Favours of the Gracious God

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MINANUR-RA H M A N Proving Arabic as the Origin of Language

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Minanur-Ra h m a n (Favours of the Gracious God) by Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as of Qadian The Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at ISLAM INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS LIMITED Proving Arabic as the Origin of Language

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Favours of the Gracious God By Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as of Qadian, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, The Promised Messiah and Mahdi (peace be upon him) The English rendering of Minanur-Ra h m a n (Urdu & Arabic) First Published in Arabic in Qadian, India, June 1922 First English translation published in the UK, 2023 © Islam International Publications Limited Translated by Nauman Ahmed Hadi Published by: Islam International Publications Ltd.Unit 3, Bourne Mill Business Park, Guildford Road, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 9PS, United Kingdom Printed at For more information please visit: www.alislam.org All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher.ISBN 978-1-84880-958-1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISLAM INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS LTD ن �َ ن ُ الرَّحْم�ٰ م�ِن

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CONTENTS About the Promised Messiah as Foreword Publisher’s Note Introduction A Note of Caution Arabic Part of Minanur-Ra h m a n Ode in Praise of Allah the Almighty and the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as Footnote Prologue Glossary Index vii ix xi 1 28 33 43 65 107 195 197

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

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vii Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was born in 1835 in Qadian, India.From his early life, he dedicated himself to prayer and the study of the Holy Qur’an 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 communion with God to achieve moral and spiritual perfection.Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 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.Divine revelations continued to increase and God commanded him to announce that He had appointed him to be that very Reformer of the Latter Days as prophesied by various religions under different titles.He claimed to be that very Prophet who the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as said would be raised as the Promised Messiah and Mahdi.The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is now established in more than 200 countries.After his demise in 1908, the second manifestation of ABOUT THE PROMISED MESSIAH (peace be upon him)

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viii Divine power was demonstrated, and the institution of Khilafat (successorship) was established to succeed him in fulfilment of the prophecies made in the Holy Qur’an, presented by the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as , and in the book of the Promised Messiah, Al-Wa s iyyat.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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ix FOREWORD is the English translation of Minanur- Ra h m a n.This was written by Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad — the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, as a scholarly treatise in support of the monogenesis of language, such genesis as having originated from God Almighty Himself in the form of the Arabic language.It is a remarkable piece of literature which stands unique in the study of language.Written in Urdu and Arabic, the Promised Messiah as had intended for it to be published in 1895, but due to certain occurrences its publication was delayed.It was, in the end, posthumously published in 1915 during the initial years of the Caliphate of Hadrat Khalifatul Masih II ra , though it became more commonly available for the public in 1922.Thus we have mentioned the date of publication as 1922.The entire book rests on the claim that Arabic is the Mother of all Languages —a phrase coined by the Promised Messiah as which laid the foundation for further supporting research into the origin of language.Moreover, it also advances the argument that Arabic is a language that issued forth from the tongue of God Himself and was not invented by man.For example, the Promised Messiah as uses Arabic root words to prove similarity with other languages, moreover, he dedicates many pages to exploring the innate qualities of Arabic words which carry the reasons to their own naming conventions as well as other philosophical truths.What is incredible is that one such word ا ب [ Abun ] — meaning father — is used to argue how the meaning of this word, in all languages, becomes

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x derogatory when ascribed to God Almighty.This argument is advanced in order to rebuke the Christian concept of the divinity of Jesus.The eloquent expression of the Promised Messiah as finds pinnacle in a book that is aptly written to describe the grand eloquence of Arabic.Page after page the reader is taken on a journey that unfolds new ways of expressing human thought.Undoubtedly, this is bound to inspire generations of researchers into the history of language.After the demise of the Promised Messiah as and in light of the groundbreaking research and principles he established, it was Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Mazhar who furthered this theory, having spent a large part of his life furnishing evidence for languages such as English, Sanskrit, German, French, Chinese, Persian etc.as having originated from Arabic.By the end he had traced the etymological origin of almost twenty thousands words of several languages to Arabic.The translation of Minanur-Ra h m a n was carried out at Additional Wak a lat Ta s n i f by Nauman Ahmad Hadi.I offer my thanks to Waseem Ahmad Sayed for his invaluable assistance in conducting a thorough review and final reading of the translation—alongside the translator and myself, he dedicated a lot of time to our research meetings.I also offer my thanks to Saleem-ur-Rahman of Canada who contributed towards this project and Reem Shraiky who revised the Arabic to English translation.I hope and pray that this is a source of guidance for everyone.Al- Ha j Munir-Ud-Din Shams Additional Wak i l ut-Ta s n i f April 2023

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xi Please note that words in the text in normal brackets ( ) and in between the long dashes—are the words of the Promised Messiah as.If any explanatory words or phrases are added by the translator for the purpose of clarification, they are put in square brackets [ ].The name of Muhammad s as , the Holy Prophet of Islam, has been followed by the symbol s as , which is an abbreviation for the salutation S allall a hu ‘Alaihi Wasallam (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).The names of other Prophets and Messengers are followed by the symbol as , an abbreviation for ‘ Alaihis-Sal a m (on whom be peace).The actual saluta - tions have not generally been set out in full, but they should nevertheless, be understood as being repeated in full in each case.The symbol ra is used with the name of the companions of the Holy Prophet s as and those of the Promised Messiah as , and it stands for Ra d i All a hu ‘anhu/‘anh a /‘anhum (May Allah be pleased with him/with her/with them).Likewise, the symbol rta stands for Ra h imatull a hi ‘Ala i hi (may Allah have mercy on him), and aba stands for Ayyadahull a hu Ta‘ a l a bina s rihil-‘Az i z (May Allah, the Mighty help him).In transliterating Arabic words we have mainly followed the following system adopted by the Royal Asiatic Society.ا at the beginning of a word, pronounced as a , i , u PUBLISHER’S NOTE

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xii 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 Scotch 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’.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 approached very nearly in the r ‘ grasseye ’ in French, and in the German r.It requires the muscles of the throat to be in the ‘gargling’ position whilst pronouncing it.ق q , a deep guttural k sound.ئ ’, 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 (like a in ‘father’); i for ی or (like ee in ‘deep’);

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xiii u for æ (like oo in ‘root’); Other: ai for ی (like i in ‘site’); au for æ (resembling ou in ‘sound’).The consonants not included in the above list have the same phonetic value as in the principal languages of Europe.We have not transliterated Arabic words which have become part of English language, e.g.Islam, Mahdi, Qur’an, Hijra, Ulema, etc.This book has been translated whilst adhering to the Urdu of the Promised Messiah as that runs alongside the Arabic.References from the Bible (both Old Testament and New Testament) have been cited from the King James Version.For quotes straight commas (straight quotes) are used to differentiate them from the curved commas used in the system of transliteration, ‘ for ع , ’ for ء.Commas as punctuation marks are used according to the normal usage.Similarly for apostrophe normal usage is followed.The Publishers

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in which Arabic has been proven to be the mother of all languages.The magnificent writing of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian— The Promised Messiah as which With the permission of Hadrat Khalifatul Masih II, may Allah strengthen his hand has been Published by the Manager of the Book Depot, Tal i f-o-Ish a ‘at Qadian 28 June 1922 1000 copies | 1340 Hijri H E C R E A T E D M A N H E T A U G H T H I M S P E E C H In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful We praise God and invoke blessings upon His Noble Messenger

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1 ِ ِ ا ہّٰللِّٰ الرَّحْم�ٰ ن ِ الرَّح�ِی ْم �ب ِسْم 1 “In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.” [Publisher] All praise belongs to Allah: the Lord of Blessings, and praise and peace be upon the Chief of Messengers: the Light of all Communities, and upon his Companions: the Guided and True Guides, and upon his pure and purifying progeny.The Holy Qur’an is such a brilliant ruby and a radiant sun that the rays of its truth and the effulgence which exhibit its divine origin are being manifested not only from one or two facets, but from thousands of them.The more the opponents of this powerful religion strive to extinguish this divine light, the stronger its manifestation, and the more its beauty and charm attract the heart of everyone who possesses insight.Even in this

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2 age of darkness — when Christian missionaries and the Aryas have spared no effort to defame it and to treat it with contempt and, on account of them being bereft of vision, have advanced all such attacks against this light that any extremely ignorant and excessively prejudiced person can advance — this eternal light has itself furnished every kind of proof of its divine origin.One of its grand characteristics is that it sets out claims about its guidance and excellent qualities, and then furnishes the proof of such claims as well.This grand characteristic is not found in any other book.Out of the arguments and proofs that it has set out in support of its divine origin and its lofty excellence, one magnificent argument is such that, for the explanation and detailed exposition, I have compiled this book which is a product of the holy spring of the mother of all languages, whose water shines like the stars, satiates everyone who is thirsty for cognisance with the water of certainty, and cleanses such people from the dirt of doubt and suspicion.No previous book has presented this particular proof in support of its truth.If the Vedas or any other book has provided such proof, then it is incumbent upon its followers to present, at the outset of their contention, the reference to such text.The meaning of this argument in summary

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3 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS is that a comparative examination of different languages makes it evident that all languages of the world are related to each other.Another in-depth enquiry proves that the mother of all these kindred languages is Arabic, from which all these languages have emerged.Finally, on the basis of complete and comprehensive research; meaning when one becomes aware of the extraordinary excellences of the Arabic language, one has to concede that this language is not only the mother of all languages but is the divine language which the first human was taught through revelation, by the special design of God Almighty, and that it is not the invention of any human.Then, the conclusion which has to be accepted on the basis of the premise that out of all the languages only Arabic is the revealed language, is that the Arabic language alone is worthy for complete and perfect divine revelation.This is because it is essential that the Divine Book that has been revealed for the guidance of all nations should be expressed in a revealed language, which should be the mother of all languages, so that it should have an innate affinity with every language and the speakers of every language, and being divinely-revealed it should contain such blessings which everything that proceeds from the blessed hands of God Almighty possesses.Nevertheless,

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4 since other languages too were not wilfully invented by man but, under divine direction, deteriorated after having emerged from this holy tongue and are the progeny of this language, it was not inappropriate that divine books be revealed in those tongues for certain nations.However, it was necessary that the highest and most perfect Book should be revealed in Arabic because Arabic is the mother of all languages, is the true revealed language and has emanated from the mouth of God Almighty.Moreover, since this argument is presented only by the Holy Qur’an and it alone makes such a claim, and no other Arabic book advances such claim, we are compelled to acknowledge the divine origin of the Holy Qur’an and it being a guardian over other books; otherwise other books too shall be deemed false.Therefore, I have written this book for this very purpose so that firstly, with God’s help, I may establish the mutual relationship of all languages, and may thereafter, articulate proofs of Arabic being the mother of all languages and the true revealed language, and then on the basis of this uniqueness of Arabic, that it alone is the perfect, pure and revealed language, I should present conclusive and definitive proof of the final conclusion, that among all divine books the Holy Qur’an alone is the most superior, most exalted, most complete,

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5 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS most perfect and the Kh a tamul-Kutub , and that it alone is the mother of all books just as Arabic is the mother of all languages.In this investigation the responsibility to prove the following rests with me: First stage : prove that all languages are interrelated.Second stage: provide conclusive proof that Arabic is the mother of all languages.Third stage: prove that Arabic is a revealed language on account of its extraordinary excellences.But since my opponents know well that if, on the basis of this research, the verdict is decreed in favour of Arabic then not only would they have to concede that the Holy Qur’an is of divine origin but they would also have to admit that the only book which has been revealed in the true, perfect and divinely-revealed language is the Holy Qur’an and all other languages are derivatives of it.Therefore, it is inevitable that, due to the uncovering of this reality, a mournful public outcry may result among all these nations, particularly among the Aryas in whose false presumption their own language, Sanskrit, is the language of Permeshwar , and it alone is perfect, divinely- revealed and the mother of all languages — although,

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6 even to this day, not even a single shr u ti 1 from the Vedas has been presented from which is may be learnt that the Vedas have made such a claim.It should also be remembered that some foul-mouthed and ignorant Aryas have already hurled much abuse towards Islam and despite their immense ignorance and lack of knowledge, they continue to interfere in religious debates.Moreover, in the context of their unprincipled favouring of the Vedas, some mischievous, shameless and ignoble-natured persons have indulged in many instances of irreverence against the Holy Qur’an: the pure word of God Almighty, and have given expression to whatever vile views they had within.In doing so they misled the ignorant to look upon them as if they were great scholars of the Vedas and very learned, as if they had inclined towards the Vedas upon seeing a great many of its excellences.But now this book represents a scientific investigation in which no ignorant person, of any religion, can interfere for in this investigation, knowledge is a requisite to presenting an argument; vain and irrelevant comments have no place in this matter.This systematic research is so perfect that its roots are 1 Shr u ti refers to the canon of Hindu texts.[Publisher]

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7 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS upon earth and its branches extend to heaven; one who scales the height of this tree eventually attains the fruit of spiritual truth.And as is quite evident that, although the branches do indeed receive their strength from the roots, the fruits that are eaten grow upon branches, not within the roots.Likewise, the result of the entire matter becomes evident upon the branches of this field of science.Those who engage in a fair debate on its study, while keeping in mind the truths already established, are able to clearly see these fruits with which the branches are laden.It should be known that to attain the insight that the Holy Qur’an is from Allah and is the mother of all [divine] books, only three matters need to be investigated, which I have just enumerated.There is no doubt that whoever fully comprehends these three matters, the veils of ignorance shall be lifted from his eyes and whatever conclusion should emerge on the basis of facts, would, in any case, have to be accepted.The first of the three matters that need to be investigated—the interrelation of languages—has been established so clearly in this book of mine that no further independent research in this respect is imaginable.This is because in order to prove an interrelation it suffices to

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8 prove just one word as being mutually shared, whereas I have demonstrated thousands of shared words in this book, and have proven with great clarity that Arabic has mutual association with each and every language.The second of the matters that needs to be investigated, is that, out of all interrelated languages, Arabic alone is the mother of languages.The reasons for this have, therefore, been set out in detail at their own place, and I have proven that from among the excellences specific to Arabic, one is that it comes equipped with a natural system of its own, and shows the beauty of divine creativity in the same manner in which the other works of God Almighty—that are found in the world— display it.I have also proven that all other languages present a distorted outline of Arabic.To the degree that this blessed language has been preserved in its essence in those languages—such a portion of those languages shines like a ruby and captivates the hearts through its charming beauty.The degree to which a language has been corrupted, is the degree to which its delicate beauty and attractive form been compromised.It is evident that whatever has originated from the hand of God necessarily continues to possess extraordinary attributes so long as it remains in its original form and a human

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9 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS being is powerless to produce the like of it.But as soon as it degenerates from its original condition, its shape and beauty are instantly compromised.Observe how a tree, while it is in its original condition, appears to be beautiful and lovely, and on account of its pleasant greenery, its comforting shade, its flowers and its fruits it calls out loudly that man is not able to create its like.But when it falls from its place or dries up, all of its features are compromised; neither its colours and vibrancy remain, nor that pleasant verdure is seen, nor can one hope that it will flourish and yield fruits in the future.Or for instance, when a man is alive and young, how his face shines and how well all his faculties operate and how he is clad in lavish attire.But when life ends, neither the beauty of his eyes survives nor that lively face, nor his ability to hear, see, comprehend, recognise, speak and walk about can be seen; all such characteristics instantly depart.This is precisely the difference that is found between Arabic and other languages.The Arabic language serves like an intelligent person with a refined disposition who can make his intent understood by use of different means.For instance, a very clever and intelligent person can sometimes accomplish a task with the movement of an eyebrow or nose, or

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10 a gesture of the hand which normally requires verbal expression.In other words, through subtle gestures he is able to convey meaning —these are the characteristics which are among the features of Arabic.Sometimes by the use of ا [ alif ] or ل [ l a m ], Arabic conveys a meaning that would need several words in other languages.Sometimes it uses tanw i n [nunation] to convey meaning which other languages cannot fully accomplish even by using long sentences.Likewise, diacritical marks such as kasrah [ ] , fat h ah [ ] and d ammah [ ]function like full words in such manner that it is not possible for any other languages to match this, save with some superflous sentences.Some of its words also, despite being very short, possess such lengthy meanings that one is amazed as to wherefrom these meanings have emerged.For instance, ُ ت �ْ ض عَر�َ [‘ ara d tu ] means “I visited Mecca, Medina and all their surrounding rural areas”, and ُ ت َل�ْ ض طَھ�َ [ t ahafaltu ] means “I am accustomed to eating bread made of millet cereal and have vowed to always eat bread made of millet cereal”, and َ َم �ج�َ ث [ jathama ] means “half the night has passed”, and َ ح�َی ْعَل [ h ai‘ala ] means “Come, offer Prayer; it is time for Prayer”.Likewise, there are many such words that are composed of a single letter but their definition consists of two or three words.

