The Conclusive Argument

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The Conclusive Argument (Itm a mul- H ujjah) His Holiness Mirza Ghulam Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi (peace be on him) Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

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ISLAM INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS LTD The Conclusive Argument English translation of Itm a mul- H ujjah Written by His Holiness Mirza Ghulam Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi, peace be upon him, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community First published in Urdu in Qadian, India, 1894 First English translation published in the UK, 2020 © Islam International Publications Ltd.Published by Islam International Publications Ltd.Unit 3, Bourne Mill Business Park Guildford Road, Farnham, Surrey GU9 9PS, UK Printed in UK at Raqeem Press, Farnham, Surrey Cover design: Usman Nasir Choudhary For further information please visit www.alislam.org ISBN: 978 1 84880 902 4 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Contents About the Author................................................................v Foreword..........................................................................vii The Conclusive Argument........................................1 Further Review of Maulaw i Rusul Baba Amritsari’s H ay a tul-Mas ih.................................................................55 A Word of Advice, for the Sake of Allah, for Those Who Do Not Know...............................................................81 Glossary............................................................................95 Publisher’s Note...............................................................99 Index..............................................................................103

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Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian The Promised Messiah & Mahdi—peace be on him

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About the Author Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as was born in 1835 in Qadian, India.From his early life, he dedicated himself to prayer, and the study of the Holy Quran and other scriptures.He was deeply pained to observe the plight of Islam, which was being attacked from all directions.In order to defend Islam and present its teachings in their pristine purity, he wrote more than ninety books, thousands of letters, and participated in many religious debates.He argued that Islam is a living faith, which can lead man to establish com- munion with God to achieve moral and spiritual perfection.Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as started experiencing divine dreams, visions, and revelations at a young age.In 1889, under divine command, he started accepting initiation into the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.The divine revelations contin- ued to increase and he was commanded by God to announce that God had appointed him to be the same Reformer of the Latter Days as prophesied by various religions under different titles.He claimed to be the same Promised Messiah and Mahdi whose advent had been prophesied by the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.

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vi The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is now established in more than 200 countries.After his demise in 1908, the institution of Khilafat (suc- cessorship) was established to succeed him, in fulfilment of the prophecies made in the Holy Quran and by the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.Hadrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad aba is the Fifth Successor to the Promised Messiah as and the present head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

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Foreword Maulaw i Ghulam Rasul, alias Rusul Baba of Amritsar, was one of the bitterest opponents of the Promised Messiah, peace be on him.He is one of the primary opponents named by the Promised Messiah as in his book Anj a m-e- A tham ( The Death of A tham ).Rusul Baba wrote a book called H ay a tul-Mas ih , in which he made a vain attempt to prove that Jesus as remains alive in the heavens with his corporeal body.He also promised a reward of Rs.1,000 to anyone who could refute his arguments.This treatise of the Promised Messiah as was written in June 1894 to categorically refute Rusul Baba’s book.The Promised Messiah as presents com- prehensive arguments based upon the Holy Quran, the Hadith of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, and the writings of eminent Muslim scholars that prove the death of Jesus as.He also demanded that the prize money, announced by Rusul Baba , be deposited with a neutral party.The Promised Messiah as addressed the ulema of Islam and sent this treatise to several of the nobility in Amritsar as well as to Muhammad Husain Batalavi, who was the chief instigator of issuing edicts

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viii of disbelief against the Promised Messiah as , and to Rusul Baba.However, the latter made neither reply nor rebuttal, remaining silent for the rest of his life, which was brought to an end by the plague on 8 December 1902.As such, this treatise of the Promised Messiah, peace be on him, penned in classical Arabic and Urdu, remains true to its name, serving as a conclusive argument against those who misrep- resent the true teachings of Islam regarding the natural death of Prophet Jesus, peace be on him.al- Ha j Munir-ud-Din Shams Additional Wak i lut-Ta s n i f, London August 2020

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Facsimile of the original title page for Itm a mul- H ujjah, printed in 1894

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Translation of the original Arabic title page for Itm a mul- H ujjah Against the One who Remained Obdurate and Strayed From the Right Path All praise belongs to Allah who enabled me to com- pile this treatise with a view to confuting and cen- suring Maulaw i Rusul Baba Amritsari and in it everything has been explained to silence him.I have entitled it: Printed at: Gulzar Muhammadi Printers, Lahore, 1311 Hijra Copies 700 Price 3 annas per copy [Itm a mul- H ujjah ‘alalladh i lajja wa z a gha ‘anil-ma h ajjah]

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ِمْسِب ِهّٰللا ِنٰمْحَّرلا ِمْيِحَّرلا.الحمد لل ّٰ الذي یقیم حجته في كل زمان، ویجدّد ملّته في كل أوان، ویبعث مصلحا عند كل فساد، وینتاب الخَلْق َ منه هاد ٍ بعد هادٍ، ویمن ّ علی عباده بإرائة طرق سَداد، ویسوّي الصراط للمتأهبین.یهدي الخَلق بكتابه إلی أسراره، وال یُسمَح عقل بكشف أستاره، یُلقي الروح علی من یشاء من عباده، ویفتح In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.All praise belongs to Allah, who establishes His argument in every age, revives His Faith at all times, and sends a Reformer at the time of every disorder.Guides for peo- ple come from Him, one after another.He bestows benevolence upon His servants by showing them the straight path and paves the way for eager souls.Through His Book, He leads people to His secrets, but reason is not per- mitted to unravel His mysteries.He bestows His revelation upon whomsoever He pleases from among His servants and opens

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2 علی من یشاء أبواب إرشاده، فال یغشاه درن ٌ وال ینتطحه قرنٌ، ویُدخله في الطیبین.یدعو من یشاء، ویطرد من یشاء، ویُخیّب من یشاء، ویُعطي من یشاء من ّ نعماء عظمی، ویجعل رساالته ّ حیث یشاء، ویعلم مَن بها أحق ال وأولی.الناس كلّهم ضالّون إ من هداه، وكلهم میّتون إال من ّ من أراه، ال أحیاه، وكلهم عُمي ٌ إ ّ من غذّاه، وكلهم ال وكلهم جیاع إ عِطاش إال من سقاه، ومن لم یهده فال یكون من المهتدین.رسوله علی والسالم والصالة الرسل خیر محمد ومقبوله وخاتم النبیین، الذي جاء بالنور the doors of His guidance for whomsoever He pleases.Hence, no filth can adhere to such a per- son nor can any peer compete with him.God admits him among the pure ones.He grants acceptance to whomsoever He pleases and rejects whomsoever He wishes.He frustrates the plans of whomsoever He desires and grants His mag- nificent bounties to whomsoever He pleases.He places His message where He wills, and He knows best who is the most entitled to, and worthy of it.All people are astray except those whom He guides and all are dead except those whom He gives life.All are blind except those to whom He grants sight; all are starved except those whom He nourishes; and all are thirsty except those to whom He brings water.One who is not guided by Him cannot be from among the guided.Peace and blessings be upon His Messenger and His chosen one, Muhammad, Khairur-Rusul [the Best of the Messengers] and

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 3 المنیر، ونجّی الخلق من الظالم المبیر، وخلّص السالكین من اعتیاص المسیر، وهیّا ٔ لهم زادًا غیر الیسیر، وآتی صُحُفًا مُطهَّرة كشجرة طیّبة، اغتذی كل طالب بجَنی عُودها، ورغبت كل فطرة سلیمة في استشارة سعودها، وما بقي إال الذي كان شقي َّ االٔزل ومن المحرومین.والسالم علٰی آله الطیبین الطاهرین، الذین أشرقت االٔرض بنورهم، وظهر الحق بظهورهم، وال شك أنهم وجبال إمامة، ال َ ا بُدور كانوا یُعادیهم وال االستقامة، طرق ّ من كان مورد اللعنة، وزائغًا ال إ عن المحجّة، ورحِم الل ّٰ رجال جمَع حُبّهم مع حب ّ الصُحْبة Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n [the Seal of the Prophets].He brought shining light and saved creation from the destructive darkness.He delivered the wayfarers from the hardships of the path and supplied them with abundant provisions.He bestowed pure scriptures analogous to a pure tree, whose fresh fruit nourishes every seeker after truth.All who had sound natures inclined towards acquiring its blessings, and nobody remained deprived [of these for- tunes] except the eternally unfortu- nate and hapless one.And peace be upon his pure progeny, whose light illumined the entire earth and whose advent manifested the truth.Indeed, they were the full moons of im a mat [the office of an Imam] and moun- tains of the paths of steadfastness.Nobody bears them enmity except those who are accursed and mis- guided.May Allah shower mercy upon the one who combines the love of them with the love of all Companions.And peace be upon his Companions and his pure

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4 أصحابه وعلی أجمعین.وصفوة أحبابه الذین كانوا له أتبَع َ مِن ظلّه، وأطوَع َ من نعله.تركوا بروق الدنیا وزینتها برؤیة لَعْلِه؛ ونهضوا إلی ما أُمروا بإذعان القلب وسعادة السیرة، وجاهدوا في الل ّٰ علی ضعف من المریرة، وما كانوا قاعدین.تبتّلوا إلی الل ّٰ تبتیال، وجمعوا خرة وما ملكوا من آ ال خزائن ا ی ً، وما مالوا إل ال الدنیا فتی َ امتراء المِیرة، وبذلوا أنفسهم ظالل وقَفَوا الملّة، إ شاعة ال رسول الل ّٰ صلی الل ّٰ علیه وسلم حتی صاروا من الفانین.شرَوا أنفسهم ابتغاء مرضاة الرب ّ اللطیف، ورضوا لمرضاته devotees who followed him even more faithfully than his shadow and were more obedient to him than his shoes.Having witnessed his rubies, they forsook the glory and splen- dour of this world.They committed themselves to obey every command with sincere submission and natu- ral goodness.Notwithstanding the adverse circumstances, they strove in the way of Allah and did not sit back idly.They chose to completely devote themselves to Allah, accu- mulating the treasures of the here- after while taking nothing whatso- ever from the wealth of the world.They did not incline to amass worldly provisions.They spent their lives in the propagation of the Faith and followed in the footsteps of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, so much so that their [independ- ent] selves died.They sold their souls to win the pleasure of their Benevolent Lord and for His sake they were content to part with their households and

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 5 بمفارقة المألف واالٔلیف، وأنحوا أبصارهم عن الدنیا وما فیها، وأخذتهم جذبة ٌ عظمی فجُذبوا إلی الل ّٰ رب ّ العالمین.أُخُوّة أن فاعلم بعد أما إ سالم یقتضي النصح وصدق ال ا الالكم، ومن أُعطی َ علمًا من علوم فأخفاه كسر ٍّ مكتوم فهو أحد من الخائنین.وإن العلوم ال تنتهي دقائقها، وال تُحصی حقائقها، وال مانع لظهورها، وال محاق لبدورها، خر ین.آ ال ل تُرِك علم من وكم أسرار، من ر بّي علّمني وقد وجعلني أخبار، من وأخبرني مجدّد هذه المائة، وخصّني في علومه بالبسطة والسعة، وجعلني dear friends.They turned their eyes away from the world and its affairs and were pulled by a mighty attraction that drew them towards Allah, Rabbul- ‘ a lam i n [the Lord of all the worlds].To proceed, know that Islamic brotherhood demands sincere advice and truthfulness.A per- son who is bestowed with some knowledge and then conceals it like a closely guarded secret is a traitor.There is no end to the subtleties of knowledge, and its verities are countless.There is no hindrance to their disclosure, nor are there dark nights for their full moons.There are many fields of knowledge left for the people of the Latter Days.The truth is that my Lord has taught me many a mystery and granted me knowledge about the unseen.He has commissioned me as the Mujaddid [Reformer] of this century and chosen me to receive liberally and abundantly of His knowledge and made me an heir to His Messengers.

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6 لرسله من الوارثین.وكان من مفائح تعلیمه، وعطایا تفهیمه، أن المسیح عیسی بن مر یم قد مات كإخوانه ّ وتُوفّي الطبعی بموته من المرسلین.وبشّرني وقال إن یرقبونه الذي الموعود المسیح ّ والمهدي المسعود الذي ینتظرونه هو أنت، نفعل ما نشاء فال تكونن َ من الممتر ین.وقال إنّا جعلناك المسیح ابن مر یم، ففَض َّ خَتْم سِرِّه وجعلني علی دقائق االٔمر هذه وتواترت المطّلعین.من البشارات، وتتابعت إ لهامات، ال ا ُ حتی صرت ُ من المطمئنین.ثم تخیّرت ُ طر یق الحزامة، ورجعت إلی كتاب الل ّٰ خفیر ِ طرق السالمة، It is by the grace of His teach- ing and through the gift of under- standing bestowed by Him that [I have learned that] the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, died a natu- ral death and passed away just as his other fellow Messengers passed away.Allah gave me glad tidings and said: ‘The Promised Messiah whom they are looking forward to and the blessed Mahdi whom they are awaiting, is none other than you.We do whatever We please.Be not, therefore, of those who doubt.’ He also said: ‘We made you the Messiah, son of Mary.’ Thus He broke the seal of His secret and informed me of the mysteries of this matter.These revelations occurred with such frequency and these glad tid- ings were given so regularly that I became fully convinced.Then I chose the path of care and dis- cretion and turned my attention towards the Book of Allah that guards the pathways of peace,

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 7 and discovered it to be the first witness to this.And what could be clearer than His statement: 1 ىٰۤسْيِعٰي ْيِّنِا َكْيِّفَوَتُم [‘O Jesus, I will cause you to die’]? So, reflect! May Allah guide you before you die and make you among those endowed with insight.God Almighty confirmed [the death of Jesus] with His statement: 2 اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت [‘When You caused me ( Jesus) to die’].So ponder over it O ye who harasses me and counts me among the disbelievers! This is a definitive verse, which no opponent can deny by appeal- ing to any tradition [hadith] nor can it be targeted by any opponent’s arrow.No one can reject it except the transgres- sors.The people whose milk of thought has been exhausted and whose vision is weak and short- sighted fail to ponder over 1.S u rah A l ‘Imr a n, 3:56 [Publisher] 2.S u rah al-M a ’idah, 5:118 [Publisher] ُّ فوجدتُه علیه أوّل َ الشاهدین.وأي َ بیان یكون أوضح من بیانه یَاعِیسٰی یكَ؟ فانظُرْ، هداك الل ّٰ قبل ِّ إِنِّي مُتَوَف تَوَفّیك وجعَلك من المستبصر ین.وا ٔكّده الل ّٰ بقوله فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّیْتَني، ففَكِّر ْ فیه یا من آذیتني، وحسبتني ُ من الكافر ین.وهذا نص ّ ال یردّه قول ُ مُبار ٍ بآثار، وال یجرحه سهم ّ من ال مُمار ٍ في مضمار، وال ینكره إ كان من الظالمین.والذین غاض جوازل وضعفت ُّ أفكارهم، دَر أنظارهم، ال ینظرون إلی كتاب الل ّٰ وبیّناته، ویتیهون كرجل اتبِع كمجانین.ویتكلمون جهالته،

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8 the Book of Allah and its explicit arguments.They wander about like the one who follows his own ignorance, and they talk like mad men.They say that the word التوفّي [ at-tawaff i —cause to die] was not employed for any particular mean- ing; rather, it has general conno- tations with no solid foundations.Thus, they deceive like the impos- tors.And when they are informed that wherever this word occurs throughout the Holy Quran—the Book of Allah the Gracious— it only means the causing of death and the seizing of souls which are bound to return [to Allah]—not of physical bodies —how, then, do they insist upon meanings that are not supported by the Book of Allah or by statements from Khairul-Mursal i n [the Best of Messengers], peace and blessings of Allah be upon him? In reply to this they say that they found their forefathers upon this belief and they will never forsake it.یقولون إن لفظ التوفّي ما وُضع لمعنی خاص بل عمّت معانیه، وما أُحكمت ْ مبانیه، وكذلك یكیدون كالمفتر ین.وإذا قیل لهم إن هذا اللفظ ما جاء في ّٰ الرحمن الل كتاب القرآن ِ االٔرواح وقبض إ ماتة ال ّ ل ال إ المرجوعة، ال لقبض ِ االٔجسام ّٰ العنصر یة، فكیف تصرّون علی ّٰ معنی ما ثبت من كتاب الل وبیان خیر المرسلین صلی الل علیه وسلم؟ قالوا إنّا ألفَینا آباءنا علی عقیدتنا ولسنا بتاركیها إلی بدین.آ ال أبد ا

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 9 When they are told that Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n [the Seal of the Prophets s as ] and the Most Truthful of the Exegetes interpreted the word التوفّي [ at-tawaff i —cause to die] in the same sense in explaining this verse— i.e.ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت —as it is not hidden from men of knowledge; and that Ibn Abbas followed him in order to dispel such doubts, saying that َكْيِّفَوَتُم [ muta- waff i ka —will cause you to die] means َ مُمِیْتُك [ mum i tuka —give you death], then why do they abandon the meanings estab- lished by the most infallible of Prophets and his paternal cousin who was among those who hold correct beliefs and are rightly guided? They reply, ‘How can we accept it when our forefa- thers did not hold this belief ?’ What they say is nothing but transgression, falsehood, and deception.They did not encom- pass the views of the predeces- sors of the ummah, except those of the misguided people who ثم إذا قیل لهم إن خاتم النبیین وأصدق المفسر ین فسّر تفسیر في التوفّي لفظ هكذا یة؛ أعني تَوَفَّیْتَني، كما ال آ ال هذه ا یخفی علی أهل الدرایة، وتبِعه ابن عباس لیقطع عرق الوسواس، یْك َ مُمِیْتُكَ، فلِم َ تتركون ِّ وقال مُتَوَف المعنی الذي ثبت مِن نبي ّ كان أوّل المعصومین، ومِن ابن عمّه الذي كان من الراشدین المهدیین؟ قالوا كیف نقبل ولم یعتقد بهذا ّ ظلمًا ال َ آباؤنا االٔوّلون؟ وما قالوا إ وزورًا ومن الفِر ْیة ولم یحیطوا آراء ّ الذین قر بوا منهم ال سلف ِ االٔمّة إ من المخطین، وما تبعوا إال الذین

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10 were close to them.They followed only those who had already gone astray from among Faij A‘waj 1 and were among the deprived ones, and they continued to fol- low their sayings until the truth became manifest so that some of them repented in remorse.But the ones upon whose hearts God had set a seal neither accepted the truth nor benefited from the admonition of the admonisher.Those who are firmly rooted in knowledge weep over their con- dition and find them sleeping on the brink of a pit.1.Publisher’s Note: Lit.‘Crooked group.’ In To h fa-e-Golarhviyyah, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.17, p.226, the Promised Messiah as explains Faij A‘waj as: The middle ages that came after the age of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the blessed ages, and preceded the age of the Promised Messiah, is the age of Faij A‘waj, or the age of a misguided lot that had no good in it, with some exceptions.This is the age of Faij A‘waj regarding which a hadith of the Holy Prophet s as states: سوا مني ولست ُ منهم ی ل.Meaning that, they are not of me and I am not of them; i.e.I have nothing to do with them.This is the age in which thousands of false innovations and countless unholy customs were introduced, and idolatry was prac- ticed with regard to Allah, His attributes, and His actions.And multitudes of unholy sects were born that reached the number of seventy-three.ضلّوا من قبل من فَیْج ٍ أعوَج َ ومن.فما زالوا آخذین ن ی قوم حمجوب� بآثارهم حتی حصحص الحق، وأمّا متندّمین.بعضهم فرجع الذین طبَع الل ّٰ علی قلوبهم فما كانوأن یقبلوا الحق وما نفعهم وعظ الراسخون والعلماء الواعظین.یبكون علیهم ویجدونهم علی شفا حفرة نائمین.

