Khilafat Centenary Souvenir 1908-2008 — Page 159
Khilafat Centenary delicious honey and all the world benefits from this delicious honey. Mirza Tahir Ahmad rta said that was a beautiful analogy. He also said that the thing that all of the Majlis-e-Shura members had in common is that, "Birds of a feather flock together. " So what happened was, as soon as I got home, I received two letters from the Khalifa ra one was in relation to my comment about the honey, and the other was in appreciation of the time I had spent in Rabwah. And right after that, the Khalifa ra passed away and Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad rta was elected as the fourth Khalifa. And, to me, that was an amazing thing, to be there in Rabwah at that time. Munib: How did your feelings towards Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrta change after he became Khalifa? When I met him in Spain after the election, I embraced him and I could feel that the vibration was the same as when I had met him before he was Khalifa. There was a difference after he became Khalifahr ta and the difference was in his face. His face was lit up. When I saw him in Rabwah, his face was always about business. I would say to him I am interfering and he would say "You are not interfering with anything, I can work around you. " He would answer the telephone and when someone came to talk to him, he would jump up and then return when he was done. I was hesitant to talk to him when I went to Spain, because of the spirituality of his office. That's when I began to understand that he is the spiritual leader of not only us, but all mankind. People who were not Muslim, would be magnetized to his personality as well. Knowing someone before they became Khalifa, and then afterwards, demonstrates the power of the Khalifat. I don't think Allah tells a person when he is ten years old that he will be Khalifa, so he must be prepared to live a certain kind life. When I saw the fourth Khalifahr ta, and how people who were not Muslim interacted with him, that impressed me. I was determined to have a more meaningful relationship with him than I had had with the third Khalifara ' insha'Allah. Munib: When did you become aware of the Khalifa's connection with Allah? The prayers of the Khalifa are so different than those of ordinary men. I knew missionaries very well. Each missionary, I would rate on how they read their prayers. So when I went to Rabwah, and when I heard his voice, not only did it reverberate in my mind, it would reverberate in my soul. Masjid Mubarak would be lit up as soon as the Khalifa walked in the door. So I became aware of the spiritual things that happen when someone is a spiritual leader. With the fourth Khalifahrt a, I talked to him about the issues of spirituality. He inspired me from his Khutbaat (plural of khutba, meaning sermon) to look into my spiritual life. He accepted me as Brother Munir, and I began to aspire to be a better human being. Belal: When the fourth Khalifarta came to the y. s. , do you recall any specific memories? It was so fantastic for all of us. I met him in Canada. The y had the mosque set up so there was a tent 159