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11 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS For example: Fi [ فِ ] Be faithful Qi [ ِ ق ] Keep an eye on it Li [ لِ ] Come near ‘ I [ عِ ] Remember! I [ اِ ] Promise Khi [ خِ ] Neither walk slow nor hurry; walk at a moderate pace Hi [ ھِ ] Erupt! Weaken.Di [ دِ ] Shed blood! Ri [ رِ ] Flare up, and light up! Come out of the fireplace, become dirty.Shi [ ش ِ ] Make imprints on your cloth Ni [ نِ ] Become lazy! Among the wondrous qualities of Arabic, one that has also come to light is that it contains the properties of all other varying languages.For instance some languages, such as the Chinese language, has the property that all of its words belong to the same character [i.e.part, component, or ingredient] and each and every character, in its own place, possesses a permanent meaning.Thus, this characteristic, too, is found in some aspects of Arabic.Likewise, it has been stated that the words of the original language of America are individually composed of several components, and those components taken by themselves have no meaning.Thus, this characteristic, too, is found

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12 in some parts of Arabic.Then, in the American language and in Sanskrit, there are conjugations to convey the variation in meaning of words.Such conjugations are also found in Arabic.The Chinese language does not have conjugations but for conveying a new idea or thought it uses a different word.In the case of certain words, this characteristic exists in Arabic as well.Therefore, when pondering over this, and engaging in full deliberation and in-depth research, it is found that as a matter of fact, the Arabic language combines within itself the various qualities of all languages.Thus, it has to be necessarily accepted that all languages are indeed the branches of Arabic.Some raise the objection that if one language is acknowledged as the root and origin of all languages, it is difficult to accept that within only three or four thousand years languages, which had a singular origin, became so diverse.The answer to this is that this objection is, in reality, of the category which is founded on fallacy upon fallacy.To begin with, it is not an established fact that the age of the world is only four or five-thousand years and that heaven and earth had no existence before that.Instead, profound research in this matter informs us that this world has been inhabited for a very long

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13 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS time.Besides, temporal and spatial difference is not the only cause of a diversity of languages.Rather, another potent cause for this is that depending on the proximity or remoteness to the equator, and on account of the influence of a particular constellation of stars and other unknown causes, each person’s land would have inclined the nature of its inhabitants towards a specific functioning of their throats, accent, and pronunciation.Such impetus gradually leads them to a specific form of articulation.For this reason it is observed that the inhabitants of some countries are incapable of uttering the letter ض � [ za ], while others cannot manage the letter ر [ ra ].Just as, among humans from different lands, there necessarily exist differences in colour, lifespan, morals, and ailments, similarly this difference [between languages] exists as well, for it is under these influences that such differences among languages arise.Thus, it is a deceptive thought to wonder why this linguistic difference evolved only up to a certain degree then remained there for thousands of years and did not further change.For a difference developed only up to the degree that the influencing factors determined; how could it have proceeded any further? This objection is akin to saying that due to a difference of locations while there arose a difference in complexions,

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14 life-spans, disease and morals yet why did it not occur that at some place, there arose a [further] difference of ten eyes in place of one? Thus, how can we respond to such conjecture except to state that this change did not proceed in a disorderly manner; rather it was subject to the laws of physics: the degree of change was determined by such laws.In short, whatever changes develop in the evolutionary pace of man’s mental and physical makeup, under heavenly and earthly influences, such changes necessarily bring about alteration in the pattern of verbal articulation, so they [the languages] are inherently obliged to develop a change.Thus, if some word from another language finds its way into the language of a people, they deliberately make many changes to it.So what an excellent argument this is in favour of the fact that by virtue of their natural constitution, which is affected by earthly and heavenly influences, they are naturally in need of change.Furthermore, Christians and Jews have to certainly accept that Arabic is the mother of languages since, it is established on the basis of a clear and definitive text of the Torah that, in the beginning, there was but a single language.Then God Almighty caused linguistic

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15 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS diversity at Babylon.See Torah 1 , Genesis, chapter eleven.It is unanimously agreed upon that the town of Babylon existed on the same land where Karbala is now located.Thus, based on this, the crux of the statement of the Torah is that Arabic is the mother of all languages.With the consensus of English and Islamic researchers it is proven that Babylon—whose inhabitants were spread over two-hundred miles, and in terms of its population was equivalent to five times that of London, and contained wonderful and luxurious gardens, and the Euphrates river flowed through it—was located in Iraq which was a part of Arabia, and when it was ruined and became desolate, its bricks were used to build and populate Basra, Kufa, Hillah, Baghdad and Madain.All these cities are located close to the perimeter of Babylon.Thus, this research proves that Babylon was located in the land of Arabia.Likewise, on a map of Arabia which has been recently published from Beirut, Babylon is shown to be a part of Iraq in Arabia.In the original Hebrew version of the Torah, the book of Genesis, verse one [of chapter 11], reads: 1 “And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech”.( Genesis 11:1).[Publisher]

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16 ر�یم آحد�یم ج و د� ت ہ آح� ض � ث ُل ہارص � ض وہی � And the whole earth was of one lip and of speech uniform.Clearly the whole earth cannot mean only the land of Babylon, which is known as Sin‘ a r, because this verse is prior to that narrative and is related to the narratives that have passed in chapter ten.Thus, the quoted verse means that all those nations who lived on earth had only one language up till the time that a group of people from them had not yet reached Babylon.Then after reaching Babylon, God Almighty caused them to speak different languages.Such change in languages was brought by the inhabitants of Babylon being dispatched to other countries, just as verse eight of the same chapter narrates: ی کل ھارص ض � ج ّم عَل � ث م م� ت ص �یھوہ ا�ٓ ض و �ی� From there, God scattered them upon the whole earth 1 It is clear that after being scattered out of Babylon, those people went to every country.Thus, the same expression the whole earth which is used in the earlier verse to convey that the entire world had a single language, is used in verse eight to convey that the inhabitants of 1 See Genesis 11:8.[Publisher]

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17 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS Babylon, after incurring the wrath of God, became scattered all over the world.Thus, by comparing both these verses and by studying the previous chapter, it is firmly established that the meaning of these verses is that prior to the incident at Babylon, only one language existed in the world; this is the belief agreed upon by Jews and Christians.Whoever has entertained doubt concerning this, has fallen into a grave error.This matter is enshrined in the clear texts of the Torah which the People of the Book have adhered to from the beginning.However, it has to be admitted that whereas according to Genesis chapter eleven, verse one, the whole world had only one language, it would be absurd to think that all humans had emigrated from their respective countries to settle in Babylon and there seems to be no apparent reason as to why they may have emigrated from their countries.Rather, it seems that, after the flood of Noah, it was the intent of God Almighty that the process of procreation may progress at a faster rate, that is why the All-Powerful God allowed them to live in a state of good health and peace.Consequently, they multiplied tremendously and were fruitful, and they experienced extraordinary progress and growth.Then, some nations, finding limited space in their country, started migrating towards the land of

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18 Sin‘ a r—the land of Babylon—and built and populated the city.The population grew to such extent the like of which has not been found in any era.Then they became scattered towards other cities and became the means of different languages being spoken in the world.If the objection is presented that Arabic, that has been declared to be the mother of languages, does not possess equal affinity to other languages, rather towards some it is greater and lesser in relation to some others— for instance a little pondering over the ‘ Ibr i 1 language shows that after a small amount of transformation it is, in actuality, Arabic, yet Arabic does not have this degree of affinity with Sanskrit or the European languages—then the answer to this objection is that although ‘Ibr i and its other branches were actually born out of a small change from Arabic, whereas Sanskrit and all other languages of the world stemmed from transformations of a greater degree; however, after deep reflection and an observation of linguistic laws it becomes evident that the sentences and individual words of these languages have been 1 ‘ Ibr i here refers to the earlier name of the Hebrew language.The modern word Hebrew is derived from the word ‘ Ibr i or ‘ Ivr i (plu - ral ‘ Ivr i m) which in English is Hebrews, one of several names for the Israelite people.(See Britannica , under Hebrews ).[Publisher]

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19 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS rendered into a variety of frames and forms after being transformed from Arabic.Among the unique excellences of Arabic—which are specific only to this language and which I will, God willing, elucidate in their respective contexts, and which represent the conclusive proof of it being the mother of all languages, and a perfect and divinely-revealed language—there are five special qualities which are: First Quality : Arabic has a perfect system of roots; these roots aid all human needs [of expression]; all other languages lack such a perfect system.Second Quality : In Arabic, the names of God, of heavenly bodies, of plants, of animals, of inanimate objects and of human limbs comprise great scientific wisdom as to why they are ascribed that particular name.Other languages cannot, in any manner, compete with Arabic in this respect.Third Quality : The Arabic language possesses a perfect system of word-generation which is based on elementary words.The ambit of this system places all verbs and nouns of the same root into a wise order and demonstrates their mutual relationships.This characteristic is not found in other languages to the same degree of perfection.

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20 Fourth Quality : Arabic idioms consist of just a few words yet these have extensive meanings; Arabic conveys such meanings through the use of the definite article, nunation and sequencing for which other languages are in need of a combination of sentences.Fifth Quality : The Arabic language possesses such roots and idioms as furnish perfect resources for expressing the most subtle human thoughts and reflections.Since the onus is upon me to furnish proof of the system of roots in the Arabic language to be so perfect that other books will be unable to compete; furthermore, to also prove the other four qualities of Arabic in similar manner, it becomes important for me to write about these arguments in the Arabic language, for it is my responsibility to demonstrate all these qualities to the opponents.If they declare any other language to be divinely-revealed and the mother of languages, then we demand proof of such qualities [of their language].Since this is an arduous undertaking, therefore, in order to fully and unsparingly indict and silence any opponent, I deemed it appropriate to adopt an approach that may frustrate all such baseless objections which an opponent, after being rendered incapable of competition, can

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21 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS possibly raise by way of deceitful trickery.For instance, to evade accountability, an Arya opponent can say that the claim that Arabic is unmatched with regards to these five qualities is unsupported by evidence, because such a claim can only be true if the claimant was fully adept in Sanskrit.But now, since there is no such level of proficiency in Sanskrit, such a claim is biased and it is possible, upon further research, for such claim to be proven wrong.Although I have already answered this futile objection, that my research is the research conducted by a whole group which includes, among others, people proficient in Sanskrit, but now, for conclusively discharging the burden of proof, I offer such a method of resolving this matter which nobody can elude; being that if I am proven false in the claim that Arabic uniquely possesses those five qualities which I have written about, and if a scholar of Sanskrit, or anyone else, can successfully prove that their language too equally partakes, alongside Arabic, in these qualities, or is superior to it, then I make a definitive and decisive promise to immediately pay a sum of 5, 000 rupees to such a person.Let it be remembered that our promise of a reward is not similar to the boastful advertisements of ordinary people, so let not anyone think that this is just a verbal ploy and that no one shall

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22 pay and no one shall receive, rather I announce that such a person may satisfy himself about this in every way he so pleases; if he desires, this money can be deposited in a government bank or, if he so desires, it can be deposited with an Arya notable.If I fail to deposit this money in a manner requested by a contender, and if I fail to deposit it within one month after the publication of his request, and my receiving the request through registered post, then I will undoubtedly be deemed to be a false pretender and boastful, and my entire endeavour will fall from the level of credibility.However, it will be essential for such person who requests this deposit to also appoint, in his request, the time-limit within which he will discharge this task.Furthermore, he should affirm that if he does not complete this task within such time and is not able to compete, then he will pay, without making any excuses or resorting to any tricks, an amount of indemnity, as determined by the judges or the recommendation of the court, estimated to be equal to [the loss incurred by] withholding commercial funds for the specified time.Let this be known that I have prepared this book after effort and diligence lasting a month and a half; this task began a few days into the month of April 1895 and the month of May 1895 was not yet over when it was

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23 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS completed.During such days of effort, it was never the case that an entire day was spent on this, rather at most, only a third or a fourth part of the day was spent in this pursuit.Had full days been devoted to it, perhaps this task could have been completed within a period of a week to ten days.But now, for those who will write in opposition to me, such effort—the likes of which we had to exert— is not a cause of hinderance, for it was essential for me to thoroughly examine all languages and prove their mutual relation to Arabic.Thereafter, it was essential to firmly establish, on the basis of the distinctive excellences and extraordinary perfections of Arabic, that it was divinely- revealed and the mother of all languages.But it is not required of my opponents to undertake the same degree of hard work.Instead, it will be acceptable to me if they should only demonstrate the distinctive excellences of their own language, compared to Arabic, and lay forth the qualities of their own language as compared to Arabic which I have proven in this book.And just as I have, by way of providing an example, by entering the roots of Arabic into the sequence of prose, proven that the system of roots in Arabic is perfect and is fully capable of expressing all kinds of thoughts, they must demonstrate such example from the roots of their own language.

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24 This is only a modest task which will take a few days.Thus, under such circumstance the hard work involved is greatly reduced.For instance, one who is proficient in Vedic Sanskrit can produce such an example in a matter of days, provided such examples are to be found in Sanskrit.What do I ask of those of other languages? Only that they prove the existence of the qualities in their own language as I have proven in the case of the Arabic language.For instance it is evident that for a language to be perfect, it is essential for its system of root words to be perfect, in other words, it is imperative for a perfect language, which is of divine origin and called the mother of all languages, to inherently possess the complete stock of root words when converting human thought into words in such a manner that when one desires to give a detailed exposition on the topic of the Oneness of God, or on the topic of associating partners with God, or about the rights owed to Allah, or the rights owed to others, religious beliefs, or concerning the supporting arguments for those, or on the topic of love and social interaction, or on spitefulness and hatred, or on the topic of the praise and glorification of God Almighty, or on His blessed attributes, or concerning the rebuttal of false religions, or on saintly legends and biographies, or on

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25 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS Divine injunctions and limits, or on the Hereafter, on trade and agriculture, employment, on stars and astronomy, on nature and medicine, and logic etc., then the root words of a given language should be able to help in such a way that for every thought that crosses one’s heart there ought to exist a root word [for its expression].This is evidence that the Perfect Being Who created man and his ability to think, also created from the beginning such elementary root words for expressing these thoughts.My inherent sense of justice obliges me to concede that if a language possesses this distinctive quality that, in line with the stature of human thought, it keeps the beautiful aspect of root words in readiness and reflects the subtle differences found between actions through an equal subtlety of words, and its fundamental root words are capable of accommodating all the requirements of thought, then such a language is without a doubt a divinely-revealed language.It is an act of God that He created man as capable of expressing thousands of different kinds of thoughts.Thus, it was imperative that man was granted, in equal measure to these thoughts, a stock of articulable root words so that the word of God and the act of God may be on par with each other.But making use of idioms, when the need arises, is not a peculiarity found in any

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26 specific language.This general affliction and shortcoming is found in thousands of languages that they employ compound-words instead of root words, which makes it evident that humans themselves formed those words as needed.Thus, a language that is free of these linguistic afflictions and inherently possesses the distinctive quality of making use of root words, and articulates its words in conformity to the act of God Almighty—in accordance to the passions of thought—and proves itself equal in calibre [to such thoughts] will, no doubt, by occupying an extraordinary station and by possessing a distinction amongst all languages, be worthy of being called the original divinely-revealed language and the creation made by Allah.It will be an obligation under a sense of honesty to proclaim that the language which is characterised by this lofty rank that it issued forth from the mouth of God Almighty, and is especially endowed with extraordinary excellences, and is the mother of all languages, is the only language that has been truly determined to be the only one worthy for the most superior and perfect Revelation from God Almighty to descend in it, and other revelations are branches of this Revelation in the same manner as other languages are a branch of the Arabic language.Thus, after the discussion of this argument, I will write on the

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27 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS issue that the most-genuine, perfect, most-complete, and ultimate Revelation that was to come into this world is only the Holy Qur’an.And on the basis of this premise, I will give a detailed exposition of the conclusion that by accepting Arabic to be the mother of all languages and divinely-revealed, one has to not only concede that the Holy Qur’an is the Word of God Almighty but also has to inevitably accept that it is the Holy Qur’an which exclusively ought to be termed as the most genuine Revelation, the highest in the degree of perfection, the most-complete and the Ultimate Book.Now, in order to show the system of root words and furthermore, for the exposition of other qualities, I will begin the Arabic part of this book.1 َ �ِی ْم ن ِا ہّٰللِّٰ و َ ھُو َ الْعَلِی ُّ ال ْع�َ ب � َِّاَّل َ ا ة �َُّو ة � َ اَّل َ َحَوْل َ و اَّل َ و 1 “And there is no power, n or strength, except with the help of Allah – the Most High, the Great.” [Publisher]