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 11 Alas for them! Why do they not reflect in their hearts that the meaning of the word التوفّي [ at-tawaff i —cause to die] has become clear through continu- ous Quranic evidence, the exege- sis of the Prophet for All People and Jinn, and the exegesis of his magnificent companion? One who interprets the Holy Quran according to his own opinion is not a believer but Satan’s brother.If they are in fact believ- ers, then what evidence is clearer than this? Were it permissible to arbitrarily change the intended and consistent meanings of the words, then the language and the Shariah would lose all cre- dence, all doctrines would be corrupted, and calamities would befall the Faith and the Religion.Whenever a word appears in Arabic literature, it is incum- bent upon us not to fabricate its meaning from our own selves, or to give precedence to rare mean- ings over common ones unless ٌ یا حسرة علیهم! لِم َ ال یفكّرون في أنفسهم أن لفظ التوفّي لفظ قد اتضح معناه من سلسلة شواهد إ نس ال ّ القرآن، ثم من تفسیر نبي ّ ا ونبي ّ الجانّ، ثم مِن تفسیر صحابي جلیل الشان، ومَن فسّر القرآن برأیه فهو لیس بمؤمن بل هو أخ الشیطان، فأي حجة أوضح ُ من هذا إن كانوا مؤمنین؟ ولو جاز صرف ُ ألفاظ تحكُّمًا من المعاني إ رتفع االٔمان ال المرادة المتواترة، عن اللغة والشرع بالكلیة، وفسدت العقائد كلها، ونزلت آفات علی الملّة والدّین.وكل ما وقع في الكم العرب من ألفاظ وجب علینا أن ال ننحت معانیها من عند أنفسنا، وال نقدِّم االٔقل ّ علی اال ٔكثر إال

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12 there exists a particular context which, in the opinion of the enlightened people, entails the priority of that meaning; this very methodology has always been the way of the jurists.When the ummah is divided into seventy-three sects—each one considering itself to be among Ahlus-Sunnah [the followers of the Prophet’s tradi- tion]—then what route is there to escape from these disagree- ments, and what other way exists to obtain freedom from these calamities, except that we firmly take hold of the strong rope of Allah? Thus, O groups of believ- ers! It is incumbent upon you to obey the Furq a n [i.e.Holy Quran].Whosoever follows it is certainly saved from the paths of loss.Now reflect that the Holy Quran declares the Messiah to be dead and gives a com- prehensive statement about it.Moreover, there is no hadith that opposes this meaning; rather, they explain it further and add عند قر ینة یوجب تقدیمه عند أهل المعرفة، وكذلك كانت سُنن المجتهدین.ولما تفرقت االٔمّة علی ثالث وسبعین فِرقة من الملّة، وكل ٌّ زعم أنه من أهل السنّة، فأي ُّ مخرج من هذه االختالفات، وأي ّ طریق فات من غیر أن آ ال الخالص من ا نعتصم بحبل الل ّٰ المتین؟ فعلیكم معاشر المؤمنین باتباع الفرقان، طرق من نجا فقد تبِعه ومن ن، إن القرآن آ ال الخسران.ففكِّروا ا یتوفَّی المسیح ویكمل فیه البیان، وما خالفه حدیث في هذا المعنی بل فسّره وزاد العرفان، وتقرا ٔ في

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 13 to our enlightenment.You read in Bukh a r i , ‘Ain i , and Fa d lul- B a r i that التوفّي [ at-tawaff i ] means ‘to cause death’ as Ibn Abbas and our Chief [the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as ]—the Imam of All Men and Prophet of All Jinn —have so clearly tes- tified.So then—O groups of Muslims and brethren!—what else remains after this? The Messiah admits in the Holy Quran that his people were corrupted only after his death.So, if Jesus has not yet died, then you must accept that Christians have not corrupted their religion up to this day.As for those who have invented some other meaning for التوفّي [ at-tawaff i —cause to die], such meanings—unsatisfying as they are—merely reflect their wishful thinking and the confusion of their thoughts.God Almighty has sent no proof for them, as is not hidden from men of knowl- edge and the awakened ones.If they do not desist out of malice, البخاری والعینی وفضل الباري إماتة، كما شهد ال أن التوفّي هو ا ّ ابن ُ عبّاس بتوضیح البیان، وسیّدُنا إ نس ونبي ّ الجانّ، فأي ال الذي إمام ا إخوان ال أمر ٍ بقي بعده یا معشر ا وطوائف المسلمین؟ وقد أقر ّ المسیح في القرآن أن فساد أمّته ما كان إال بعد موته، ن، آ ال فإن كان عیسی لم یمت إلی ا فلزمك أن تقول إن النصاری ما أفسدوا مذهبهم إلی هذا الزمان.والذین نحتوا معنی آخر للتوفّي فهو د عن التشفّي، وإن هو إال من ی ّٰ بع أهوائهم، وفساد آرائهم، ما أنزل الل خفی علی ی به من سلطان، كما ال

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14 and deliberately continue to insist upon falsehood, then they should cite before us some authority in support of their meaning, or offer a reliable explanation from God and His Messenger if they are truthful.And you know only too well that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used the word التوفّي [ at-tawaff i ] only in the sense of causing death, and of all men he possessed the deep- est knowledge and was most insightful.Moreover, the word [ التوفّي — at-tawaff i ] was not used in the Holy Quran except in the above sense, so do not alter the words of Allah with infe- rior thinking.And do not say, ‘This is true and this is false’ about matters regarding which your tongues utter falsehood.Fear Allah if you are righteous.Why do you follow that [doctrine] which is false and a mere conjecture and not seek the explanation of the one who أهل الخبرة وقلب ٍ یقظان.وإن لم ینتهوا حقدًا، وأصرّوا علی الكذب عمدًا، فلیُخرجوا لنا علی معناهم سندًا، ولیأتوا من الل ّٰ ورسوله بشرح مستند إن كانوا صادقین.وقد عرفتم أن رسول الل ّٰ صلی الل ّٰ علیه وسلم َ ما تكلَّم َ بلفظ التوفّي إال في معنی إماتة، وكان أعمق َ الناس علمًا وأوّل ال ّ ا ال ّٰ المبصرین.وما جاء في القرآن إ لهذا المعنی، فال تحرّفوا كلمات الل بخیال أدنٰی، وال تقولوا لما تصِف ألسنتُكم الكذب َ ذلك حق وهذا باطل، واتقوا الل ّٰ إن كنتم متقین.لِم َ تتبعون غلطًا ورجمًا بالغیب، وال تبغون تفسیر مَن هو منزّه من

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 15 is free from all defects and the Chief of All Infallible Ones? So keep away from such prejudices.O mortal creatures! Remember death.Have you been granted [eternal] respite in the world, without any care? So remem- ber the day when God will cause you to die and then you will be returned to Him one after another.No opponent or enemy of truth will be able to help you and you will be called to account like the guilty.As for the claim by certain foolish people that an ijm a‘ [consensus] has been reached that Jesus ascended to the high heavens with physical life— not with spiritual life—know that such a statement is absurd and [like] a worthless com- modity which only an igno- rant person would buy.Ijm a ‘ means the consensus of the Companions [of the Holy Prophet s as ], which is not established with regard to َ المعصومین؟ سیّد وكان العیب التعصّبات، هذه مثل فاجتنبوا واذكروا الموت یا دُود َ الممات، أتُتركون في الدنیا فرحین؟ فاذكروا یومًا یتوفّاكم الل ّٰ ثم تُرجعون إلیه فُرادی فُرادی، وال ینصركم مَن خالف الحق وعادی، وتُسألون كالمجرمین.من الناس بعض قول وأمّا انعقد قد إجماع ال ا أن الحمقی علی رفع عیسی إلی السماوات العُلی بحیاته الجسماني ال بحیاته الروحاني، فاعلم أن هذا القول فاسد ّ من كان ال ومتاع كاسد، ال یشتریه إ إجماع ال من الجاهلین.فإن ّ المراد من ا إجماع الصحابة، وهو لیس بثابت

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16 this doctrine.Ibn Abbas rendered َ مُتَوَفِّیْك [ mutawaff i ka ] as mean- ing َ مُمِیْتُك [ mum i tuka— give you death].Thus, death stands estab- lished, even though your demon may be unwilling to accept it.O ye who have hurt me! You have heard that the verse اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت [‘but since You caused me to die’ (5:118)] proves by a conclusive argument and a clear statement that the death [of Jesus], which is established from the exegesis of Ibn Abbas, is an event that has already taken place and was consummated, not that it will happen in the future as some people think.Do you believe that the Christians have not associated partners with their Lord and are not caught in snares like prison- ers? If you admit that they have gone astray and have misled oth- ers as well, then you must also admit that the Messiah has died and passed away, because the going astray of the Christians was conditional upon the death of the في هذه العقیدة، وقد قال ابن عباس متوفّیك ممیتُك، فالموت ثابت وإن لم یقبل عفریتُك.وقد سمعت َ یا من آذیتني أن آیة فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّیْتَني تدل بداللة قطعیة إماتة التي ال وعبارة واضحة أن ا ثبتت من تفسیر ابن عباس، قد وقعت وتمّت ولیس بواقع كما ظن بعض الناس.أفأنت تظن أن النصاری ما أشركوا بربهم ولیسوا في شُرُك كاالٔساری؟ وإن أقررت بأنهم قد ضلوا وأضلوا، إ قرار بأن ّ المسیح قد ال فلزمك ا مات َ وفاتَ، فإن ّ ضاللتهم كانت موقوفة علی وفاة المسیح، فتفكَّر

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 17 Messiah.So reflect and do not quarrel like the shameless.This matter [of Jesus’ death] has been settled by the Holy Quran and the Hadith of the Imam of All Men and Prophet of All Jinn; therefore, do not pay heed to any tradition that is contrary to them.The truth has become manifest, so pay no attention to the one who is against it, nor take into account any other tradition or narrator.Do not destroy yourself by such claims; and ponder like the humble ones.This is the belief of the Holy Prophet and the Companions, of which we have reminded you, so that we remove the veil of doubts from you.As for the ijm a ‘ of those who came after the Companions, we shall remind you some of their views, though you were, before this, of those lacking requisite knowledge.You should know that Imam Bukhari, who by the grace of Allah was the Chief of وال تُجادل كالوقیح.وهذا أمر قد ثبت من القرآن، ومن حدیث إ نس ونبي ّ الجانّ، فال ال إمام ا تسمع روایة تخالفها، وإن الحقیقة قد انكشفت فال تلتفت إلی من خالفها، وال تلتفت بعدها إلی روایة والراوي، وال تُهلك نفسَك من الدعاوي، وفكِّر كالمتواضعین.هذا ما ذكّرناك من النبي والصحابة لنزیل عنك غشاوة االسترابة، وأما حقیقة إجماع الذین جاءوا بعدهم، فنُذكّرك شیئًا من كَلِمِهم، وإن كنت َ من قبل من الغافلین.إمام البخاري، ال فاعلم أن ا الذي كان رئیس المحدِّثین من

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18 Hadith scholars, was the first to affirm the death of Jesus as he has indicated in his S a hih.For, he placed together two verses 1 in order that they may reinforce each other and strengthen this interpretive judgement.And if you think that he did not com- bine these two separate verses with this intention, nor was his purpose to prove this belief [of Jesus’ death], then explain— if you have eyes—why did he join these two verses together? But if you explain it not—and never shall you explain it— then fear Allah and do not per- sist in pursuing the paths of the transgressors.O people of insight! Besides [ S a hih ] al-Bukh a r i, look at your authentic book, Ma jma‘ul-Bi ha r, which speaks of the differing opin- ions regarding the subject of Jesus, peace be upon him.First, 1.The referenced verses are ْيِّنِا َكْيِّفَوَتُم… (I will cause you to die– S u rah A l ‘Imr a n 3:56) and اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت… (Since You caused me to die – S u rah al-M a ’idah, 5:118).[Publisher] فضل الباري، كان أول المقِرّین بوفاة المسیح، كما أشار إلیه في الصحیح، یتین لهذا المراد، لیتظاهرا آ ال َ فإنه جمَع ا ویحصل القوة لالجتهاد.وإن كنت یتین المتباعدتین آ ال تزعم أنه ما جمع ا إ ثبات ال لهذه النیّة، وما كان له غرض یتین آ ال هذه العقیدة، فبیِّن ْ لِم َ جمع ا ّ إن كنت َ من ذوي العینین؟ وإن لم تبیّن، ولن تبیّن، فاتّق الل ّٰ وال تُصر علی طرق الفاسقین.ثم بعد البخاري انظروا یا ذوي االٔبصار، إلی كتابكم المسلّم “مجمَع البحار”، فإنه ذكر اختالفات في أمر عیسی علیه السالم، وقدّم الحیاة

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 19 it speaks of his being alive and then it cites [Imam] M a lik’s statement, ‘He died.’ O men of intellect! Look at Majma‘ul- Bi ha r and show some decency.This is the testimony that you are denying.You tear apart that which Allah commands to join.You have deviated far from the station of righteousness.O mis- chief-mongers! Is there not a single wise man among you? In a t - T abar a n i and al-Mustadrak, it is reported from ‘ A’ ishah ra that the Messenger of Allah, may peace be upon him, said, ‘Jesus son of Mary lived for 120 years.’ In addition to these tes- timonies, look at Ibn Qayyim, the scholar of Hadith whose insightfulness is known only too well.He says in his book, Mad a rijus-S a lik i n, ‘If Moses and Jesus had been alive, they would have had no choice but to follow Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n [the Seal of the Prophets].’ Furthermore see the book ثم قال: وقال مالك مات.فانظروا راء، وخذوا آ ال “المجمع” یا أهل ا حظّا من الحیاء، هذا هو القول الذي تكفرون به وتقطعون ما أمر الل ّٰ به أن یوصل وباعدتم عن مقام االتّقاء، ألیس منكم رجل رشید یا معشر المفتتنین؟ وجاء في الطبراني والمستدرك عن عائشة قالت قال رسول الل ّٰ صلعم إن عیسی بن مریم عاش عشرین ومائة سنة.ثم بعد هذه الشهادات، انظروا إلی ابن القیّم المحدّث المشهود له بالتدقیقات، فإنه قال في “مدارج السالكین” إن ّ موسٰی وعیسٰی لو كانا حیَّین ما وسعهم إال اقتداء خاتم النبیّین.ثم

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20 Al-Fauzul-Kab i r wa Fat h ul- Khab i r, which is a commentary on the Holy Quran in light of the sayings of the Best of Creation [the Holy Prophet s as ], and is authored by H ak i mul-millah [the Sage of the faith] Shah Waliullah Dehlawi.He says, َ مُتَوَفِّیْك [ mut- awaff i ka ] means َ مُمِیْتُك [ mum- i tuka —will put you to death].He added not a single word to this and, following the mean- ing derived from the lamp of Prophethood, he did not men- tion any other.Again, look into al-Kashsh a f [a Quranic exegesis by ‘All a mah Zamakhshari] and fear Allah and do not adopt the ways of transgression like the impertinent people.Further, you also know the doctrine held by the Mu‘tazilah sects.They do not believe in the life of Jesus, but affirm his death and make it part of their doctrine.There is no doubt that they are among the Islamic sects because the ummah divided into sects after the third century.The بعد ذلك انظروا في الرسالة “الفوز الكبیر وفتح الخبیر” التي هي تفسیر القرآن بأقوال خیر البریّة، وهي من ولي الل ّٰ الدهلوي حكیم الملّة، قال متوفّیك ممیتُك.ولم یقل غیرها من الكلمة، ولم یذكر معنی سواها اتّباعا لمعنی خرج ْ من مشكاة النبوّة.ثم انظر في “الكشّاف”، واتق الل ّٰ وال تَخْتَر طرق االعتساف كمجترئین.ثم بعد ذلك تعلمون عقیدة الفِرق المعتزلة، فإنهم ال یعتقدون بحیاة عیسٰی، بل أقرّوا بموته وأدخلوه في العقیدة.وال شك إ سالمیة، ال أنهم من المذاهب ا

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 21 division of this ummah into sects cannot be denied and the Mu‘tazilah is one of these differ- ent sects.Ima m Ab du l-Wa h ha b Sha‘r a ni, who is renowned among the authentic scholars, says in his famous book, a t-T abaq a t, that his mentor, Afzal-ud-Din, may Allah shower His mercy upon him, used to say that most of the exoteric Sufi discourse follows the principles of the Mu‘tazilah and the philosophers.Thus, no wise person would hasten to deny it just because such theo- logical discourse is attributable to them; rather, he would care- fully consider and ponder their arguments.He [Imam Sha‘r a ni] fur- ther says that he read in a trea- tise by Sheikh Muhammad al-Maghribi ash-Sh a dhili, ‘Know that the way of the Sufis is based upon the certainty of establishing the truth and some- times it is closer to the way of the Mu‘tazilah.I have quoted فإن االٔمّة قد افترقت بعد القرون الثال ثة، وال ینكر افتراق هذه الملّة، والمعتزلة أحد من الطوائف إمام عبد الوهاب ال المتفرّقة.وقال ا الشعراني المقبول عند الثقات، في كتابه المعروف باسم ‘الطبقات’ وكان سیدي أفضل الدین رحمه الل ّٰ یقول كثیر من الكم الصوفیة ال یتمشی ظاهره إال علی قواعد المعتزلة والفالسفة، فالعاقل ال یُبادر إ نكار بمجرّد عزاء ذلك الالكم ال إلی ا إلیهم، بل ینظر ویتأمل في أدلّتهم.ثم قال ورأیت فی رسالة سیدي الشیخ محمد المغربي الشاذلي اعلم أن طریق القوم مبني علٰی إ ثبات، وعلٰی ما یقرب من ال شهود ا طریق المعتزلة في بعض الحاالت.

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22 it from Law a qi h ul-Anw a r.’ So reflect like the chosen ones, and do not turn away like the wicked, and follow not the path of the transgressors.If you say that there is ijm a ‘ [consensus] not to act contrary to the teachings of the Four Imams, then I have already explained the reality of such a consensus.So do not pounce like beasts; rather, reflect like righteous and God-fearing peo- ple.And remember the saying of Imam Ahmad [bin Hanbal], who was God-fearing and an obedient servant of God, that one who claims ijm a ‘ is a liar.Besides, we find many partial dif- ferences among the four Imams and find these [differences] to be outside of their ijm a ‘.So, what is your position on these issues and their claimant? Do you admit the perniciousness of these issues or do you permit acting upon them and holding firm to them and not regarding them as the thoughts of innovators? You هذا ما نقلنا من لواقح االٔنوار، فتدبّر كاالٔخیار، وال تعرض كاالٔشرار، وال تختر ْ سبیل المعتدین.إجماع قد ال وإن قلت َ إن ا انعقد علٰی عدم العمل بالمذاهب ْ المخالفة لالٔئمّة االٔر بعة، فقد بیّنّا إجماع، فال تصُل ال لك حقیقة ا التقوٰی ْ كأولي وفكِّر كالسِّباع، إ مام ال ا قول وذكّر واالرتیاع، أحمد الذي خاف الل ّٰ وأطاع، إجماع فهو من ال قال من ادّعی ا الكاذبین.ومع ذلك نجد كثیرًا في الجزئیة االختالفات من االٔئمّة االٔر بعة، ونجدها خارجة من إجماع االٔئمّة، فما تقول في تلك المسائل وفي قائلها؟ أأنت تقر ّ بغوائلها، أو أنت تجوّز العمل علیها والتمسك بها وال تحسبها من

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 23 know that ijm a ‘ does not sup- port this belief and those who hold it.However, you regard every matter outside of ijm a ‘ as something corrupt and a worth- less commodity, and consider the proponents of such views to be heretics and deceivers.If you claim that there is ijm a ‘ on the life of Jesus the Messiah based on an authentic source and an explicit state- ment, then it is a lie of yours and your ilk.Verily, Allah’s curse is upon the liars.Hasty people! Why do you set about rejecting me? It is a great curse to reject those upon whom were revealed the subtleties of the path of truth and certainty that were not revealed upon others.See how many people have perished on account of their ill-thinking and their abusing the truthful ones.They entered the presence of the men of God with imperti- nence, whereas they should have entered in fear.The deniers shot every خیاالت المتبدِّعین؟ وأنت تعلم إجماع لیس معها ومع أهلها، ال أن ا إجماع فهو ال وكل ما هو خارج من ا عندك فاسد ومتاع كاسد، وتحسب قائلها من الملحدین الدجّالین.إجماع قد ال وإن كنت َ تزعم أن ا انعقد علٰی حیاة عیسی المسیح بالسند الصحیح والبیان الصریح، فهذا افتراء منك ومن أمثالك، أال لعنة الل ّٰ علی الكاذبین المفترین.َ تسعون لِم المستعجلون أیّها المهالك أعظم ومن مكذبین؟ تكذیب قوم كُشِف علیهم ما لم یُكشف علٰی غیرهم من دقائق سبیل الحق والیقین.وكم من أُناس ّ ظنونهم، وما أرداهم ال ما أهلكهم إ إال سب ّ الصادقین.دخلوا حضرة أهل الل ّٰ مجترئین، وما كان لهم أن یدخلوها إال خائفین.وإن المنكر ین رموا كل سهم

