- White Minaret
The White Minaret (
Urdu : Minarat-ul Masih, english:Minaret of the Mesiah) is atower inQadian . The foundation stone was laid byMirza Ghulam Ahmad onMarch 13 ,1903 .Due to a lack of funds the construction was stopped. Theminaret was continued byMirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad onNovember 27 ,1914 and completed in 1916. The minaret has three stages, 92 steps and the total height is about 105 feet. [ [http://www.alislam.org/library/minara.html Minara-tul-Masih] ] The "Minarat-ul Masih" is classified as a historical monument.History
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad sincerely believed in the saying of Muhammad: [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/041.smt.html#041.7015, Sahih Muslim Book 41, Hadith 7015]
"Christ, son of Mary, and he will descend at the white minaret in the eastern side of Damscus wearing two garments lightly dyed with saffron and placing his hands on the wings of two Angels."
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed to be the Promised Messiah in 1891 and there was no Minaret in his mosque until 1900. On 28th May 1900, he gave an advertisement to collect donations for building this minaret, labelling it Minaret-ul-Maseeh. [http://www2.alislam.org/pdf/ishtaharat.pdf, Advertisement for donation for Minaretul Maseeh dated 28th May 1900, Majmooa Ishtiharat vol 3 p.286] [http://www2.alislam.org/pdf/ishtaharat.pdf, Majmooa Ishtiharat vol 3 pp. 294, 295]
"Our village of Qadian and this our mosque near which Minaret will be constructed, is situated to the east of Damascus."
"...This Minaret is that minaret whose need has been accepted in Holy Prophet's Hadiths. And the expenditure on this Minarat-ul-Maseeh will not be less than Rs 10,000/=."
Symbolism
The White Minaret is a symbol and distinctive mark of the
Ahmadiyya .It symbolizes the beginning of a new age for humanity.A prophecy of the Muhammad stated that Jesus, son of Mary, upon his
Second Coming would descend by the white minaret to the East of Damascus.External Links
* [http://www2.alislam.org/gallery/qadian/aam Photos of the White Minaret]
* [http://www.panoramio.com/photo/6393581 Minaret of Promised Messiah - Qadian] (Photo)
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