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28 A NOTE OF CAUTION Before I proceed to write the Arabic portion of this book, it is important to mention that I had initially intended to only gather the root words of Arabic.But then I thought that, in such case, perhaps some readers may not be able to fully understand what I wish to convey, since every nation possesses some root words.For instance, even though Sanskrit possesses very little stock of root words and the scholars of this language state that it does not have more than four-hundred roots, yet one cannot say that it possesses none, even if it is only four-hundred.Although the researchers of Arabic have found that its root words are in excess of two million seven hundred thousand, but until a prejudiced opponent is not rebuked under an established principle he does not desist from exhibiting his meanness, mischief and argumentation.Thus, I deemed this idea to be very reasonable that, in each treatise, the system of root words ought to be employed.And by the system of roots I mean, to the point that every composition naturally comes to an end, it ought to be completed with such phrases that are solely composed from root words.Then a comparable example may be demanded

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29 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS from the opponents.This is a method by which a clear decision would be reached and in addition, one would be able to gauge the degree of eloquence and fluency of any language.In addition, in order to show evidence of a system of root words it would be imperative for every contender to not just present various examples of roots, rather he must present them in the form of those essays which are required to be penned in competition to my treatises.Thus, in this scholarly debate no ignorant person devoid of knowledge will be able to interfere.For instance, previously, the followers of Arya Samaj had propped up a most contemptible, foolish, exceedingly dim-witted and ignorant Hindu by the name of Lekhram to contend against Islam.He would execute this task only by resorting to vile abuse and, by becoming a tool of the Christians, he used to raise their absurd objections which the ignorant among them had advanced against Islam.This shall not occur in this debate as this is a scholarly discussion; there will now be no opportunity for such a misbegotten, vile-natured, wicked, and simultaneously an immensely ignorant and unlearned individual to speak, and people will see for themselves what the true nature of these people was.Here I cannot keep myself from expressing gratitude to

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30 my friends who have helped me in my task of proving the existence of relationships between languages.It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge that, in order to prove the existence of relationships between languages, my sincere friends have exerted themselves with such zeal, which will surely be remembered in this world as long as this world remains inhabited.These men of God bravely dedicated their important time to me and, by undertaking great toil and hardwork day and night, they accomplished this momentous task.I believe that they will be tremendously rewarded by God Almighty because they partook in such a war in which, very soon, the trumpets of the victory of Islam will be sounded.Thus, each and every one of them deserves to be decorated with a heavenly medal.I cannot describe how, in every academic session, they would venture hundreds of miles within [their research] in order to discover the common ties of words [between languages], and how they would return with success, and present the gift of a cognate word.This process continued until the languages of the world were collected before us.I will never forget that in this momentous undertaking, my loyal friends provided such help that I do not have the words with which I can express its measure.I pray that may God Almighty accept their efforts, and may He

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31 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS accept them for Himself, and may He always keep them distant and protected from an impure existence, and may He grant them His affinity and an eager longing for Him, and may He be with them.A m i n! A m i n! The names 1 of these individuals are: 1.H ak i m Maulawi N u r-ud-D i n of Bhera 2.Maulawi ‘Abdul Kar i m of Sialkot 3.Munsh i Ghul a m Q a dir of Sialkot 4.Khw a ja Kam a l-ud-D i n B.A of Lahore 5.Mirz a Khud a Bakhsh At a l i q 6.Muft i Muhammad Sa diq of Bhera 7.Naww a b Muhammad ‘Al i Kh a n of Malerkotla 8.Mi yan Muhammad Kh a n of Kapurthala State 9.Munsh i Ghul a m Muhammad of Sialkot Only God Almighty knows whose efforts in this task are greater; He will not let the effort of any true devotee go to waste.But as far as my personal knowledge and observation attests, the greatest effort was made by my dear brother H ak i m Maulawi N u r-ud-D i n, and my dear 1 The author has added the word of respectful endearment, و�یم ض ا� [ akhw i m ] , which means my brother , to all the names in this list.However, only the names are reproduced in translation [Publisher]

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32 brother Maulawi ‘Abdul Kar i m who, leaving behind all relations, have been present with me for this task for many months.Furthermore, Hadrat Maulawi N u r-ud-D i n not only rendered such service as mentioned, rather for this task he also procured by purchasing — from his own pocket — English books of very fine quality, and gathered a collection of valuable books for this objective.May Allah grant them the best reward.And Allah causes not the reward of those who do good, to be lost.A m i n! The following is the first discourse and introduction, the response to which, in relation to the system of root words, is sought from the proponents of Sanskrit: the Aryas, and from those of other nations.

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ِ ا ہّٰللِّٰ الرَّحْم�ٰ ن ِ الرَّح�ِی ْمِ �ب ِسْم [In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful] All praise belongs to Allah – the Lord, the Most Gracious.Glory, Grace and Beneficence are His attributes alone.He created 1 man and taught him the art of expression.Then from one tongue, spread many across the lands just as He made, from one colour, a variety of different colours.He made Arabic the mother of all tongues and in radiance and brightness, made it like the Sun.It is He, Who is praised by men and Jinn who affirm that He is the Lord.Souls and bodies fall prostrate before Him.The heart and tongue are occupied in His praise.Holy is our Lord Who is the Lord of the present, the future and the past.He does whatever He 1 A lengthy footnote in Urdu begins here in the original text.For the convenience of the reader, it has been moved to page 65 as a separate chapter.[Publisher]

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34 wills.Everyday, He reveals Himself in a different state.Everything whether it can speak or is mute is occupied in His glorification and everyone whether he is crooked or upright, begs of Him for mercy.And He is the Lord of all the worlds — to Him belongs all praise and glory and He is the Lord of Benefaction in both worlds.Salutations and peace be upon His Messenger – who is the Chief of the Messengers, a light for all people and the Best of Creation s as and upon his Companions, providers of guidance and rightly-guided, and upon his pure and holy progeny, and upon all the pious servants of God.Following on from this, the servant of the One God, Ahmad (May Allah protect and aid him) states: since the early days of my life, I have been engaged in researching various doctrines and religions.I have never been content with mere talk nor been satisfied with superficial ideas the way in which a dull person imprisoned in ignorance and falsehood can be satisfied.I have never stubbornly insisted upon baseless issues, as is the habit of an ignorant and mean person, and nothing ever moved me towards a matter except the eye of investigation.And nothing but the attraction of profound insights pulled me to a particular belief, and

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35 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS none save my Lord enabled me to understand.And He is the best of all teachers.He disclosed to me many mysteries underlying truths and rained down upon me knowledge of subtleties and divine cognisance.He bestowed upon me the blessings He gives to the sincere.Thus, when I attained the truth due to His munificence and was brought up on His divine milk, I found the expression of gratitude for such favours to lie in bearing hardship in service of the Faith and in upholding of the Shariah, and in demonstrating the light of the powerful Faith to people, and manifesting its sovereignty through legions of argument and safeguarding the efforts of the S ad u q and Am i n 1.This is a special divine grace; He is indeed the One Who showed me the pathways of the truthful.He taught me and taught me well! And He made me understand, and made me understand perfectly, and He saved me from the pathways of error.He revealed to me that the religion of Allah is indeed Islam and the true Messenger is Mustafa—[Muhammad] the Chosen One, peace and 1 These are two epithets given to the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as by the Meccans when he was a young man, before the advent of Islam.S ad u q means the one who is truthful; A m i n means the one who is trustworthy.[Publisher]

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36 blessings of Allah be upon him – the Chief, the Imam– the Unlettered, and Trustworthy Messenger.Thus, just as our Lord alone is worthy of worship and He is One Who has no partner similarly, our Messenger is unique in that he alone is worthy of being followed, there is no prophet besides him and he has no partner therein and is the Seal of all the Prophets.Thus, I was guided through his guidance, and I saw the truth through his light, and both his hands raised me up.My Lord brought me up in the manner He nurtures those He draws towards Himself and He guided me and bestowed knowledge upon me.He showed me what He showed me until I recognised the truth through conclusive proofs, and discovered the reality through bright arguments and attained the stage of h aqqul-yaq i n [certainty based upon experience].After this I was overcome with grief for those hearts which had become corrupted; and my heart ached for those eyes that went awry, those intellects that had become dull; those opinions that inclined towards unrighteousness; those carnal passions which exhibited belligerence and those epidemics which spread due to the disorder caused by the mischievous.I saw that people are falling upon the material world

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37 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS and its adornment, and do not pay attention to the True Faith and its arguments, and do not discern its excellence and freshness, and evade it as if they are in doubt.They are, in reality, not in doubt rather they have chosen the material world over faith and on account of their sightlessness, they do not accept the subtleties of divine cognisance and they cannot see the lofty station of arguments.And how could they see it when they have adopted the ways of Satan, insist upon wrongdoing and rejection, and do not want to tread the paths of the truthful? Therefore, I began to pray to Allah that He may grant me a conclusive argument that silences the disbelievers of the current age, an argument which is appropriate to the dispositions of the youth of this age, so that through an outstanding discourse I may indict both those of them that are dull as well as those that are intelligent, and so that a conclusive argument may be discharged upon the offenders.Thus, my Lord accepted my supplication, and brought into existence that which I had longed for.He opened for me the door to what I longed for in exact conformity to my desire and bestowed upon me new and manifest proofs, and bestowed upon me certain and conclusive arguments.Thus, all praise is due to

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38 Allah Who is the Master and the Helper.The detailed exposition of this is that He directed my heart towards conducting research on languages and aided my vision in critically examining a number of distinct languages.He taught me that Arabic is their mother and combines in itself all their qualities and forms; it is the original tongue of mankind, a divinely-revealed language from the Gracious God and a complement to the creation of man which the Best of Creators has manifested.Further, I learned from the Word of the All- Powerful God that Arabic comprises a treasure-trove of arguments in support of the Prophethood [of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him], and is a compendium of great testimonies in support of this Shariah.Thus, I fell into prostration before the One Who is the Best of Bestowers.I was eagerly drawn towards delving deep into Arabic.Thus, I dived into its ocean to the extent to which it is humanly possible and with the help of God Almighty I entered its city, and I proceeded to tread upon its paths and its roads, and to saunter in its tracks and its streets, so that I may perceive its hidden beauty, and that I may taste the food from its pot, and pluck the fruits from its fruitful

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39 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS trees and harvest the pearls from its rivers.Thus, by the grace of God Almighty, I came to be among the successful and I was not unsuccessful in scaling any of its heights, and I did not return empty-handed from any of its pastures.I saw its freshness and grazed from its verdant greens.My Lord, bestowed upon me a grand portion and sizeable acquaintance with the plain and clear Arabic [language].So much so that I gleaned its pearls and received its milk and its mines and sites were laid bare for me and my Lord demonstrated to me that Arabic is a noble revelation and is the principal foundation for understanding the faith and its fiery light drives away Satans.In comparison, I found other languages to be like green vegetation that grows in barren soil.I found their dwellings desolate and found their residents in distress, and I saw that those languages are ready to depart like travellers.Thus, it was placed into my heart that I should compile a book on this subject, and that I should place the truth in front of those who seek it, and that I should bestow a favour upon the creation of God, as God Almighty bestowed a favour upon me so that, as a result, some may adopt the path of rectitude.I do not seek anything by this save the pleasure of my Lord, the

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40 Bestower — He indeed is my purpose, not the praise of people.I have not discovered anything through my own ability; therefore, I do not have the right to demand any praise for myself.By God! I uttered no word, nor did any reality become evident to me except that it was indeed God Who made me comprehend it and it was indeed God Who taught me.Allah is well aware of this reality and He is the Best of Witnesses.Thus, do not direct any of your praise towards me regarding this, but express your gratitude to Allah, for this was received from Him.He bestowed a favour upon me, and He is the Best of those who do good.I have organised this book for the seekers of truth into an introduction, several chapters and an epilogue.There is no power except the grace of the Noble, the Omnipotent, and there is no strength save the power of the All-Powerful and the Magnificent.We seek His grace and beg for His mercy and He is the Most- Merciful of all those who show mercy.I have begun this in His name and, God willing, I will conclude it with His beneficence, and He is the Most-Beneficent of all those who are beneficent.He is the Lord, the Helper, so He alone do we worship and He alone do we implore for help.

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41 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS I intend to show His praise riding atop the mount of a Qa si dah 1 [ode] and adorn these praises with the flowers of fresh poetic verses, along with praises of the Prophet s as who is the guide for those with a righteous disposition, hoping that Allah the Almighty may grant acceptance to this humble offering, and that He may bless this book.And the one who seeks is bestowed upon by God.Thus, let there be glad tidings for all those who seek! 1 The composition of this ode began on Monday, 15 July, 1895 C.E.at around 8:00am, and the same day around the time of ‘A s r – before 5:00 p.m.– a hundred verses had been written.This is due to the grace of Allah and His extraordinary support.(Author)

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An Ode in Praise of God Almighty and the Best of Mankind, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him O You, Who encompasses creation with favours and rewards; We praise You while we lack the ability to praise You.Look towards me with a glance of Your mercy and compassion, O my Refuge; O You Who eradicates griefs.You are the Refuge and You are the Sanctuary for our souls.In this world as well as after [our] death.

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44 We have witnessed the calamity during darkness; So, have mercy on us, and make us disembark in the house of Light.You forgive major sins upon repentance; You relieve the necks of people from heavy burdens.You are my purpose and You are the One sought by my soul; And it is in You I repose my entire trust and hope.You granted me the goblet of the finest wine of love; Therefore, I drank goblets upon goblets of it.Surely I shall die but my love shall never perish; Even in the dust of my grave, my voice will be recognised owing to your Your remembrance.

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45 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS My eyes have not seen a Benefactor like You; O You Who keep on expanding Your favors, O You Who possess all blessings.You have indeed been the objective of my soul, In every droplet of ink and in the entire script I have dictated.When I witnessed the perfection of Your kindness and bestowals; Hardships vanished: now I do not feel my distress.I effaced my ego along with its emotions; When the One sought by all those who seek came to me.We have embraced a death that is invisible to our adversaries; Our funeral procession became far removed from the living.

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46 If the mercy of God, the Bestower of Security, had not taken care of me; It was nigh that the floods of my crying would have effaced me.We follow the Light of God the moment it manifests; We are not those who barter away the first night of the month, in exchange for darkness.My soul is far from anything that is dark; I have made my sturdy camel sit close to my Illuminator.When I saw my ego blocking my way; I forsook it like a dead thing lying forlorn in the wilderness.I drank goblets of death, for the sake of Guidance; Thus it was, after my death that I saw the Spring of my survival.

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47 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS My desires, at the age of pleasure, became extinct; Thus, I regained those in the times of separation and burning.Had there not been from the Gracious, the lamp of guidance.Our glass would have remained without being cleaned.I observe that the munificence of God the Bounteous has covered me; In the Hereafter, as well as in this life.Allah has granted me gardens of His Knowledge; Were it not for this favour, I would be like the foolish.It is the sighs [of longing] of the [spiritually] sick, which has demanded my advent; Thus, I appeared holding goblets filled with remedy.

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48 Allah, indeed, is my Creator and the Soul of my soul; He is such a Beloved to Whom my soul is wholly devoted.To Him belongs Oneness in all praises; And to Him belongs the highest heights.Stand for Him if you perceive His value; And, by devoting your heart and soul, run fast and move forward.His Kingdom is everlasting owing to the power of His Being; And to Him belongs Holiness and grandeur owing to His Independence.My heart became overwhelmed with the love of His Countenance; So much so that I cast aside my ego and the desires it entails.

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49 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS I observe that love has illuminated the innermost domain of my innermost realm; And I observe that passionate love is writ large on my face.No imprint has survived on my heart except that of Him; The favours of Allah have covered the face of my desires.The winds of my love for Him scattered the dust of my being; My heart became enamoured by the intensity of those winds.I remedy the grief with the swords of His Munificence; And Allah is indeed sufficient for me, and what a great Shepherd He is! Nowhere did my nose ever smell the stench of humiliation; And I have raised the dust of death among the adversaries.

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50 O my Lord! We affirm that You are the One and Only; Lord of the Sky and the Creator of the dust-coloured earth.I believe in all those Books which You have sent down; And in all those that which you foretold from prophecies.O my Protector! Pray take care of me, as You alone are my shield; O my protective-haven! Protect me from the uproar.O Lord! Grant me help through Your grace and take revenge; From he who burys Faith beneath dust.They do not know the excellences of the Faith of the Chosen One s as ; And they are embracing death due to their miserliness and hypocrisy.

