Fateh Muhammad Sial

Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sial (1887-1960) was the first Ahmadi Muslim missionary sent from India, during the reign of Khalifatul Masih, the first Hakeem Noor-ud-Din.^[1] In 1913 Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad asked for volunteers to serve as Ahmadi Muslim missionaries in England. Sial volunteered and travelled to England on June 22, 1913. There he served twice^[2] as an Ahmadi Muslim Missionary, earning an MA in Arabic from the Aligarh Muslim University.

Early life and Education

In 1887, Sial was born to Chaudhry Nizam Din in Jora Kalan, a small town in the Kasur district of Punjab. In 1899, Sial and his father (Chaudhry Nizam Din) took Bay'ah, the oath of allegiance; at the hands of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and in 1900, the family migrated to Qadian.

In 1910, Sial received his bachelors degree at the Government College University, Lahore. He continued his studies at the Aligarh Muslim University and completed his Masters degree in Arabic.^[3]

Missionary

Accepting the call

Sial responded to the call of his Master Ahmad, claiming to be the promised Messiah,

“Practical corroboration is essential with verbal promise. Therefore, it is necessary that you devote your life in the way of Allah. This is the true Islam and this is the purpose for which I have been sent….Do not worship spiritual guides but become a guide yourself!”^[4]

At the age of 20 he wrote a letter to his Master, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, accepting the call to devote his life to Islam.^[5] In 1913, sending a missionary to England was beyond the means of the small community in Qadian. Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad procured five hundred Rupees from the Majlis e Ansar ullah. Mir Nasir Nawwab (father in law of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad) personally donated one hundred and five Rupees. Additionally, poor Ahmadis individually collected a few Rupees. A total of seven hundred and eighty Rupees were collected and donated to the first Ahmadi Muslim Missionary of the Jama'at.^[6]

Missionary Work

Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sial arrived in London in July 1913, just an year before the start of World War I. As soon as he arrived in Great Britain and started the The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK and started preaching the message of Islam to the people of Britain. The first spot he chose to preach at was Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park by distributing leaflets, fliers, engaging in conversations with residents and holding interviews with the press. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK celebrated 100 years centenary since Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad Sial arrived in the UK in summer of 2013.^[7]

With the young Muslim community in London growing to immigration and a number of British Converts their became an increasing need for a Mosque where Muslims could gather and pray in congregation. In 1914 the second Ahmadiyya Khalifa, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, instructed Fateh Muhammad Sial to purchase a property where a mosque could be built for the Muslim Community. In August 1920 Fateh Muhammad Sial acquired a one-acre site at Southfields which became active mission house and his main base of operation. But within the space of a few years the Mission House was no longer sufficient and plans for a construction of a mosque on the site were finalised.The Fazl Mosque (also known as the London Mosque) in London was inaugurated on October 23, 1926. It was the first purpose built mosque in London and become a magnet for many Muslim intellectuals like Allama Iqbal, Jinnah, King Faisal, Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and many others.^[8]

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