Hadhrat Maulvi Abdul Haleem Sahib and Hadhrat Maulvi Abdullah Khan Sahib; Eye witness account of Stoning of the Prisoners of Kabul (1925)- As told to Fazl Kareem
“The person who narrated to me the event related to Hazrat Maulana Abdul Haleem Sahib and Maulvi Abdullah Khan Sahib, had me promise him not to divulge his name. He has narrated the events after swearing to God Almighty, and as far as it is possible, I will reproduce his words accurately. I and a relative of mine were listening to this story. We had our emotions under control. But the narration was of such nature that Ahmadi or not, even the most cold hearted person would have shivered after listening to it. There was a lady, a relative of the narrator sitting close by. He eyes welled up and she started crying Mercy, Mercy and asking forgiveness from God. She said “Only God knows why these Kabulis are so cruel and stone hearted- Will they not be punished for this? Did they not feel a little bit of mercy that they slaughtered men like sheep and goat?” She started cursing the Kabulis and for many hours she stayed in the same state crying for forgiveness.”
From near my shop, ten or fifteen policemen were escorting two prisoners to some place. One of them was a youth, of about 30 years of age. And the other was a middle-aged man of more than 50 years. Both had chains around their feet. Both had turbans on their heads and were wearing trousers and coats with shoes on their feet. Behind them was a great procession of people which kept swelling as they walked through the market. People were chatting and laughing like they were going to watch an entertaining show.
From near my shop, ten or fifteen policemen were escorting two prisoners to some place. One of them was a youth, of about 30 years of age. And the other was a middle-aged man of more than 50 years. Both had chains around their feet. Both had turbans on their heads and were wearing trousers and coats with shoes on their feet. Behind them was a great procession of people which kept swelling as they walked through the market. People were chatting and laughing like they were going to watch an entertaining show.
A town crier was announcing that these two Qadianis will be stoned to death according to the decision of the Qazi after Asr (afternoon) prayers. Both criminals were silent, with ashen faces. The older man (Abdul Haleem) had a prayer bead and he was reciting something. We knew that the stoning will take place at Asiya Bai, so I arrived there with some of my friends. Then we were told that it will be done at Sherpur instead. So we went to Sherpur. We saw a huge crowd there and many people were still arriving. After a while, the Qazi arrived on a carriage. As soon as he arrived, he ordered the chains to be broken and the condemned were told that they can now pray salat or nafls as they wished. Both of them prayed two or four raka’ats each (I don’t remember exactly). People were standing on high spots around the ground where the condemned were standing. After prayers, both had their turbans and coats removed, leaving only their shirts and trousers on them. Then they were pushed towards the lower ground. I did not hear it myself, but people said that both of them were saying that it will be decided on the day of judgement about who is right.
Finally the Qazi picked up a stone and threw it at them. As soon as he did that, people who were already standing with stones gathered in the fronts of their shirts started raining stones at them. They were about 15-20 yards from them.
Here I asked the narrator if the condemned cried or shrieked at all. He said that I was very near them, but did not hear anything from them. Then he said that the old man (Abdul Haleem) was being hit by the stones, he placed both his hands on his face and kneeled to the ground; until he was buried half under the stones. Then a stone hit his head and as with immense pain he sat up with his hands still on his face, as one sits in prayer. His face and head were dripping with blood and in the same state he passed away.
The other criminal who was younger (Maulvi Abdullah Khan) kept standing. Every time when a stone hit him, he fell, but then stood up again; fell again and stood up again; he kept struggling to get up every time, but could not keep standing. And this is how he died too. Both had so many stones thrown at them that they were buried under the stones and we could not see anything but stones after some time.
When asked if he also thew stones, the narrator said that yes, I threw 20-25 stones. I asked, how big were the stones thrown by the people? He said that they were about 2-3 kilos each. It was a hill and whatever one could find was thrown. When asked what was he thinking when he threw the stones, he did not answer directly and said that at that time his thoughts were very different.
In this context, I (Fazl Kareem) should also narrate another incidence that Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih (Mirza Basheerudeen Mahmood) also mentioned in one of his speeches. A man belonging to Rawalpindi wrote to a friend from Kabul that those two Qadianis whose stoning you were waiting so eagerly and were postponing your departure to India for the very same reason were finally stoned to death recently. I have also thrown a few stones on your behalf so that you may also partake of the blessings of the event. Congratulations to you! When this man read the news he shared it with much happiness and glee with his friends and also mentioned this to Ahmadis as a gesture of mockery. We were not aware of this news in Qadian yet. As if this was a great victory to these people. Alas these people do not understand that this was no great victory, but a humiliating defeat. Victory went to those who attained eternal life and whose name will be remembered for days to come and generations will be praying for them. And the same land of Kabul will bear fruit from this blessed blood.
(The above has been translated from Urdu to keep the memory of the two Martyrs alive, 85 years after the event took place in Kabul, Afghanistan)