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51 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS They hurt me; they are a people who wasted their faith: With foul objectives and impure ideas.They attempted to frighten me, but the Men of God, due to their courage, do not become frightened — In face of the hardships and conflict of the age.The malicious among the people stare at me like a fox; They cause me distress by uttering meows and vulpine howls.They are jealous and use abusive language like the jealous and it has always been; That the people with carnal desires are jealous towards one who is blessed.Like enemies they bare their fangs and lunge in attack— Uttering ‘ son of falsehood and the tale-bearing slanderer ’.

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52 The malicious among the people declare me a disbeliever; This increases me not, but in rank and superiority.They all have shed their garments of righteousness; Now they are left with nothing except the outward gear of misguidance.I see nothing but turbans and beards, Or such noses which have become crooked due to excessive indulgence in stubborn argumentation.And I observe their anger leaping as if it is the sea; Their waves of misguidance are like the waves of a stormy ocean.The words of the mean are like sharpened lances; Their garments of barking have laid bare [the reality of] their inner-selves.

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53 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS Who will inform of my debasement and my distress, To my Chief, the Seal of Prophets, the one who possesses beneficence and excellence of benevolence? O one of purified morals and characteristics! We have come to you, after being oppressed by the tyranny of the ignorant.Certainly, love can neither be wasted nor bought; O sun of generosity, we are in love with You! You are, indeed, the one who combines all virtues within yourself; You are, indeed, the one who has come to revive.You are the one who, for the sake of the Lord, gave up reconciling [with the enemy], And chose His Lord, over and above his own self.

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54 O you who are the treasure trove of Allah’s favours and munificence! Creation rushes towards you to seek refuge.O you who are the full-moon of Allah’s Light and divine knowledge! People with purified hearts hurriedly flock towards you.O our Sun, O spring of Divine light ! You have illuminated the faces of cities as well as the wildernesses.I certainly see such glory in your radiant face, Which transcends the brilliance in the face of the Sun.You have not come to us but in the hour of need; Your arrival is like that of a downpour in a season of sweltering heat.

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55 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS I have seen the countenance that is the countenance of Muhammad s as ; A countenance that is like the full-moon.The sun of guidance arose for us from Makkah; The spring of benefactions gushed out for us from Hira.The rays of the Sun resemble an aspect of his luminescence; When I saw this sun, it caused a tumult in my wailing.God the Protector elevated our resolve regarding His Religion; Thus, we build our houses, high up on Gemini.We exert ourselves like youth, for the religion of Muhammad s as ; We are not like a man whose limbs are amputated.

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56 We scaled heights to reach the Pleiades in heaven; So that we may bring Faith down to earth.We have been formed like swords; so we smash, The heads of the mean, and the skulls of the enemies.How marvellous are the Companions and troops of the Holy Prophet s as , Who remained with him in times of hardship and ease.Due to the blessings of the Holy Prophet s as and his munificence; They had their carnal desires smashed into pieces; and then they were submerged into Divine Light.They stood by the feet of the Messenger s as in battles; They presented themselves before our Imam to be sacrificed.

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57 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS So the blood of these men, who were true and sincere, Was spilled under the swords like that of a deer.When their hearts were beating in such anxiety as if they had reached their throats; They adopted every hardship for the sake of Allah.They entered the garden of this noble dispensation; Which has many springs and fruitful trees.They were consumed in their love for the Chosen One s as and due to their love for him; They became cut-off from their fathers and sons.They accepted every calamity for the sake of the Religion of Allah; They even agreed to undergo the hardships of exile.

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58 They preferred the countenance of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as and its light; And became distanced from the company of their friends.They were illuminated during the darkness of corruption; They found light in the gloomiest of all dark nights.The malicious usurped their property and belongings; Then their Heavenly King granted them the precious jewels and gems of true wisdom and Divine light.Wonderful they are! They were slain for the honour of their Lord; They were killed for His sake in the path of truth and purity.They were present in all battles until they fulfilled their covenant; With faithfulness for the pleasure of the Protector.

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59 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS They strayed not from the paths of guidance and they accepted; The tyranny of their enemies and the hardships of many a wilderness.This is the Prophet at whose door we have arrived today; In a spirit of love, obedience and contentment.I wish that my heart with its waves—could have been cut open; So that I could show the people, how its ocean is full of water.We have moved towards his shadow, in the scorching heat— Like a bird when it takes refuge under the shade of a giant tree.O you who rejects our Faith and our Prophet; And rudely abuses the countenance of the Chosen One s as !

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60 By God! I would not be considered a brave man if, on the day of battle; I were not to attack you suddenly [O enemy] and fervidly—O son of the unchaste! We are indeed witnessing his beauty and graceful loveliness; And also, the charm of his black eyes.He is the full moon from the Noble God out of His grace; And a full moon does not become devoid of luminescence by the absurd chatter of a blind man.The disbelievers cannot see the light emitted by his beauty; Death is better than a life of unconsciousness.We are treading upon the path of his Faith; And we are averse to every infidel and adversary of reason.

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61 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS We adopt the traditions and injunctions of the Holy Prophet s as ; We follow the Word of God and not any opinions.O you who denies me! A righteous person has a good end; Keep then, like people of wisdom, an eye on the ultimate outcome of things.I see, how you have a conceited and vainglorious gait; Have you forgotten about the Day of Travel, and the Night of Departure? O you who has crossed all bounds! Repent! The hour is-nigh; When you will bite your senseless hands! Do you strike glass upon the slab of stone? Have mercy on your own self; do not perish due to your arrogant denial.

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62 You have been deceived by words that are devoid of enlight - enment The reality of prophecies has been confounded for you.Poisons are indeed the worst in the world; And among poisons, misguided opinions too are a poison.By labeling me a disbeliever, you overstepped the bounds of righteousness; Have you cut open my heart, or seen any hidden sin on my part? My Signs will come to you, and you will recognise them; So, have patience, and do not abandon the way of modesty.One who is granted nearness is not wasted with trials; A reward is determined for every calamity he faces.

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63 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS O our Lord! Adjudicate a dignified resolution of the dispute between us; O You Who is watching over my heart and the inner-most reality of what my exterior shows.O You Whose doors I see open, For beggars, pray, do not reject my supplication.

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FOOTNOTE [From Page 33] Since the real purpose of penning the Arabic text is to demonstrate that this language—in addition to pos - sessing this particular characteristic that it is a perfect servant to all branches of divinity and theology—at the time of articulating any anecdote, discourse, basic prin - ciple, and objective, and at the time of conveying the most subtle theme, exclusively makes use of root words.Furthermore, its linguistic treasury contains such a sys - tem of root words which proves equal to the structure of every narrative, and no need is felt to incline towards the use of compound words.For this reason I have in -

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66 tended for this treatise and introduction, and also for some other essays that will follow, to draw the atten - tion of the readers towards these special characteristics of Arabic so that, if possible, my opponents may try to match this writing, and may endeavour to absolve their language of the blemish that it is devoid of the capability to convey every matter of great significance by using only root words.But if they cannot accom - plish this then whether they are advocates of Sanskrit or of any other language, they ought to shy away from ever so much as mentioning in any gathering, their own language to equal Arabic, or ever attempt to give ex - pression to the thought, even at a lapse of memory, that their language is a divine language in which the word of God has been revealed.Let it be known that there are three hundred words in this treatise and introduction that are root words; and I have even forsaken some words that have originated from the same root.These words consist of hundreds of wonders and subtleties; if I were to describe all these wonderfully special characteristics, it would in reality, require a voluminous tome.Thus, to demonstrate this, I will present the qualities of only two words as an ex - ample here.Subsequently, God willing, I will continue

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67 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS to present such examples from time to time.But before this, it is imperative to set out this extremely valuable principle that, after looking at the landscape of creation, one has to necessarily admit that the primary hallmark of all those things that were created by the hand of God, or which emanated from Him, is that according to their respective rank in creation, they must be devoted to the service of leading to the paths of the recognition of God, and they must make evident the purpose of their existence, either through verbal expression or by virtue of their condition, that they are a means to at - taining the cognisance of God and are servants of His cause.This is because, by casting a profound look at the individual specimens of all creation it is established that the entire enterprise of the universe, appearing in the manner of differing species and forms, is engaged in being a means to recognise God Almighty and the paths that lead to Him.Thus, since the Arabic language emanated from God and issued forth from His mouth, it was imperative that this feature must be found within it so that one may identify with certainty that it is, in reality, among such things which have come into be - ing purely from God Almighty—without any role of human endeavour.Thus, all praise is due to Allah and

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68 it is His favour that this hallmark is very evidently and clearly found in the Arabic language.Just as the mean - ing of the verse ِ ض ُدُو�ۡ ج �َۡع ی�ِِاَّلَّ ل ۡس َ ا ض �ِۡ اَّل و َ ا َّ ض ُ ال�ۡج�ِ ت �ۡ ت َل�َ ض و َ مَا � 1 is established and proven concerning the other faculties of man, similarly the same reality is established in the case of Arabic which is the original language of man and is an inherent part of his creation.What doubt is there that the creation of man can be deemed complete and perfect only in such condition when the ability to speak is inherently a part of it; for that which is the manifes - tation of the essence of mankind is indeed the faculty of verbal communication.It would not amount to exag - geration if we were to say that by mankind is meant this faculty of speech with all its requisites.Thus, for God Almighty to say that He has created mankind for His worship and to attain His cognisance is, in other words, akin to the statement that He has made the very essence of humanity—which is the faculty of speech and verbal communication, in tandem with all its powers and all the actions that take effect under its command—for Himself.Because, when we ponder over what a human-being is, 1 “And I have not created the Jinn and the men but that they may worship Me.” S u rah Adh-Dh a riy a t 51:57.[Publisher]

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69 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS we evidently learn that he is an animate being who, by vir - tue of his ability to verbally communicate, is completely distinct from all other animals.Thus, this proves that the ability to verbally communicate is the principal reality of man, and other faculties are subordinate and subservient to it.Thus, if one were to say that the speech of man is not from God Almighty, it would have to be admit - ted that the essence of what it means to be human is not from God Almighty.But it is evident that God is the Creator of mankind and therefore, is the Teacher of lan - guage as well; and to resolve the issue as to which language He is the Teacher of, I have just written that only that language has originated from Him which, in accordance to the verse ِ ض ُدُو�ۡ ج �َۡع ی�ِا ِاَّلَّ ل َ ۡس ض �ِۡ اَّل و َ ا َّ ض �ِ ج�ۡال ُ ت �ۡ ت َل�َ ض و َ مَا � , is worthy of serving man for the purpose of recognising God in the same way other faculties of man’s being serve him.I have explained that it is only Arabic that is characterised by these attributes.Its service is such that, for the recog - nition of God, it possesses such an inherent power which very beautifully demonstrates the semantic divisions of theology, as found in the law of nature, within its root words.It reveals the delicate and fine differences between divine attributes which appear in the book of nature [the universe]; in the same way it manifests the proofs of the

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70 Oneness of God which are evident from the same book, and manifests all manner of God Almighty’s intentions which relate to His servants and are conspicious in the book of divine decree in such a manner, as if it paints an extremely intricate illustration before us.It demonstrates those subtle distinctions that exist in the names of God, His attributes, actions and will—which His law of nature stands witness to—with such clarity as if it brings forth its illustration before the eyes.Thus, it becomes obvious that for revealing the countenance of His attributes, actions, and will, and for showing the accord between His act and word, God Almighty has created the Arabic language as a patron-helper, and has willed since eternity that it must serve as the key to the concealed and hidden secrets of that which relates to the Divine.When we reach this point and the wonderful magnificence and peerlessness of Arabic dawns upon us, all other languages appear to be lying in a state of great darkness and deficiency.This is because the manner in which the Arabic language is like a mirror that faces divine attributes and its teachings, with the reflective line of divinity—as portrayed in nature— falling upon Arabic; such condition is surely not found in any other language.When we employ sound reasoning and resolute intelligence to look at the division of divine

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71 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS attributes which has naturally existed in the universe from eternity, we find the same distribution in the root words of Arabic.For instance, when we ponder and carry out rational research over how many parts the mercy of God Almighty could have comprised in its initial apportioning, then looking at the law of nature which is before our eyes we clearly come to understand that such mercy is of two kinds: that which manifests before an action and that which manifests after an action.The divine system of sustaining mankind bears open witness that the Mercy of God, in its initial distribution, manifested itself upon the children of Adam in two ways.Firstly, the kind of mercy which was granted to man - kind without being the consequence of any deed on the part of any agent, such as the earth, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars, water, air, fire, and all those bless - ings upon which rests the survival and life of mankind.Without a doubt, all these are a mercy for man which have been granted to him only by way of divine grace and beneficence, not owing to a right of entitlement.This is a special grace which does not even entail man asking for it; instead, it pre-dates even his existence.These elements constitute such grand mercy that man’s life is dependent on them and their nature proves that none of these el -

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72 ements were created owing to any virtuous act of man; rather, even the knowledge of human sin, which God Al - mighty possessed from the beginning, did not prevent the manifestation of these mercies.No one who is convinced of transmigration or is a believer in it—no matter how steeped he may be in his prejudice and ignorance—can ever claim that these are the fruits and consequence of man’s good deeds; the earth was created for the comfort of man, or that the Sun and the Moon were created to dispel his darkness, or that water and grain were created as a reward for some virtuous act of his, or as a result of his piety and righteousness air was created in order to breathe, for all these elements were present before man’s being and existence.Until the presence of these elements is not pre-assumed, even the thought of man’s existence is an impossible notion.How is it possible then that such elements, upon which man was dependent for his existence, life and survival, may have come into being after him? Moreover, the very being of man; the excellent manner in which it has evolved from the very beginning; these are all such matters that predate the creation of hu - mans and this is such a special mercy in which no human action, worship and endeavour has any role.The second type of divine mercy is such which be -

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73 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS comes a consequence of the good deeds of man; when he prayers with humility his prayer is accepted, when he works hard to seed his tilth, divine mercy causes it to grow till a large stock of grain is produced from it.Likewise, if one ponders, he finds that divine mercy is attached to each one of our good deeds—whether such deed pertains to religion or the material world.When we exert ourselves to any end, whether related to religion or the material world while subscribing to those laws which are among the established practice of God, divine mercy immediately attaches itself to us and causes our endeav - ours to flourish.Both these types of divine mercy are such that with - out them we cannot live.Can anyone entertain doubt regarding their existence? Certainly not! Rather these are the most-evident realities with which the entire system of our life is running.Thus, when it is established that, for the purpose of our development and perfection, two springs of two mercies have been made to flow by the Munificent and All-Powerful and these are two of His attributes which, for the purpose of irrigating the tree of our existence, were manifested in two forms, we should observe how these two springs, having been reflected in the Arabic language, are named.