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24 arrow and followed every doubt but could not hold their ground.They tried their utmost, yet they ended up with nothing but ravings.When their quivers became empty and their treas- ures were exhausted and there was no place left for them to flee or return, and when they lost their teeth and fangs, then they resorted to abuse, excom- munication, and deception, hoping that by this tactic they might emerge triumphant.One of them even dared to deceive people by using his pen under the influence of Satan the sneaking whisperer, and com- piled a book for this purpose.But as providence would have it, the very book that he pub- lished, offering a prize, became the means to expose him.He claimed that he had silenced me, had rendered me speechless on all levels, and had thus become victorious.So I stood up to test the veracity of his claim, to test his waters in order to tear apart وجدوا فما وهم، كل وتبعوا مقامًا في هذا المیدان، وجاهدوا كل جهد فما بقي عندهم سوی ّ الهذیان، فلما انثلت الكنائن، ونفدت الخزائن، ولم یبق مفر وال مآب، وال ثنیة وال ناب، ّ والتكفیر، السب إلی مالوا والمكر والتزویر، لعلهم یغلبون بهذا التدبیر، حتی اجترا ٔ بعض الناس من وساوس الوسواس الخنّاس علی أن یخدع بعض فألّف االٔقالم، بصر یر العوام كتابًا لهذا المرام، وقیّض القدر لهتك ستره أنه أشاع الكتاب إ نعام، وزعم أنه سكّتَنا ال بشرط ا إ فحام، ال وبكّتَنا وأدّی مراتب ا فنهضنا الغالبین.من وصار لنعجُم عُود َ دعواه، وماء َ سُقیاه،

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 25 the liar and his mischief, and to show his horde all that they were heedless of.His [offer of ] prize [money] turned cattle-like people into sav- ages and his announcement befud- dled the hyena-like people so that they could not understand the malevolence of his discourse and the infirmity of his attack.They took his mirage to be a sweet-flow- ing spring.I had pledged myself to pay attention only to important issues and not to waste time in every argument and debate.I found his [Rusul Baba’s] book full of ignorance, laden with gibberish, comprised of the stu- pidity of his nature, and a subject of innate wretchedness.The scar- city of my time and the magna- nimity of my ambition prevented me from staining my hands with the blood of this worm, lest I be distracted from the real purpose.But I found that this man was mis- leading every ignorant and foolish person by his offer of prize money ونمزّق الكذّاب وبلواه، ونُري جنوده ما كانوا عنه غافلین.َ فإن إنعامه أوحش َ الذین هم كاالٔنعام، وإعالمه أوهش بعض َ العَیْالم، وما علموا خبث وحسبوا صوله، وضعف ُ قوله سرابه كماء معین.وكنت ُ آلیت ّ إلی أمر ذي ال أن ال أتوجّه إ لكل الوقت أضیع وال بال، مناضل ونضال، ورأیت ُ تألیفه مملوّا من الجهالت، ومشحونًا من الخزعبالت، ومجموعًا من من وموضوعًا الغباوة، دیدن قر یحة الشقاوة، فمنعتني عزّة وقتي وجاللة همّتي أن ألطّخ یدي ّ بدم هذا الدود، وأبعد عن أمر المقصود، ولكني رأیت أنه یخدع كل َّ غمر جاهل بإراءة

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26 and through his vain speech, and that if I remained silent, he would definitely increase in his crimes and would deceive people with his false claim of silencing me.When he entered the trap, I deemed it proper to seize him and slaughter him for the hun- gry.Verily, he flies like a locust in order to devour the crop of the Lord of the people.Hence, in support of the fountain of truth and its flowing waters, I thought it proper to hunt this locust and its young and save God’s crea- tures from the deception of the treacherous.I swear by Him who granted me His love and called me in support of His loved ones, that I have no interest whatso- ever in the prize money of that man.I consider him as absurd as his discourse.I just want him to see the reward for his crime so that certain biased, ignorant people may not be misled.Know —O ye who composed this book demanding my reply! إنعامه وتُرّهات الكمه، ولو صمتنا فال شك أنه یز ید في اجترامه، ویخدع الناس بتزویر إفحامه، وإنه ولَج الفخ ّ فنری أن نأخذه ثم نذبحه للجائعین.وإنه یطیر زرع لیا ٔكل الجراد، طیران عین لتائید فرأینا ّ العباد، رب نصطاد أن ومجار یها، الحقیقة هذه الجراد مع ذرار یها، ونُنج الخلق من كید الخائنین.فوالذي حبانا بمحبّته، ودعانا إلی تائید أحبّته، إنّا ال نرغب في عطاء هذا الرجل وإنعامه، بل نحسبه ً كفضول الكمه، وما نر ید إال ال ّ فضو أن نُر یه جزاء اجترامه، لئال یغتر بعض الجهلة من المتعصّبین.فاعلم یا من ألّف الكتاب ویطلب منّا الجواب، إنا جئناك

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 27 —that I have come to you with a wish to listen to your arguments, save you from your perniciousness, uproot your meanness, and to show you that you are in error.You know well that the bur- den of proof does not lie with me; rather, it is upon him who claims that Jesus is alive and says that he has neither died, nor is he to be counted among the dead.For the reality of a claim that chooses the ways of exemption without proofs is indicative of such baseless posi- tions; i.e.the including of countless things in one rule [i.e.all men die], then excluding something from it [ Jesus as ] without any reason of exemption or demonstrable cause.This explanation cannot be denied by a child or even a simpleton, except the one who, due to his prej- udice, resembles fanatics.With this firmly established, we argue that, as we look at the age in which Jesus was raised, our sound reason testifies that all the people of his time passed away, regardless of whether they were his friends or دالئلك، استماع في راغبین لننجیك من غوائلك، ونجیح أصل رذائلك، ونریك أنك من الخاطئین.وأنت تعلم أن حمل إ ثبات لیس علینا بل علی الذي ال ا ادّعی الحیاة ویقول إن عیسی ما مات ولیس من المیتین.فإن حقیقة االدّعاء اختیار طرق االستثناء بغیر أدلّة دالّة علی راء، أعني إدخال أشیاء آ ال هذه ا كثیرة في حكم واحد، ثم إخراج إخراج ال شيء منه بغیر وجه ا وسبب شاهد، وهذا تعریف ال ّ الذي ال ینكره صبي وال غبي، إ كان من تعصّبه كالمجنونین.فإذا تقرّر هذا فنقول إنّا اذا نظرنا إلی زمان بُعث فیه المسیح، فشهد النظر الصحیح أنه كل من كان في زمانه

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28 foes, his neighbours, his brothers, his close companions, or his mater- nal aunts and mothers, his paternal aunts or his sisters, or all those who lived in those places, towns, and dwellings.We do not find any of them alive in this age.Thus, who- ever claims that only Jesus, out of all of them, survived and did not die, he declares him as an excep- tion.Therefore, it lies upon him to prove this claim.You are aware that according to the Hanafis, there are four types of arguments to estab- lish the claims of the claimants, as is not hidden from scholars.First: [The argument that is] qa t ‘ i ath-thub u t wad-dal a- lah [ decisive in both authentic- ity and implication] which is free from every flaw and defect.For example, unambiguous Quranic verses as well as those a ha d i th that are mutaw a tir [possessing numerous uninterrupted chains] and s a hih [authentic]—with the proviso that they are independ- ent of the interpretations of the interpreters and free from such وجیرانه وأحبّائه أعدائه من وخاالته وخالنه وإخوانه وأمهاته وعمّاته وأخواته، وكل البلدان تلك في كان من والدیار والعمران، كلهم ماتوا وما نری أحدًا منهم في هذا الزمان؛ فمَن ادّعی أن ّ عیسی بقي منهم حیًّا وما دخل في الموتی فقد استثنی، فعلیه أن یُثبت هذا الدعوی.وأنت تعلم إ ثبات ال أن االٔدلة عند الحنفیّین انواع ار بعة المدّعین ادعاء كما ال یخفی علی المتفقهین.ّ الثبوت قطعي االٔوّل والداللة ولیس فیها شيء من یات آ ال كا والالكلة، الضعف القرآنیة الصر یحة، واالٔحادیث بشرط الصحیحة، المتواترة

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 29 contradictions and inconsistencies as render them weak in the opinion of the research scholars.Second: [The argument that is] qa t ‘ i ath-thub u t [ decisive in its authenticity] but z ann i ad-dal a lah [speculative in its implication].For instance, the verses and a ha d i th that are definitively authentic but are amenable to multiple interpretations.Third: [The argument that is] z ann i ath-thub u t [specula- tive in its authenticity ] but qa t ‘ i ad-dal a lah [ decisive in its impli- cation].For example, those a ha d reports [ a ha d i th with a solitary chain] that are clear but lack strength of transmission and suffer from some deficiency.Fourth: [The argument that is] z ann i ath-thub u t wad-dal a lah [spec- ulative in its authenticity and impli- cation], namely those a ha d reports that are susceptible to multiple mean- ings and are dubious.It is evident that the most con- clusive and solid argument is the first kind of argument.The seeker can- not be satisfied without it because كونها مستغنیة من تأویالت عن ومنَزّهة المؤوّلین، یوجب وتناقض تعارض المحققین.عند الضعف الثبوت قطعي الثاني یات آ ال كا الداللة، ظنّي مع المأوَّلة واالٔحادیث واالٔصالة.الصحّة ّ تحقُّق الثالث ظنّي الثبوت قطعي حاد آ ال ا كاالٔخبار الداللة، القوّة قلّة مع الصر یحة وشيء من الالكلة.الرابع والداللة، ّ الثبوت ظنّي المحتملة حاد آ ال ا كاالٔخبار المعاني والمشتبهة.الدلیل أن یخفی وال القاطع القوي هو النوع االٔول من الدالئل، وال یمكن مِن

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30 conjecture avails nothing against truth nor can it lead to certainty at all.I always waited for a per- son who would claim certainty in this field and kept waiting to be informed about such a man among the enemies.But no one came forward to confront me to this today; rather, they fled from me like cowards.So, I hopelessly bid them farewell and started off all alone.Then after some time—O short-sighted and sore- eyed one!—I received your book.When I observed it and pondered for a while, I realized that it was worthless and considered it nec- essary that it should go unnoticed and not be presented as something worthwhile.If you were blessed with the light of knowledge and pondered like a man with eyes, you would have covered up your flaws and not invited the atten- tion of your neighbour toward them.However, Allah desired to humiliate you and to publicly َّ دونه اطمینان السائل.فإن ّ الظن ال یُغْني مِن َ الْحَق ِّ شَیْئًا، وال سبیل له إلی یقین أصالً.ولم ً یدّعي الیقین في ال أزل أرقُب رج هذا المیدان، وأتشوّف إلی خبره في أهل العدوان، فما قام أحد إلی هذا الزمان، بل فرّوا مني كالیائسین فأودعتهم كالجبان، وانطلقت كالمتفرّدین، إلی أن جاءني بعد تراخي االٔمد، تلك رسالتك یا ضعیف البصر شدید الرمد، ونظرت إلیه نظرة وأمعنت فیه طرفة، فعرفت أنه من سقط المتاع، ومما یستوجب أن یُخفَی وال یُعرض كالبَعاع.ولو غشِیك َ كرجل وأمعنت العرفان، نور له عینان، لسترت َ عوارك، وما دعوت إلیه جارك، ولكن الل ّٰ أراد

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 31 bring disgrace upon you.So, you came forward to take up the challenge and did what you did.You exercised deception and trickery and announced prize money in your book to please the ignorant masses.But you kept it [the prize money] enclosed and did not disclose it and deceived in whatever you said.I know that you are not a rich person.Moreover, I do not know whether you keep your word and are righteous.On the con- trary, I find treachery in your words like sinful people.In view of this, what guarantee is there that you will fulfil your promise when you face defeat and start shuddering? The truth is that the betrayal of one’s promise is one of the chief characteristics of this generation.If you arrive at the pool of betrayal, then tell me—O miserly one!—from where shall I obtain this money? I do not want to take this issue to court, requiring the help of أن یُخزیك، ویُري الخلق خزیك، فبارزت َ وأقبلت، وفعلت ما فعلت، وزوّرت وسوّلت، وكتبت في كتابك إ نعام، لتُرضي به االٔنعام، ولكن ال ا رتَقت َ وما فتَقت، وخدعت َ في كل ما نطقت، وإنّا نعلم أنك لست من المتموّلین.ومع ذلك ال نعرف أنك صادق الوعد ومن المتقین، بل نری خیانتك في قولك كالفاسقین.فما الثقة بأنك حین تُغلب وترتعد ستفي بما تعد؟ في كالتحجیل الغدر صار وقد َ حلیة هذا الجیل، فإن وردت غدیر الغدر، فمن أین نأخذ العَین یا ضیِّق الصدر؟ وما نرید أن تُرجع االٔمر إلی القضاة ونحتاج إلی عون الوالة، ونكون عرضة للمخاطرات.ونعلم

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32 state officials and incurring risks thereby.I know that you are poor and possess no wealth.Then tell me, where will this ready money come from despite your poverty, indigence, and want? Moreover, caprices revoke [previous] com- mitments and pose hurdles in the way of keeping promises.There are obstacles between us and the fulfilment of promises.O horde of liars! I do not trust your promises.If you are among the truthful and are not among those who lie and betray, and if you are honest in your promise of prize money and do not intend to breach it, then the most appropriate course is to submit the prize money with some noble gentleman so that it might remove all veils of doubts and suspicions and lead to the path of resolving all disputes.To settle the dispute, I agree that you may submit [the amount] to Sheikh Ghulam Hasan or Khawaja Yusuf Shah or Mir Mahmud Shah and for that purpose I shall أنك أنت من بني غبراء، ال تملك بیضاء وال صفراء، فمن أین یخرج العَین مع خصاصتك وإقاللك وقِلّة مالك؟ ومع ذلك للعزائم معقّبات، وللعِدات بدواتٌ، وبیننا وبین النَجْز عقبات، وال نأمن وعدكم یا حزب المبطلین.فإن كنت َ من الصادقین ال من وصدقت الغدّار ین، الكاذبین في عهد إنعامك وما نویت َ حنثًا في إقامك، فاالٔمر االٔحسن الذي یسرد غواشي الخطرات، ویجیح أصل الشبهات، ویهدي طریقًا قاطع الخصومات، أن تجمع مال إ نعام عند رئیس من الشرفاء ال ا الكرام، ونحن راضون أن تجمع

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 33 obtain a handwritten receipt from them.Are you ready to submit the amount to some- one who is neutral for both of us? Or do you not intend to take up the path of the just? I do not know what is hidden deep inside your heart.If you have written this book with good intention and not with any maliciousness of your nature, then stand firm and do not incline towards excess.If you are truthful then do as I have told you.I have come to you fully prepared and will not turn away or be afraid.I will march forward happily even in the face of lions.I am not afraid of the likes of you; I regard you as foxes in bat- tle.I am determined to delve into your inner secret and to shake off your bag and open up the lid of your waterskin.It is rare that a liar should عند الشیخ غالم حسن أو الخواجه یوسف شاه أو المیر محمود شاه قطعًا للخصام، ونأخذ منهم سندًا في هذا المرام، فهل لك أن تجمع عَینك عند رجل ٍ سواء ٍ بیني وبینك، أو ال تقصد سبیل المنصفین؟ وإنّا ال نعلم مكنون ْ طویّتك، فإن كنت كتبت َ الرسالة من صحة نیّتك، ال من فساد طبیعتك، فقُم غیر َ وان ٍ وال الو ٍ إلی عدوان، واعمل كما أمرنا إن كنت َ من الصّادقین.وإنّا جئناك مستعدّین ولسنا من المعرضین إ قدام ولو ال وال من الخائفین، بل نُسَر ُّ با علی الضِرغام، وال نخاف أمثالك من الناس، بل نحسبهم كالثعالب عند البأس.وأزمعْنا أن نفتّش خباءتك، ونستنفض حقیبتك، ونحسر اللثام عن

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34 escape scot-free or his impos- ture should become a source of blessing for him.For an entire year I neither used harsh lan- guage nor replied to any excom- municator and fault-finder.I remained patient, observing their arrogance until the harsh- ness of their words forced me to chastise them for their abu- sive language.And serpents can only be dealt with by sticks and stones.So, I stood up to expose the liars.I would not like to begin a long discourse.What I want is for you to declare your wealth before me and sub- mit the amount to any one of the above persons.And tell them that when they find you vanquished, they should give your money to me.If you do not do so, your falsehood will become manifest and your breach of promise will bring disgrace upon you.Beware! God’s curse is upon the liars.قر بتك، وقلّما خلص كذّاب أو بورك له اختالب، وقد بقینا عامًا ال نخشِّن الكمًا، وال نجیب مكفِّرًا ولوّامًا، حتی اجْلِخْمامًا، ورأینا وصبرنا ألجأتْنا مرارة الكلمات إلی جزاء السیئات بالسیئات، وعالج الحیّات بالعصی ّ والصَّفاة، فقمنا لنهتك أستار الكاذبین.فال نلتفت إلی القول العر یض، بالصُّفر إلینا تبرز أن ٍ ونر ید والبِیض، وتجمع مبلغك عند أحد من الرجال الموصوفین، وتأمرهم لیعطوني مبلغك عندما رأوك من المغلوبین.فإن لم تفعل فكذبك ّٰ واضح، وغدرك فاضح، أال لعنة الل ّٰ علی الكاذبین، أال لعنة الل

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 35 Hearken, God’s curse is also upon those who are perfidi- ous and break their promises, those who do not do what they say, and make covenants yet do not fulfil them, and speak like the deceitful and the untrue.Such people are indeed cursed by God, the angels, and all mankind.So fear the curse of Allah and fulfil your promises like the truthful.If you cannot keep your promise and do not possess wealth like the rich, then seek those who can come to your aid and heal your wounds and become your support.If your supporters prove to be your true devotees, they will help you like your disciples.For it is incum- bent upon people to help the needy, free the captives, respect the ulema, and have goodwill for the well-wishers.However, you will not demand a single penny except after the testimony of the arbi- trators.And as for the verdict, it will be passed by two arbitrators علی الغادر ین النا كثین، الذین ویعاهدون یفعلون، وال یقولون وال ینجزون، وال یتكلمون إال فعلیهم المزوّر ین، كالخادعین والناس ّٰ والمالئكة الل ْ لعنة أجمعین.فاتّق ِ لعنة الل ّٰ وأَنجِز وإن َ كالصادقین.وعدت ما إ یفاء، ولیس ال ْ كنت ال تقدر علی ا فاطلب كاالٔمراء، مال عندك جراحك یأسُون قومًا لعونك ویریشون جناحك، فإن كانوا من ُ المصدّقین المعتقدین، فیعینونك كالمر یدین، مع أن دِین القوم جبر واحترام ُّ االٔسیر، وفك الكسیر النصحاء.واستنصاح العلماء علی أنك لن تطالب بدرهم إال بعد شهادة حَكم، وأما الحكم

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36 after submitting the amount.I entrust this matter to you and grant you complete authority over its particulars.Even if you appoint two dishonest arbitra- tors, I will accept them whole- heartedly and will overlook their falsehood and lies.However, I will put both arbitrators under God Almighty’s oath, requiring them to swear in public that they have spoken the truth.Then I will grant them respite for one year.During that period, I will engage in offering supplications before God, the All-Aware, the All-Knowing.And if during this period a manifest Sign of the acceptance of prayer is not shown, then God Almighty is my Witness that I will, without any doubt or misgiving, admit your truthfulness and count you among the truthful.I wonder why you took to writing this book and what novel and extraordinary things you have written in it.[The truth is that] you have merely collected فال بد من الحَكمَین بعد جمع العَین.ووكلنا إلیك هذا الخَطبَ، ولك كل ما تختار الیابس أو َ حَكَمَین جعلت فإن الرطبَ، كاذبَین، فنقبلهما بالرأس والعین، ّٰ وال ننظر إلی الكذب والمَین، بید أننا نستفسرهما بیمین الل ذي الجالل، وعلیهما أن یحلفوا إظهارًا لصدق المقال، ثم نمهلهما إلی عام، ونمد ّ ید المسألة إلی ر عالم، فإن لم تتبین إلی تلك ی ّٰ خب المدّة أمارة االستجابة، فنُشهد الل انّا نُقر ّ بصدقك من دون االسترابة، ونحسبك من الصادقین.ف ی ت َ لتأل ی وأعجبني لِم َ تصدّ الكتاب، وأى ّ أمر كتبت َ كالنادر العجاب، بل جمعت َ فضلة أهل

