• An Uplifting Story

By Reem Shraiky 22 hours ago

(Reem Shraiky, Waqifah Zindegi (Lifelong Devotee of the Ahmadiyya Community), International Arabic-English Translation & Research Office, United Kingdom)

Reem Shraiky is a Syrian Arab woman from the Sunni Muslim community who later converted to the Ahmadiyya Muslim faith. Her life story and experiences of joining the Ahmadiyya Community can be read in the footnote link below.

When I meet non-Ahmadi Muslims, especially those from Pakistan, and they learn that I am an Ahmadi Muslim from the Arab world, their faces immediately express surprise and astonishment, and sometimes they express their astonishment in words. I particularly remember a Pakistani woman I met at an event organized by Lajna Imaillah UK a few years ago. Upon learning that I was an Arab Ahmadi, she was very upset and began hurling all sorts of outdated accusations against the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him).

My response was calm, but when he started using foul language, I firmly told him, “I will not tolerate hearing such offensive language toward someone I love; speak with respect, or there is no need to discuss anything with me.” 

Hearing this, he said, “He [i.e. the Promised Messiah (as)] is a Punjabi Indian, therefore he is not for you Arabs.” 

I asked him: “The Messenger of Allah was an Arab, so according to your logic, he is not for you; why do you believe in him?”

He was taken aback and withdrew saying, “I will continue the discussion with you after the event is over,” but he never returned.

Allah SWT says in the Qur’an:

God willing, God willing, God willing, God willing, God willing, God willing God willing بِمَا كَانُوا يَمْكُرُونَ

“Allah knows best where to place His message.”

– QS. al-An’am, 6: Verse 125A

Allah SWT has answered with these few words to this ridiculous objection that “the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi cannot be of non-Arab origin” ; Allah says to the supporters of such an idea that He knows best to whom He has given His message and sent a prophet.

Likewise, Allah SWT said,

God willing, God willing, God willing, God willing, God willing عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ

“Indeed, the noblest among you in the sight of Allah is the most pious among you. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Knowing.”

– Surah al-Hujurat, Chapter 49: Verse 14

Furthermore, in a famous hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab except in piety.” Undoubtedly, piety is the criterion of superiority in the eyes of Allah SWT.

Furthermore, Allah has warned us that if we turn away from religion and go astray, then He will bring others to replace us.

  هَا أَنْتُمْ هَٰؤُلَاءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنْفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يَبْخَلُ ۖ وَمَنْ يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ الْغَنِيُّ وَأَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ ۚ وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا God willing لَا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ

“Remember, you are people who are invited to spend (your wealth) in the way of Allah. So there are those among you who are stingy, and whoever is stingy is really only stingy towards himself. And Allah is the Most Rich while you are those who will (to Him); and if you turn away He will surely replace (you) with another people; and they will not be like you.”

– Surah Muhammad, 47: Verse 39

Thus, religion is not directed to any particular group or nation; no one can remain its guardian until the Day of Judgment; on the contrary, if they deviate from the teachings of religion and indulge in worldly pleasures and sins, Allah declares that He will replace them and hand over the banner of His religion to others who will preserve it and strive to uphold its status.

I say with full confidence and conviction that I had carefully studied the claims of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him), even for a period of no more than 10 days, before I expressed my desire to pledge allegiance to him. A thought that crossed my mind at that time was, “If he were an Arab and made the same claims and came with the same proof, I might have spent more time in committing allegiance to him because the idea that Imam Mahdi must come from Mecca has always bothered me.” 

I often think, “Are only the Arabs and the people of Mecca aware of the Islamic religion that Imam Mahdi will come from among them!” And “If so, why does the Quran state that Islam is a universal religion?” 

To be honest, I’ve always felt that if the Mahdi were to be Arab and speak Arabic, this would mean that only Arabs could understand Islam. However, I know this will never be the case, as it completely contradicts Islam’s claim to universality.

Over the years, I have studied, worked with, and observed the Arabs around me, and due to the nature of my profession, I have spent time and interacted with Arabs of various nationalities. While I worked and lived among them, we regularly discussed religious matters. Over the years, I studied the writings of great Arab scholars and thinkers; I listened to many of their speeches. Indeed, none of them could have left such a profound impact on my heart as that of a servant of Allah, a prophet of Allah, a perfect servant of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), endowed with the Holy Spirit and guided by Allah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (peace be upon him).

Since childhood, I have been waiting for Imam Mahdi and Allah has planted in my heart that he will be a prophet. I often ask myself, “How could he not be a prophet, if Allah SWT was willing to reveal his mission and sent him to reform the people?” 

My dear Muslim brothers and sisters, remove this cloak of arrogance and remember that the disbelievers of Makkah rejected the noble Prophet (peace be upon him) for the same reason and said,

لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنُ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٍ مِنَ God willing

“Why wasn’t this Al-Quran revealed to a great person from one of these two countries (Mecca and Taif)?”

 “Why wasn’t this Qur’an revealed to a great figure from those two cities?”

-Surat al-Zukhruf, 43: Verse 32

They want the Qur’an to be revealed to a great figure “in their eyes” from Mecca or Taif, but our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the greatest in the eyes of Allah SWT.

Think and reflect on the hadith narrated by Bukhari regarding the verse of Surah al-Jumuah: “And among those who have not joined them” , where the Prophet (saw) was asked about these “other people” three times, then he placed his blessed hands on Salman al-Farisi ra. and said,

“If faith were to fly to the stars, surely someone among them would find it.”

Thus, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), who “did not speak out of his own desires— it was nothing but a pure revelation sent down by Allah” (Quran, 53: Verses 4-5) has affirmed that the one who will restore faith to the earth will be a non-Arab. So, ponder over what I have written and think about it if you are among the thinkers and if you are wondering why India was made the land of the arrival of the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi?

I convey what the Promised Messiah (as) himself said in one of his Arabic verses:

Allah’s blessings

ju’ilat diyaarul hindi ardha nuzuulihaa nashran bimaa shaarat mahalla tanashshuri

“The land of India has been chosen as the landing place for this message so that [Islam] achieves victory in a country that has become a land for spreading the message of Muslims. (Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Nur-ul-Haq)

Translator: Mln. Dildaar Ahmad Dartono

Translated from: https://www.alhakam.org/opinion-i-am-an-arab-and-here-is-why-i-accepted-a-non-arab-prophet/

source https://islamrahmah.id/saya-seorang-arab-dan-beginilah-kisah-saya-menerima-nabi-bukan-arab/