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74 Let it be known that, under the first kind of divine mercy, God Almighty is known as Ra h m a n [The Gra - cious], whereas under the second kind of divine mercy His name in the Arabic language is Ra hi m [The Ever Merciful].It was to demonstrate this quality that I used the word Ra h m a n in the first line of the Arabic dis - course.Now, one can see based on this example that since the attribute of divine mercy, according to its ap - portionment, was based upon two types of the divine law of nature, two root words exist in the Arabic lan - guage for its expression 1.This principle will be very beneficial for a seeker of truth that in order to identify the minute differences [of meaning] in the Arabic language, the attributes and ac - 1 In the book, Das a t i r Maj u s , the following sentence is written: ام ض � ج � دادگر ض ا� ج س گر مہر � ئ ا � ث � ض � ج دہ � ض � ئ ا � ث � ض � ج د � ض ا�ی� [With the name of God, Forgiving, Kind.] While these words seem to resemble ہّٰللِّٰ ِ ا ِسْم ج � ِ الرَّح�ِی ْم ض الرَّحْم�ٰ [In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merci - ful] yet these [Persian] words are devoid of the wise distinction between the words Ra h m a n and Ra hi m ; and the extensive mean - ings found within the word Allah , are certainly not found in the word د ض ا�ی�.Therefore, this concoction of the Parsees bears no relation to ہّٰللّٰ ِ ا ِسْم ج �.Perhaps these words, indicating a sort of pla - giarism, were composed much later.In any case, this deficiency is indicative of the fact that this statement is of human origin.(Author)

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75 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS tions of God, which are conspicuous in nature, should always be taken as the criterion and its varieties—which the law of nature reveals—should be searched for in the root words of Arabic.Moreover, whenever it is intended to demonstrate the difference between such synonyms in Arabic that are related to the attributes and actions of God, one ought to turn towards the divide of the attributes and actions of God which are being manifested by the system of the law of nature.This is because the real purpose of Arabic is to render service to the realm of divinity, just as the purpose of man is to acquire the cognisance of the Exalted Creator—it is only by observing the purpose for which something has been created that its hidden secrets can be laid bare and its essence known.For instance, an Ox has been created only for ploughing the land and for carrying load; if one overlooks this and attempts to charge it with the same task that hunting dogs are charged with, it will undoubtedly be unable to carry it out and will prove itself to be utterly wretched and useless.On the contrary, if one were to test it for its actual purpose, it will quickly prove that it carries a heavy burden of the world’s economic system.Thus, the merit of everything is proven only when it is charged to perform its real

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76 function.Similarly, the real purpose of the appearance of Arabic is to show the radiant countenance of divin - ity.But since it was beyond human powers to discharge this exceedingly subtle and precise task with perfection, and remain safe against comitting any error, God the Compassionate, the Ever Merciful, for the purpose of demonstrating the fluency and eloquence of the Ara - bic language, and for revealing the subtle distinctions between its root words, and to demonstrate the ex - traordinary miracle of its compound words, sent down the Holy Qur’an as such a miracle that all bowed their heads [in submission] before it.And whatever the Holy Qur’an demonstrated of the high level of expression in Arabic with regards to its roots and compounds, was not only accepted by the great linguists of the time, but by being unable to match it, they proved that human fac - ulties are incapable of demonstrating such realities and insights, and of showing the true and genuine beauty of the language.It was through this Holy Word that we came to know of the distinction between Ra h m a n [the Gracious] and Ra hi m [the Merciful] , regarding which I have written, as an example, in the above discourse.It is obvious that every language has a number of synonyms, but unless one pays careful attention to their

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77 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS mutual differences, and unless such words originate from divine knowledge or religious teaching, they can - not be numbered under the category of learning.Let it also be remembered that a human cannot, of him - self, coin such roots; however, if they are created by the power of the All-Powerful, then by pondering over them one can discover their subtle differences and the appropriate context in which they can be used.For in - stance, consider the pioneers of Arabic grammar and syntax—they did not bring about any innovation; nor did they lay down new rules and oblige people to fol - low them.Instead, they perused this natural tongue with an alert mind and were able to discern that this language can be brought within the ambit of linguistic rules.Consequently, to resolve linguistic issues, they laid the foundation of [grammatical] rules.Thus, by plac - ing every word at its apposite location, the Holy Qur’an demonstrated to the whole world the proper usage of Arabic roots, and how they serve the realm of divin - ity and possess very subtle mutual distinctions.Let it be known here that the Holy Qur’an comprises of ten kinds of systems that pertain to root word: 1.The system of such roots which describe the Being of the Creator and present arguments

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78 for the existence of the Creator, an in addition which contain such attributes, names, acts, prac - tices, and conduct of God Almighty which, with their mutual distinctions, are exclusively associ - ated to the being of Allah, the Lord of Glory.In addition, such words which are associated with His perfect praise and glorification, and which are about the description of His awe-inspiring majesty and His peerless beauty, grandeur, and high station.2.The system of such root words encompassing the Oneness of God Almighty, and the argu - ments for and evidence of it.3.The system of such root words in which those characteristics, actions, deeds, and conditions, both spiritual and temporal—with their mu - tual distinctions—have been described that in the presence of God Almighty—compliant to Divine Will or against it—are committed by hu - mans or are manifested.4.The system of such roots that, in the matter of commandments, teachings, morals, beliefs, rights owed to Allah, rights owed to others, scientific knowledge, divinely-prescribed limits

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79 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS of conduct, injunctions, exhortations and pro - hibitions, and realities and insights is a perfect guidance from God Almighty.5.The system of such roots which describe true salvation, the true means and manners for its attainment, and the signs and hallmarks of the believers who have achieved salvation and those who enjoy nearness to God.6.The system of such roots which describe the nature of Islam, disbelief, and associating part - ners with God, which present arguments and proofs in support of the truth of Islam and in rebuttal of objections against it.7.The system of such roots which disprove all the false beliefs of opponents.8.The system of such root words which are laid out as warnings, glad tidings, promises or cau - tions, or descriptions of the Hereafter, or in the form of miracles, or as illustrations in the form of such prophecies which are faith-inspiring or carry other benefits, or which are in the form of such accounts that are for the purpose of warn - ing, cautioning, or giving glad tidings.9.The system of such roots which consist of the

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80 character and holy attributes of the Holy Proph - et, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, and the example of his pure life, which also con - tain the complete arguments in support of the prophethood of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him.10.The system of such roots which describe the attributes, effectiveness and unique virtues of the Holy Qur’an.These ten systems are those which, due to their ulti - mate level of perfection, are found to exist as ten circles within the Holy Qur’an, which we may refer to as “The Set of Ten Circles”.Within these ten circles God Almighty has used such pure and mutually distinct root words, that a sound intellect immediately testifies that such a perfect and complete system of roots was created in Arabic so that it be a servant of the Holy Qur’an.This is the reason that this system of roots has proven to be complete - ly congruent with the system of teaching embodied in the Holy Qur’an, which itself is perfect and complete.But, the system of roots found in other languages does not, in any manner, prove to be in accordance with the educational mannerisms of those scriptures which are

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81 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS said to be from God, and which are said to have been revealed in those languages; nor are the “Set of Ten Circles” found in those books.A major reason, from amongst others for these books to be deficient is that they are devoid of these essential circles; consequently, the root words of these languages could not faithfully serve the teachings of those books.The secret behind this is that those books were not genuine books; rather, they were meant only for a few days.There was only one true book that was revealed to this world, which was in - tended to be of benefit to mankind forever; therefore, it was revealed equipped with the perfect Ten Circles, and its system of root words was of precisely equal weight and rank to the system of teaching inherent in that Book.Each circle, from among the Ten Circles, carries with it a system of roots concordant with the measure and value of its own natural system, in which distinct root words were dedicated to convey the attri - butes of God, and to express the different ranks and stages contained in the first four categories listed above and, according to the circle of every teaching, a perfect circle of root words existed.Now considering this [discussion] to suffice, I will proceed to describe a few qualities of another word.

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82 That word is ج ر� [ Rabb ], which has been taken from the vocabulary of the Holy Qur’an.This word appears in the very first chapter and very first verse of the Holy Qur’an, as Allah—the Lord of Glory—says: ِِّٰ ہّٰلل ُ اَلْحَمْد َ ض الْعٰلَم�ِی�ْ ِّ ب رَ [All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds].It is stated in Lis a n Al-‘Arab and T a j Al-‘Ur u s , which are authentic lexicons, that in the Arabic language the word ج ر� [ Rabb ] consists of seven meanings which are: 1.M a lik [Master] 2.Sayyid [Chief] 3.Mudabbir [The One who Plans] 4.Murabb i [Nourisher].Qayyim [Sustainer] 6.Mun‘im [Bestower of Rewards] 7.Mutammim [The One who Completes].Thus, out of these seven mean - ings, three meanings convey the grandeur of God’s Being: included among them is M a lik.In the Arabic lexicon, the word مالک [ M a lik ] is used for someone who has complete control over his kingdom, such that he can make use of it in any way he so pleases, and he possesses a sole right over it to the exclusion of everyone else.This word, in its true sense—meaning in terms of its definition—cannot be applied to anyone except God Almighty, for complete control, complete power to make use of something and complete rights over it is not befitting for anyone ex -

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83 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS cept God Almighty.Furthermore, in the Arabic lexicon, the word س�ی ّد [ Sayyid ] is used for one who has a great congregation subservient to him, who obey him due to a heartfelt passion and natural sense of submission.Thus, the dif - ference between a Sayyid and a king is that a king presses people into submission through a politics of subjuga - tion and harsh laws, whereas the followers of a Sayyid obey him due to their heartfelt love, heartfelt passion, and heartfelt inspiration and, out of the genuine love they have for him, they address him as ا ض س�ی ّد� [ Sayyidu - n a : our leader].Such obedience is shown to a king only when he is also determined to be a Sayyid in the eyes of the people.In short, the word Sayyid , too, by way of its definition, is not used for anyone except God Almighty, because obedience that is a result of genuine and true passion—which does not contain an iota of selfish de - sires—is not rendered to anyone except God Almighty.It is He alone, to whom true obedience is exhibited by the souls, for He is the true origin of their creation.Therefore, by its very nature every soul prostrates be - fore Him.Idol-worshippers and those who worship humans both possess the same passion for obeying Him as does a righteous monotheist; but because of

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84 their own error and a defect of aspiration, they did not recognise this true fountain of life; instead, on account of their [spiritual] blindness, they focused this passion towards fabricating something unworthy.Consequently, some deified stones, some deified Ramachandra, some deified Krishna and some, God forbid, deified the Son of Mary.They did this under the misconception that perhaps it was that which was sought.Thus, such peo - ple met a [spiritual] death by handing over the rights of God to creation.Similarly, out of a spiritual craving for the True Beloved and Sayyid , those who worship the wind were deceived, for their hearts too contained a desire for a Beloved and true Sayyid ; but by not being able to properly understand their heartfelt desires, they thought that such a true beloved and Sayyid —which the souls desire and for whose obedience the spirits are astir—is none other than the material wealth, material property and pleasures of this world.But this was their mistake.Instead, the One Who arouses spiritual desires and is the cause of pure emotions is that One Being Who has said: ِ ض ُدُو�ْ ج �َْع ی�ِِاَّلَّ ل ا َ ْس ض �ِْ اَّل ا َ و َّ ض �ِ ج�ْال ُ ت �ْ ت َل�َ ض � مَا َ و 1 mean - ing that I am indeed the purpose for which the jinn and 1 “And I have not created the Jinn and the men but that they may worship Me.” S u rah Adh-Dh a riy a t 51:57.[Publisher]

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85 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS humans have been created and bestowed their powers; I have created them so that they may recognise Me, and worship Me.Thus, in this verse, God indicated that the essence of a craving for Him, for His cognisance and for His obedience, has been inherently placed in the creation of Jinn as well as men.If this essence had not been inherent within man, there would have been no worship of air, idol-worship, or worship of humans, because every waywardness has come into being out of the search for rectitude.Thus, true sovereignty is in - deed for that One Being, and it is He who is, in reality, the Sayyid.Included among the three divine names which attest to the grandeur of God Almighty is also ّر ج مد� [ Mud - abbir ].The word tadb i r means that, at the time of an endeavour, one has before him an entire spectrum of that which relates to occurrences of the past as well as future outcomes, and due to this it becomes ْ ِی ض � ٍ َیْء ث � ُ ْع و�َض ِ مَحَلِّہ [the placement of something precisely at its most appropriate place], and no actions may fall outside the ambit of a wise strategy.The name Mudabbir too, in the sense of its true meanings, cannot be applied to anyone except God Almighty because devising the perfect plan [ tadb i r ] depends on having knowledge of the unseen,

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86 which is not possessed by anyone except God Almighty.And the four remaining names: ّی ج مر� [ Murabb i ], �ی ّم ت � [ Qayyim ], عم ض م� [ Mun‘im ], and مّم م�ت [ Mutammim ] indi - cate those graces of God Almighty which, according to His perfect Lordship, His perfect Sovereignty, and His perfect planning, operate upon His servants.Thus, in its apparent meaning, the word Murabb i is used for the one who nourishes, and the reality of perfect de - velopment is that such nourishment should occur in all parts of man’s creation—in terms of body, soul, and all faculties and powers.And this nourishment should extend as far as the physical and spiritual progress of man demands such perfect development.Similarly, the point from where the name and identity, or the rudi - ments of the human condition begin, and the point from where the imprint of a human—or the imprint of the existence of some other form of life—moves from non-existence to existence, such manifestation and emergence is also termed as nourishment.From this one learns that, according to the Arabic lexicon, the meaning of the word rub u biyyat [Lordship] is very extensive; from the point of non-existence to the point of the perfection of creation, the word rub u biyyat is ap - plied.And the words ت ال� ض � [ Kh a liq ] etc.are offshoots of

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87 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS the noun ّ ج ر� [ Rabb ].Qayyim means: One Who Protects the System and Mun‘im means: the One Who Bestows every type of reward and honour, which human beings, or any other type of creation, can attain by virtue of their innate capacity and which, by their nature, they desire, so that each category of creation attains its per - fection.Just as Allah, the Lord of Glory, states: ۤۡ ِی ن َا ال�َّ ر�َب�ُّ ن 1 ُمَّ ھَدٰی ث � ٗ َہ ة َل�ۡ ن � ٍ َیۡء ث اَعۡطٰی کُل َّ � meaning the Lord who granted a perfection of form to everything, apposite to its con - dition, then guided it towards other desired excellences.Thus, it is a reward that everything, on the basis of its existence, is firstly bestowed all those faculties which it is in need of, and subsequently, is shown the paths to achieve its desired states.The meaning of Mutammim is that there be no deficiency in any aspect of the system of grace, and it be perfected in every way.Thus, the noun Rabb which appears in the Holy Qur’an, which I have quoted in the beginning of this discourse, comprises of such extensive meanings which I have briefly presented in this treatise.Now I write with extreme sadness that an unin - 1 “Our Lord is He Who gave unto everything its proper form and then guided it to its proper function”.S u rah Ta H a 20:51.[Publisher]

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88 formed English Christian has written in his book that the religion of Christianity possesses the superiority over Islam that it has Father as one of the names of God Almighty; and this name is very beautiful and at - tractive 1 ; but it does not appear in the Qur’an.I am surprised, however, that this critic, at the moment of writing, has not given thought to the extent to which lexicons have revealed the dignity and greatness of this word; because every word takes its true dignity and hon - our from the lexicon, and no man is entitled, by his own will, to attach any status to a word which the lexicon does not ascribe.It is for this reason that even the Word of God does not overstep the bounds of the lexicon.All people possessing views based on personal intellect as well as those conveying traditional views agree that, when expressing the dignity and grandeur of any word, one must first recourse to the lexicon and determine the extent to which the language, to which the word 1 It ought to be remembered that the word abun —or b a p or fa - ther—certainly does not imply and embody the connotation of love.The act, by imitation of which a man, or another animal, comes to be known as a father, is not accompanied with such sentiments.Rather, love comes gradually, after seeing and expe - riencing companionship.However, for lordship, love is an inher - ently essential attribute from the very beginning.(Author)

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89 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS belongs, has clothed such word with the mantle of hon - our and respect.Now, by keeping this principle before us when one ponders, according to the lexicon, over the calibre of the word ج ا� [ abun ], i.e.father, one cannot say anything except that when, for instance, a human is born of the sperm of another human such that, in the act of creation , the one who gave his seed has no role— in such case, one would say that so and so is the abun , i.e.father, of such and such person.Moreover, in the condition in which one needs to define God—the All- Powerful—as One Who brings creation into existence through His will, Who perfects, Who bestows blessings in accordance to the condition out of His Great Mercy, and Who Himself is its Protector and Sustainer, then the lexicon does not permit, in any form, that such con - notation may be expressed by using the word abun , or father.Instead, the lexicon has reserved another word for it, which is known as rabb , the true definition of which, according to the lexicon, I have just explained above.We most certainly are not entitled to invent a lexicon ourselves; instead, it is imperative for us to fol - low the same meanings which have existed from ancient times as having proceeded from God.Thus, it is evident from this discussion that to use

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90 the word abun , which means father, with regards to God Almighty amounts to disrespect and derision.And those who have concocted the charge against Jesus that he used to address God Almighty as abun and indeed considered the Divine Being to be his father, have lev - elled an exceedingly hideous and false allegation against the Son of Mary.Can any reason suggest that, God forbid, Jesus may have committed such folly as to use the same word in respect of Allah, the Lord of Glory, which according to its lexical meaning happens to be so insignificant and dishonourable that, in all aspects, it signifies lack of power, weakness, and helplessness? The Son of Mary, on whom be peace, was certainly not entitled to coin his own lexicon; and such lexical innovation which be so absurd that it clearly indicates ignorance.Thus, the lexicon has not extended the scope of meaning of the word abun —meaning father—be - yond this that when the sperm of a male falls into the womb of a female, and that sperm gradually becomes a created entity, not by some power of the agent, but due to the power of another being, then, according to the lexicon, the agent who deposited this sperm is called a father.And the word abun is such an insignifi - cant and dishonourable word that it does not entail any

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91 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS part of conducting an upbringing, intention or love.For instance, a Buck who jumps at a female-goat and ejaculates its sperm therein, or an Ox who leaps upon a cow, and having executed its lustful urges, runs away from the cow—having no thought of procreation—or a pig, who is overwhelmingly driven by carnal urges and repeatedly engages in the act of mating, having no thought towards achieving the purpose of producing offspring at the moment of any carnal impulse and spreading piglets in great numbers upon the earth—nor has it been granted such sense—but if offspring are born, no doubt, each Swine etc.will be called the father of its offspring.Therefore, according to all the lexicons of the world, when the word abun —father—does not at all mean that the father, after depositing the sperm, engages in any further activity in relation to the sperm so that the offspring is born, or that the father possess - es this intention at the time of procreation, nor has any creature been granted this ability, instead, the word fa - ther does not even contain any thought of the birth of an offspring, and nothing further can be derived from the connotation of the word other than that the father should only provide his sperm; rather, it is only on the basis of this act that he is called abun , meaning father.

