Rabwah (; Punjabi / ; ; ), officially known as Chenab Nagar (; ), is a city in Chiniot District,

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

on the bank of

Chenab River The Chenab River is a major river in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, the Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul region of Hima ...

. It was the headquarters of the

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

from September 20, 1948 when the community relocated from

Qadian Qadian (; ) is a town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district, north-east of Amritsar, situated north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India. Qadian is the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movem ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

to the newly created state of

, where the community bought the area of present-day Rabwah from the government to establish its home. This continued until 1984 and the establishment of

Ordinance XX Ordinance XX () is a legal ordinance of the Government of Pakistan that was promulgated under the regime of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq on 26 April 1984 and is meant to prohibit the practice of Islam and the usage of Islamic terms and titles for ...

. In 1984, the headquarters were moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

with Mirza Tahir Ahmed, first to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and then in 2019 to the Islamabad compound in Tilford,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

Etymology

Rabwah is an

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

word meaning an "elevated place". The formal inauguration of the settlement took place on 20 September 1948 after prayers and a sacrifice of five goats at the corners and centre of the area. The town was named Rabwah by then leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad. However, the

Provincial Assembly of the Punjab The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, also known as the Punjab Assembly, is the supreme legislative body of Punjab, a province of Pakistan. It convenes at the Assembly Building in Lahore, the capital of Punjab. It is a unicameral legislature o ...

passed a resolution on 17 November 1998 changing the name of Rabwah to ‘Nawan Qadian’. On 14 February 1999, a new directive was issued, renaming Nawan Qadian to Chenab Nagar. The other names considered were Chak Dhaggian, Mustafa Abad, and Siddiq Abad.

History

Medieval History

From a historical perspective, Rabwah is from where

Muhammad Bin Qasim Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqafī (; –) was an Arabs, Arab military commander in service of the Umayyad Caliphate who led the Muslim conquest of Sindh (and Punjab, part of ancient Sindh), inaugurating the Umayyad campaigns in India. His m ...

, after conquering

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

and

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

, crossed the

and moved towards

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

. Here the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

fought against the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Raja of Chandrod (which is probably the ancient name of Chiniot). More than 100 Arab soldiers lost their lives in the battle and a "Graveyard of Martyrs" exists to this day in Chiniot.

Modern Era

Before the establishment of Rabwah, the area was barren and was known as Chak Digiyaan. The land was bought by the

Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

community following the migration of most of its members from

and other parts of Indian Punjab, to the newly created nation of

. In June 1948, 1,034 acres of land were bought from the government for PKR 12,000. The place where

Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad (; 12 January 1889 – 8 November 1965) was the Ahmadiyya Caliphate, second caliph (, ''khalīfatul masīh al-thāni''), leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the eldest son of Mirza Ghulam A ...

led the first ever prayers became the first mosque of Rabwah, the Yadgaar (memorial) Mosque. The first settlements were in camps which were later replaced by buildings constructed of mud. The first ever building constructed using concrete was the Mahmood Mosque. Electricity was provisioned to the city in 1954.

relocated to Rabwah on 19th of Sept 1949. By that time the population had reached 1,000. The first ever Jalsa Salana in Rabwah took place from 15 to 17 April 1949, attended by 17,000 people.

Demography

The city has a population of 70,000, of which 97 percent belong to the

Ahmadiyya Muslim community Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

. The rest 3 percent includes Christians and other Muslims. As the city has seen many migrations of Ahmadis fleeing persecution, it has a very diverse ethnic mixture.

Languages

The mother tongue of the majority of the populace is Punjabi, while for a small minority it is

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and Saraiki. Most of the students are also fluent in English.

Life for the residents of Rabwah

As the city is the only Ahmadi majority city in

, its residents face legal discrimination due to

. They have been denied the right to hold peaceful religious gatherings since 1983.Rabwah: A Place For Martyrs? Report of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group mission to Pakistan into internal flight for Ahmadis. Edited by Dr Jonathan Ensor In 1989, a

report A report is a document or a statement that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are usually given in the form of written documen ...

was registered by Punjab police against the whole of the population of the city for the crime that they were displaying

Quranic The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

texts on their graves and buildings.

Geography

Rabwah covers an area of about 24 km² (9.3 sq mi). It is located in the

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

region of Central Punjab, approximately halfway between

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

and

Sargodha Sargodha (Punjabi language, Punjabi/; ; ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Central Punjab, central Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 11th most populous city and ...

