One hundred years ago, Dr Mufti Muhammad Sadiq, a Muslim missionary, sailed from India to England and stayed there for three years, and then came to the United States on a ship, SS Haverford, and landed in Philadelphia Feb. 15, 1920. He established the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam in the U.S. upon his arrival.
He traveled by train to our part of the world, as far as Ross in North Dakota. He visited St. Paul and Crookston in Minnesota, Sioux City in Iowa, and Sioux Falls in South Dakota. He delivered a lecture at the then-agricultural school at Crookston. He also spoke in Stanley, N.D. School and local newspapers recorded his visit to both places.
Sadiq had a sharp wit which seems to have been particularly bestowed upon him by God to aid him in his work. I quote here an interesting anecdote related by him:
“During my travel to England, one morning I came out to the deck of the ship where I found an empty chair close to a group of young men engaged in gossip. I sat in the chair to enjoy the cool breeze from the ocean. From the conversation of the young men, I concluded that they were students returning to their respective universities in England. I focused my attention when their conversation turned to the subject of the existence of God. They seemed to have atheistic thoughts about God. I had wanted to intervene but kept quiet until one of them did something strange. He placed his matchbox on the table and said, 'If I ask God to show His power by lifting this matchbox, He will not do so because He does not have any power but my servant has more power than God because if I ask my servant to lift this matchbox, he will do so in a second.'
"I could resist no more. I got up from my chair and after due permission to join in their conversation, I politely asked that person whether he would have the courage to ask the King of England to come and lift that matchbox away. A complete silence fell upon the young men as they stared at each other in shock. I then started explaining to them why a servant would do something like that as he was paid to do whatever he was told, whereas a king was a sovereign over a certain territory and therefore possessed the kind of power that no one would dare challenge. How could then someone think of commanding God who was the ultimate Sovereign over all, including the kings? My answer had an immediate effect. The young men became very friendly with me and from there on during the rest of the journey, they would insist on my joining their company.”
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Ahmadi Muslims are celebrating 100 years of their denomination in the U.S. all through 2020 with gratefulness and prayers for perpetually bright future.