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92 How can it be permissible then, that such a weak word, which is determined to be weak by the consensus of all languages, may be used to refer to the God of Absolute Power, Whose every act is manifested as a result of per - fect will, perfect knowledge, and absolute power? And how can it be befitting to use the same word in refer - ence to God Almighty, that can be used for goats, oxen and pigs? What an act of sacrilege it is that the ignorant Christians do not desist from! They have been left with no shame, nor modesty nor an understanding of what it means to be human! The doctrine of Atonement befell their human faculties in the manner of such pa - ralysis that has rendered them completely impaired and insensate.The reliance on Atonement by this nation has reached a point where even good conduct, in their view, is unnecessary.Recently, what has been published on the Christian doctrine of Atonement in the periodi - cal N u r Afsh a ń ( Ludhiana ) , in its 21 June, 1895 issue, is so dangerous that it greatly helps criminals.Its essence is that a true christian is not in need of any piety, since it states that virtuous acts have no role in attaining sal - vation; this clearly leads to the conclusion that no part of God’s pleasure—which is the basis of salvation— can be achieved through good deeds.Instead, only the

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93 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS doctrine of Atonement suffices.Now, those who pon - der can conclude that if good deeds have no role in achieving God’s pleasure then how can the conduct of Christians remain given to rectitude? When safeguard - ing against committing theft and fornication is not a cause for spiritual reward, then committing these two acts does not make one accountable either.Now one realises that audaciously immersing into debauchery on the part of Christians is due to the incentive provided by this doctrine.In fact, on the basis of this doctrine, they can commit murder, bear false witness etc.since the doctrine of Atonement, after all, is sufficient and a way to efface all evils.Fie upon such a faith and religion! It should be understood that the word abun , or fa - ther, which ignorant Christians apply to God Almighty by way of injustice and disrespect, is common to all lan - guages.In other words, it is part of those Arabic words which are found in all those languages that are branches of Arabic and, with minor transformation, such words are found in those languages.For example, father and pit a , and b a p and pidar etc.are distortions of the same Arabic word, which, God willing, I shall explain in its appropriate place.According to the lexicon, the formu - lation of this word is anchored on four roots:

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94 1.From اء ج ا� [ Ab a’ ]: because Ab a ’ is used for such water that does not run out; since the semi - nal-fluid continues to be produced in a man for a considerable length of years, and it is with this fluid that the Wise Lord of Majesty creates an offspring.It is for this reason, that the origin of such fluid was given the name abun.And it is in the same context that Arabs refer to a wom - an’s private parts as Ab u D a ris as D a ris means menstruation, i.e.the “father of menstruation”, since menstruation, too, does not cease until after a considerable length of time.Therefore, metaphorically taking menstruation to mean water, a woman’s private parts are named Ab u D a ris , as if it too, is a well the water of which does not run out.2.As being taken from ی ج ا� [ Ab i ] : because the mean - ing of ab i in the lexicon is to stop and come to an end.Since, in this context, the male—who is also known as the father—ceases activity upon discharging his semen and has no further offer - ing, whereas, ّ اُم [ umm ], the meanings of which are much more extensive, receives this sperm in her womb where it receives nourishment from

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95 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS her blood.Thus, all this is embodied in the meaning of the word abun.3.Derived from اء ج ا� [ Ab a’] : because ab a’ refers to a reed and since the reproductive organ of a male resembles a reed, he is known as abun meaning father.4.Originated from ab i as ab i refers to the cessa - tion of carnal passion just as a man’s sexual urge ends after satisfaction, therefore, this aspect is also embodied in the meaning of abun.In short, these are four dimensions of meaning that are found in the natural laws pertaining to fatherhood.Thus, it is on account of these [meanings] that abun became abun.And now, when the reason for abun being named as such has become known, the reason behind the words used in its stead in other languages, e.g.b a p , or father, or pidar , or pit a etc.also become known, for such words have all emerged from Arabic and are a dis - torted form it.Now one ought to ponder with a sense of shame and modesty as to whether such a word, the meanings of which are discussed above, can be applied to God Almighty? If the question is raised that why did the earlier Scrip - tures use this word in reference to God? The answer is

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96 that firstly, all such Scriptures have been distorted and changed, and any statement therein that runs counter to the truth and reality is certainly not worthy of cre - dence, because those books are now like offensive dirt, which a pure-natured man should eschew.Even if one were to concede, for the sake of argument, that such words did exist in certain contexts within the Torah, then it is possible for those words to have other mean - ings opposed to the meaning of father, since there is much scope in the definition of words.But even if it is conceded that this word has only one connotation, then the rejoinder could be that since the Israelites and their latter descendants were, in those days, living in a state of decadence and savagery, and they did not compre - hend the pure and perfect meaning carried in the word rabb , therefore, the revelation of God, in accordance to their despicable condition, used those words that they were able to fully comprehend.This is similar to the ex - ample of the Hereafter which does not have a detailed exposition in the Torah—instead, it contains incentives towards worldly comforts and warnings expressed in terms of worldly calamities—because at the time those nations were incapable of understanding a detailed ex - position of the Hereafter.Thus, just as the outcome

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97 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS of this brevity was that an entire nation arose amongst the Jews that rejected the Hereafter; in the same way, the outcome of the use of the word father was that an ignorant nation, meaning the Christians, deified a hum - ble man.However, all such idioms were indicative of decline.Since the teachings contained in those Scrip - tures were of limited nature and, in God’s knowledge, those teachings were soon to be abrogated, therefore, the use of such idioms was considered permissible in the case of a base, narrow-minded people.Then when that Book which shows true light came into this world, no need remained for the light that was mingled with darkness, and the age returned to its original state and all words became restored to their real meanings.This was the secret of the Holy Qur’an being accompanied by the miracle of eloquence and expression, because the world was in dire need of understanding the true form of language.Thus, the Holy Qur’an placed every word at its proper place and it opened up the qualities of eloquence and fluency in such a manner that they became two eyes of the faith.Earlier nations remained negligent in the matter of pressing language into the service of unravelling the mysteries of faith.But they were also helpless and constrained in this matter, as

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98 they only possessed languages that were in a distorted and compromised state, which were mute with regards to expressing the meanings behind roots and nouns.There was no system of root words, nor was there any store of systematic, ongoing word-generation.These languages resembled the bricks of a collapsed building, bearing no trace of their natural arrangement.Thus, how could such incompetent languages have aided them in the realm of divinity and theology? Consequently, all those nations perished.Then the Holy Qur’an was re - vealed in such a perfect language which possessed this linguistic apparatus; therefore the religion of Islam was protected from distortion, and creation did not take the place of the All-Powerful God.Though after this it was my intention to elucidate a few more words and demonstrate the remarkable ex - tent to which the roots of Arabic contain lofty insights; but alas, out of fear of prolonging this discussion, I will have to leave this topic here.However, the three-hun - dred words or so which I have written here, have been written for the purpose that my opponents, too, should formulate texts of a similar kind in their own languag - es.For example they may write a similar treatise and a similar introduction, composed of root words, and

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99 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS show it to us, so that we may learn the extent of root words they possess, and the extent to which they can employ their roots when expressing a matter, and con - firm whether they possess a system of such words or whether it is mere boasting.At this point I deem it prudent to address and re - move some of the suspicions and misgivings of Max Müller which he has noted in his book, Lectures on the Science of Language volume 1, under the discussion on Philology.The following discussion is presented in the form of “he says” and “my response”.He says: Among the factors prohibiting the ad - vancement of knowledge, one is that some nations coined derogatory epithets in relation to other nations for viewing those nations with denigration and con - tempt; therefore, they were not able to learn the lexicons of such ridiculed nations.Until the words barbarian and ع�ج می [ ‘ajam i ] were not expelled from human vocabu - lary and dictionaries, and in their place the word brother was established; and similarly, until the mutual right of all nations of the world was not acknowledged that they are one species, our science of language did not begin.My response : the statement of the writer seems to suggest that, in fact, the writer has an objection to the

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100 Arab people.He thinks that when the Arabs refer to non-Arabic speaking peoples as ‘ajam i , this word has been coined by way of grudge and prejudice with the purpose of demeaning other nations.This erroneous belief is only due to his Christian prejudice against investigating whether the expressions ‘arab and ‘ajam are the invention of man or whether they originate from God, although he himself has affirmed in his book that it is not possible for humans to invent the root words of a language.I shall now clarify for him, and for those who share his ideas, that these are two words in the Arabic language which exist as antonyms: the first is ج عر� [‘ arab ] which means the one who is eloquent and possesses great expression, and the other is ‘ajam which is used in the opposite sense and means ineloquent and inarticulate 1.If in Max Müller’s view these two words are not ancient and the followers of Islam have invented them out of malice, then he ought to provide the proof of those words which, in his opinion, were the original words.It is not possible that a people may not be known by any name from ancient times, and when you concede such names to be ancient then you must concede that they are not human invention, instead, 1 ‘ Ajam is the term used for foreigners who do not speak Arabic.[Publisher]

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101 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS the All-Powerful God, the Knower of the Unseen, Who has created humans with varying capabilities, has deter - mined these two names on the basis of varied abilities.Moreover, another argument is that if these two names ‘ arab and ‘ajam have been invented by some individual merely by way of prejudice and belittlement, then these two appellations will, no doubt, run counter to reality, and would be proven to be a lie which cannot gain wide acceptance.But I have already proven in this book that the word ‘ arab is, in actual fact, a noun which reflects the characteristics of those who are so named.It is certainly true that the Arabic language—by virtue of its system of root words, its fine formulation of expression, and vari - ous other wonders and extraordinary features—occupies such a lofty station that it has to be said that, in contrast to Arabic, other languages are like the one who is mute.And not only this, but when we observe that all other lan - guages lie inert like inanimate objects and the dynamics of word-generation are extinct within these languages to such an extent that it is as if they are lifeless, then one is obliged to admit that in reality those languages are in a state of decline.Thus, it is very softly articulated in Ara - bic that compared to the Arabs, other people are named ‘ Ajam , though, these languages and their people did not

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102 possess the right to even be given this title.If their dete - riorated linguistic state was to be properly unveiled, then it was quite appropriate for such languages to be called dead.In any situation, I do not advance this introduction only in terms of a claim, but in order to resolve this mat - ter, I have published an announcement with a reward of 5,000 rupees as part of this book.Thus, if there is any - one who desires to falsify this claim, whether it be Max Müller or anyone else, the straight course for them would be to prove their idle boasting with conclusive arguments and receive 5,000 rupees from me.Furthermore, I regret that Max Müller, being a Christian, has brought up an objection which runs counter to his own holy scriptures, because his own holy scriptures have used the appella - tion ‘ arab to denote Arab 1.Did he not even remember the Bible in the heat of his prejudice? Look at Acts of the Apostles in which their god has used the word ‘ arab to denote Arab.Thus, when his own holy scriptures maintain regard for the title ‘ arab , in contrast to which the appellation of ‘ ajam exists, then it is regrettable that despite being a Chris - tian, he has found it disagreeable to accept the respect 1 See Isaiah Chapter 21.A Prophecy Against Arabia.[Publisher]

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103 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS and honour of this word, and has not acknowledged its antonym.He should have pondered over the fact that his own holy scriptures have acknowledged the pure mean - ing of the word ‘ arab , which is why those books, in many places, use the word ‘ arab to denote Arab—which points towards the uniqueness of eloquence.Thus, prior to the existence of the Gospels, the Bible uses the word ‘ arab numerous times.Furthermore, those prophets who made prophecies in relation to the Arab land, used the word ‘ arab.If the word ‘ arab does not owe its origin to God Almighty, then it would inevitably entail that the Gospels and all those books that are considered Holy Scripture are not from God Almighty, in such a case, due to this prejudice, all these books will have to be forsaken.He says : In my opinion, the beginning of the science of language occurred on the first day of Pentecost.My response : Since the Acts of the Apostles narrates that the disciples of Jesus began to speak in a variety of tongues, therefore Max Müller takes this as conclusive evidence that it was the Christian religion that laid the foundation of research into language.Now, let the people endowed with insight reflect as to what great prejudice the writer [Max Müller] exhibits

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104 through such baseless ideas.It is a matter worth ponder - ing over that in the second chapter of Acts it is explained that the tongues in which the disciples spoke on that day were the same as those used by the Jews of Jerusalem.It is not stated that, they began to converse in Chinese, Sanskrit, or Japanese.Rather, it is clearly written that the Jews comprehended all those tongues, since all those lan - guages were already used in Jerusalem.Thus, in this situation, what is the “miracle” with re - gard to the disciples? In fact, presenting such narratives in this day and age should be considered an embarrassment.Is it not possible that the disciples were versed in those tongues that were frequently used in the city amongst the nation and brethren of the disciples? There was only one nation, one city and brethren where the culture meant that due to kinship, relationships, and partaking in each other’s affairs day and night, some became familiar with the language of others.Then what is unusual about the disciples, too, being familiar with the languages of their relatives? Such “miracle” does not seem to exceed the kind which the Sadhus of Lahore too demonstrate.On the other hand, had Max Müller written that the science of language originated with the enemies of Jesus and they were the first who laid its foundation, then such an

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105 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS assertion could, perhaps, have seemed true, because in the same chapter of Acts it is stated that the Jews, in the same city where the disciples lived, had been conversing in those tongues for a long time.Thus, precedence with regards to these languages is given to the Jews.It would suffice to give credit to the disciples to the extent that, unlike jugglers, they were not useless, instead, they had learned these languages from their kith and kin, because they had been brought up amongst them.The fact of the matter is that, apart from the Holy Qur’an, nothing appeared in the world which draws at - tention towards research into language.It is this pure Word which states: ُ ض ِاَل�َ ت �ۡ ض �و َ ا ِ ض �َۡۡر اَّل و َ ا ِ ت ُ السَّمٰو�ٰ ت َل�ۡ ض � ٖ ِہ ۡ ا�ٰی�ٰت ض �ِم َ و َ ض ٍ لِّلۡعٰلِم�ِی�ۡ ت �ٰی�َٰ اَّل َ ٰلِک ض ذ ۡ ِی ض � َّ ض �ِِکُم ۡ ؕ ا ض ِکُم ۡ و َ اَلۡوَا� ت �َ ض اَلۡس�ِ 1 meaning that among the Signs of the existence of God Almighty and His Oneness are the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of tongues and colours.In reality, these are major Signs for the recognition of God, but for those who possess knowledge.Observe, how much emphasis has been placed upon research into languages; so much so that it has been proclaimed as a basis for the recognition of God.Is there any verse, similar to this, in 1 S u rah Ar-R u m 30:23 [Publisher]

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106 the Gospels? I proclaim that there is none! Thus, there is reason for you to feel ashamed.

