Rabwah is a city in the Punjab, Pakistan, which has recently been renamed Chenab Naghar against the will of its residents. It has a population of 48,700 (2003). It is located at .

This city is about 24² miles big. More than 95% of its residents belong to an Islamic sect called the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association. Rabwah is a dry little town, surrounded by the Chenab river. This river also passes by Gujranwala. It is also near another city called Chiniot. If you ever go there, the bare sedimentary mountains will greet you which have a beautiful scenary. There is a mixture of climates here with hot summers and cold winters due to its geographical location. The large Train service goes through the city which goes all the way south to Karachi too. This city has an excellent hospital called Fazl-e-Umar Hospital. People from other towns and villages who are not in Rabwah, come here to cure themselves. There are also two main mosques (places of worship for Muslims) in Rabwah:

1. Masjid Mubarak
2. Masjid Aqsa

There are other mosques too but these two are the main mosques. Rabwah also has one of the best colleges in Pakistan, which is called Talim-ul-Islam College. The Jamia-Nusrat College is for ladies. People come from far and wide to study at these two colleges as they are well known for their outstanding education. There is also a very big and famous graveyard for Ahmadi's in Rabwah. Here one of their Caliph's are buried. Also buried there is the first Ahmadi and first Muslim ever who won a Nobel Prize in Physics (Dr. Abdus Salam) and also Pakistan's first Foreign Minister who also served as Judge of the federal court of India, member of the Viceroy's Executive Council, President of the All-India Muslim League, Pakistant's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vice-President of the World Court, President of the General Assembly (Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan). Rabwah has two main bazaar's:

1. Gol Bazaar
2. Rehmat Bazaar

Both these bazaars have all sorts of shops, from banks and post offices to gift shops and clothing stores. Near there is a huge library, which has separate sections for men, women, and children.

History

This city was first called Chak Digiyaan. It was then renamed Rabwah in 1948, a year after the country (Pakistan) was divided from India. The Ahmadiyya Assoc. came here to ensure their unity. This used to be a desert, so when people first came here, they lived in tents. This has improved over the years as they have built offices, schools, colleges. Also various departments were re-established and re-organised. The office buildings include banks and Press & Publications office which prints out many hundreds of books and newspapers such as Al-Fazl International which is an international newspaper produced monthly. Since then Ahmadi Muslims have been persecuted for their beliefs. As you can see, this little town is one big school of religion, which houses many other schools. Rabwah was renamed again in 1999 against the will of its residents to "CHENAB NAGAR".

External links

• Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
• Ahmadiyya.info - The Ahmadiyya Portal
• City of Rabwah Commercial Website