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 37 the refuse of worthless people and replicated the follies of the ignorant.Everything that you have said had been said before you and was tarnished by igno- rance even greater than yours.You have not said anything from yourself; you have only plagia- rized the works of the ignorant.I find such expressions in your book that smell like rotten fish and stink like a putrid carcass, and I find them to be full of petty and hollow artificialities and the laughing stock of people.You have done all this just to snatch loaves of bread from mosques and to achieve the approbation of the people like the one over- powered by his passions, and not for the sake of God, the Lord of the worlds.O ye who abandoned the truth and lied! You have cast aside the Holy Quran; you know nothing but mad ravings and walk like the blind, and you know nothing except walking the paths of falsehood and running wild in the streets of mischief.الفضول، واتبعت َ جهالت الجهول، ً قیل من قبلك، ال ّ قو ال وما قلت إ ونُسج بجهل أكبر من جهلك، بضاعة سرقت َ بل نطقت وما الكمك إال ی ِ الجاهلین.وما نری ف عبارتك التي نجد ریحه كسَهك الحیتان المتعفنة، ونتن ِ الجیفة المنتنة، ونراه مملوًّا من تكلّفات باردة ركیكة، وضحكة الضاحكین.وفعلت َ كل ذلك لرُغفان المساجد، وابتغاء ِ مرضاة الخَلق كالواجد، ال لل ّٰ رب ّ العالمین.یامن ترَك الصدق ومانَ، قد نبذت الفرقان، وال تعلم إال الهذیان، وتمشي كالعمین، ال تعلم إال االختراق في مسالك الزور، واالنصالت في سكك الشرور، وال تتقي براثن االٔسد وتسعی كالعُمي

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38 You fear not the claws of the lion and wander like the blind and the one-eyed.I have exposed your darkness and torn your writing to shreds, and you will soon realize it.Do you, like the ignorant and shameless, believe that Jesus is alive, and consider him to be exempt from the dead? You have not offered any evidence from the bayyin a t [clear and perspicuous Quranic verses] and mu h kam a t [explicit and deci- sive verses] nor from any a ha d i th of the Best of Creation which possess numerous uninterrupted chains.And so—O ye whose speech is in vain!—you lied in order to estab- lish your claim and deviated from the fundamentals of Islamic law.O reckless ignoramus! O reproached miscreant! Pause and think seri- ously with reason.You have not advanced any argument in favour of your claim regarding Jesus’ life.You have simply followed conjec- tures—nay, rather, superstitions.The conclusion of a problem can- not exceed its premises.When two premises are hypothetical, their ظالمك، كشفنا وإنّا والعُور، ومزّقنا الكمك، وستعرف بعد المسیح بحیاة أتؤمن حین.وتحسبه الوقیح، كالجهول كأنه استُثْنِي َ من االٔموات، وما أقمت علیه دلیال من البیّنات والمحكمات، وال من االٔحادیث المتواترة من خیر الكائنات، إ ثبات، ال فكذبت َ في دعوی ا وباعدت َ عن أصول الفقه یا الجهول أیها الترهات.أخا المعذول، المخطي العجول، قِف ْ وفكِّر ْ برزانة الحصاة، ما أوردت َ دلیال علی دعوی الحیاة، وما اتبعت َ إال الظنیات، بل إ شكال ال ال الوهمیات.ونتیجة ا یزید علی المقدّمات، فإذا كانت

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 39 conclusion will also be specula- tive, as is not hidden from those who possess sight.If you cannot comprehend these profundities and are not cognizant of their truths, then ask those who pos- sess profound wisdom and deep insight.If you cannot see your conduct with your eyes, then see it through the eyes of others; if you are deprived of rain, then seek it from the clouds of others.O wretched one! Do you not realize that your words contra- dict the manifest arguments of the Holy Quran and are against its mu h kam a t? The meaning of التوفّي [ at-tawaff i —cause to die] has been expounded clearly by the Chief of All Men and Prophet of All Jinn [the Holy Prophet s as ], and by his wise and insightful Companions.Then what value can be accorded to the meanings used by the com- mon folk when compared to the one defined explicitly by the Best of Creation ? Who can deny these meanings except the sinful? المقدّمتان ظنّیّتَین فالنتیجة ظنّیة، كما ال یخفی علی ذوي العینین.وإن كنت َ ال تفهم هذه الدقائق، وال تدرك هذه الحقائق، فسَل ِ الذین من أولي االٔبصار الرامقة، والبصائر ِ الرائقة، وانظر بعین ِ غیرك إن كنت ال تنظر بعینك في سیرك، واستنزل الري َّ من سحاب االٔغیار، إن كنت َ محرومًا من دَر ّ االٔمطار.أال تعلم یا مسكین أن قولك یُعارض بیّنات القرآن، ویخالف مُحكمات الفرقان؟ وقد تبیّن معنی التوفّي إ نس ونبي ِّ الجانّ، ال من لسان سیّد ِ ا وصحابته ذوي الفهم والعرفان.وأي ّ فضل لمعنی العوام، بعد ما حصحص المعنی من خیر االٔنام، ومَن یأباه إال من كان من الفاسقین؟

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40 Repent for the disregard you have shown towards Allah and His bayyin a t.You have followed the mutash a bih a t [Quranic verses susceptible to different interpretations] and have neglected the mu h kam a t.You attacked like one unbridled and have abandoned the truth like the idolaters.I reviewed your book from time to time and found it dancing like a chanteuse; by God, this book is devoid of truth and full of the deceptions of Dajj a l [the Antichrist].Therefore, you must immediately pay this amount in cash so that I may expose to you your falsehood and teach you a lesson.It is also incumbent upon you to submit money to a trust- worthy person who is a reliable guarantor.Or else, how can I believe that I will get your prize money after having disproved your claim and demonstrated your wretchedness? O pover- ty-stricken one! You are not among the wealthy but among ِ فتندّم علی ما فرّطت َ في جنب َ الل ّٰ وبیّناته، واتبعت َ المتشابهات وأعرضت َ عن محكماته، ووثَبْت كخلیع الرسن، وتركت َ الحق كعَبَدة الوثن.وإني نظرت ُ رسالتك الفینة بعد الفینة، فما وجدتُها إال راقصة كالقینة، ووالل ّٰ إنها خالیة عن صدق المقال، ومملوّة من أباطیل الدجّال، فعلیك أن تنقُد المبلغ في الحال، لنریك كذبك ونوصلك إلی دار النكال.وعلیك أن تجمع مالك عند أمین الذي كان ضمینًا بیقین، وإال فكیف نوقن أنّا نقطف جناك إذا أبطلنا دعواك، وأریناك شقاك؟ یا أسیر المَتْربة، لست َ من أهل الثروة، بل مِن عَجَزة الجهلة،

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 41 فاترُك ْ شِنْشِنة القِحَة، واجمع ِ المال والتَعِلّة، الفِریة ْ طرق وجانِب فواها لك إن كنت من الصادقین الطالبین، وآهًا منك إن كنت من المعرضین المحتالین.وقد أوصینا واستقصینا، ونقّحنا تنقیح من یدعو أخا الرشد ویكشف طرق السَّدَد، وأكملنا التبلیغ لل ّٰ االٔحد، وننظر ن أتجمع المال وتُرِي العهد آ ال ا إ یمان، أو تُرِي الغدر وتتبع ال وا الشیطان كالمفسدین.ووالل ّٰ الذي یُنزل المطر من الغمام، ویُخرج الثمر من االٔكمام، إ نعام، ال إني ما نهضت ُ لطمع ٍ في ا إخزاء اللئام، لیتبیّن الحق ال بل ولیستبین سبیل المجرمین، وإن the helpless, ignorant ones.So, give up your insolent nature and deposit the said amount and keep away from the paths of deception and abandon excuses.If you are truthful and a seeker of truth, well and good, but if you turn away from it, and are a cheat, then shame on you! I have conveyed this admonition to the fullest degree, and have enquired like one who seeks a wise guide and reveals the straight paths.I have perfectly conveyed the message for the sake of Allah the One.Now I will see whether you submit the prize money and abide by your promise and faith, or betray your word and follow Satan, like the corrupt.I swear by God, who causes rain to fall from the clouds and brings forth fruit from calyces, that I have come forward to take up the challenge not in hope of any reward, but only to humil- iate the miscreants so that the truth may be revealed and the path of the guilty be exposed.

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42 Verily, Allah the Almighty is with the righteous, and God, who endowed man with reason and intellect, is my Witness, that you have perpetrated an abomi- nable deed and left a bad name behind you.I already published an announcement before this in which I solemnly promised a prize for those who would respond to it, but not a single one of them came forward to answer it.They were speech- less like beasts and animals.Dumbfounded and stunned, their muscles were quivering incessantly with fear and they fell on their faces in shame.Do you know more than all those people, or are you insane? They were far cleverer in discourse than you; you are a mere novice by comparison.Ultimately, their end was humil- iation, disgrace, and the wrath of the Lord of the worlds.When Allah decides to humiliate a people, they begin to harbour enmity towards His Auliy a ’ الل ّٰ مع المتّقین.ووالل ّٰ الذي ً وفكرًا، لقد ال إ نسان عق ال أعطی ا جئت َ شیئًا نُكْرًا، وأبقیت َ لك في المخزِیات ذكرا.وقد كتبنا من قبل اشتهارًا، وواعدْنا للمجیبین إنعامًا، وأقررنا إقرارًا، فما قام أحد ٌ للجواب، وسكتوا كالبهائم والدواب، وطارت نفوسهم شعاعًا، وأرعدت فرائصهم وجوههم علی وأكبّوا ارتیاعًا، متندّمین.أفأنت أعلم منهم أو أنت من المجانین؟ إنهم كانوا أشد َّ كیدًا منك في الالكم، بل أنت لهم كالتِّالم، فكان آخر أمرهم خزي العالمین.رب وقهر وخذالن وإن الل ّٰ إذا أراد خزي قوم ویؤذون ، ه أولیاء فیعادون

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 43 [Friends], hurt His loved ones, and curse His chosen ones.Then God comes forward to confront them for war and turns their faces away with a single blow and renders them helpless.Do you not ponder over their fate? Surely God sends me every kind of help and He is visiting the land, reducing it from its out- lying borders.He protects me with His gracious hands and shields me in the blankets of His support so that no plot of the wicked can harm me.He knows who belongs to Him and who does not.He keeps watch over the movement of every one who walks.He does not guide trans- gressors and destroys the sinful people and erases the names of the liars from the face of the earth.He is Most Jealous for His honour and is the Avenger.He is aware of the acts of mis- chievous evildoers and quickly apprehends the liars.And He sends down His chastisement faster than the blink of an eye.، ه أصفیاء ویلعنون ، ه أحبّاء فیبارزهم هللا للحرب، ویصرف وجههم بالضرب، ویجعلهم من في تفكرون أال المخذولین.نُصرته ّٰ یُنزل ّ الل أن أنفسهم ویأتي أصنافها، بجمیع لنا أطرافها، من ینقصها االٔرض العنایة، بأیدي ویحفظنا الحمایة، فال بمالحف ویسترنا یضرّنا كید المفسدین؟ یعلم من كان له ومن كان لغیره، وینظر كل ماش في سیره، وال یهدي الفاسقین ویبیر مسرفین، قومًا من المفتر ین أسماء ویمحو الغیور هو االٔرضین.أدیم المفسد عمل ویعلم المنتقم، الفتّان، ویأخذ المفتر ین بأقرب االٔزمان، فیُنزل رجزه أسرع َ من تصافُح االٔجفان.فتوبوا كالذین

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44 O horde of the enemy! Repent like those who fear the wrath of God the Gracious and turn to Him before the day of loss, and who transform themselves in order to seek God’s pleasure.Seek [His] mercy because He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.O deluded one! Be ashamed of your ignorance and ask forgiveness for your trans- gressions.Ponder over your loss, your moral degradation, and your being exposed, and reproach yourself like those who fear.Know that whoever under- takes to investigate any trace of Jesus being alive is like one who cuts off his nose with a razor inas- much as this whole corruption was spread through the belief in Jesus’ life, and the earth has dark- ened due to this hideous belief.Besides, you are unable to bring evidence in support of [ Jesus’] life.You accept the statements of man but reject the words of Allah خافوا قهر الرحمن، وأنابوا قبل ء یوم الخسران، وغیَّروا ما ی مج في أنفسهم ابتغاء لمرضات اللّٰ، یا معشر أهل العدوان.اطلبوا الراحمین.أرحم وهو الرحم فتندّم یا مغرور علی جهالتك، وفكِّر فرطاتك، من واعتذر عرضك وانحطاط خسرك ْ في وازدجِر سترك، وانكشاف كا لخا ئفین.واعلم ْ أنه من نهض لیستقري أثر حیاة عیسی، فما هو إال كجادع مارن أنفِه بموسی، فإن الفساد كل الفساد ظهر مِن ظن ِّ حیاة المسیح، واسودّت االٔرض من هذا االعتقاد القبیح، ومع ذلك ال تقدرون علی إیراد دلیل علی الحیاة، وتأخذون

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 45 and of the Leader of the Universe [the Holy Prophet s as ].You know that anyone who interprets the Holy Quran according to his personal opinion—even if it is correct—commits an error, yet you follow your own desires and fail to fear the Being who created everything, and you talk like the impertinent.When the verses of the Furq a n [the Holy Quran] are recited before you, you do not accept them even though half the Quran may be recited, but if anything other than the Quran is presented, you happily accept it.You do not pay attention to the Book of Allah the Gracious, and gladly make haste towards others.I wonder how can it be permissible, when we have witnessed the bayyin a t of the Furq a n, to then have faith in anything except the Quran? Is there anything except the Quran that can lead you to submis- sion and certainty? Should you be truthful, then present any قول تقبلون وال الناس بأقوال وتعلمون الكائنات.ّٰ وسید الل أنه من فسّر القرآن برأیه وأصاب فقد أخطأ، ثم تتبعون أهواءكم وال تتقون مَن ذرا ٔ وبرأ، وتتكلمون كالمجترئین.وإذا قُرِء َ علیكم آیات الفرقان فال تقبلونها، وإن ْ قُرِء َ نصف القرآن، وإن ْ عُرِض َ غیره، فتقبلونه ّٰ مستبشرین.ال تلتفتون إلی كتاب الل غیره إلی وتسعون الرحمن، فرحین.ولیت شعری كیف یجوز االتكاء علی غیر القرآن بعد ما أتوصلكم الفرقان؟ بیّنات رأینا إ ذعان؟ ال غیر ُ القرآن إلی الیقین وا فأْتوا بدلیل إن كنتم صادقین.یا

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46 evidence.Alas for our enemies who have turned their eyes away from the scriptures of the Allah the Gracious.They did not seek Quranic verities like the seekers of knowledge and wasted all their time and all their lives clinging to such opinions as can neither lead them to the gardens of obedience nor satiate them with the pure springs of faith.I regard their statements as the words of impostors.O horde of blind and one-eyed men! Fear God and dare not commit sins and evil acts.Take the path in which you do not fear any oppression or any stroke of the sword, or any sting of a biter, or any calamity of a vast valley.Stand in submission before Allah and ponder over what I have said.Have I spoken the truth or have I deviated from the truth? Reflect like God-fearing people! What is the matter with you that you do not show readiness to حسرة علی أعدائنا إنهم صرفوا النظر عن صحف الل ّٰ الرحمٰن، ّب العرفان، ال وما طلبوا معارفها كط وأفنوا زمانهم وعمرهم في أقوال ال إ ذعان، وال ال توصلهم إلی روضات ا إ یمان، ال تسقیهم من ینابیع مطهرة ل وما نری أقوالهم إال كصوّاغین باللسان.فیامعشر العُمي والعُور.علی تجترءوا ّٰ وال الل اتقوا المعاصي والفجور، وتخیّروا طریقًا ال تخشون فیه مس َّ حیف ٍ وال ضرب َ سیف، وال حُمَة السع ٍ وال ُ آفة واد ٍ واسع، وقوموا لل ّٰ قانتین.وفكّروا في قولي.هل صدقت فیما نطقتُ، أو ملت ُ فیما قلتُ، وتفكروا كالخاشعین.ما لكم ال

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 47 accept the proof and stray away from the right path? You exert yourself to hoard provisions and abandon close relations for its sake.I find none among you who parted with his near and dear ones for the sake of God, strove in faith, and persisted in it.Why do you not adopt the morals of the right- eous and follow the paths of the God-fearing? You denied the truth and did not witness its satiating power; neither did you walk upon its gravel, nor did you probe the whole matter.You abandoned the Holy Quran and its guidance and you are a transgressing people.O mischievous and spiteful ones! Fear Allah, the Lord of mankind.Where has your piety gone? Your knowledge led you astray and failed to save you.You neither have any under- standing of the Holy Quran nor are you acquainted with the Furq a n.Where have your تستعدّون لقبول الحجّة وتز یغون عن المحجّة، تركضون في امتراء المیرة، ولها تتركون أقارب العشیرة.ِّٰ االٔقارب لل َ وما أری فیكم مَن ْ تَرَك واالٔحباب، وجد َّ في الدّین ودأب.لم ال تتأدّبون بآداب الصلحاء، وال تقتدون بطرق االٔتقیاء؟ أنكرتم الحق وما رأیتم سُقیاه، وما وطأتم أقصاه، استشرفتم وما حصاه، وتركتم الفرقان وهداه، وكنتم قوما عادین.یا أهل الفساد والعناد.اتقوا الل ّٰ رب ّ العباد.أین ذهب تقاكم؟ وأضلّكم علمُكم وما وقاكم.ال تفهمون القرآن وال تمسّون الفرقان، فأین غارت مزایاكم، وأین ذهب

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48 virtues gone and where is your vitality? I do not find your dis- course based upon righteous- ness; rather, your hearts are tainted with rebellion.What will become of the boat that has sailors like you? And what will become of the land ploughed by farmers of your ilk? Without doubt, you are the enemy of the Faith and the mighty Shariah.We know the citadel of Islam has been razed to the ground on your account and by your hands and now it lies in ruins.Had my Lord God not graced it with His mercy, it would have been engulfed by darkness.God is its Guardian and He is the Best of Guardians.Do you not perceive how many paths you have trodden and how many people you have destroyed; how many innova- tions you have introduced and how many nations you have deceived; how many honours you have violated and how many cunning people you have ریّاكم؟ ما أجد الكمكم مؤسَّسًا علی التقوی، وأجد قلوبكم متدنسة بالطغوی.فما بال قارب كان لها كمثلِكم المالحُ، وما بال أرض یحرثها كحزبكم الفالحُ؟ وال شك أنكم أعداء الدین وعِدا الشرع إسالم ال المتین.ونعلم أن قصر ا منكم ومن أیدیكم عفا، ولم یبق منه إال شفا، ولوال رحمة ربّي الٔحاطه الدجی، وكان الل ّٰ حافظه وهو خیر الحافظین.ٍّ ْ فَج كَم أنكم تنظرون أال سلكتم، وكم رجل ٍ أهلكتم، وكم ٍ بِدَع ٍ ابتدعتم، وكم قوم ٍ خدعتم، وكم عرض ٍ اختلستم، وكم ثعلب ن فالحق قد بان آ ال افترستم؟ أمّا ا

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 49 outdone? However, the truth has now become manifest and the Merciful God has shown mercy, the dark night has lit up, and the true Faith has been illumined.God’s decree becomes manifest despite your discontent.Surely, Allah is Ever Watchful.So, He mercifully turned His attention to His Religion and found it the target of the enemies’ arrows.He found it solitary and helpless in a desolate wilderness.Then, through His special mercy, Almighty Allah raised me in this age of poverty and destitution in order to make the Muslims prosper and to grant them that which was not granted to their forefathers, and to have mercy upon the weak.Indeed, He is the Most Merciful of all those who show mercy.By God Almighty’s command, who raises the Imam and knows [the need of ] the time, I have been bestowed with this station.He, the Wise and All-Knowing, knows the error and misguidance واستنار ّ الرحیم، الرب ورحم اللیل البهیم، وأنار الدین القویم وظهر أمر الل ّٰ وكنتم كارهین.إن لل ّٰ في كل یوم نظرة، فنظر غرضًا ووجده َ رحمة، الدین لسهام االٔعداء، وكالوحید الطر ید برحمة فأقامني البیداء، في خاصة في أیام إقالل وخصاصة، لیجعل المسلمین من المنعَمین، بائهم ویرحم آ ال ویعطیهم ما لم یعط ّ الضعفاء، وهو أرحم الراحمین.ال وما قمت ُ بهذا المقام إ إمام ویعلم ال بأمر قدیر، یبعث ا االٔیام، حكیم علیم یری أیام الغي والضالل، وصراصر الفساد في