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PROLOGUE In discussion of the reasons for writing this book, and an explanation of what I have been taught by Allah, the Great Bestower.O reader of this book! May Allah, the Self-Sustaining, safeguard you from falling into error, and may He be your Helper in all your holy objectives.Surely, this age is an age of extreme injustice: it is like a scorching-hot day, or like a torrid country; knowledge and insight have become lost; innovations in religious matters and rituals have become widespread; all worries and concerns have become devoted to the material world; all things erstwhile keeping warm the love of God became sullied; the once

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108 overflowing wells [of spirituality] have run dry; the people of this age have partaken from the tree of Zaqq u m 1 as if it were dates and butter; the believers have become scarce, but the malicious—those given to dispute— have become abundant; and they have deified the Messiah [son of Mary] despite knowing that he was a poor and humble man and thus, such inauspicious days became the routine.Thus, we present our complaint before God Who is the Lord of all the Worlds.And we call to witness the same God—Who illuminated the stars, Who caused the rain-bearing clouds to move, created the heavens in layers, and filled them with radiance—that surely darkness has prevailed in this age and has settled within the hearts of men and women; temperaments have inclined towards wrongdoing and falsehood; the ways of debauchery, deception and injustice have been adopted; people have abandoned the ways of honesty and trustworthiness; have become satisfied with falsehood and breach of trust; and have 1 This is a wrathful expression used in the Holy Qur’an meaning that if they had not been arrogant and had not turned away from the truth out of pride and a false notion of their dignity, they would not have suffered in this fashion.See The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam written by the author.[Publisher]

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109 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS perverted the injunctions of religion.They consider the serious matters of truth and wisdom to be frivolous and futile, and regard gold as dross; and when they do tread [the path of faith] they tread crookedly.Their faculty of comprehension, through which they could have cleansed their hearts and perceived the arrival of the rain-bearing clouds, has departed.Thus, they have become like cattle that merely graze: they do not recognise the age, nor do they recognise that the era [of revival] has arrived! They do not walk the paths of truth and rectitude, nor do they search for the key to such a path, or ponder over the Qur’an with impartiality.They do not want the rains of divine beneficence to pour down, and roam in the wilderness of mischief like the blind.They cause hurt through their harsh words, which are sharper than swords.And they do not at all care for the status of the Truthful.When it is said to them, do not cause disorder, fear God and be guided, they respond that we are indeed the foremost promoters of reconciliation! Therefore, since they tell lies and do not forsake disorder, but are engaged in concocting falsehood, God has set a seal upon their hearts and made them drink the poison of their own sins, thus, they have become incapacitated and ruined.They were admonished but the exhortation

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110 benefitted them nought; they were exhorted, but such exhortation brought them no gain.In response they did not exhibit anything except rigidity, and they increased in orchestrating disorder.Observe how they go about transgressing in the land; they hastened forth from every height, and were the cause of every lamentation and bewailing; they quickened their steps in order to kill their prey; they spread debauchery, immodesty and falsehood for they themselves were immoral.It is for this reason that you see that honesty has become scarce, breach of trust has become rampant, immodesty has spread excessively, misguidance has produced numerous offspring, and the bitch of immorality became aroused; the adulteress of disorder conceived; sermons result in the opposite effect like giving birth to a breeched baby; and the camels of absurd talk have been fattened, whereas the thoroughbred fast- paced she-camel of truth—despite its youth, freshness and good health—was slaughtered.No one mourned over it nor shed any tears.Instead, the pony of falsehood was let loose in the pasture and grazed upon the meadow of truth until its stomach was bursting at the sides.No one took steps to stop it; the hands of Muslims having been rendered useless stripped of their flesh.The swords

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111 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS of the enemies were drawn from their scabbards.The free were made captive and their flesh was skewered and roasted over burning fire, then bitten, chewed, and swallowed.Doomsday has arrived and the violent flood of mischief has intensified and overwhelmed everything, breaching the dam; the calamity has become heavy, and catastrophes have descended and suddenly gripped everything; hail-stones fall upon the land of righteousness, and the heavens of virtue have become cloudy.Wrongdoing has stretched forth and its night became half spent; sins have made an incursion and launched an attack which has broken the ribs of virtue and pierced its chest with a spear; people have become seperated from their families, unrestrained and each his own master; the eyes of justice have become sore; the wounds of filth have become ulcerated; every insolent person is engaged in reviling; disorder has grown excessively, its arrows raining down from every direction; immorality has become wedded; and this relationship has produced daughters bearing similar traits.They have brought with them destitution and starvation and the land has been ruined.The rains of calamities poured down and there was none who could be saved from them; whether he sought refuge in Yemen or in Syria, or

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112 proceeded to Makkah and Madinah and their surrounding villages.None escapes starvation even if his staple diet had been merely grain, and had vowed to only eat grain.The enemies do not spare his life even though he begs that may my father be sacrificed for you.There are many who have backed off the path [of faith] after they used to say “There is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”, and turned away from their religion, becoming disbelievers, after once having believed and once declared “All praise belongs to Allah”.Thus, we have seen such ordeals during this dark night which made us realise what an enormous calamity this is.And I penned these accounts of the enemy in such a state that I was reciting, “Surely, to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return”, and saying, “There is no power to avoid any evil, or accomplish anything good, except with the help of Allah”.And those who say “We are the learned of Islam, and are the stalwart scholars of the Faith of the Best of Mankind”, we find them to be lazy and indolent, given to eating like cattle.They do not aid or support the Truth through their discourse or through their pens—apart from those special men of God who are few in number—and you will find most of them harbouring malice towards the

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113 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS truthful men of God.It has never been the case that they did not raise a great hue and cry upon hearing the truth; they cannot recognise what is true and correct.They do not desist from causing mischief and mixing truth with falsehood so that, through their criticism, they may mislead the ignorant.They consider the man whom God has raised for the reformation of people, as the devil.They proclaim believers to be disbelievers and they do not tread in any direction except that of deceit; their tongues do not incline towards anything except to utter proclamations of disbelief, and they have no idea what service to religion means.They have mixed falsehood with truth and knowingly forged lies against me.Thus, the greatest calamity to have befallen the faith of the Best of Creation is that most scholars of the age have transgressed the bounds of religion and trust and behaved in the manner of the adversaries of faith; they have kept recoursing to falsehood to shield it from the assault of truth and wisdom; they do not care at all about the Glorious God and, like those who harbour enmity, are helping the disbelievers; within their hearts, they have convinced themselves that they are on the right path, although they are manifestly treading the path of doom.

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114 They know only their own vain desires, searching not for [deeper] meanings, nor pondering over them.They hear the truth, but reject it as if they had been invited towards death.And despite observing that the material world is extremely unfaithful and this era is about to stumble headlong, they still fall head over heels upon the world like lovers.Some of their actions are those which they do in the privacy of their own home; and then there are others that they do merely for display.Thus, woe to those who show off! They have fully seen the disorder caused by the disbelievers and they know full well that the Faith has become a target of those who are given to mischief, and that the truth has been trampled under the feet of the wrongdoers.Yet they lie asleep as if unaware of it and they pay no attention towards sympathising with the Faith.They hear every hurtful cry, yet they care nothing for these statements of the dissolute disbelievers.They do not rise-up like one with honour, instead they act as if they were weighed-down with a heavy burden like a pregnant woman.When they move towards virtue, they do so lazily.You will not find in them the characteristics of hard workers.But when they see any [opportunity of] sensual pleasure, you will find that they run towards it or

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115 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS even leap while hurrying.This is the state of our “noble” scholars.While at the same time, the disbelievers are extending every endeavour to annihilate Islam, and all their consultations [and plans] are focussed solely on achieving this objective.Their efforts are unrelenting.They publish distorted books and news, they have plotted a mighty plan; they have arrayed falsehood in a myriad of different ways; their efforts have resulted in the ruin of many ignorant people, and the death of many different groups; they exhibit a grave cunningness, and their sword never misses its target.They have travelled to other lands with the intention of settling there if they found them to their liking.They do not spare even the smallest opportunity to create mischief and disorder, and due to their animosity, their inner malice has become manifest.They have twisted the matters of truth and rectitude and have become loyal to Satan, attaching themselves to him; they do not turn away from harbouring hatred towards the truthful, instead we find every one of them to be in a state of rage and fury, observing that they are hell-bent in causing harm and wrongdoing; we find in them nothing except a disposition to fabricate lies; they know nothing except eating and excessive sexual indulgence; they choose

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116 nothing except finery and perfume; they walk not except a walk of haughtiness.Thus, we have been burdened by them in many ways; such burdens were placed upon us that if their like was thrust upon the tallest mountains, they would have fallen instantly, and the burden would have rent them asunder in such a manner like one who falls into prostration.However, we were protected.My heart was anxious, and my soul would have perished had the Powerful God not been with me—He alone is our Protector, whereas the disbelievers have no protector.It is He Who answers our prayers, hears our weeping, and comes to us when we go to Him in a state of despair.Likewise, when a profusion of calamities threatened me, and the feebleness of Muslim men and women caused my body to shiver, I wept at a critical hour and prayed to my God Who is the Provider of our needs, and I called out to my Lord like a beggar.I said, “O my Lord, Thou art our refuge at every moment, we complain to Thee and Thou art the Best of Judges.Do not hold us accountable if we forget or err, and do not burden us in the manner in which You burdened those who came before us, and do not place such a burden upon us that we do not have the strength to bear, and forgive us and cover up our errors, and have mercy upon us, Thou art

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117 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS our Master, grant us help against the disbelievers”.Thus, my Lord accepted my entreaties and fulfilled my need, and helped me, and He is the Best of Helpers.One day I was reflecting over my lack of means, shud - dering at the thought like a young sapling that needs support, worrying over this anguish.As I recited vers - es of the Holy Qur’an, reflecting on their meaning with full concentration, pushing gently the bridle of thought and reflection; I implored Allah Almighty to show me the path of insight, and complete my argument upon the wrongdoers, and safeguard me from the wrongdoing of the transgressors.Thus, when I was pondering like a fast-paced person, and the furnace of investigation was ablaze, and I was pursuing some verses of the Holy Qur’an and reflect - ing over their manifest meaning, suddenly a verse of the Holy Qur’an flashed before my eyes.Its radiance was not like the sparkle of the pearls of Oman, rather more so.When I reflected over the meaning of this verse and fol - lowed its light.I departed into its direction and reached its open space; I found this verse to be a wealth of knowl - edge and a treasure trove of secrets.I rejoiced in seeing it , and its power manifested itself to me like an ember, and its beauty and greenery moved my heart, it possessed

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118 the power to destroy the opposition, and its legion de - lighted my heart.Thus, I exclaimed ِّٰ ہّٰلل ُ اَلْحَمْد [All praise belongs to Allah], and expressed my gratitude to Allah the Almighty, the Lord of all the worlds.I perceived within it that which fills the eyes with delight and endows one with the wealth of a variety of divine knowledge, and pleases the hearts of the Muslims.I was taught the hidden essence of languages, and their ranks; the intrinsic and hidden nature of words was dis - closed to me.Similarly, I was bestowed grand secrets and powerful arguments through which God Almighty enhanced my certitude and provided a means to cut off the root of the transgressors.And if you wish to know the aforementioned verse, and its powerful assault, then you ought to read 1 ْ حَوْلَهَا ض ُرَى وَم�َ ت ِر َ أُم َّ ال�ْ ض �ْ ض �ُ ت ل�ِ.This verse contains praise of the Holy Qur’an and of Arabic: plain and clear.Therefore, reflect over this verse like a rational person and do not overlook it carelessly.Know that this verse manifests the glory of the Holy Qur’an, Arabic and Makkah, and it contains a light that tears the enemies to pieces and renders them speechless.1 “To warn the Mother of towns and those around her.” S u rah Al-An‘ a m 6:93.[Publisher]

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119 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS Therefore, read this verse in its entirety and look at its structure and systematic arrangement, and investigate like a wise one.I contemplated over this verse and found many secrets within it and engaged in deep reflection and discovered many divine lights, then I looked deeper and witnessed God the Subduer, the Lord of all the Worlds, who revealed this verse.It was manifested to me that the above verse and the intimations contained within it guide towards the excel - lences of Arabic and indicate that it is the mother of all tongues, the Holy Qur’an is the mother of all the pre - vious scriptures and Makkah is the mother of all lands.Thus, the light of this verse drew me towards a multi - tude of understandings and interpretations, and I came to understand the secret as to why the Holy Qur’an was revealed in Arabic, and the secret behind prophethood reaching its perfection in the person of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as the Best of Mankind and the Seal of the Prophets.Then other verses became manifest to me, which sup - ported this interpretation, until my Lord led me to the point of true certainty, and He counted me among those who are characterised by certitude.It became manifest to me that it is indeed the Holy Qur’an which is the mother

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120 of all previous scriptures; likewise, Arabic is the mother of all tongues, and is from God the Most High, and other languages are like its sons and daughters, and there is no doubt that all these other languages are akin to its neonate boys and girls, and every language eats from its bowl and table, and every language harvests the fruits of Arabic, eats its fill from the table of Arabic, and drinks from the river of Arabic, and it is from the cloth of Arabic that it is clothed, as it is Arabic that is the caretaker who has loaned her own garments to every other language and taken up her own position on the throne.As for the difference in the composition of languag - es: this is not surprising.In the same way differences in inflections and dynamics of words [within a language], cannot be taken as proof of an absence of unity.Similarly, if this small difference which arises within a language due to structural formulation did not exist, then this would naturally remove the cause which resulted in the formulation of different tongues; for the princi - pal reason as to why there are many different languages is because of this inherent structural difference within a language itself.Therefore, there is no justification for a critic to express this objection.There is no room for such an objection, when it is akin to objecting against a

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121 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS self-evident proof, and therefore not permissible in the rules of debate.It should be sufficient evidence that all tongues contain a large number of words in common.I have not stated this by way of exaggeration, but I will demonstrate this as an evident truth.So, stand upright as you have already heard, and be not of the wrongdoers! When I found ev - idence in the Holy Qur’an and my heart became satisfied through the testimony of the Book of the Gracious God, I intended to draw further evidence from the Ahadith.When I investigated the Ahadith, I found many secrets therein and I became delighted like an intoxicated person becomes elated with liquor, and happy like a drunken man feels happiness in wine.And I expressed my gratitude to Allah the Almighty Who is the Helper and Supporter of the truthful.Then it occurred to me, that I should further prove this matter on the basis of rational arguments, so that I may conclusively establish its proof to those who are exceedingly defiant and argumentative and render speech - less those who are prone to doubt.An inner passion motivated my thoughts, which drove forward my reason - ing, until the gates of inference were opened for me, and the means of burning up the false notions of those who

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122 have gone astray, became apparent to me.By God, I did not achieve this understanding, through taxing my own mind, or through any great effort on my part, or through sleepless nights, nor did I drive the camel of investigation through the hours of the night.Instead, these favours were bestowed upon me by God Almighty, Who short - ened my dark night, and fulfilled my longing through His decree; there was not a night when I had to lay awake [investigating this matter]; nor did I have to gather my argumentation from elsewhere; to the extent that my ul - timate goal was brought close to me, the tree bore fruit, and its branches were lowered to me by God Almighty.By God, this success is from the hand of my Lord.Therefore, I praise Him and invoke salutations upon that Arabian Prophet s as , through whom all blessings have de - scended, and the entire warp and woof is due to him.It is God, who prepared for me my roots and branches, and He is the One Who caused my seedlings to sprout and crop to grow, and He is the Best of Growers.How could it have been within my power to reduce the ene - mies to dust? And it was not I who smote with the stick when I smote, rather it was Allah Who smote.I did not experience the severity of self-exertion, nor did I need to emaciate my she-camel, nor did I need to race the pow -

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123 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS erful horses of eyesight, nor did I need to walk with even the slightest worry, and I did not see any high or low terrain; instead, I flew like a bird or like a rider travelling on a strong and sturdy camel.I found everything that the heart desires and through which the eyes find comfort.I was given milk to drink without my wailing for it.Thus, this book that I have compiled emanates from Him, and every matter therein reverts to Him, and He is the best of those who are praised.When I intended to un - dertake this momentous task and reflected over this verse [ ْ حَوْلَهَا ض وَم�َ ُرَى ت ِر َ أُمَّ ال�ْ ض �ْ ض �ُ ت ل�ِ 1 ] and, likewise, when I reflected over all the verses that I was taught by the One God: it was as if I could feel that someone is knocking at the door of my heart to teach me a lofty branch of knowledge, and breathe into me the spirit of understanding and inspira - tion.Thus, I named this book Minanur-Ra h m a n [], because of the graces and favours my Lord has bestowed upon me, and He is the Best of those who are Beneficent.This is not the first instance of His favour to me, rather I have been brought up in the midst of His favours.He befriended me and reared 1 “To warn the Mother of towns and those around her.” S u rah Al-An‘ a m 6:93.[Publisher]

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124 me, and He has been my Friend, my Custodian and my Saviour; He has made me one of the Mu h addath i n 1 and of the divinely appointed Reformers.Details of the verses that support the Ummul- Qur a verse, which demonstrate that Arabic is the mother of all tongues and is the revelation of Allah.One of these vers - es is from S u rah Ar-Ra h m a n , which is: ُ َ عَلَّمَه ض ْسَا� ض �ِْ اَّل َ ا ت َل�َ ض � َ ض َا� ی �َ ج ال�ْ 2.The word ض َا� ی �َ ج � [ bay a n : expression] here refers to the Arabic language; this is alluded to in another verse which states – 3 ٍ ض �ْ ی �ِ ج �ُم ٍّ ی �ِ ج عَر�َ.Thus God has determined ض �ْ ی �ِ ج م�ُ [ Mub i n : plain and clear expression] to be the spe - cial characteristic of Arabic and indicated that this is an exclusive attribute of Arabic and no other tongue shares this quality; this is not something hidden from those who reflect.By the use of the word ض َا� ی �َ ج � [ bay a n ], He denotes the characteristic of the eloquence of this tongue, and He further points to the fact that it is perfect and fulfils 1 Those blessed with frequent converse with God Almighty.[Publisher] 2 “ He created man; He taught him plain speech.” S u rah Ar-Ra h m a n 55:4-5.[Publisher] 3 “This is Arabic tongue, plain and clear.” S u rah An-Na h l 16:104.[Publisher]

