A MISUNDERSTANDING REMOVED

Muhammad Yakub Khan
Director Woking Muslim Mission

Rev. R. J. Flowers,

Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Dear Brother-in-Islam,

Thanks for your letter of the 20th. It was interesting to read about your visit to Glasgow.

As regards your query as to a new prophet, you will find the answer on the very first page of every issue of The Islamic Review. If you open any copy with you and have a look’ at page 3, where the reading matter begins you will find up at the top in Arabic this very declaration. At the top is ” Bismillah ” in Arabic, the second line is that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is, Khatam-an-Nabiyyeen ” — i.e., the last of the prophets; Underneath these Arabic lines you find the translation into English, which reads thus

” Muhammadﷺ is the messenger of God and the last of the Prophets.”

So, you will see the critics of Woking on this point are not telling the truth. They are swayed by their own prejudices. Woking represents the most enlightened interpretation of Islam. One of its basic principles is to set its face against all sectarian tendencies among Muslims. And since most Muslims, unfortunately, put more values on their sectarian loyalties, they fail to appreciate the liberal outlook of Woking, which is really the true Islamic outlook. I hope this explains the position, so far as this mission is concerned. Its doors are open to Muslims of all schools and sects, without discrimination.

It is really a shame that there should still be slavery in some Muslim countries to which you have called attention. If you could send me an issue of The People carrying this particular article, I will write a reply for publication to put the true teaching of Islam on the question of slavery. The difficulty is that some Muslim theologians do think that way. That is another typical instance where Woking does not see eye to eye with so many other schools of thought in Islam. In a way Woking is different to the common hide-bound outlook of Islam in vogue among some Muslim theologians. But the divergence is the direction of a return to the true spirit of the teachings of Islam. The role of Woking, so far as the West is concerned, is to dispel misunderstandings about Islam and present a true picture of the Faith. But some of these misunderstandings are the creation of such practices of Muslims themselves as you have referred to, and, as such, Woking does not shirk the duty of playing the reformist role, disabusing the minds of Muslims themselves on so many wrong attitudes which cut across the very basic things in the message of Islam.

One God, one Prophet, one Qur’an — these are the so many cornerstones of the universal brotherhood of Islam and Woking upholds these, setting its face against any trends that militate against these.

24th November 1961.                                                               Yours sincerely,

                                                                                              MUHAMMAD YAKUB KHAN,

                                                                                              Director, Woking Muslim Mission.