Forty Gems of Beauty

192 Pages·2007·2.79 MB·English

Cover Second Edition
Forty Gems of Beauty

Ḥaḍrat Mirzā Bashīr Aḥmad, M.A.
Translated into English by
Nafīsur Raḥmān A. G. Ṣoofī

First American Edition
by
Majlis Anṣārullāh, USA
An Auxiliary of
The Aḥmadiyya Movement in Islām, USA

Forty Gems of Beauty—i
“Forty Gems of Beauty” is a collection of forty sayings of the
Holy Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings of Allāh be on
him) with a commentary on each saying by the author.

First English Edition: November 1961.
Second Edition: August 1971.

This copy is the First American Edition.
Published by Majlis Anṣārullāh, USA.
December 2007.

Majlis Anṣārullāh, U.S.A.
An auxiliary of
The A™madiyya Movement in Islām, U.S.A.
15000 Good Hope Road, Silver Spring, MD 20905

ISBN 1-882494-48-2

Copyright © 2007 Islām International Publications Ltd.
Islāmābād, Sheephatch Lane, Tilford, Surrey GU10 2AQ
United Kingdom.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without prior written permission from the
Publisher, except for the quotation of brief passages in
criticism.

Forty Gems of Beauty—ii
Verily,
you have in the Prophet of Allah
an excellent model.
33 [Al-Aḥzāb]:22

Forty Gems of Beauty—iii
The Holy Prophet Muḥammad, peace and blessings of
Allāh be on him, said:

Whoso, with a view to the welfare and
reformation of my people, committed to memory at
least forty of my Aḥādīth, Allāh, the Excellent, will
raise him up on the Day of Resurrection as a jurist
and religious Divine, and I will be his intercessor with
Allāh and a witness to his faith. (Baihaqī)

Forty Gems of Beauty—iv
Note to the First American Edition
It has been apparent for some time that this well-read
book needed to be reprinted. Majlis Ansārullāh, USA has
been blessed with this opportunity to print the first
American Edition. The intent was not to change or edit in
any way the content of the original, except in a very few
instances where it proved beneficial from purely a linguistic
point of view. The most obvious changes are in adoption of
transliteration standards of the Royal Asiatic Society and
also of American English spelling. References to the
quotations from the Holy Qurān have been added in the
format: [Chapter Number [Chapter Name]: Verse Number],
e.g. [2[Al-Baqarah]:280]
Vowel marks (A‘rab) have been added to the Arabic text
that is present in the explanations for easy reading. A
glossary, an index, and a brief note about the author are also
added at the end of this version.
I request prayers for all those whose names appear in the
acknowledgement section. In particular, I wish to thank and
request special prayers for Syed Sājid Aḥmad who worked
diligently on this version of the book in spite of health
problems.
We hope that this version of the book proves useful for all
readers. We pray to Almighty Allāh to accept our humble
effort, Āmīn.

Wajeeh Bājwa
Ṣadr
Majlis Anṣārullāh, USA
October 2007

Forty Gems of Beauty—v
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Dr Wajeeh Bājwa for scanning the original,
and to Ayesha Shākir for retyping it as necessary. Dr Wajeeh
Bājwa, Anisa Bushra Salām Bājwa, Dr BK Aḥmad, Dr
Muḥammad ‘Abdul Khāliq and Dr Muḥammad Sharīf Khān
provided help in reviewing the manuscript. Syeda Samra
Aḥmad and Syed Yūsuf Aḥmad assisted in comparing the
scanned copy to the original manuscript.
Maulāna Ḥāfiẓ Muẓaffar Aḥmad, Rabwah, Pakistan,
helped identify references, and Arabic terms and expressions
as needed.

Forty Gems of Beauty—vi
Contents

Author’s Preface to the First Edition ................................... 3
Note to the Second Edition .................................................. 6
Introduction ......................................................................... 7

1. Six Articles of Faith ..................................................... 19
2. Five Pillars of Islām ..................................................... 22
3. Five Distinctions Granted to the Holy Prophet ......... 28
4. The Holy Prophet is the Last Law-Giver ..................... 33
5. Actions are Rewarded According to the Motives
Behind Them ........................................................... 38
6. Allāh Sees Hearts ......................................................... 41
7. Difference Between an Active and an Inactive
Muslim ..................................................................... 45
8. Try to Remove Evil ...................................................... 50
9. Like for Your Brother What You Like for Yourself .... 55
10. Help Your Brother, Be He the Oppressor or the
Oppressed ................................................................ 58
11. The High Concept of Obedience in Islām .................. 62
12. A Word of Truth to the Wrongdoing Ruler is the
Best Form of Jihād .................................................. 65
13. Show Compassion to Young Ones and Recognize
the Rights of Your Elders ........................................ 69
14. Associating Partners with God, Disobedience to
Parents and Lying are the Greatest of Sins ............ 72
15. Respect Your Children and Give Them the Best
Education................................................................. 78
16. Choose Your Wife for Her Religious Piety ................. 81
17. The Best of Men is One Who is Best in Treating
His Wife ................................................................... 86
18. A Pious Lady is One Who does Her Duty to Her
Husband ................................................................. 90

Forty Gems of Beauty—1
19. One Who Brings Up an Orphan will Share His
Abode in Paradise with the Holy Prophet .............. 93
20. Good Treatment of Neighbors ..................................... 96
21. Do not Desire War but if it Comes Fight
Determinedly ........................................................... 99
22. Violate not Your Contract with the Enemy and
Kill neither Child nor Woman ............................... 102
23. Seven Destructive Sins— Homicide Without Good
Cause, Usury, Slander, etc. ................................... 105
24. Intoxicants are Unlawful Even in Small
Quantities ............................................................... 114
25. A Cheat cannot be Considered a True Muslim......... 118
26. Do not Imitate other Nations ..................................... 121
27. If the Heart is Good All the other Limbs Get Well ... 124
28. Avoid that What Rankles in Your Mind .................... 127
29. Inferiority Complex is a Highly Fatal Feeling .......... 130
30. True Repentance Washes Off Sin .............................. 133
31. A Believer is Never Bitten Twice in the Same
Hole ....................................................................... 137
32. No Deed is Better than Good Conduct ...................... 140
33. Respect the Respectable Chiefs of Other People ...... 145
34. Pay Wages to the Worker Before His Sweat is Dry .. 148
35. The Worst Feast is the One to Which only the
Wealthy have been Invited ..................................... 151
36. The Upper Hand is Better than the Lower Hand ..... 154
37. Leave Behind Your Heirs in a Comfortable
Condition ............................................................... 158
38. Every Person is a Ruler and will be Answerable
in Respect of his Wards ......................................... 162
39. Seeking Knowledge is a Duty of Every Muslim
Man and Muslim Woman ..................................... 165
40. Every Truth is the Lost Property of a Muslim .......... 169

The Concluding Prayer ..................................................... 173
Glossary ............................................................................ 175
Index ................................................................................. 181

Forty Gems of Beauty—2