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50 of this time and is well aware of the violent winds of mischief among men and women.People have reached their limit in sins— they wounded the backs of their animals and buried the truth in nooks and crannies—and false- hood has shined like mirrors.The Lord of creation saw all this happen and sent one of His servants at the time of this mischief.O embers of hatred and enmity! Do you wonder at His grace? Do not rely upon doubts and suspicions.God’s secrets are like hidden pearls.He tests His men in every age.Every day He reveals Himself in a differ- ent state.I swear by Him who fully knows all secrets and helps the truthful men and women, that I am from Allah who is the Lord of the universe.The earth trembles at His grandeur and the sky is rent asunder by His awe.It is not possible for an accursed impostor to live a long النساء والرجال.تناهی الخَلق في التخطي إلی الخطایا، وعقروا مطا المطایا، ودفنوا الحق في الزوایا، ولمع الباطل كالمرایا، فرأی هذا كلَّه رب ُّ البرایا، فبعث عبدًا من العباد، عند وقت الفساد، أعَجِبتم من فضله یا جَمْر َ العناد؟ فال تتكئوا علی الظنون، ولل ّٰ أسرار كالدر ّ المكنون یبلي عباده في ِ كل زمان، وكل یوم هو في شان.ّم ِ المخفیّات، ومُعین ال ّٰ وأُقسِم بع الصادقین والصادقات، أني من الل رب الكائنات.ترتعد االٔرض من عظمته، وتنشق السماء من هیبته، وما كان لكاذب ملعون أن یعیش عمرًا مع فِریته، فاتقوا الل ّٰ وجالل

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 51 life despite his lies.Therefore, fear God and the glorious maj- esty of His Being.Is there not a iota of piety left in you? Have you forgotten the admonition to hold your tongue and to fear the hereafter? O distrusting peo- ple! Come here and do not flee from light.O my people! I am from Allah.I am from Allah.I am from Allah.I call my Lord to witness that I am from Allah and I believe in Allah, His Holy Book, and in everything estab- lished by the Chief of Mankind and Prophet of all Jinn.I have been raised at the turn of the century to rejuvenate the Faith and illuminate the countenance of the Religion.Allah bears wit- ness to this, and knows who is wretched and who is blessed.Fear Allah, O hasty people! Is there not a single humble fellow among you? Do you dare attack the lions? And fail to differenti- ate among the accepted and the rejected? حضرته.ألم یبق فیكم ذرّة من التقویٰ؟ أنسیتم وعظ كف ّ اللسان وخوف العقبی؟ یا أیها الظانّون ظن السوء.تعالوا وال تفرّوا من الضوء.یا قوم إني من اللّٰ.إني من اللّٰ.إني من اللّٰ، وأُشهد ربي أني من اللّٰ.أؤمن بالل ّٰ وكتابه ُ الفرقان، وبكل ما ثبت من سیّد إ نس ونبي ِّ الجانّ.وقد بُعثت ال ا علی رأس المائة، الٔجدّد الدین وأُنوّر وجه الملّة، والل ّٰ علی ذلك شهید، ویعلم من هو شقي وسعید.فاتقوا الل ّٰ یا معشر المستعجلین.ألیس فیكم رجل من الخاشعین؟ أتصولون علی االٔسود وال تمیّزون المقبول من المردود؟

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52 There are people among this ummah who are among the elect and their Lord converses with them with love and affection.He becomes the enemy of those who bear enmity towards them and a friend of those who befriend them.He provides them with food and water, stands by them, watches over them, and becomes theirs.They are encompassed by the Lord of the worlds.They receive such secrets from their Lord as are unknown to anyone except them.Their hearts are filled with the love of the Beloved and they attain union with their Besought.Their inner self is illuminated and their outer self is left exposed to the crit- ics.Blessed is the brave youth who adopts their morals, whose every clever scheme is shattered in their presence, and who rides the horse of truth to join the company of the righteous.This is what I have written and composed for you.Write a reply as it reaches you.In short, I یلحقون قوم االٔمّة وفي باالٔفراد، ویكلّمهم ر بهم بالمحبّة والوداد، ویُعادي من عاداهم ویوالي من واالهم، ویُطعمهم ّ ویسقیهم، ویكون فیهم وعلیهم رب من ویُحاطون ولهم، العالمین.لهم أسرار من ر بهم ال یعلمها غیرهم، ویشرَب ُ قلبهم هوی المحبوب ویُوصَلون إلی المطلوب.ینوّر باطنهم ویترك ظاهرهم في الملومین، فطوبٰی لفتی یأتم ّ بآدابهم، وتنكسر جبائر مكرِه في جنابهم، ویسرج جواد الصدق لصحبة الصادقین.ِ هذا ما كتبنا وألّفنا لك فأمْل وصلك فإذا الكتاب،

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 53 am ready for the contest in order to make you pay for your arrow slinging.He who hurts good men destroys himself.Listen to me! I am waiting for you to arrange for the prize money.Once you have arranged the amount and fulfilled the demand, know then that Ahmad will swoop down on you, exposing your misfortune and making an example of you.O poor fellow! Jesus’ death is a self-evident truth and to deny it is great ignorance.However, your hearts have become rusty and veils have thickened.So you rejected and all doors were shut upon you.You pay no heed to admonitions and the truth hurts you like enraging words.Your pride in your book destroyed you, which is the real cause of your ruin.I have come to know your secret and its riddle, even though other people do not recognize its meaning.Your sole purpose is to entice foolish people and deceive the ignorant, so that you gain الجواب.وحاصل الالكم أنّا قائمون للخصام، لنذیقك جزاء االٔحرار آذی ومن السهام، فأباد نفسه وأبار.فاسمَع ْ مني المقال، إني أرقُب أن تجمع المال، فإذا جمعت َ وأتممت السؤال، فاعلم أن أحمد قد صال وأراك الوبال والنكال.عیسٰی موت إن مسكین یا من البدیهیات، وإنكاره ا ٔكبر الجهالت، ولكن صدِی ٔ قلبُك فرددت الحجاب، وغلُظ فال االٔبواب، بك وتقاذفت تصغي إلی العظات، ویؤذیك ِ المحفِظات، كالكَلِم الحق وأرداك تباهیك بكتابك وهو عرفت وإني تبابك.ِ أصل یَدْر لم وإن ومعمّاه، سرّك القوم معناه.وما تر ید إال أن تفتتن قلوب السفهاء، وتخدع

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54 respect among the wretched and succeed in your designs.I hereby conclude my discourse.So reflect like the wise and do not sit like the blind.في عزّة لك لتكون الجهالء، االٔشقیاء، وتفوز في االٔهواء، وهذا خاتمة الالكم، فتدبّر ْ كالعقالء وال كالعمین.تقعد العواما تُرضی ّٰ هل الل هداك حُطاما ْ منهم تستجلِبن لكی May Allah guide you; do you wish to please the commoners, That you might thereby gain the vanities of the world from them? ٌ أثر إ سالم ال ا ملّة في وهل خِصاما تَبرِي ِ التي الكَلِم من Is there a trace in the religion of Islam, Of the words that you fashion in order to quarrel? ٍ ُ قوم إجماع حُجّة أعندك واهتضاما جهال الحق أضاعوا Do you possess as evidence the consensus of those people, Who lost truth on account of their ignorance and transgression? نا ی ْ حس قتلت أُمّة ومثلك إماما ْ كمنفرد وجدت إذا It was people like you who killed Husain at a time, When they found him to be an Imam without equal.تمّت T h e E n d

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Further Review of Maulaw i Rusul Baba Amritsari’s h ay a tul-Mas ih & Request for Depositing Rs.1,000 in Prize Money I have already stated that the above-mentioned maulaw i has recently written a book to prove the life of Jesus, peace be upon him, and has named it H ay a tul-Mas ih.However, if it is asked, ‘Having striven so hard and wasted so much time, what has he proved?’, the answer of a fair-minded person would be, ‘Nothing.’ If the maulaw i ’s intentions were sincere and the ultimate motive of his work was to investigate the truth of the matter and nothing else, then he would have carefully read those bayyin a t [clear and perspicuous] verses of the Holy Quran which prove the death of Jesus, peace be upon him, so clearly as though he had died and been buried before our very eyes.However, it is a pity that the aforesaid maulaw i, closing his eyes, passed over these decisive and explicit verses and—by tampering with some other verses and by adding certain phrases from himself—he has tried to convince

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56 people that these verses point to Jesus’ life.If anything is proved by the maulaw i ’s deceitful exercise, it is only that his nature pos- sesses some disposition of the traits of [wayward] Jews; otherwise, it does not behove a virtuous person to prove something by alter- ing the apparent composition of the Holy Quran and severing the inextricable connections of [Quranic] verses as well as add- ing some phrases from himself.If this is called ‘proof ’ then there is nothing that cannot be proved.Every heretic and disbeliever can establish their objectives in this way.Who does not know that the meaning of a book is called its meaning only when its sequence, relation of sentences, and context are preserved? But if the sequence of the book is altered and portions of the text are separated from one another, and certain phrases are added auda- ciously, then trying to prove anything from such a self-conceived text is tantamount to the same Jewish interpolation on account of which, those people who indulged in such heretical practices with regard to the Torah were described as swines and apes in the Holy Quran.If these kinds of dishonest manipulations and interpola- tions can be used to prove the life of the Messiah, then it behoves us to admit that his life has indeed been proved; but what is the remedy for the fact that God Almighty has designated such inter- polators as ‘swine’ and ‘apes’, has cursed them, and has enjoined us to abstain from their company? It should be remembered that we are not authorized to make any alteration, substitution, reordering, or restructuring of any verse in the Word of God, except in the case when the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had done so himself, and it is proved that Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, himself had made such an alteration or substitution.

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 57 In the absence of such proof we cannot disturb the sequence of the Holy Quran, nor can we add anything to it from ourselves.If we do so, we would be guilty of an offence before Allah and would be held accountable for it.Now, readers should see for themselves whether the aforesaid maulaw i ’s book is really filled with such corrupt practices or if he has done even so much as to present any verse from the Holy Quran whose meaning he demonstrates—not from himself, but rather, through a hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—as proving the actual life of the Messiah, without indulging in any laboured explanations and interpolations.I bear no hostility or enmity towards Maulaw i Rusul Baba or towards any other maulaw i.If he does not follow the Jewish tendency and employs correct reasoning, then it would be dishonest not to accept the established fact.If someone were to reflect fairly as to how the facts are proved and what is the cri- terion for their proof, one would realize that God Almighty has laid down only one such rule; namely, that clear, manifest, and self-evident matters should be cited as evidence to prove specula- tive matters.And if something is presented as a proof which itself is speculative and ambiguous and comprises forced explanations and interpolations, then it will not be treated as proof, but rather, as a separate claim which itself stands in need of proof.Unfortunately, our naive maulaw i s cannot differentiate between proof and claim.And if proof is demanded in sup- port of a claim, they come up with yet another claim and fail to understand that it needs proof just like the first claim.I asked my opponent maulaw i s only one question regarding the life and death of the Messiah, peace be upon him.Had they pondered

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58 over the question honestly, only one question would have suf- ficed for their guidance.If they were truly seeking guidance, they would ponder over it.The question was that Allah, the Lord of Glory, has twice used the word توفّي [ tawaff i —cause to die] for the Messiah, peace be upon him, in the Holy Quran and this word has also occurred with respect to our Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.Similarly, Allah, the Lord of Glory, used this word in the prayer of Joseph, peace be upon him, and it is also present at several other places.Observing these instances, a fair-minded person can ascertain to his satis- faction that the word توفّي [ tawaff i ] always means to seize the soul and to cause death; nothing else.This expression also occurs commonly in Hadith literature.You will find the word tawaff i hundreds of times in Hadith books, but can anyone prove that it has been used there to mean something other than ‘to cause death’? Certainly not! On the contrary, if we said this phrase even to an uneducated Arab, ٌ ي َ زَیْد ِّ تُوُف [ Tuwuffiya Zaid ], he would understand this phrase to mean: ‘Zaid has passed away.’ Leaving aside the common idiom of the Arabs, the sacred sayings of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, them- selves prove that whenever a Companion or any other relative of his died, he s as always pronounced his death with the word tawaff i.When the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed away, his Companions also announced his death with the word tawaff i.Similarly, the deaths of Hadrat Abu Bakr, Hadrat Umar, and all other Companions were described in speech and writing by the word توفّي [ tawaff i ].It was regarded as a respectful term for the death of Muslims, but when the same word occurs with regard to the Messiah, why

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 59 do they apply self-concocted meanings? If they do not accept the verdict of this common expression, there is another way of settling it, and that is to determine what the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his Companions took the word tawaff i to mean when it occurred in the Quranic verses with regard to the Messiah.So we enquired into it and discovered that in Kit a but-Tafs i r [the Book of Quranic Commentary] of S a hih al-Bukh ari , the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is reported to have interpreted the verse اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت [ falamm a tawaffaytan i ] 1 as ‘to cause death’.2 ٭ Then, in the same place the meaning of the verse ْيِّنِا َكْيِّفَوَتُم [ inn i mutawaff i ka ] 3 is described as َ مُمِیْتُك [ mum i tuka —will give you death] by Hadrat Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, which means, ‘O Jesus, I will cause you to die.’ Now, someone should ask these maulaw i s whether it is honest or dishonest on their part to not only reject the first verdict but also refuse to accept the verdict of the Companions and especially of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and to keep on saying that the word tawaff i means something else.Such prejudice is to be regretted a thousand times when one refuses to accept the meaning of a word after hearing it from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and invents some other meaning that does not consent to 1.S u rah al-M a i’dah, 5:118 [Publisher] 2.٭ Footnote: It is reported on the authority of Hadrat ‘ A ’ishah ra in a t - T abar a n i and al-Mustadrak that Allah’s Messenger, may peace be upon him, during his last illness said, ‘Jesus son of Mary lived to 120 years.’ (Author) 3.S u rah A l ‘Imr a n, 3:56 [Publisher]

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60 the verdict of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, or [refuses] to submit their dispute to God and His Messenger; seeking instead help from Aristotle and Plato’s logic.This is not the way of the righteous; rather, it is the age-old habit of the wretched ones.There is no greater testimony for us than the testimony of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.My body shudders when someone is presented with the verdict of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and he does not accept it and turns away.I wonder what kind of faith these people have.They pay scant regard to the verdict of the Noble Quran as well as to that of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and they do not attach any importance to the interpretation of his Companions.Strange are the times! Despite being called ‘ maulaw i s, ’ they forsake God and His Messenger.If it is asked insistently, ‘When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had defined the word توفّي [ tawaff i ] as ‘causing death’, why do you not accept it?’, they—as a last resort—reply, ‘There is ijm a ‘ [consensus] regarding Jesus’ life, so how can we accept otherwise?’ However, this excuse is worse than the mis- deed, and is abominable trickery and disrespect, for what value does a ‘consensus’ possess in which our Prophet, peace and bless- ings of Allah be upon him, has no part—nay, rather, one which he opposes clearly? Besides, the claim of ijm a ‘ is also a sheer lie and deception.See the book Majma‘ Bi ha r al-Anw a r, vol.1, p.286, where the word اًمَكَح [ H akam— Arbiter] is explained thusly: كثر أن ّ عیسٰی لم یمت أ ال ینزل ﴿أي ینزل عیسٰی﴾ حكَمًا أي حاكما ً بھذه الشریعة ال نبیًا وا و ابن ثلٰث وثلٰثین سنة.ه وقال مالك مات و That is, Jesus will descend as an arbiter under the Shariah, not as a Prophet.Many of them say

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 61 that Jesus has not died, but Imam M a lik said, ‘Jesus died and he was thirty-three years of age.’ Now behold Imam M a lik ra , what a great and honourable imam, who belongs to Khairul-Qur u n [i.e.the first three centu- ries of Islam] and has millions of followers! If he held this belief then it can be said that millions of scholars, men of knowledge, the righteous ones, and the divines—who were Hadrat Imam’s sincere followers—also held the same belief that Jesus had passed away.For it is impossible that a true follower should contradict his imam, especially regarding a matter that is not merely the say- ing of the imam but also the saying of God, His Messenger, the Companions, the T a bi ‘i n, and the Taba ‘ t a bi ‘i n.1 One should be ashamed that when such a great imam—who appeared prior to all other imams of Hadith, and who encompassed all Prophetic traditions—held this belief, how brazen it is for someone to claim ijm a ‘ regarding this issue.Alas! The maulaw i s deceive peo- ple but fail to realize that the whole world is not blind; there are also those who read books and expose their dishonesty.When these so-called maulaw i s find that they are unable to present tex- tual evidence from the Holy Quran and Hadith, that there is no way to escape, and that they are left with no argument in their favour, then they have no recourse but to say that there is ijm a ‘ regarding it.It is a true saying that المآن ابدش ہک دنب وشند ارگہچ دروغ وگ�ی�د.[a maulaw i is one who never keeps silent even if he has to tell lies].These people 1.The T a bi‘ i n are the generation of Muslims who met or saw the blessed Companions ra of the Holy Prophet sas but not the Prophet sas himself.The Taba‘ t a bi‘ i n are the following generation that met or saw the T a bi‘ i n but not the Companions ra.[Publisher]

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62 are also aware that there is disagreement over the meaning of ijm a ‘ [consensus] itself.Some restrict it to the Companions, some to the first three centuries, and some to the four Imams.The position of the Companions and the Imams is already known.The dissent of just one person suffices to break ijm a ‘ let alone a great imam like Imam M a lik, may Allah be pleased with him—who had millions of followers—should believe openly in Jesus’ death.Yet these people dare to claim ijm a ‘ regarding his life.Shame! Shame! Shame! The statement of Imam Ahmad [bin Hanbal], may Allah be pleased with him, regarding ijm a ‘ is truly based on research and justice.He says that whoever claims ijm a ‘ is a liar.This demon- strates that the Holy Quran and Hadith alone comprise the true and perfect charter for the Muslims; everything else is worthless.But a hadith which goes against the bayyin a t and mu h kam a t [explicit and decisive verses] of the Quran and narrates a story contrary to those of the Quran, is in fact not a hadith, but rather some perverted statement, or from its inception it is mau du ‘ [fab- ricated] and spurious.Such a hadith would undoubtedly be wor- thy of rejection.However, it is by the grace and blessing of God Almighty that the Hadith have nowhere opposed the Holy Quran regarding the issue of Jesus’ death; rather, they confirm it.The word َ مُتَوَفِّیْك [ mutawaff i ka —cause you to die] occurs in the Quran while the word َ مُمِیْتُك [ mum i tuka —give you death] in Hadith.The Quran contains ْ یْتَنِی َّ فَلَمَّا تَوَف and in Hadith, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has applied the same words, اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت , to himself without any change or alteration, thus revealing its meaning as ‘causing death’, and nothing else.It is far from the dignity of a Prophet to distort the meaning intended by God Almighty by applying a verse of the Holy Quran

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 63 to himself which in the sight of Allah [supposedly] means ‘to raise alive’, but which he interprets as ‘causing death’.It is dishonesty and interpolation.Ascribing such an abominable practice to the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is, in my estima- tion, a mortal sin; nay, it approaches apostasy.Alas! To what great lengths have these treacherous maulaw i s gone in order to prove the life of Jesus! God forbid, they have declared that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, distorted the Quran! What else can we say except: علی الخائنین الكاذبین هللا لعنۃ [God’s curse be upon dishonest traitors].It was a very clear and straightforward matter that our Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, applied the verse 1 اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت to himself in the same sense in which the verse applied to Prophet Jesus, peace be on him.The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did not say on this occasion: When applied to Prophet Jesus, this verse will have a dif- ferent meaning and when applied to myself, it would have quite a different meaning.For, if the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had intended any change or alteration in the meaning, then, for the sake of removing any possible misun- derstanding, it would have been necessary that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, on the occasion of this similitude and comparison, clarify that we should not misunder- stand his statement, for when he will say اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت in the presence of God on the Day of Judgement, it would mean those people had gone astray after his death, whereas when the Messiah [i.e.Jesus] will utter the very same words, اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت , it will not mean ‘after his 1.When You caused me to die ( S u rah al-M a ’idah, 5:118).[Publisher]

