professed to follow the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), Maulana Maududi’s remarks were not only hurtful but made from malice, ignorance, and arrogance.
Hindus were also falling under the influence of such critics but ultimately conducted an objective study of Islam. Gandhi initially perceived Islam as “born in an atmosphere of violence,” but later corrected his view and stated, “The more I study the more I discover that the strength of Islam does not lie in the sword” (2). Pandit Shastri concluded that the observers who viewed the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) as someone who “fell short of his ideal of patience, moderation, and endurance” are merely “prejudicial and partisan;” their eyes are covered with a “veil of ignorance.” These observers want to present every good quality as a vice and distort their images because of their depravity. Shastri correcting the observer’s behaviors indicates that the critics being blind, could not see that the sword that Muhammad (sa) wielded was the sword of “mercy, compassion, friendship, and forgiveness.” The Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) preferred migration over fighting his people; the Muslims always fought defensively in wars, only when the pain became intolerable. Those who tend to believe that religion is spread by force have no real understanding of the ways of religion.
When the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) held prisoners of war, he would not torture or kill them; he told them that if they wanted to be released, they had to teach children how to read and write. On the other hand, some people opposed Islam so much that they tried to kill the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa); for example, Hazrat Umar (ra) (who was later a Caliph) was furiously looking for the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) until he heard about members of his own family reading the Qur’an. Once he read the verses of Surah-Al-Taha that his sister had given him, it was as if light from the Qur’anic verses had embedded into his soul and flipped a switch, so to speak. His reason for going to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) was to accept Islam. Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul-Masih IV (rh) continues to correct Maulana Maududi by quoting from “passion for political authority” (3) authored by Maxime Rodinson, who dominated thinking of Maulana Maududi so much so that he has “converted the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa), a blessing of mankind, into that of a warrior, a warrior putting the world to rights with a blade of the sword,” when all he used were prayers to Allah, the blessing of Allah, the Qur’an, and the kindness and mercy of his own heart.
The controversy continues about Ahmadiyyat and where it came from. Jamaat-e-Islami holds a view that the British government created the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community to divide the Muslim umma (Nation) so that the Muslims would be taken away from jihad (striving in the way of Allah), allegedly saying that Ahmadi Muslims were to “act as a fifth column to destroy the Muslim umma from within” (4). Khalifatul-Masih IV (rh) seeks to explain this quite differently. Ahmadi Muslims believe and know that their movement was founded to establish the supremacy and rebirth of peaceful Muslims. It is ironic to think that the British ‘made’ Ahmadi Muslims; instead, it was God who planted its seed to fulfill the prophecy given to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) and the promise made to the people of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) that God was sending the Mahdi to reform the umma and destroy the Cross that caused suffering to Jesus (as), (the Mahdi being the Promised Messiah (as), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad). The Ahmadi Muslims are now in the altruistic service of humanity. Maulana Maududi continued to assert that the roots of Ahmadiyyat are deep in the British soil of Imperialism to justify his claim about the origins of Ahmadi Muslims. However, the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) refutes this by saying that “My intoxication in the loving of Muhammad (sa) is the second only to that of God” (5).
Islam is as closely related to terrorism as “light is to darkness or life is to death or peace is to war” (6). These two terms are constantly grappling with one another but never walk hand in hand. Some people who call themselves Muslims indeed belong to terrorist groups; two countries like Iran and Iraq fight in a war, while both are Muslim countries and cry “Allahu-Akbar” (God is the Greatest) whenever a soldier is bayoneted to death in battle. “On which side of Islam?” asks Khalifatul-Masih IV (rh). But he also states an answer: Iraqi and Iranian soldiers who laid down their lives for a noble cause were duped by their leadership. Islam was neither here nor there. The reasoning for this is supported in the Qur’an when Allah admonishes us: “All believers are brothers; so make peace between your brothers, and be mindful of your duty to Allah that you may be shown mercy” (7). Terrorism is not justified whatsoever, no matter the color of one’s skin or the religion they adhere to. Islam does not teach terrorism and disapproves of disorder.
People in today’s world are dissatisfied with things they cannot control. These are the people who are “dead meat for exploitation by their corrupt leaders” (8). As for Maulana Maududi, the only focal point in his concept of reform is power obsession, as explained by Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul-Masih IV (rh). He is one of the many critics who explain the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s (sa) life in political terms, and Islamic worship is military jargon and interprets the Qur’an as pure power politics. Knowing themselves, these critics are incapable of reforming others by patience and humility; thus, they turn to a policy of violence and disorder; they call it the way of our Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) and Islam. However, the Qur’an is very thorough “When it is said to them: Create no disorder in the land, they retort: We are only seeking to promote peace. Take note – most certainly it is they who create disorder, but they realize it not” (9).
Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul-Masih IV (rh) expresses his deeply-rooted belief that neither Islam nor any true religion can sanction violence and the bloodshed of innocent men, women, and children in the name of God.
References:
1 Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Murder in the Name of Allah (Edition 1989), U.K.
2 Mohandas K. Gandhi, Young India (1924), P: 152, Printed at The Huxley Press, 27, Lingha Chetty Street, Madras
3 Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Murder in the Name of Allah (Edition 1989), U.K., Pg. 37
4 Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Murder in the Name of Allah (Edition 1989), U.K., Pg. 46
5 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 1, Pp. 17-23
6 Mirza Tahir Ahmad (rh), Murder in the Name of Allah (Edition 1989), U.K., Pg.104
7 The Holy Qur’an (49:10-11)
8 Mirza Tahir Ahmad (rh), Murder in the Name of Allah (Edition 1989), U.K., Pg. 119
9 The Holy Qur’an (2:12-13)
Last modified: February 2022
