On Saturday 23rd March 1889 the Promised Messiah,
Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) founded the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community by
accepting the hands of forty followers in allegiance to the ten conditions of
Bai’at (see below). This oath of allegiance was taken at the house of Hadhrat
Sufi Ahmad Jan in the city of Ludhiana (Punjab, India) and the first person to
take this oath was Hadhrat Maulana Hakeem Nooruddin (ra).
120 years after this modest beginning, the Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community has millions of followers and is spread across the world in over 193 countries.
The Ten Conditions of Bai’at as prescribed by the Promised
Messiah (as) are as follows:
1.The initiate shall solemnly promise that he/she
shall abstain from Shirk (association of a partner with God) right up to the
day of his/her death.
2.That
he/she shall keep away from falsehood, fornication, adultery, trespasses of the
eye, debauchery, dissipation, cruelty, dishonesty, mischief and rebellion; and
will not permit himself/herself to be carried away by passions, however strong
they may be.
3.That
he/she shall regularly offer the five daily prayers in accordance with the
commandments of God and the Holy Prophet; and shall try his/her best to be
regular in offering the Tahajjud (predawn supererogatory prayers) and invoking
Darood(blessings) on the Holy Prophet; that he/she shall make it his/her daily
routine to ask forgiveness for his/her sins, to remember the bounties of God
and to praise and glorify Him.
4.That
under the impulse of any passions, he/she shall cause no harm whatsoever to the
creatures of Allah in general, and Muslims in particular, neither by his/her
tongue nor by his/her hands nor by any other means.
5.That
he/she shall remain faithful to God in all circumstances of life, in sorrow and
happiness, adversity and prosperity, in felicity and trials; and shall in all
conditions remain resigned to the decree of Allah and keep himself/herself
ready to face all kinds of indignities and sufferings in His way and shall
never turn away from it at the onslaught of any misfortune; on the contrary,
he/she shall march forward.
6.That
he/she shall refrain from following un-Islamic customs and lustful
inclinations, and shall completely submit himself/herself to the authority of
the Holy Qur’an; and shall make the Word of God and the Sayings of the Holy
Prophet the guiding principles in every walk of his/her life.
7.That
he/she shall entirely give up pride and vanity and shall pass all his/her life
in lowliness, humbleness, cheerfulness, forbearance and meekness.
8.That
he/she shall hold faith, the honor of faith, and the cause of Islam dearer to
him/her than his/her life, wealth, honor, children and all other dear ones.
9.That
he/she shall keep himself/herself occupied in the service of God’s creatures,
for His sake only; and shall endeavor to benefit mankind to the best of his/her
God-given abilities and powers.
10.That he/she shall enter into a bond of
brotherhood with this humble servant of God, pledging obedience to me in
everything good, for the sake of Allah, and remain faithful to it till the day
of his/her death; that he/she shall exert such a high devotion in the
observance of this bond as is not to be found in any other worldly relationship
and connections demanding devoted dutifulness.
Tune into
MTA on Monday 23rd March to a variety of programmes commemorating
this day, including an Urdu documentary ’Islam Ahmadiyyat - Revival of Faith’ showing
at 10.45, 14.45 & 20.15.