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64 death’, but rather, ‘after his being raised’.Since the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, made no such distinc- tion, it proves categorically that he intended the same meaning on both occasions.Now one must see with open eyes that when the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and Jesus are both included in the words 1 اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت —implying that this verse applies to both of them—then whatever meaning of this verse you may choose, they will both share it.If you say that the word توفّي [ tawaff i ] here means ‘raising someone alive to heaven’, then you must admit that this ‘raising alive’ is not unique to Jesus alone; our Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has also been raised to heaven alive, because they both equally share in the meaning of the verse.However, it is well known that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was not raised alive to heaven; rather, he passed away and his blessed tomb is present in Madinah Munawwarah.So, it follows that Jesus, too, has died.Interestingly, a tomb of Jesus is also found in the Levant.To elaborate, I will reproduce here in a footnote the testimony of my brother-in-faith, Sayyid Maulaw i Muhammad as-Sa‘ i d i T ar a bulus i.He lives in Tripoli, the Levant 2 and the tomb of Jesus, peace be on him, is found within its boundaries.3 1.When You caused me to die ( S u rah al-M a ’idah, 5:118).[Publisher] 2.The word Sh a m, which nowadays refers to Syria, was used historically for a much larger area that can be translated as the Levant.[Publisher] 3.When I enquired in a letter to Hadrat Sayyid Maulaw i Muhammad as- Sa‘ i d i T ar a bulus i ash-Sh a mi about the tomb of Prophet Jesus, peace be on him, he replied with the following letter [in Arabic], which I tran- scribe below, along with its translation:

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 65 یا حضرة موالنا وإمامنا السالم علیكم ورحمة هللا وبركاته نسأل الل ّٰ الشافي أن یشفیكم.أما ما سألتم عن قبر عیسی علیه السالم وحاالت أخری مما یتعلق به و أن عیسٰی علیه السالم ولد في بیت لحم وبینه ه فأبیّنه مفصّال في حضرتكم و نالك ه ن موجود و آ ال وبین بلدة القدس ثلثة أقواس وقبره في بلدة القدس وإلی ا علیه السالم ی س ی ي أكبر الكنائس من كنائس النصارى وداخلها قبر ع ه كنیسة و ی و مشهود وفي تلك الكنیسة أیضًا قبر أمه مریم ولكن كل من القبرین عل ه كما حدة وكان اسم بلدة القدس في عھد بني اسرائیل یروشلم ویقال أیضا أورشلیم ذا الوقت اسمها ه إ سالمیة إلی ال وسمّیت من بعد المسیح ایلیاء ومن بعد الفتوح ا عاجم تسمیها بیت المقدس وأما عدة أمیال الفصل بینها وبین أ ال القدس وا طرابلس فال أعلمها تحقیقا ً نعم یعلم تقریبًا نظرًا علی الطرق والمنازل.وتختلف ول من طرابلس إلی بیروت فمن طرابلس إلی بیروت منزلین أ ال الطرق.الطریق ا متوسطین ﴿وقدر المنزل عندنا من الصباح إلی قریب العصر﴾ ومن بیروت إلی صیدا منزل واحد ومن صیدا إلی حیفا منزل واحد ومن حیفا إلی عكا منزل واحد ومن عكا إلی سور منزل واحد ویقال لبالد الشام سوریة نسبة إلی تلك ي علی ساحل البحر ومنها ه البلدة في القدیم.ثم من سور إلی یافا منزل كبیر و ن صنع الریل منها إلی القدس ویصل القاصد من آ ال إلی القدس منزل صغیر وا یافا إلی القدس في أقل من ساعة فعدة المسافة من طرابلس إلی القدس تسعة أیام مع الراحة وإلیها طرق من طرابلس وأقربھا طریق البحر بحیث لو ركب إ نسان من طرابلس بالمركب الناري یصل إلی یافا بیوم ولیلة ومنها إلی القدس ال ا ساعة في الریل والسالم علیكم ورحمة الل ّٰ وبركاته أدام الل ّٰ وجودكم وحفظكم وأیدكم ونصركم علی أعدائكم.اٰمین.كتبه خادمكم محمد السعیدي الطرابلسي عفا الل ّٰ عنه Translation: ‘My lord and Imam: May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.I pray Allah to restore your health.(I was ill when I received this letter of Sh a mi Sahib.) Allow me explain to you in detail about the tomb of Jesus, peace be upon him, and other circumstances which you have en- quired of me.Jesus, peace be upon him, was born in Bethlehem

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66 If you say it is a false tomb then you should prove it.And and there is a distance of three kos * between Bethlehem and the City of Quds.The tomb of Jesus, peace be upon him, is in the City of Quds and is still intact.There is a church, the largest of all churches, which houses Jesus’ tomb.The tomb of Mary, the Righteous, also lies therein and both tombs are situ- ated separately.In the time of Ban i Isr a ‘ i l, Quds was known as Jerusalem and it is also called Orshalem.After Jesus’ death, this town was given the name Aily a ’, and since Islamic conquests until now it has been known as Quds.The non-Arab people call it Baitul-Muqaddas.Although I do not exactly know the distance between Tripoli and Jerusalem, with respect to routes and man a zil [way stations], I know it approximately.There are many roads from Tripoli to Jerusalem.One of them is to travel to Beirut from Tripoli and there are a couple of moderate-dis- tance way stations between them.The distance covered from dawn till afternoon is known as manzil.There is one manzil from Beirut to Saida, one from Saida to Haifa, and then one from Haifa to Ukka; and from there to S u r there is also one manzil.The land of Sh a m is called S u riyah on this account; i.e.in reference to this ancient town of S u r.Then there is a long manzil from S u r to Yafa.Yafa lies by the seashore.There is a short manzil from Yafa to Jerusalem.Recently, a train service was introduced from Yafa to Jerusalem.If a passenger travels to Jerusalem from Yafa, he reaches there within an hour.So, by this reckoning there is a land distance of nine days from Tripoli to Jerusalem, but the distance by sea is quite short.If someone were to travel from Tripoli to Jerusalem by steamboat, he would reach Yafa in one day and a night, and then within an hour from Yafa to Jerusalem.Peace be on you.May God keep you in peace and be your Protector and Helper, and grant you triumph over the enemies.A m i n.’ (Author) * A kos is a measure of distance, the length of which is approximately two English miles.[Publisher]

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 67 also you should prove when this forgery was made.In that case, there will be no satisfactory proof regarding the tombs of other Prophets, too; all credibility will be lost and it would have to be said that perhaps all these tombs may be fraudulent.At any rate, the meaning of the verse اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت has been estab- lished as ‘causing death’.1 Some ignorant, so-called maulaw i s say that it is true that the verse اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت means ‘causing death’ and nothing else, but that death would occur after his descent, which has not yet happened.But sadly, these ignorant people do not realize that in such a case the whole meaning of the verse is perverted.For, the verse says that Jesus will submit to God Almighty that his people were corrupted after his death.In other words, as long as he was alive, they were on the right path and went astray only after his death, not in his lifetime.Therefore, if it is claimed that Jesus, peace be on him, has not yet died, then it must also be admitted that his people have still not become corrupt, because it is clear from the text of the verse that his people will not become corrupt until Jesus’ death.The word ‘death’, or the reality of death, is evident for all to see; that is, a person is said to have died when the Angel of Death seizes his soul by separating it from the body.Now the fair-minded people should say honestly if there is any greater proof of Prophet Jesus’ death than this? Is it possible to have a more logical verdict than the one delivered by this verse? Then, on the face of it, is it not the way of sinfulness 1.Later, the Promised Messiah as made a definite and well-documented claim that the tomb of Jesus lies in Srinagar, Kashmir.See his book, Jesus in India.[Publisher]

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68 and heresy to interpolate the Holy Word of God Almighty like the Jews, fabricating its meaning on one’s own with an unclean heart? Justice demands that if they did not accept this clear and conclusive argument, they should have shown it to be false.But my opponents have not done so; on the contrary, by resorting to laboured interpre- tations and totally abandoning the ways of truth, they have demon- strated to me that they have no regard for truth at all.They declared the rejection of Jesus’ being alive as a word of kufr [disbelief ] but did not open their eyes to see that the Quran and the Prophet of the Latter Days [i.e.Muhammad s as ] both agree in word and speech upon Prophet Jesus’ death.A great imam like Imam M a lik believed in his death.The renowned Imam of Hadith, Imam Bukhari, placed two separate verses together just to prove his death.An eminent Hadith scholar like Ibn Qayyim affirmed the death [of Jesus] in Mad a rijus-S a lik i n.Similarly, ‘All a mah Sheikh Ali bin Ahmad explained Jesus’ death in his book Sir a j-e-Mun i r.The great scholars of Mu‘tazilah were also convinced of Jesus’ death.However, in the sight of our oppo- nents, ijm a ‘ still holds about Jesus’ being alive.Some ijm a ‘ this is! May Allah the Almighty have mercy on these people; they have exceeded all limits.They have declared the statements proved by the words of God and His Messenger as words of kufr.ِ ْه ی َ َّا هلِلِ وَإِنَّا إِل إِن رَاجِعُوْن [Surely, to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return].1 I do not want to dwell on this subject for long, nor do I need to remind how absurd and preposterous Maulaw i Rusul Baba’s book H ay a tul-Mas ih is.What is of vital importance, and for which I have 1.A phrase from the Holy Quran which is recited by Muslims to express deep sorrow.[Publisher]

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 69 written this book, is that the maulaw i , with a view to pleasing the people, has stated in his book that he would offer 1,000 rupees if I would disprove his arguments regarding the Messiah being alive.His arguments are there for all to see! The maulaw i has needlessly blackened some pages only to expose his long-concealed flaws.He has written such absurdities that, except for two labels, I cannot suggest any third for them; i.e.either they are mere claims and to call them arguments is gratuitous and foolish, or they are alterations of the Holy Quran in the manner of the Jews, and nothing more.It seems that he, too, is convinced in his heart that his book has no substance.That is why, in order to hide this fact, he says at the end of the book that it will not be understood unless someone learns it from him by taking regular lessons.Why did he say so? Only because he knew that his book was empty noise, devoid of conclusive arguments, and those who possess any sense will surely come to know that it has no merit.So, by way of imposing an impossible condition, he said that the arguments he wrote are so hidden that not everyone can appreciate them and his tongue alone will remain the key to them.Unless someone stays at his residence for a period of time and learns this collection of rub- bish in regular lessons from him as a disciple, it is not possible to gain anything worthwhile from these confused pages.O loud- mouthed Maulaw i ! If your arguments are so hidden and concealed in darkness that they cannot demonstrate their existence like a liv- ing proof in your book, then why compose a book of such rubbish and absurdity at all? Since you knew that your arguments were so worthless and incoherent that they made no sense without your verbal gibberish, it was no use writing such a book.In fact, to call them arguments is inappropriate, shameful, and plain nonsense.

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70 Although a thousand varieties of deceit take place in this treacherous world, rarely will anyone have heard of the deception employed by this Maulaw i Rusul Baba; namely, that he estab- lished the condition that one must become his disciple and learn the book directly from him through regular lessons in order to understand his arguments.He must have felt certain within his heart that no wise man would ever accept the discipleship of an ignorant, stupid man and learn his satanic book in regular les- sons from him in the hopes of understanding the arguments of the Messiah being alive, which are so deeply concealed within his book that the whole world could not see them nor discover them even after reading the book a thousand or a million times! They can be discerned only with the guidance of the writer, or else there is no hope of finding them until the Day of Judgement.Readers! Have you ever heard of such a book whose argu- ments remain in the mind of the writer even after having been set down in the book? Unfortunately, such absurd trickery is found in our maulaw i s nowadays as affords the enemies [of Islam] the opportunity to mock and ridicule it.It is because of this that the scholars, divines, and true men of knowledge are turning their backs on these short-sighted and ignorant people, and coming to me.As far as the so-called maulaw i s are concerned, they cannot even write Urdu properly and are ignorant of the Holy Quran and the Hadith.Because of their blind following of their ances- tors, they have become my bitter opponents, as if I killed one of their forefathers.They engage ceaselessly in abusing, ridiculing, and declaring me an infidel as if they are never going to die or be held accountable as to why they labelled Muslims as infidels.They are fighting God Almighty and are not backing away from

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 71 opposition.However, it was necessary that the prophecy of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, should also be fulfilled; namely, that when the Mahdi of the age—that is, the Promised Messiah—appears, the maulaw i s of the time will write edicts of disbelief against him.The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, also says that those who write such edicts will be the most wicked ones in the world and there will be no wrongdoer like them on the face of the earth.They will never accept but with hypocrisy.Alas, these naive people do not understand this: how can someone be a disbeliever while speaking according to the words of God and His Messenger? Can anyone accept the assertion that the entirety of those thousands of divines and men of God—who for 1,300 years, i.e.up to these days, believed in the death of Jesus—are infidels? God forbid!—Imam M a lik, may Allah be pleased with him, who taught millions of his followers this very teaching, would be an infidel, too.And— God forbid!—Imam Bukhari, who reserved a special chapter on the death of Jesus in his S a hih, would also be a disbeliever.Ibn Qayyim, too—who counted Jesus among the dead like Moses— would be a disbeliever.Moreover, all those who consider them Muslims would similarly become infidels.And the Mu‘tazilah, too, in their entirety would be infidels since they have all along believed that Jesus has, in fact, died.O maulaw i s who have some sense of goodness, are you not going to die one day? In your pride and arrogance, you have declared the whole world to be infidels.God Almighty says that whoever greets you with as-sal a mu ‘alaikum [‘Peace be upon you’], do not say to him لَسْت َ مُؤْمِنًا meaning that, do not consider him a disbeliever; he is a Muslim.Yet you have declared those

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72 who share all your religious beliefs as disbelievers.They follow the same qiblah and are averse to shirk [associating partners with God].They regard obedience to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, as the sole basis of salvation.They believe that those who turn their back upon him are accursed, damned, and the inmates of hell.O mischievous maulaw i s! Once you die you will know what fruit this wicked impetuosity of yours brings you.Have you torn open our heart to see whether it con- tains disbelief and not faith; that it is dark and not enlightened? Be patient, this world will not last long.In your opinion, only certain mischievous maulaw i s, who are a disgrace for Islam, are Muslims while the rest of the world is kafir.Alas! How hard-hearted they have become! What veils have covered their hearts! O Lord, have mercy on this ummah and pro- tect them from the evil of these maulaw i s; guide them if they are worthy of being guided or else wipe them off the face of the earth so that evil does not spread.In fact, they are not even maulaw i s; that is why I addressed their leader, the chief mischief-maker and mentor, Sheikh Muhammad Husain Batalavi, in my book N u rul- H aqq and challenged him to present the like of that book if he had any proficiency in Arabic, and obtain the prize money of 5,000 rupees.But the Sheikh paid no attention to it despite the fact that he is like a mentor to all these people and it is at his instigations that these lifeless corpses start moving.I reiterate emphatically that the Sheikh and all his followers are just ignorant, foolish, and have no knowledge of the Arabic sciences.I wrote a commentary on S u rah al-F a ti h ah in order to test these people.Although the book N u rul- H aqq was written with a view to testing the scholarship of the Christians, some of

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 73 these [Muslim] opponents, namely, Sheikh Muhammad Husain Batalavi, and those who follow in his footsteps, like Miyań Rusul Baba etc.—who denounce me as an infidel, and who are slander- ers and foul-mouthed—are not exempt from this address.It is evi- dent from the revelation [that I have received] that no one from among the disbelievers and those who denounce me as a kafir will be able to write a rejoinder to the book N u rul- H aqq, for they are liars, impostors, fabricators, ignorant, and foolish.If they do not regard my revelation as revelation and, due to their inner wickedness, consider it forgery or satanic suggestion on my part, then they must write a reply to my book N u rul- H aqq within the appointed time frame.If they are unable to do so, then my revelation stands proved.So, those who vindicated my revelation by demonstrating their inability and lack of knowledge have, in a way, accepted my claim.After this, their hostile gibber- ish is not worth listening to.I invite all Christian priests as well as Sheikh Muhammad Husain Batalavi, Maulaw i Rusul Baba Amritsari, and all their companions to this contest and I have given them the time to accept this challenge until the end of June 1894.As for publishing a rejoinder, they will have three months from the day of accepting the challenge.Then, if they make no request by the end of June 1894, no such request will be accepted after that.Their ignorance will stand estab- lished forever and the title of maulawiyyat [religious scholarship] will be taken away from them.However, if they submit a request to write a rejoinder by June 1894, the requests of all applicants will be counted as one, and only 5,000 rupees will be deposited, not more.Those considered successful in composing a rejoinder—be they Christians or these enemies of truth, the so-called maulaw i s,

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74 or both—would divide those 5,000 rupees among themselves.Of course they will be free to compose a book collectively, perhaps it will be convenient for them, but their final outcome will inevita- bly be: خرۃ وسواد الوجہ فی الدارین آ ال خسر الدنیا وا [disgrace in this world and the hereafter and humiliation in both worlds].And if I fail to deposit the 5,000 rupees in a bank within three weeks of their submitting the request—which must be attested to by at least ten renowned chiefs and sent to me via registry after being published in a newspaper—then I will be deemed a liar and my entire claim will be considered false, for verbally promising a prize is nothing; any dishonest liar can do that.Truthful is the one who honours his word, or else علی الكاذبین هللا لعنۃ [God’s curse be upon the liars].But if I deposit the money and these duplici- tous people run away from accepting the challenge, then all the expenses that I would have to bear due to their breach of promise, will be demanded from them directly or through the court.The same holds if they are unable to write a reply; their request should also include this commitment.Now I will speak of the 1,000-rupee prize offered by Maulaw i Rusul Baba.I have already mentioned that Maulaw i Rusul Baba published his book H ay a tul-Mas ih wherein he announced a prize of 1,000 rupees for anyone who would refute his arguments; yet, in the same book, he states that those arguments are hidden therein like a mystery or a riddle so that they cannot be known to anyone until they learn the book from him word for word.The wise must have realized what fear prompted him to say such things, and what heartfelt anxiety made him resort to such decep- tive wiles.I immediately got to the bottom of the issue as I heard these things and understood the reason behind this clamour, and

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 75 realized what apprehension must have driven him to refer the understanding of [his] arguments to his own mind.I admonish him through this book to deposit 1,000 rupees by the end of June 1894 with Khwaja Yusuf Shah, Sheikh Ghulam Hasan, and Mir Mahmud Shah—that is, with these three col- lectively—and inform me by way of their handwritten receipt wherein they declare that they have received 1,000 rupees and announce that if Mirza Ghulam Ahmad —i.e.the author— proves victorious, this amount will be handed to him without delay and Rusul Baba will have nothing to do with it.This written statement is necessary so that I am fully satisfied that the money has been deposited with the arbitrators; thereafter, I can engage myself in refutation of Maulaw i Rusul Baba’s book.I am even will- ing to accept, to settle the matter once and for all, that Sheikh Muhammad Husain Batalavi, or any other malicious person, is appointed to pass the verdict on this issue.To deliver the verdict, this alone will suffice that Sheikh Batalavi read Maulaw i Rusul Baba’s book as well as mine from start to finish and swear an oath in a public gathering.The content of the oath shall be: ‘Audience! I have seen both the books from start to end and I swear by Allah Almighty that, in fact, Maulaw i Rusul Baba’s book definitively and conclusively proves the life of Jesus and the answers offered by the opponent in his book fail to demolish his [Rusul Baba’s] arguments.If I have lied or concealed in my heart anything con- trary to this statement, then I pray that I may suffer from leprosy within one year, or become blind, or die of some evil affliction.’ At this, all those present should say out loud three times: a m i n, a m i n, a m i n.Thereupon, the gathering shall conclude.Then, if the one who takes such an oath remains safe from these