. The River Chenab surrounds the city on its Eastern and Southern sides. The area is higher than the surrounding plains due to the dry hills which dot the landscape, providing a natural barrier against floods. These hills are part of the Kirana Hills, also known locally as the Black Mountains, which reach from Sargodha to

Jhang Jhang ( Punjabi / ; ; ) is the capital city of Jhang District in central Punjab, Pakistan. Situated on the east bank of the Chenab river, it is the 13th most populous city of Pakistan. Etymology The historical name of the city and dis ...

. The area, which used to be arid and barren, has been transformed through more than fifty years of aggressive plantation into a lush green city.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

Rabwah experiences a borderline

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(''BSh'')/

hot arid climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(''BWh''). The city shares typical weather patterns of the northwestern

Subcontinent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as in the case of A ...

: sweltering summers and pleasant to warm winters. The summer season is from April to October where May, the hottest month, sees temperatures regularly reach . The location in the centre of the dry plains is responsible for dust storms in the summer. Summer also brings the

Indian Monsoon The Monsoon of South Asia is among several geographically distributed global monsoons. It affects the Indian subcontinent, where it is one of the oldest and most anticipated weather phenomena and an economically important pattern every year fro ...

which increases the

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

in the month of June and July to above . The winter season is from November to February where January is the coldest month and temperatures may fall to the freezing point. The winters also bring

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenc ...

which can reduce the visibility to dangerously low levels.

Neighborhoods

The planned city was originally divided into following

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

s: * Darus-Sadr or Dar al-Sadr (The Main/Central Area) * Darur-Rahmat or Dar al-Rahmat (The Abode of Mercy) * Darul-Futuh or Dar al-Futuh (The Abode of Triumphs) * Darul-Barakat Dar al-Barakat (The Abode of Blessings) * Darul-Uloom or Dar al-Ulum (The Abode of Learning) * Darul-Nasr or Dar al-Nasr (The Abode of Divine Help) * Darush-Shukr or Dar al-Shukr (The Abode of Gratitude) * Darul-Yumn or Dar al-Yumn (The Abode of Blessings) * Babul-Abwab or Bab al-Abwab (Door of the Doors) Later on, as the city expanded, these boroughs were split into sub-divisions. Also many new neighborhoods were established like Factory Area, Tahir Abad, Nasir Abad, Rahman Colony, Muslim Colony, Buyutul-Hamd, etc.

Notable places

* Masjid-e-Aqsa

Sports and recreational places

Many neighborhoods have their own playing areas for children. Popular sports include

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

. There is an Olympic sized

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

in the city, along with well-maintained

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

and squash courts. ''Buyut-ul-hamd'' park is a small amusement park in Rabwah. The riverbank and many farmhouses in the surrounding areas are considered good picnic spots.

Commercial places

* ''Gol Bazar'' ("Round Market") is a semi-circular market in Rabwah which houses most of the city's bank branches. * Masroor Plaza is a commercial plaza located in the center of the town.

Transport

Cycling is the predominant mode of transportation in Rabwah, augmented by motorcycles and motorcycle rickshaws. From the city, there are bus services to

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

and other major cities in Pakistan. Rabwah can be accessed by the M-2 (National Highway Motorway 2) while the nearest airport is in

(). It also has its own railway station, the Chenab Nagar railway station.

Education

Rabwah has a high literacy rate with school enrollment of nearly hundred percent. This is reflected by numerous achievements by students from Rabwah. There are numerous government and private primary and secondary schools as well as colleges.

Talim-ul-Islam College and School

Talim-ul-Islam College was founded in 1898 in Qadian by the

Ahmadiyya Community Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

and relocated to Rabwah in 1947. It was nationalized under the government of

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

as part of his nationalization program. An old students association of the college is active and publishes the Al Manar magazine.

Jami'a Nusrat Girls College and School

This is an all Girls College and School founded by the

which was later

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

Nusrat Jahan Schools

These are a group of non-profit, private, educational institutions in Rabwah. They were established under and named after the Nusrat Jahan Scheme; a scheme launched by the community for the educational betterment of its members. Nusrat Jahan Schools include the Nusrat Jahan Academy Boys School, Nusrat Jahan Academy Girls School, Nusrat Jahan Boys College and Nusrat Jahan Girls College. These institutions offer programmes of primary, secondary, higher secondary and higher education. They are operated by ''Nazarat Taleem Sadr Anjuman Ahmadiyya'' Pakistan. In 2011, the external examination board of all Nusrat Jahan Schools was changed from the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Faisalabad to the Aga Khan University Examination Board. ^{/sup>

Institute for special education

Nazarat Taleem has started a school for special children in Rabwah. It is a revolutionary project in which Nazarat Taleem has started delivering all the basic and necessary facilities for disable children in the separate school including special buses to pick and drop etc.

