Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 170
Khilafat Centenary American Jama'at's Financial Sacrifices During the Era of Khilafat ------------------------- Mubarak Malik Never shall you attain to righteousness, unless you spend out of that which you love; and whatever you spend, Allah surery knows it well. (3:93) To spend in the cause of Allah is one of the basic commandments of Allah. In the very beginning of the Holy Qur'an, Allah states that while it is necessary to worship Allah to attain His nearness, it is also necessary to spend in His way out of one's wholesome earnings, as it purifies the soul (2:4). We know of the paramount examples of monetary sacrifice made by the companions of the Holy Propher•w. Women would donate heaps of jewelry. Hadhrat Umarra and Hadhrat Abu Bakr r• set supreme examples of spending in the cause of Allah by donating literally half and all of their properties respectively. We also know that Hadhrat Abu Talha r• gave away his most profitable orchard of dates in the cause of Allah. In this age,the companions of Hadhrat Masih-e- Mau' ood as exhibited a similar revolutionary fervor to spend in the way of Allah. Stories are also prevalent where, for example, Hadhrat Masih-e-Mau'ood as sold his wife's jewelry to serve food to those who had come to attend a J alsa in Qadian , or when Huzuras appealed to his followers in Kapurthala to raise sixty rupees (less than two US dollars today) in order to print and circulate a pamphlet. The messenger who was to issue the appeal, Hadhrat Munshi Zafar Ahrnadr•, also from Kapurthala, went home and raised the whole amount by selling his wife's jewelry without telling anyone about it. Later, when the KapurthalaJama'at heard about it, they were angry and disappointed that the opportunity to serve the Jama' at was denied to them. Such was the spirit and enthusiasm which prevailed, and indeed still prevails. Ahmadiyyat today, with Allah's grace and bounties, is established in all continents of the world and is ever growing. In the USA, the total collections in 1955 were less than twenty- one thousand dollars ($20,676), but the current year's (2007-08) budget exceeds $13 million dollars ($13,328,833). Our allegiance to Hadhrat Masih-e-Mau'ood as and the belief in perpetuity of the divinely established Nizam-e-Khilafat ( demands that we maintain these standards. Herein lies our salvation. "Hadhrat Masih-e-Mau' ood as started an English magazine on March 31 st 1901 to publicize the teachings of his community in western countries, specifically of Europe and America. Huzur ra founded an organization called Anjuman Isha'at-e-Islam (association to spread Islam through publication) to collect funds for the magazine and run its management. He himself was its patron while Hadhrat Maulvi Hakeem N ooruddin ra (later Khalifatul Masih I, 1908-14) was nominated as President. Other office bearers included Hadhrat Maulvi Abdul Karim r• (Vice-President), Khawaja Kamal-ud-Din ra (Secretary) and Maulvi Mohammad Ali ra (Assistant Secretary ). The next day, that is, April 1 st 1901, the Anjuman held its meeting in which it was proposed that the magazine be named "The Review of Religions. " Initial investment for the magazine's publication was estimated to be 10,000 rupees. One thousand shares of 10 rupees each were proposed. 77 5 shares were sold within the ne xt two weeks. Of these, 160 were purchased by Hadhrat Maulvi Hakeem Nooruddin r• , and they were the highest of all. " (Hayat- e-Noor, Page 264-265). By appointing Hadhrat Maul vi Hakeem N ooruddin ra as president of the Anjuman, Hadhrat Masih- e- Mau'ood as showed utmost confidence in the former for the publication of 'The Review of Regions'. Hadhrat Maulvi Nooruddin r• thus became indirectly tied with the propagation of Islam in Europe and America - a fact that was further strengthened by the purchase of the highest number of shares by him during the initial investment for the magazine. Later, in an advertisement in The Review of Religions (Urdu section, September 1903) , Hadhrat Masih- e-