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76 afflictions for one year, the appointed committee will respectfully return the 1,000 rupees to Maulaw i Rusul Baba.For my part, I will also publish the declaration that Maulaw i Rusul Baba has, in fact, proved the life of the Messiah, peace be on him.However, the prize money must remain with the committee for one year.And if Maulaw i Rusul Baba does not deposit 1,000 rupees within two weeks after the publication of this book, his falsehood and lies will stand established.Everyone should then seek refuge with Almighty Allah from the evil of such liars and keep away from them.It should be clear that the opposing party has greatly hurt us and there is no scorn, insult, or abuse which they have not hurled at us.When they could not harm us through takf i r [accusation of disbelief ] and abuse, they turned to praying against us and started cursing us day and night.But how can the unjust curses of these miserly, dark-hearted people be accepted by Him who knows the secrets of the hearts? Ultimately, when their curses were of no avail, they despaired of God Almighty and turned towards the British Government, providing it with false information and writing slanderous books to the effect that my person represents a risk of sedition and Jihad.But this wise, shrewd, and perceptive Government is not so foolish as to be deceived by these cunning, spiteful people.The Government is fully aware that these are the people who themselves hold such beliefs and who have been saying for centuries that Islam should be spread through Jihad.Not only this, they also claim that when their imaginary Mahdi will appear or emerge from a cave, their supposed Jesus, too, will descend at the same time from heaven, carrying with him some sharp weapon to kill the disbelievers.Then, together, the two will kill all the disbelievers throughout the world and whoever refuses

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 77 to accept Islam—be they Jews or Christians—will be put to the sword.Such are the beliefs that these people hold fast to! In case of doubt, let any maulaw i declare his beliefs under oath in court so that the court may come to know whether such indeed are their beliefs, or whether I have erred in my statement.We, however, on our part, emphatically inform the Government that to spread Islam through war and Jihad in this age is not our belief, nor do we believe in waging war like rebels against a government under whose protective shelter and refuge we live in peace and security and propagate our Faith with ease and comfort.Are we not living in peace and security under the British Government? Are we not free to propagate our religion as we please? Have we been barred from carrying out our religious injunctions? Not at all! On the contrary, the plain truth is that the effort and commitment and peace and freedom with which we can conduct Islamic preaching and exhortation in the streets and squares of this country and can convey the truth to every people, we cannot render all these services even in holy Makkah, let alone any other place.So, is it not incumbent upon us to be grateful for this blessing or should we start a seditious rebellion? Although we consider this Government in great error in respect of religion and regard them as mired in a shameful belief, we deem it a grave sin and evil to even think of rebellion against such a benefactor.No doubt, as far as religion is concerned, we see these people indulging in a manifest error and human fabrication.That being the case, we seek their reformation through prayer and concern, and ask God Almighty to open their eyes and enlighten their hearts so that they realize that it is extremely unjust to

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78 worship a human being.Who is the Messiah, peace be on him? Only a humble human! If God Almighty so wills, He can create in a moment millions like him; nay, a thousand times greater than him! He has power over everything.He does—and is doing— what He pleases.It is no great feat for Him to enlighten a handful of dust.Whoever comes to Him with a pure heart and perfect love, He will undoubtedly include him among His chosen ones.Is there any limit to how far a person can go in achieving the stations of nearness [to God]? Absolutely not! O worshippers of the dead, the Living God indeed exists.If you seek Him, you will find Him.If you walk with the feet of truth, you will surely get there.It is the work of the impotent and eunuchs to worship a human being like oneself.If you consider someone perfect, then try to become like him—do not start worshipping him.But the man who, in his being and his attributes and his actions and through his spiritual and holy faculties, set an example of perfection, in knowledge and action, and in sincerity and steadfastness, and was called the per- fect man, was certainly not the Messiah son of Mary.The Messiah was only an ordinary Prophet.Granted he was one of the millions of chosen ones, but he belonged to that common group, no more than that.Behold, it is written in the Gospel that he was a fol- lower of Prophet John and was baptised like the disciples.He came only to a particular people, and unfortunately, the world was unable to derive any spiritual benefit from his per- sonage.He left such an example of Prophethood in the world as proved more harmful than beneficial, with trials and tribulations only increasing after it.A great many people of the world perished on account of it.But there is no doubt that he was a true Prophet and one of the elect of God.The man who was most perfect as man

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 79 and as Prophet, and came with full blessings, and who, through a spiritual revival and resurrection, manifested the first judgement in the world and revived the dead world, that blessed Prophet— Kh a tamul-Anbiy a’ [the Seal of the Prophets], the Leader of the righteous ones, the Seal of the Messengers, the Pride of the Prophets—is Muhammad the Exalted and Chosen One, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.Our Lord, send down on that beloved Prophet that mercy and blessing that You have not sent down on anyone since the beginning of the world.Had that grand Prophet not appeared in the world, then we would have no proof of the truth of lesser Prophets, such as Jonah, Job, the Messiah son of Mary, Malachi, John, and Zechariah.Although they were favourites and honoured and beloved ones of God Almighty, it is by the grace of this Prophet that they have been accepted in the world as true Prophets.اللّٰھم صل وسلّم وبارك علیہ واٰلہ واصحابہ اجمعین واٰخر دعوانا ان الحمد لل ّٰ رب ّ العٰلمین.[O Allah, send down peace, blessings, and favours on him and on his people and on his Companions, all of them.Our last word is that all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds.] ٭ ٭ ٭

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والمشایخ العلماء أیها والفقهاء.إنی رأیت تَعامیَكم قلبی فتأجج مصنّفاتكم، فی تكم.إنكم تسیرون فی َ لجهال المَعامی، وال تخافون جَوۡب الحوامی.وإنی عِفۡت ُ أن أفصّل مقاالتكم.وأبیّن حاالتكم، البصر، سالمۃ مع أتعامیتم والخبر؟ العلم مع وتجاهلتم والفهم العقل عندكم كان الصافی، ولكن النفس صارت ثالثۃ االٔثافی.إن ّ حب ّ العَین فی والطمع عینَیكم، سلَب كرم الناس مـحَق كریمتَیكم.O ulema, sheikhs, and jurists! I have observed your feigned blindness in your writings.Hence, my heart has burnt on account of your foolish- ness.You traverse obscure tracts of land and do not hesitate to rush into dangers.I held back from setting out your condition in detail and exposing your statements.Are you pretending to be blind despite hav- ing healthy eyes and feigning igno- rance despite possessing knowledge and information? You had pure and clear reason and understanding but your very self has become the abode of every kind of evil.The love of riches has blinded you and the greed for the generosity of people has taken away the light of your eyes.َ َّ یَعۡلَمُوۡن ال ٍ ِِّٰ لِقَوۡم لل ُ اَلۡوَصِؔیَّۃ A word of advice for the sake of Allah, for a people who do not know

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82 أَقَرَأۡتم العلوم َ للقِری، وتعلّمتم غفان القُرٰی؟ وباعدتم عن ُ لر شعار هو الذی إخالص ال ا االٔنبیاء وحلیۃ االٔولیاء.تركتم النفس واتّبعتم الشریعۃ الدنیّۃ، وصرتم قوما خاسرین.1 ٭ ٌ أكلتم الدنیا بأنواع الدقاقیر، أحد فخّكم مِن نجا وما من القبیل والدبیر.طورًا تلدغون فی حلل العِظات، وأخری بالكَلِم المحفِظات.إخالق، ال وأَجِد ُ فیكم ما یَسِم ُ با وما أجد شیئا من محاسن االٔخالق.فإنّا لل ّٰ علٰی مصیبۃ إ سالم، وإمحال ِ ریاض خیر ال ا االٔنام.وإنّا نكتب قصّتكم متجرّعًا بالغصص، ومتورّعا القِصص.مبالغات من إ سالم مَصۡطَبۃ ال إنكم جعلتم ا والصحیح الناسخ سھو ذا ه ٭ 1..(الناشر) ‘‘ الدقاریر ’’ Did you study the [Islamic] sciences solely to enjoy feasts, and did you acquire knowledge to live off the loaves of bread of the villagers? You have departed far from sincerity, which is the hallmark of the Prophets and the Auliy a ’ [Friends of Allah].You have abandoned the Shariah and followed your baser selves and ended up as the losing people.You swallowed the world through a variety of abomi- nable lies and no one from among the high and the low was saved from your trap.At times, you sting [people] by wearing the garb of admonition and at other times through provocative words.I see in you such characteris- tics as spoil morals, and do not find a trace of charming qualities.We can only say 1 هلِلِ َّا إِن [ inn a lill a h ] concern- ing the plight of Islam and the bar- renness of the gardens of the Best of Creation [the Holy Prophet s as ].I am writing your account while repressing 1.A short version of the Arabic phrase ْه ِ رَاجِعُوْن ی َ هلِلِ وَإِنَّا إِل َّا إِن [Surely, to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return] from the Holy Quran, which is recit- ed by Muslims to express deep sorrow.[Publisher]

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 83 المقیِّفین، أو خان َ المدروزین َ والمُشَقۡشِقین.اتقوا الل ّٰ ویوم فات وتغیُّر آ ال االٔهوال، وحلول َ ا الحِمام واذكروا االٔحوال، وفضوح إ عالل، ال ا ومساورۃ خرۃ وسوء المآل.واتركوا آ ال ا الكِبر والعُجب والخیالء، فإنها ال یزیدكم إال الغطاء.وال تصح ّ صفۃ العبودیۃ إال بعد ذوبان جذبات الحیّۃ، أعنی هوی النفس الذی هو علٰی بحر السلوك كزبدٍ، فال تُطیعوا الزبد كعبد، واطلبوا بحر ماء ّ معین.واعلم یا طالِب َ الحق ّأن علماء السوء ما ّ االٔهم یخرجون من الفم هو أضر علی الناس من السمّ، ومِن كل ؔ بالء یوجد علی وجه rage and abstaining from exaggerated tales.You have made Islam a place of assembly for the critics and an abode for the worldly and the boastful.So, fear Allah in these days of horror, calamities, and vicissitudes of cir- cumstances! Remember the assault of death and disease, and beware of the humiliation in the hereafter and of a terrible end.Renounce pride, vanity, and haughtiness, for they will not increase you except in ignorance.The attribute of ‘ub u diyyah [ser- vitude of the Divine] is perfected only after the dissolution of satanic passions; namely, the selfish desires that are like scum on the ocean of sul u k [the spiritual journey].So, do not yield to this scum like a slave, and seek the ocean of pure, sweet water.O seeker of momentous truth! Remember, the utterances of evil ulema are more harmful to people than poison or any other affliction on the surface of the earth.This is because the toxins cause harm only to bodies, while their words bring harm to souls and ruin the masses.Nay, their harm is greater

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84 ّ االٔرضین، فإن السموم إذا أضرّت فال تضر ّ إال االٔجسام، وأما الكمهم فیضر االٔرواح ویُهلك العوام، بل ضررهم أشد وأكثر من إبلیس اللعین.یلبسون سیوف ویسلّون بالباطل، الحق المكر كالقاتل، ویُصرّون علی كلمات خرجت من أفواههم وإن كانوا علی خطا ٔ مبین.فاستعِذ ۡ بالل ّٰ منهم ومن تهم، وكن كلماتهم، واجتنِبۡهم وجهال مع العلماء الصادقین.وال تضحك علی مواجید االٔولیاء، واالٔسرار التی كُشفت علی تلك االٔصفیاء ، فإنهم مظاهر نور الل ّٰ وینابیع رب ّ العالمین.واعلم أنهم قوم صادقون فی االٔحوال، والمحفوظون فی االٔفعال واالٔعمال، ویُعلَّمون من أشیاء ال یعلمها عقل العلماء ، ویُعطَون من علم ال یُعطَی and deadlier than that of Ibl i s, the accursed.They con- fuse truth with falsehood and draw swords of deceit like a murderer and insist on their own words even if they are in manifest error.Therefore, seek refuge with Allah from them and their words and keep away from them and their igno- rance.And be with the truth- ful ulema.Do not mock the intuitive states of the Auliy a ’ and the secrets revealed to the elect, for they are the manifes- tations of divine light and the fountains of Rabbul-‘ a lam i n [the Lord of all the worlds].Know that they are truthful in every circumstance and pro- tected [from sin] in all actions and deeds.They are bestowed with such knowledge of things as cannot be comprehended by the intellect of the ulema.They are granted such knowl- edge as is not granted to any intellectual.Only he rejects them who is touched by Satan

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 85 ّ مثله أحد ٌ من العقالء.فال یُنكرهم مس من بقیّۃ فیه الذی إال الشیطان، وأثر ٌ من آثار الجانّ، وال یكفّرهم إال االٔعمی الذی لیس همّه إال تكفیر الصالحین.ّ أال إن لل ّٰ عبادًا یحبّهم ویحبّونه، آثرَهم ومال ٔ قلوبهم مِن حبّه وحب مرضاته، فنسوا أنفسهم استغراقا فی محبّۃ ذاته وصفاته، فال تُعلِّق تعرفهم ٍ ال قوم بإیذاء همّتك ومنازلهم، وإنّك ال تنظر إلیهم إال كعمین.إنهم خرجوا مِن خلق ٍ كان مشابِه َ خلق ِ وجودِك، وسعوا إلی مقام أعلی وتباعدوا عن حدودك، ووصلوا مكانا ال تصل إلیها أنظارك، وال تدركها أفكارك، ونزلوا بمنـزلۃ ال یعلمها إال رب ّ العالمین.فال and influenced by the jinn.Only the blind one, who concerns him- self with nothing but excommu- nicating the righteous, declares them as disbelievers.Hearken! There are indeed servants of God Almighty whom He loves and who love Him.He has chosen them and filled their hearts with His love and the love of His pleasure.Thus, they have forgotten their selves on account of being immersed in love for His Being and attributes.So, do not seek to hurt those whose knowl- edge and station you know not.You do not look at them except like the blind.They are above the kind of creation that resembles your being.They strove for a sublime station and rose far above your limits and attained a station that can nei- ther be reached by your eyes nor conceived by your thoughts.They are bestowed with such a lofty rank which is known only to Rabbul-‘ a lam i n.So, do not quibble about their sayings like

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86 تدخل فی أقوالهم كمجترئین، وال تتحرك بسوء الظنون وقلۃ االٔدب معهم كالمعتدین، فیعادیك ربك وتلحق بالخاسرین.فإیّاك یا أخی إ نكار، وتلحق ال أن تقع فی ورطۃ ا باالٔشرار، وتهلك مع الهالكین.واعلم أن كتاب الل ّٰ الرحمٰن، كسبعۃ ِ أبحر ٍ من أنواع نكات العرفان، یشرب منها كل طیر بوسع منقاره، ویختار حقیرًا وال یشرب إال قدرا یسیرا.والّذین وسَّع مَداركَهم عنایات ُ ربهم، فیشربون ُّ ماء ً كثیرا وهم أولیاء الرحمٰن وأحبّاء أحسن الخالقین.یهب علی قلوبهم نفحات ٌ إلٰهیۃ، فیتعالٰی الكمهم، فیجهله عقول الذین لیسوا یُعطَون والذین العارفین.من the insolent ones, nor treat them with suspicion and disrespect like the transgressors, lest your Lord becomes your enemy and you end up among the losers.Therefore, my brother, avoid falling into the abyss of rejection and ending up among the wicked so that you may not perish.And know that the Book of the Gracious God is like seven oceans filled with diverse verities of divine knowledge, from which every bird drinks according to the capacity of its beak; one takes only a tiny bit and drinks but a little from it.However, those endowed with great capabilities by their boun- teous Lord, drink water in abun- dance.They are the Auliy a ’ of the Gracious God and loved ones of the Best of Creators.Fragrant, divine breezes blow over their hearts, and thus their words are exalted, but the intellects of the non-gnostics remain unaware of them.And do not be surprised if those who are granted extraor- dinary deeds and actions beyond

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 87 reason, thought, and intention are bestowed with such words [of wisdom] and points [of understanding] which cannot be understood by the ulema.So, do not hastily stand up [against them], and if you are among those through whom God wishes good, then hasten and march to them at once and abstain from falsehood and tyr- anny and be among those who are resolute.How many unu- sual—nay, provocative—words are uttered by men of God as per revelation from God, who is the Helper of the recipients of revelation.They rise up only for the sake of Allah, preaching and propagating these words.Those words become a haven of refuge for the appointed ones due to God’s pleasure.Yet, when those exact same words without any change are uttered by someone else, they cast him among the disrespectful and insolent ones, and thus he ends up among the wicked.So, revere the men of ؔ أفعاال خارقۃ للعادۃ، وأعماال متعالیۃ إ رادۃ، فال ال عن طور العقل والفكر وا تعجب من أن یُعطوا كلماتٍ، ورُزقوا من نكات تعجز العلماء عن فهمها، ۡ فال تنهَض ۡ كالمستعجلین.وإن كنت من الذین أراد الل ّٰ بهم خیرًا، فبادِر و سِر ۡ إلیهم سیرًا، ودَع ۡ زورًا وضیرًا، وكن من الحازمین.وكم من كلمات نادرات بل محفظات، تخرج من ّٰ أفواه أهل الل ّٰ إلهامًا من الل ّٰ الذی َ هو مؤیّد الملهَمین، فینهضون لل ویُبلّغونها ویُشیعونها، فتكون سبب مرضاۃ الل ّٰ كهف المأمورین.ثم تلك الكلمات بعینها بغیر تغییر وتبدیل تخرُج مِن فم ٍ آخر، فیصیر قائلها من ّٰ الذین تركوا االٔدب واجترءوا وصاروا من الفاسقین.فتأدَّب ۡ مع أهل الل

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88 God and do not hasten to oppose them on account of some of their words, for you have no inkling of their intentions.They speak only by their Lord’s command.Therefore, do not destroy yourself like the pre- sumptuous ones.So great is their stature that it lies beyond the grasp of man; then how will a mischie- vous person like you understand it? Only he can understand them who has trodden their path and tasted what they have tasted and has entered their streets.So, look not at the faces of the [so-called] scholars of Islam and the elders of the age, for those faces are devoid of the light of God the Gracious and are empty of the signs of lov- ers.And do not compare the words of the Mu h addath i n —who are honoured with divine converse— to your words or to those of the unjust people like you.Their words issue from the pure breaths and souls of the recipients of revela- tion.These ever new words from Almighty Allah are like fresh fruit وال تعجَل ۡ علیهم ببعض كلماتهم.وإن لهم نیّات ٍ ال تعرفها، وإنهم ال ینطقون إال بإشارۃ ربّهم، فال تُهلك نفسك كالمجترئین.لهم شأن ال یفهمه إنسان، فكیف مِثلك فـتّـان، إال مَن سلك مسلكهم، وذاق مذاقهم، ودخل فی سِككهم، فال تنظر ۡ إلی وجوه إ سالم وكبراء الزمان، ال مشایخ ا نور من خالیۃ وجوه فإنهم الرحمٰن، ومِن زی ّ العاشقین.وال تحسب كلمات المحدَّثین المكلَّمین ككلماتك أو كلمات أمثالك من المتعسّفین.فإنها خرجت من أنفاس طیّبۃ، ونفوس مطهَّرۃ مُلهَمۃ، وهی قریب العهد

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 89 taken from a blessed tree for those who eat.When people fail to understand their subtle, fine, and profoundly divine words, they regard them [the Auliy a ’ ] as transgressors, heretics, infidels, and among those succumbing to selfish desires.Alas for them and their opinions! Unless they desist from this and show con- trition and repentance, they will definitely perish.The liberated ones move from the [physical] form to the heart, but these peo- ple have moved from the heart to the [physical] form and turned their backs on their knowledge due to their extreme miserliness.So they have become like a shell without a kernel.They devoured carrion like foxes, declaring me a disbeliever and cursing me without knowl- edge so that they might conceal this matter from a seeker [after truth].And they proclaimed [that I am a] kafir and liar.They adopted the manner of the per- ished ones who had gone before أُخذ ٍّ طری ٍّ من الل ّٰ تعالٰی كثمر ٍ غض ن من شجرۃ مباركۃ لالٓكلین.آ ال ا والقوم لما لم یفهموا كلمات لطیفۃ دقیقۃ حِكَمیّۃ إلٰهیّۃ، فعزَوا أهلها إلی الفُسّاق والزنادقۃ والكفّار وأهل وعلی علیهم فیاحسرۃ االٔهواء.راء ، إنهم قد هلكوا إن لم آ ال تلك ا یتوبوا ولم یرجعوا منتهین.واالٔحرار ینتقلون من القالب إلی القلب، وهم انتقلوا من القلب إلی القالب، ونبذوا كل ما علموا وراء ظهورهم للبخل الغالب، فأصبحوا كقِشر ٍ ال لُب َّ فیه وأكلوا الجیفۃ كالثعالب، وكفّرونی ولعنونی من غیر علم لیستروا االٔمر علی الطالب، وقالوا كافر كذّاب، واتبعوا دأب الذین خلوا من قبلهم من أهل التباب.