Other educational Institutions

*Schools under Nazarat Taleem:
**Bayout-ul-Hamd Primary School
** Bayoutul Hamd Girls High School
**Maryam Girls High School
**Maryam Siddiqua Girls High School
**Nusrat Jahan Academy Boys
**Nusrat Jahan Academy Girls
**Tahir Primary School
**Nasir High School Boys
**Nasir High School Girls
**Institute for special education
**nusrat Jahan college
*Self-directed Schools:
**Ahmadiyya Public School
**Heaven House Public School
**Al Ahmad Public School
**Crescent Grammar High School
**Star Academy

Jamia Ahmadiyya

Jamia Ahmadiyya is an International Islamic Seminary and Educational institute with branches all over the world. It offers a seven-year theology

Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
degree, ''Shahid''. It has both junior and senior campuses.

Madrasatul-Hifz

It has two campuses one for boys and one for girls. It is an institution for the memorization of the Quran. Interested students can join after completing their primary education and after completion of the 3-year course they continue their education from the eighth grade.

''Darul Sana'a'' Vocational Institute

This is a Vocational Education Institute for teaching different technical skills to the students who are not pursuing other academics.

Khilafat library

The Khilafat library is open to all members of public and is the central library of Ahmadiyya community. It contains both religious and secular books on wide range of subjects. It was established on 18 January 1970.

Health

Fazl-e-Omar Hospital

The Fazl-e-Omar Hospital Complex is the main private hospital of the city and caters to the majority of population's needs. It is run by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Founded in 1958 it has now become one of the medical facilities in the area providing hospital services not only to the local community but also to patients from towns and villages from further afield.

The Begum Zubaida Bani Gynecology and Obstetrics Wing is a modern facility offering a wide range of obstetric and gynecological services.

The Tahir Heart Institute is named after the late fourth Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Tahir Ahmad. It is one of the best equipped heart institutes in the region.

Noor ul Ain Blood & Eye Bank

It is a specialized center which manages eye donors from around the country and performs corneal transplants. A blood donation centre, pathology laboratory, and dental clinic are also housed in the same complex.

Tahir Homeopathic Research and Training Institute

Tahir Homeopathic

Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance tha ...
Clinic and Research Institute operates free clinics round the year. Last year it dispensed free medicine to 44,000 patients. The Institute plans to open new clinics in other countries and to connect all such clinics operating in any country through the email system. Patient records and diagnosis are maintained on computers to facilitate follow-up.Tariq Commemorative Edition published by Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya UK. 2004. Page 29

Newspapers and publications

*'' Al Fazl'' is a daily newspaper published from the Ziaul Islam Press located in Rabwah and one of the oldest newspapers of Pakistan and is the Ahmadiyya Community's official organ. It started off as a weekly in 1913 in Qadian and moved to Rabwah after the partition of India

The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
. It contains news and articles relating to the community and its faith along with national and international news. Due to Ordinance XX, the newspaper is forbidden by law to use words that are deemed "Islamic", such as ''Muslim'', ''Islam'' and ''shaheed''. Publication was suspended after a raid by Pakistan's security forces in December 2016.
* The '' Rabwah Times'' is an independent publication founded in 2006 by Ehsan Rehan.
*''Misbah'' is a magazine for women.
*''Tashhez ul Azhan'' is directed towards children.
*''Khalid'' includes articles written by and for youth.
*''Ansarullah'' is aimed at the elderly.

Notable residents

Some of the notable residents of the city are:
*Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad

Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad (; 12 January 1889 – 8 November 1965) was the Ahmadiyya Caliphate, second caliph (, ''khalīfatul masīh al-thāni''), leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the eldest son of Mirza Ghulam A ...
, founder of the city and eldest son of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and '' Mahdī'', in fulfillment of th ...
. Khalīfatul Masīh II of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
* Mirza Nasir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih III of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
* Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV of the community.
*Mirza Masroor Ahmad

Mirza Masroor Ahmad (; born 15 September 1950) is the current and fifth leader of the Ahmadiyya, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. His official title within the movement is Ahmadiyya Caliphate, Fifth Caliph of the Messiah (, ''khalīfatul masīh al- ...
, Khalifatul Masih V of the community.

References

External links

The Ahmadis by Antonio R. GualtieriPictures of RabwahPictures of Rabwah

Populated places in Chiniot District
Cities in Punjab (Pakistan)
Ahmadiyya places
Ahmadiyya in Pakistan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chenab Nagar}