The Afghan Martyrs — Page 2
The Promised Messiah (PBUH) interpreted it to mean that two outstandingly dedicated members of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat would be sacrificed in the same way as goats are sacrificed and those two would have been endowed with certain attributes for which goats and sacrifices are well known. A goat provides milk and its meat is eaten, hence it is an embodiment of sacrifices. It is difficult to perceive any other reason for its creation. It appears that goats have been created so that, for the sake of a creation superior to them, they may be sacrificed. From this perspective the Promised Messiah (PBUH) interpreted the revelation to mean the martyrdom of two of his faithful followers. Hadhrat Sahibzada Abdul Lateef was martyred on the 14th July 1903. A pupil of his, Moulvi Abdur Rahman, (MAPH) had been martyred before him. Hence, in fulfillment of the revelation of the Promised Messiah (PBUH), these two outstanding followers were martyred. As Hadhrat Sahibzada Abdul Lateef was martyred on the 14th July, this day of Eid has an intimate relationship with the event of martyrdom. This is the Eid when goats are sacrificed and is known as the Eid of Sacrifices. The Almighty also referred to the martyrdom of Hadhrat Sahibzada Sahib in similar terms. Therefore obviously the Sahibzada's martyrdom was an event of great importance and it has an extraordinary historic status. It was his martyrdom which influenced subsequent events spread over a whole century, the very century the end of which we are now celebrating. That is why I chose this subject for my Eid sermon. Ancestral and Academic Prominence of the Martyr of Afghanistan Hadhrat Sahibzada Abdul Lateef Shaheed was a member of a very highly respected family. He was a Syed and due to his learning 2