Answers to Everyday Issues
Why is pork consumption forbidden in Islam?
21st Jalsa Salana held in Bosnia
Part 83
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A
Centenary of the Ahmadiyya Mission in Indonesia: The early years and press coverage Page 7
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THE WEEKLY
www.alhakam.org AL HAKAM | Friday 22 August 2025 | Issue CCCLXXXVIII Ahmadiyya Archive & Research Centre (ARC), 22 Deer Park Road, London, SW19 3TL, UK info@alhakam.org | ISSN 2754-7396
The war that pays too well to end Why the Alaska Summit 2025 failed The Alaska summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin concluded on 15 August, exactly as seasoned observers had predicted: with grand pronouncements of “progress” but no tangible peace. This diplomatic theatre masks an uncomfortable reality. After three years, 350,000 military deaths, and $2.7 trillion in global military spending, the Ukraine war persists not despite international efforts but because of them. When defence contractors’ profits soar and energy markets reward the nimble, peace becomes an economically irrational choice. This is not mere cynicism but an observable fact. Global military expenditure in 2024 increased by 9.4%, the sharpest rise since the end of the Cold War. American defence giants saw remarkable gains, with Northrop Grumman’s stock climbing 37%, General Dynamics 26%, and Lockheed Martin seeing a 24% increase. Each Patriot missile interceptor costs $4 million; America alone has furnished $66.9 billion in military aid. War, it seems, has rarely been better for business. Conflict at the Ukrainian-Russian border has deep roots in the post-Cold War settlement’s failures. When the Soviet Union collapsed, victorious Western powers expanded NATO eastward without integrating Russia into a new security architecture. Analysts note that expansion was “primarily driven by Central and Eastern European states seeking security guarantees.” Yet dis-
Hadith-e-Rasul – Sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
Parable of the one who memorises the Holy Quran and then retains it ّٰ ََ َ ّٰ ُ ���ﻋ ِﻦ اﺑْ ِﻦ ﻋ َ� َ� رﺿﻰ ا��� ﻋﻨﻬﻤﺎ أ ّن َر ُﺳﻮل ا َّ َ َ ّ ّٰ ّ َ ُ َ ﺎﺣ ِﺐ ِ ﺻﻠﻰ ا��� �ﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ ﻗﺎل ِإﻧ َﻤﺎ َﻣﺜﻞ ﺻ َ َّ ْ َ َ َ َ َ اﻟ ْ ُﻘ ْﺮ ا��ﺑِ ِﻞ اﻟ ُﻤ َﻌﻘﻠ ِﺔ ِإ ْن َ�ﺎﻫﺪ ِ آن ﻛ َﻤﺜ ِﻞ ﺻ ِ َِ ﺎﺣ ِﺐ ْ َ َ َ َ ََ ْ ْ َ َ َ َ َْ َ َْ َ ��ﻠﻴﻬﺎ أﻣﺴ��ﺎ و ِإن أﻃﻠﻘﻬﺎ ذﻫﺒﺖ
missing Russian concerns as paranoia has proved catastrophically shortsighted. The parallel to the Treaty of Versailles merits a worthy consideration, as the unjust peace settlement plants seeds for future conflicts. The 1994 Budapest Memorandum exemplifies this pattern – Ukraine surrendered the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal for security guarantees that proved worthless when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Promises broken become grievances nursed, eventually erupting into violence. If we consider the economics of wars, the motive of profitability becomes very clear. Russia now devotes 6% of its GDP to defence, employing 3.8 million citizens
in arms production. Ukraine has become the world’s largest weapons importer, with purchases increasing nearly 100-fold since 2019. Western defence contractors maintain order backlogs worth hundreds of billions. Lockheed Martin alone sits on $173 billion in future contracts while planning $18 billion in dividends and buybacks through 2027. These figures reveal a self-reinforcing system where continuation serves more interests than cessation. The Holy Quran’s observation that “And when it is said to them: ‘Create not disorder on the earth,’ Continued on page 3
Hazrat Ibn ‘Umarra narrated: “Allah’s Messengersa said, ‘The likeness of the one who has memorised the Quran is that of a man with camels that are tethered: if he keeps up his care for them, he retains them; but if he lets them go, they slip away.’” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab fada’ili l-qur’an, Bab istidhkari l-qur’ani wa ta‘ahudih, Hadith 5031)
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, In His Own Words
The miracles of the other Prophets The Promised Messiahas said: “The signs that Mosesas and the other Prophets showed to the world, like Continued on page 3