Majlis Ansar Sultan AlQalam
Sultan Al-Qalam was a title given by Allah to the Promised Messiah (as) and means ‘King of the Pen’. Majlis Ansar Sultan Al-Qalam (MASQ) is a body of Khuddam
which is formed to respond to allegations against Islam and its noble Prophet Muhammad (sa). This group functions under the guidance and supervision of Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya.
The Promised Messiah (as) – King of Pen
Allah the Almighty has named this humble one ‘King of the Pen’ and has called my pen “the Dhulfaqar of ‘Alira”.
Yade beza kay ba O tabinda
Baz ba zulfiqar may bainum
(Promised Messiah (as), Tadhkirah, pg. 333)
That is, I see his hand, which flashes like a sword in respect of incontrovertible arguments, and then I see him with Dhulfaqar.
This means that there was a time when ‘Alira, held the Dhulfaqar in his hand; but God Almighty will grant the sword to this Imam, and his shining hand will accomplish that which had been accomplished by Dhulfaqar in the past. Thus his hand will seem as if it was the Dhulfaqar of ‘Alira that has reappeared. This also indicates that the said Imam will be Sultan Al-Qalam and his pen will serve as Dhulfaqar.
This prophecy is an exact translation of a revelation granted to me, and published in Brahin-e-Ahmadiyya ten years ago. It reads:
Kitabul Waliyye Zulfaqare Ali Un
(Nishan-e-Asmani, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 4, p. 375)
That is to say, the book of this saint is the Dhulfaqar of ‘Alira. This refers to myself, and on this account I have been called Ghazi in some visions.
So Sultan Al-Qalam was a title given by Allah to the Promised Messiah (as) and means ‘King of the Pen’. Majlis Ansar Sultan Al-Qalam (MASQ) is a body of Khuddam which is formed to respond to allegations against Islam and its noble Prophet Muhammad (sa). This group functions under the guidance and supervision of Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya.
Jihad with the Pen
The Holy Qur’an says,
“By the ink-stand and by the pen and by that which they write. Thou art not, by the grace of thy Lord, a madman.”
(Sura Al-Qalam, Chapter 68, Verses 2-3)
Saying of Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa):
“The ink of the scholar is holier than the blood of the martyr.”
“In this Age, it is the sword of the pen with which we are attacked and the spears of objections are being shot at us. We also should not let out forces go waste. We should use our pen to prove the truth of the religion of God and the Prophet-hood of this chosen Prophet, may God’s blessings be on him.”
(Promised Messiah (as), Malfoozat, Vol. 1, pg. 223)
“Now it is the Jihad with the Pen that has to be waged…it is with the Pen that Islam is being attacked. That is why it is necessary that the Pen should be used to rebut the attacks.”
(Promised Messiah (as), Malfoozat Vol. 8, pg. 20)
Background
On September 14, 1936, Hadhrat Sahibzada Mirza Nasir Ahmad (rh), invited some literary personalities of the Jama‘at to his house and proposed an idea to publicize the sayings of the Promised Messiah (as) and answer western criticisms. Everyone agreed and formed a committee called Ansar Sultan alQalam.
(Tarikh Ahmadiyyat, pg 359)
Hadhrat Musleh Mau‘ud (ra) founded Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya in 1938. Existence of Majlis Ansar Sultan Al-Qalam was present even before Khuddamul Ahmadiyya was formed. However, in 1940, Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih II (ra) brought Majlis Sultan alQalam under the auspices of Department of Ta‘lim in Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya.
(Tarikh Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya, Vol. 1, Pg 159 & 416)
Majlis Ansar Sultan alQalam comprises of a Governing Board of three members:
1. Rais (Presiding officer)
2. Naqib (Manager of programs)
3. Mu‘tamad (Administrator)
The Governing board can vote to increase the Governing board members. General members fill an application to become members of the Majlis and make a commitment of submitting articles on an annual basis. Some basic functions of MASQ are:
- Compilation of interesting articles related to Islam in general and Ahmadiyyat in particular
- Writing articles
- Own publications like e-newsletter, newsletter etc
- If a particular article requires a response in order to defend Islam/Ahmadiyyat, MASQ team:
- draw attention of their members towards it
- Commend someone else on their views
- Contribute to a public debate
Once a member drafts a response or writes an article, he or she sends it to the Majlis Ansar Sultan alQalam Committee for approval. On receiving authorization from the Committee, members are then free to send their articles to the newspaper editor or writer of the article they’re responding to.
Recent Development
Proposal in Majlis Shura of Jama‘at in 2008 and Huzur (aa) comments
Proposal titled:
Inculcating writing faculties among the members of Jama‘at to effectively present the true picture of Islamic teachings & Countering the Allegations on Islam utilizing all forms of Media
Huzur’s (aa) comments:
All the Auxiliary organizations should be involved in this to respond to allegations and write articles. Separate teams of Khuddam and Lajna should be formed in addition to Jama‘at’s forum.
Conclusion
The fact that the Muslims are being defeated by other nations in this era also is a practical testimony from God that the Messiah who was to come has come, and the commandment for wars in the name of religion has been suspended in accordance with the Hadith from Bukhari:
“The Messiah will do away with wars.”
Indeed, if you wish to engage in jihad, do so with arguments and reasoning. The consequences of the wars being fought with Muslims in the name of Islam are -- in the practical testimony of Allah -- evident to all who have insight.”
(Friday Sermon of Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V (aa), February 17, 2006)