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90 them.Earlier, they used to say that no one is excluded from the cir- cle of Faith because of differences that do not expressly entail the rejection of Quranic teachings; and that the decree of disbelief applies only to the one who openly declares his disbelief and adopts it as his faith, rejects the religion of God the Omnipotent, repudiates the Islamic profession of faith like wicked enemies, and who departs from the religion of Islam and becomes an apostate.They said if they had seen any good in this person or found any trace of faith, they would not have declared him a disbeliever, nor rejected him, nor sought to humiliate him.Nay, but their hearts have become hard- ened on account of their insistent rejection, hypocritical claims, and prideful fatwas.So, He has set a seal upon their hearts and they were not able to repent alongside those who repent.Had God so willed, He would have reformed them, purified their words, pulled them towards Himself, and ٍ وكانوا یقولون من قبل إن ّ رجال إ یمان باختالفات ال ال یخرج من ا لیس فیها إنكار تعلیم القرآن، وإنما الحُكم بالتكفیر لمن صرّح بالكفر واختاره دینا، وأنكر دین الل ّٰ القدیر وجحد بالشهادتین كاالٔعداء اللئام، وخرؔج عن دین إ سالم، وصار من المرتدّین.ال ا وقالوا لو رأینا فی هذا الرجل خیرا أو رائحۃ ً من الدّین ما كفّرنا وما كذّبنا وما تصدّینا للتوهین.إ صرار ال الك، بل قسَت ۡ قلوبهم من ا إ نكار، ودعاوی الریاء ال علی ا وفتاوی االستكبار، فطبع علیها طابع وما وُفِّقوا أن یرجعوا مع الراجعین.ولو شاء الل ّٰ الٔصلح وجذبهم مقالهم، وطهّر بالهم

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 91 showed them their error.But they had deviated [from the right path] and loved their vices on account of which Allah’s wrath descended upon them, and He made their hearts crooked and abandoned them in darkness.He made them like the deaf and the blind.O hasty one! Fear Allah and be afraid of the Auliy a’ of the Most Loving God.Your fear should not be like the fear of lions.And when you see a person who has devoted himself wholly to God so that nothing makes him heed- less of his Lord, then do not speak against him nor dare to abuse him.O helpless mortal! Will you fight Allah or kill yourself like the mad? Know that, in the begin- ning, the Auliy a ’ of the Gracious Lord are rejected, cursed, and denounced as disbelievers, and all manner of ill words are spoken about them.They hear every kind of absurd talk and hurtful words from their own people as well as enemies.People regard them as most ignorant and misguided, ّٰ وأراهم ضاللهم، ولكنهم زاغوا الل فغضب عیوبهم، وأحبّوا علیهم وأزاغ قلوبهم، وتركهم فی وعمین.ٍّ ۡ ظلمات، وجعلهم كصُم أیها العَجول، اتق الل ّٰ وخَف أولیاء الل ّٰ الودود، وال خَوۡفَك من االٔسود، وإذا رأیت َ رجال تبتّل َ إلی اللّٰ، وما بقی له شیء یشغله عن ربّه، فال تتكلم فیه وال تجترء علی سبّه، أتحارب الل ّٰ یا مسكین، كالمجانین؟ نفسك تقتل أو واعلم أن أولیاء الرحمن یُطرَدون أوائل فی ویُكفَّرون ویُلعنَون الزمان، ویقال فیهم كل كلمۃ شرّ، ویسمعون من قولهم كل الهذیان، ویسمعون أذًی كثیرا من قومهم ومن أهل العدوان، ویسمّونهم

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92 while the fact is that they are men of goodness and knowl- edge.Moreover, they name them dajj a ls [deceivers] and servants of the Devil.Yet, God changes circumstances in their favour.They are helped and supported, and are absolved of whatever is said against them.Ultimately, they triumph and receive divine help from Allah the Benefactor.It is the continuous practice of Allah the Just that He grants a good end to the righteous.When His help comes, you will see as if the hearts of people have been created anew and a pro- found change has been effected in them.You will also see, by the command of the Almighty, the Ever-Sustaining, the Helper, that the earth turns green after its barrenness; the minds become sound after their weakness; the intellects become clean and the hearts pure.Thereafter [the opponents] will rush towards them with love and affection, feeling ashamed of their days of أجهل َ الناس وأضل ّ الناس، مع كونهم من أهل العارفۃ والعرفان، ویسمّونهم دجّالین وعَبَدۃ الشیطان؛ ثم یجعل الل ّٰ الكرّۃ َ لهم، ویُؤیَّدون ویُنصَرون ویُبرَّأون مما یقولون، ویأتیهم الدولۃ ُ والنصرۃ من عند الل ّٰ فی آخر أمرهم من الل ّٰ المنّان، وكذلك جرت عادۃ الل ّٰ الدیّان، أنه یجعل العاقبۃ للمتّقین.وإذا جاء نصره فتری قلوب الناس كأنها خُلقت خلقًا جدیدا، وبُدِّلت تبدیال شدیدا، وتری االٔرض مخضرّۃ بعد مرتها، والعقول سلیمۃ بعد سخافتها، واالٔذهان صافیۃ والصدور مطهّرۃ بإذن قادر ٍ قیّوم ٍ ومُعین.فیسعون إلیهم بالمحبّۃ والوداد، نادمین من أیام العناد، ویُثنون علیهم باكین

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Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 93 enmity.They will praise them with tears, saying, ‘We have repented so forgive us, our Lord! Surely, we were sinners.’ Who can have mercy except Him and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.This shall be the end of those who are blessed and whose eyes have been opened so that they are drawn [towards God].As for the wretched ones, they will not see until they are driven to a humiliating punishment.Our Lord! Show us Your days and make Your words true and remove our sufferings, and forgive our mistakes.Be pleased with us and fulfil the promises You made to us and help us against the dis- believers.And send down bless- ings, peace, and favours upon Your Messenger, the Seal of the Prophets.Ami n! Our Lord, Ami n ! قائلین إنّا تُبنا فاغفر لنا ربّنا إنّا كنّا خاطئین، ومن یرحم إال هو وهو أرحم الراحمین.هذا مآل الذین سُعدوا وفُتحت أعینهم وجُذبوا، وأمّا الذین شقوا فال یرون حتی ۡ یُرَدّون إلٰی عذاب مهین.رب أَرِنا أیامَك، وصدِّق ۡ الكمك، وفرِّج ّتِنا، وارۡض َ عنّا ال كرباتِنا، واغفِر ۡ ز ۡ وتعال علٰی میقاتنا، وانصرنا علی ِّ وسلِّم وصل الكافرین.القوم وبارِك ۡ علٰی رسولك خاتم النبیین.آمین ربنا آمین.٭ ٭ ٭

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Glossary A ha d Those a ha d i th that have a soli- tary chain of narration.A ha d i th Plural of H ad i th Ahl al-Bait Members of the progeny of the Holy Prophet s as A m i n A term which literally means, ‘so let it be’ and is used at the end of a supplication to pray that God may accept it.It is similar in mean- ing to ‘amen’.Auliy a ’ Literally means ‘Friends’ and is the plural of wal i , which is gen- erally used to refer to a saintly per- son.Shorter version of Auliy a ’ul- l a h.Bayyin a t Arabic word meaning ‘clear proofs’.Dajj a l Lit.‘the great deceiver’.In Is- lamic terminology, refers to those satanic forces that will be un- leashed in the Latter Days to op- pose the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi as.Faij-e-A‘waj Reference to a crooked group to rise during the period after the three blessed centuries af- ter the Holy Prophet s as.Furq a n Literally, the ‘Discrimina- tion’.Another name for the Holy Quran, meaning the discrimina- tion between right and wrong.Hadith A saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.The plural is a ha d i th.Hadrat A term of respect used to show honour and reverence for a person of established righteous- ness and piety.The literal mean- ing is: His/Her Holiness, Worship, Eminence, etc.It is also used for God in the superlative sense.H akam Arbiter, Judge.A title given to the Imam Mahdi by the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.Holy Prophet s as A title used exclu- sively for the Founder of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad s as.Holy Quran The final and perfect Scripture revealed by Allah for the guidance of mankind for all times to come.It was revealed word by

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96 word to the Holy Prophet Mu- hammad s as over a period of twen- ty-three years.Imam Mahdi A title meaning ‘Guided Leader’, given to the Re- former of the Latter Days prophe- sied by the Holy Prophet Muham- mad s as ; see also About the Author on p.v.Jinn Derived from the root Janna, i.e.he concealed, the term de- scribes a class of men, powerful people, who remain aloof or hid- den from the common folk.It has been used to describe kings, and those who exploit the weak, as well as strangers, such as a tribe of Iraqi Jews that converted to Islam while visiting the Holy Prophet s as.In its wider significance the term can ex- tend to angels and other hidden creatures.K a fir Infidels, disbelievers; see also Kufr.Khalifah Literally means ‘Ca- liph or Successor’.Pl.Khulaf a ’.In many divine revelations some- one commissioned by God Al- mighty is referred to as His Khal- i fah.In Islamic terminology, the title ‘Khal i fa-e-R a shid’ [righteous Khalifah] is applied to each of the first four Khulaf a ’ who continued the mission of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.Ahmadi Muslims refer to each successor of the Prom- ised Messiah as as Khalifatul Masih.Khalifatul Masih see Khalifah.Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n ‘The Seal of the Prophets’, a title exclusive to the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.Kufr Disbelief.Describes any belief or act that is so contrary to Islamic teachings that it can cause its doer to fall outside the pale of Islam; see also Takf i r.Madinah The ancient Arabian city to which the Holy Prophet s as em- igrated from Makkah.Home to al-Masjid an-Nabawi and the tomb of the Holy Prophet s as , the second holiest site in Islam.Mahdi Literally means ‘Guided One’.see Imam Mahdi.Makkah The ancient Arabian city of the Holy Prophet Mu h ammad’s s as birth, settled by Prophet Abra- ham as , and home to the Ka‘bah, the holiest site in Islam.Maulaw i A Muslim religious cleric.Mu h addath A recipient of divine revelation.(Pl.Mu h addath i n ) Muhammad s as Founder of Islam.see Holy Prophet s as.

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Glossary 97 Mu h kam a t One of two categories into which the Holy Quran’s verses are divided.Refers to verses that are explicit and decisive.The ma- jority of verses fall into this cate- gory.Mujaddid Reformer.Holy person- ages within Islam who appeared in every century.Mutash a bih a t One of two catego- ries into which the Holy Quran’s verses are divided.Refers to verses that are susceptible to different in- terpretations.Mu‘tazilah A school of Islamic thought that dates back to the 8th century ce.Mutta s il A hadith for which there is no interruption in the chain of re- porters.Qiblah Direction of the Ka‘bah in Makkah, toward which Mus- lims face to offer formal prayers.The first Qiblah in Islam was Baitul-Muqaddas in Jerusalem.Rabbul-‘ a lam i n An attribute of Al- lah, meaning ‘the Lord of the worlds.’ Sahib A title of respect similar to diverse English terms like Mister, Honourable, and Reverend.Sayyadul-K a ’in a t A title meaning ‘Noblest of the Universe’ used for the Holy Prophet s as.Shariah Religious law of Islam.The term is also used in the general sense for any revealed law.Shirk The act of associating partners with God.S u rah A chapter of the Holy Quran.Sul u k A spiritual journey.Takf i r The practice of adjudging Muslims as non-Muslims, used chiefly by Muslims.

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Publisher’s Note Please note that, in the translation that follows, words given in parentheses ( ) are the words of the Promised Messiah as.If any explanatory words or phrases are added by the translators for the purpose of clarification, they are put in square brackets [ ].Footnotes given by the publisher are marked ‘[Publisher]’.References to the Holy Quran contain the name of the s u rah [i.e.chapter] followed by a chapter:verse citation, e.g.S u rah al-Jumu‘ah, 62:4, and count Bismill a hir-Ra h m a nir-Ra hi m [‘In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful’] as the first verse in every chapter that begins with it.The following abbreviations have been used: s as s allall a hu ‘alaihi wa sallam, meaning ‘peace and blessings of Allah be upon him’, is written after the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.as ‘alaihis-sal a m, meaning ‘peace be on him’, is written after the names of Prophets other than the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.ra ra d iyall a hu ‘anhu/‘anh a /‘anhum, meaning ‘may Allah be pleased with him/her/them’, is written after the names of

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100 the Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as and the Promised Messiah as.rta ra h matull a h ‘alaihi/‘alaih a /‘alaihim, meaning ‘may Allah shower His mercy upon him/her/them’, is written after the names of those deceased pious Muslims who are not Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as or the Promised Messiah as.aba ayyadahull a hu Ta‘ a la bina s rihil-‘Az i z, meaning ‘may Allah the Almighty help him with His pow- erful support’, is written after the name of the pres- ent head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad aba , Khal i fatul- Mas ih V.Readers are urged to recite the full salutations when reading the book.In general, we have adopted the following system estab- lished by the Royal Asiatic Society for our transliteration.ا at the beginning of a word, pronounced as a, i, u preceded by a very slight aspiration, like h in the English word honour.ث th – pronounced like th in the English word thing.ح h – a guttural aspirate, stronger than h.خ kh – pronounced like the Scottish ch in loch.ذ dh – pronounced like the English th in that.ص s – strongly articulated s.ض d – similar to the English th in this.

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Publisher’s Note 101 ط t – strongly articulated palatal t.ظ z – strongly articulated z.ع ‘ – a strong guttural, the pronunciation of which must be learnt by the ear.غ gh – a sound similar to the French r in grasseye, and to the German r.It requires the muscles of the throat to be in the ‘gargling’ position to pronounce it.ق q – a deep guttural k sound.ء ’ – a sort of catch in the voice.Short vowels are represented by: a for __ َ ___ (like u in bud ).i for __ ِ ___ (like i in bid ).u for __ ُ ___ (like oo in wood ).Long vowels by: a for __ ٰ ___ or آ (like a in father ).i for ی __ ِ ___ or __ ٖ ___ (like ee in deep ).u for و __ ُ ___ (like oo in root ).Other vowels by: ai for ی __ َ ___ (like i in site ).au for و __ َ ___ (resembling ou in sound ).The consonants not included in the above list have the same phonetic value as in the principal languages of Europe.As noted

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102 above, the single quotation mark ‘ is used for transliterating ع which is distinct from the apostrophe ’ used for ء.We have not transliterated some Arabic words which have become part of English language, e.g.Islam, Quran, Mahdi, jihad, Ramadan, and ummah.The Royal Asiatic Society’s rules of trans- literation for names of persons, places, and other terms, are not followed throughout the book as many of the names contain non-Arabic characters and carry a local transliteration and pro- nunciation style.Acknowledgements The following people contributed to the publication of this book.Rana Nasir Mahmood Tahir prepared the initial English translation of this book, with the help of Zulqarnain Bharwana.Syed Tanwir Mujtaba performed the initial formatting.Bilal Ahmed Tahir revised the translation, comparing it with the orig- inal Arabic text.The book was reviewed and finalized by al- Ha j Munawar Ahmed Saeed, Naveed Ahmed Malik, Naser-ud-Din Shams, Hassan Faiyaz Khan, Rashida Rana, Rawan Malas, and Abdul-Wahab Mirza.May Allah the Almighty reward them all for their efforts.

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Index Ahl as-Sunnah all of 73 sects of Islam declare themselves to be, 12 Aisha narrated hadith, ‘Jesus son of Mary lived for 120 years’ 19 Al-Fauz-ul-Kab « i »r 20 Al-Kashsh « a »f 20 Allah glorification and thankfulness of 1 one who is not guided by, cannot be a guided one 2 places His apostleship wherev- er He deems appropriate 2 ‘All « a » mah Sheikh ‘Al « i » bin A « h » mad explained death of Jesus in his book Sir « a »j-e-Mun « i »r 68 Apostleship granted by Allah wherever He deems appropriate 2 A « t » - « T »abaq « a »t 21 Auliy « a »’ characteristics of 52 when Allah decides to humil- iate a people, they begin to harbour enmity towards, 42 Batalavi, Muhammad Husain challenge to, 72 Bukh « a »r« i », Im « a » m on death of Jesus 13 on meaning of tawaff « i » by, 13 Christians corruption of, clearly proves the death of Jesus 67 removal of misguidance of, dependent upon establishing the death of the Messiah 16 Companions of the Holy Prophet devotion and sacrifices of, 3–4 Dal « i »l (Argument) four types of 28 Fa « d »l-ul-B « a »r« i » meaning of tawaff « i » in, 13 on death of Jesus 13 Faij A‘waj misguided Muslims follow 10

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104 Furq « a »n.see Holy Quran « H » anaf « i »s according to, four types of argument to establish any claim 28 Hanbal, Imam Ahmad bin on Ijma’ 22 « H » ay « a »t-ul-Mas « i »« h » 55 Holy Prophet Muhammad on death of Jesus 19 saved creation 3 Holy Quran Jesus admits in, that his people were corrupted only after his death 13 on death of Jesus 7 , 12 one cannot alter or add any- thing to, 57 one who interprets, according to his own opinion is not a believer but Satan’s brother 11 used tawaff « i » for Jesus 58 Hypothetical premises lead to hypothetical conclu- sion 38 Ibn ‘Abb « a » s on tawaff « i » 59 rendered mutawaff « i »ka as mum « i »tuka 9 Ibn Qayyim affirmed the death of Jesus 19, 68 Ijm « a » ‘ means consensus of the Com- panions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad 15 on the life of Jesus 23 wrong to claim, that Jesus as- cended to heaven physically 15 Islamic brotherhood demands sincerity and truth- fulness 5 Jesus tawaff « i » used for, in the Holy Quran 58 admits in the Holy Quran that his people were corrupted only after his death 13 corruption spread by the belief in the life of, 44 death of, affirmed by Ibn Qayyim 68 death of, affirmed by Im « a »m Bukh « a » r « i » 18 death of, in Majma‘ Bi « h »« a »r-ul- Anw « a »r 60 death of, stated explicitly in Holy Quran 7 letter of Mu « h »ammad as-Sa‘ « i » d « i » « T » ar « a »bulus « i » ash-Sh « a »mi » on tomb of, 64 view of Im « a »m M « a » lik on the death of, 61 wrong to claim that, ascended to heaven with physical life 15

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Index 105 Jihad spreading Islam through war and Jihad in this age is not our belief 77 Knowledge concealing of, is dishonesty 5 no end to subtleties of, 5 Law « a »qi « h » -ul-Anw « a »r 22 Mad « a »rij-us-S « a »lik « i »n on death of Moses and Jesus 19 Maghribi, Sheikh Muhammad on Mu’tazilah 21 Majma‘ Bi « h »« a »r-ul-Anw « a »r on death of Jesus 60 quotes Im « a »m M « a »lik saying that Jesus has died 18 M « a »lik, Im « a »m on death of Jesus 61 Mu‘tazilah sect doctrine held by, regarding death of Jesus 20 Im « a »m Sha‘r « a » n« i » on, 21 most sufi discourse followed the principles of, 21 N « u »r-ul- « H »aqq challenges all Christians and maulaw « i »s 73 prupose of writing 72 Promised Messiah acceptance of prayer 36 Imam of the Age 49 purpose of, 51 raised as Mujaddid 5 Rusul Baba book of, full of ignorance 24 book of, nothing but refuse 37 deception of, 31 has not offered any evidence from bayyin « a »t or mu « h »kam « a »t 38 un-Islamic attitude of, towards respected elders 71 Sa‘ « i »d « i », Mu « h »ammad letter of, on tomb of Jesus 64 Sha‘r « a »n « i », Im « a »m on Mu‘tazilah sect 21 Tawaff « i » Holy Prophet and his Com- panions on, 39 indisputable meanings of, 8 interpreted by Holy Prophet as ‘cause to die’ 9 interpreted by Ibn ‘Abb« a »s 9 meaning of, 58 meaning of, in Bukh « a »r « i », ‘Ain « i », and Fa « d »l-ul-B « a »r « i » 13 used for Jesus in Quran 58 Waliullah, Shah says that mutawaff « i »ka is a synonym of mum « i »tuka 20

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