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125 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS every expressive need that may be required of it; and that its rain fell upon the earth in equal measure to what was needed and that it surpassed every other language in giv - ing expression to the thoughts that cross one’s heart, and that it is on a par with human nature as a circle is on a par with another circle.The words of this language exist in fulfilment of all that which the human faculty demands, and that which the imagination desires, and that which the needs of human nature require.In addition, the language possesses the quality that the manner of its articulation has been made easy, such that the heart is affected by it.Thus, follow what comes to you of certainty.Further, the context of this verse enhances knowledge and awareness, as it denotes with conclusive evidence, those hidden secrets to which I have already referred, so that you may be among those who believe with certainty.Thus, reflect over the verse 1 َ ض ُرْآ� ت ُ عَلَّم َ ال�ْ ض الرَّحْم�ٰ because there are two objectives of this verse: mentioning the excellence of the Holy Qur’an, and the encouragement of its recitation, study, and reflection.This purpose can - 1 “The Gracious God.He taught the Qur’an.” S u rah Ar-Ra h m a n 55:2-3.[Publisher]

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126 not be achieved unless one learns the Arabic language and reaches a high degree of proficiency in it.Thus, it was to point this out that God Almighty placed the verse َ ض ُرْآ� ت عَلَّم َ ال�ْ [He taught the Qur’an] before the verse ُ عَلَّمَه َ ض َا� ی �َ ج ال�ْ [He taught man expression].It is as if it is stated that there are two divine acts of beneficence: revealing the Holy Qur’an and investing Arabic with the qualities of eloquence and fluency, then, imparting the knowledge of Arabic to Adam, so that humans may derive benefit from it because Arabic is a repository of higher learning, and it contains eternal guidance from God Almighty, as is not hidden from those who reflect.Thus, the crux of the matter is that God Almighty first mentioned the divine favour of the Holy Qur’an; thereafter, He mentioned the second favour, which is like a foundation for the first one.And pointed to it by the use of the word ض ا� ی � ج � [ bay a n ], to make it known that it is Arabic which has all the characteristics of eloquence associated with it, because the Holy Qur’an has not pro - claimed the word ض ا� ی � ج � [ bay a n ] to be the characteristic of any language except Arabic.Thus, if you reflect, what proof can be stronger and more conclusive than this? Do you not see that the Holy Qur’an has named the other languages ی أَع�ْج َم�ِ [ a‘jam i ] ? Hence, it would be foolish to

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127 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS consider other languages to be the namesake of Arabic and equal in rank to it.Thus, if you are righteous then you ought to understand and be not of those who turn away.This is a clear text; none shall deny this except the depraved who is from among the adversaries.Among these verses there is one which God, the Lord of Glory and Honour, has mentioned after the above verse, i.e.the words of the Kind God which are ٍ ض َا� ج ِحُس�ْ ج � ُ َمَر ت َّمْس ُ وَال�ْ ث ال� 1.Reflect, therefore, over what the Gracious God has said, and contemplate over it like those who are intelligent and given to reflection; and be mindful like the seekers of discernment.This verse supports the preceding verse and manifests its meaning with a clear explanation, as is not hidden from those who reflect.It states that the Sun and the Moon follow one anoth - er, carrying one light, but with two distinct hues.This is akin to the Arabic language and the Holy Qur’an as they follow each other and share in light and radiance.Thus, the Holy Qur’an shines forth brilliantly like the Sun and Arabic shines like the moon.Despite this, Arabic is fast in its journey, and as such has gained much currency in both 1 “ The sun and the moon run their courses according to a fixed reckoning.” S u rah Ar-Ra h m a n 55:6.[Publisher]

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128 the tongues of the virtuous as well as the wicked, and the sun of the Holy Qur’an has not overtaken its movement.This is how Allah has ordained this matter and the two are running their courses according to a fixed reckoning and are running as they were ordained, not falling short or exceeding their measure.As for the Holy Qur’an, it runs its course based on the acumen of its readers and reveals to the seeker, the secrets of the Hereafter, and it administers to the needs of the wise just as it administers to the needs of the foolish, and it teaches the learned as well as the ignorant.It contains a message that is appropriate to every stage of understanding and has the means of satisfying every intellect and outlook, and it is equal to all kinds of com - prehension, whether they are of those of the earth or those who reach the heavens.And it encompasses the entire sphere of human comprehension while adhering to the truth and establishing proof.It is a complete light and manifest radiance.As far as the Arabic language is concerned, it flows in a manner which is subservient to the objectives of the Holy Qur’an and through its system of root words encompasses all aspects of the religion of the Gracious God.Furthermore, it also serves all other types of educa -

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129 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS tion and instruction.Indeed, this language is from among the grand manifestations of the Power of God.And out of all tongues, Allah has allotted to it an innate system and imbued it with the beauties of divine craftsmanship.Thus, it encompasses all the subtleties of verbal expres - sion, and is among the most beautiful things to have issued forth from the Most Gracious God.And this in itself is evidence that Arabic is not of human origin: it contains the colour of divine wisdom, elegance, beauty, all kinds of luster and in it are marvels of a Magnificent Creator.Its countenance shines amid the ranks of many tongues, as if it were a glittering star in the dark.It is like a holy garden that is located on the banks of a flowing river, laden with all kinds of fruit.As for the other tongues, the dust of interpolation by the foolish has altered a large part of them and they do not remain in their original form.They are like trees which have been uprooted and moved far away from the gaze of their forester, and re-planted in a wilderness which has no water, and where not a single tree is green.Thus, their leaves have turned yellow, their fruits have fallen, their freshness and verdure have disappeared, and you see how their faces resemble that of a leper.Thus, what an excellent language Arabic is, and how

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130 handsome is its countenance which shines forth perfectly.The earth has been illuminated through its comprehensive light, and through it human identity has been perfected.It is replete with the wonders of the Wise and All-Powerful Creator, similar to everything else that has issued forth from the Majestic, Peerless Creator.God has perfected all of its limbs and left out nothing from its beauty and excellence.Thus, it is for this reason that you will find it perfect with regards to expression, and you will realise that it fulfils all the needs of human [expression].Thus, there is no action among all the actions that are possible to perform till the end of time, nor is there any attribute of Allah, nor is there any creed from among the creeds of humanity, for which there does not exist a suitable root word in Arabic.If you doubt this, then you are free to put it to the test.But, if you rise up to investigate this matter, like a seeker after truth then, by God! You will not observe any - thing on the canvas of nature, nor will you find any secret among the hidden secrets of nature, for which there is no corresponding root word in this language.Look closely; do you find my statement similar to that of a boaster? This is certainly not so, instead, the truth of the matter is that, like a circle, Arabic encompasses all our require -

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131 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS ments.You will find that Arabic and the book of nature are like two mirrors that face each other; you will not find any moral or action, any belief or mode of worship, any emotion or passion, corresponding to which there do not exist root words in the Arabic language.You will most certainly not find this perfection in any language other than Arabic.Therefore, you ought to put this claim to the test if you do not believe in it, but do not be hasty like someone who is headstrong.And let it be known that there exists a natural relation - ship between Arabic and the book of nature – they are eternal reflections of each other as if they are two mirrors placed opposite each other by the Most Gracious, or like identical twins, or like two springs that flow from a single source running parallel to one another.Therefore, reflect and do not be like the blind.These are conclusive proofs and definite arguments which establish that Arabic is the tongue, and the Furq a n is the light that perfectly distin - guishes between truth and falsehood.Therefore, reflect, and be not among the negligent.And whoever contem - plates over the Holy Qur’an and ponders over the words of Al-Furq a n [i.e.the Holy Qur’an], will understand that this has been proven with evidence.And I have not writ - ten this in the manner of those who conjecture.Rather, I

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132 have been granted knowledge as a manifest light.O ye who are the seekers of guidance and refor - mation! Know that the belief in the Oneness of God is not complete save through the conviction, that every good originates from the Lord of Creation, and He is the source of every grace for all creation —it is essential for us to believe in this principle with great certainty and confidence.It is well-known to those who possess insight that the faculty of speech and eloquence is one of the greatest perfections of mankind.In fact, it is to humanity what the soul is to the body.Therefore, how can we imag - ine that this [faculty] has not been bestowed upon man by the hand of God Almighty? No, this is certainly not the case! Rather, it is the consummation of human creation and the reality of their soul, and it is a great favour from God.Belief in the unity of God, is not complete without also affirming this belief: can a monotheist be satisfied with a matter, which detracts from the honour of God or contains an element of polytheism like the beliefs of those who associate partners with God? And those who recognise God, as He ought to be rec - ognised, know that He is the Origin of all good, and He is the Originator and Creator of all existence, and they do not speak like atheists and naturalists.These indeed

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133 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS are the people who have been granted a share of divine knowledge and have been made to drink from the goblets of the Unity of God and have been counted among the successful.And our God is perfect from every aspect; no defect or deficiency can be ascribed to His Being or His Attributes; He is the Praised One; He is Holy, without any stigma; no blemish can be attributed Him.This is the path of guidance, from where the saints and holy men drunk.And this is the path of those upon whom were bestowed blessings and is the path of those whose eyes were enlightened.But this is not the path of those who have incurred the wrath of God or of those who have gone astray.Thus, by God, the Master of Glory and Honour! Every excellence has been bestowed upon man through His grace, and He is the Best among those who are be - neficent.Do they say that the blessing of speech has not been granted to mankind by the Most Gracious, and the Creator of Mankind is not the One who bestowed this favour? This is an injustice, a falsehood, a transgression of satanic proportions.These are a people who do not esteem Allah as He ought to be esteemed: they have not looked up to see His Sun and Moon; they have not real - ised that it is God Who dispels every kind of darkness;

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134 that He is the Creator of the earth and the lofty heav - ens; that He created man and taught him speech and then granted him guidance; that there is no blessing, but that He has bestowed it.Thus, this is our Lord, the Most High—our Creator—the Self-Sufficient.His favour encompasses the apparent and hidden.His bounties envelop our body and soul.It is He Who has created man, perfected his creation, granted him form, and completed His favour.Thus, how can one possibly conjecture regarding such a Benefactor that He did not teach man how to clearly express himself ? Do you be - lieve that He had the power to create man but did not possess the power to unfold and remove his restriction [to speak]? Or was He negligent? Are you surprised by the Power of the Lord of all the worlds? Yet you see that He possesses unbreakable power that never wanes.That He is the Creator of the essence and form of nature.That He is the One Who illuminates the heavens and the earth.That He is the one who accepts the prayers of the supplicant.Therefore, will you now repent, turn towards Him, and abandon what is just gossip and hearsay? Allah loves the righteous.Thus, when it is established that our Lord is the Light of everything; that He is the One Who illumines the

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135 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS heavens and the earth; in consequence, it is also estab - lished that He is the source of every grace and He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth; that He is the Best of Creators; that He is the One who has endowed us with two eyes, a tongue and lips; that He guided the infant towards the breasts; that He did not leave out any aspect of perfection [in the creation of man] and granted all that was needed in the most apposite manner.Thus, it would be foolish to think that the faculty of speech, which is the light of human reality, and is the basis of worship, remembrance of God and faith, was not granted by the Most Gracious.Instead, man attained it through his own endeavour over a long period time—this notion is a fab - rication of those who utter falsehood.And whoever believes in that Being who has complete perfection in Himself and His attributes and has flooded the inhabitants of the earth and the heavens with His graces; whoever understands that He is the origin and Source of all munificence.Such a person will necessar - ily believe that God granted everything its proper form and did not leave anything wanting.He is the Origin and Source of every grace, and the dispositions of all creat - ed beings are inclined towards Him according to their capacities.No crow caws except through His teaching.

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136 Nor does a lion roar except through being granted un - derstanding by Him.He is the source of every benefit and every grace, and He is the teacher of speech and ex - pression.Such indeed befits the stature of the Lord of all the Worlds.Do you think that He nurtured man like one who lacks the power to nurture perfectly? This is not at all true.Rather, He raised [man] with both hands of unbreak - able Power that never wanes, till He granted him the title of Khalifah [vicegerent].He completed [man] with perfect grace and mercy.He bestowed upon him those favours which He had not bestowed upon any other crea - ture.It is this God Who rears the trees from a sapling to full height, with perfect cultivation, adorning them with flowers and a variety of fruits and cool extensive shades, which delight the beholders.So how can you claim that God did not complete man’s creation, that He did not cause man to reach the station in which there is per - fection of order, and left him incomplete, as if He had become bored? Furthermore, the sciences that are found in the root words of Arabic bear clear testimony that they are not wrought by any created being but are the act of Him Who has created the heavens and the earth.Do not let

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137 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS the observation that a human is not born speaking and conversing, agitate your mind.As we can see with true certainty, that he attains this quality due to training and education; therefore, such an objection does not support your case, rather it detracts from it.Thus, correct your own notion and do not let your heart become unmindful like those asleep.If you accept that the ability to vocally utter a word can only be achieved as a result of learning, then you must accept that the first human beings could not have understood without being made to understand.Thus, in this case you have ended up accepting the very fact which you had rejected! This is indeed true, provided you think and ponder.It is a matter already established and people have investigated this—experimentation and reason bear unanimous testimony—that if new-borns are left with - out training, and no instructor teaches them their tongue, they do not have the innate capability to start speaking, nor can they respond to those who address them, instead, they remain silent like the mute.Thus, for a person who seeks the truth, and is honest and does not follow the ways of those who went astray, what can be a clearer ar - gument than this? Thus, strive with full effort and reflect rationally and

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138 do not act hastily like someone who has no interest.It is an axiom that Adam was created by the hand of the Lord of all Creation, and at that time, there was no one else who could teach him.Thus, it is established that only the One who created all creatures could have taught him.Do you not have faith in the power of the One with unbreak - able Power which never wanes? Do you not know that creation is the reflection of the attribute of Lordship? It was under this Lordship that all creation was brought into existence and the faculty of speech completed hu - man creation.Thus, how can one consider that which has been created with the hands of the Most Gracious, to have appeared prematurely? Do you think that the God Who breathed the spir - it of life into man, was unable to cause him to speak? What is the matter with you that you do not think like sound-minded people? Is it your conjecture that Allah left His attribute of Lordship in a state of defect? Or, after demonstrating His power to create, His hands be - came useless, or someone restrained Him? And if you acknowledge that speech must be taught, but do not con - cede that God, The Generous taught it, rather you follow in the footsteps of the philosophers of this age and be - lieve it to be a product of human ingenuity, then know

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139 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS that such a view is evidently false, and it is a claim like the claims made by children, or it is like the delirious raving of the drunkards.People who have this view have been unable to offer any corroborating evidence and have not demonstrably proven their claim.How could it be when the peerlessness of the attri - butes of God requires that all creation be in a defective state before Him.So that all may know that the quali - ty of being everlasting—which is among the aspects of absolute perfection—is not found in anyone, except this Ever-living, Lord of Honour, and so that they may come to know that He is Independent and Besought of all and Self-Sufficient.His own Being is sufficient for Him; He is in no need to take a helper or friend.And He has no need to cause someone to be ever lasting.For His Self- Sufficient Being, there is nothing that He is in need of, and He has no need of His creation, instead, His Being necessitates the manifestation of Lordship so that it may be known that Lordship is among His personal attri - butes.Thus, He creates whatever He wills through His command and intent.Sometimes His Being requires the manifestations of His Oneness so that it may be known that, with His sole exception, everything is destined to end, and He does not have an iota’s worth of need for

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140 them.Thus, He causes everyone on earth to perish and does not spare anyone, instead, He annihilates every trace of them.In this manner He keeps [the manifestation of] His attributes continuously in motion in a never ending man - ner.Every Divine attribute is manifested at its appropriate time.Thus, after causing some epochs to perish, He cre - ates others that follow so that He may be recognised by the attributes which are the means of salvation for people, and He is not reliant upon the eternity of any creation, as opposed to what is believed by the ignorant.He is Independent of all the worlds.The attributes of the Most Gracious are inseparable from the Being of the Most Gracious.You will find that the cycle of the attri - butes of Allah is like the cycle of the day and night.His attributes are never incapacitated, as the unmindful per - ceive; rather, His Being requires moments of destruction as it requires moments of creation, so that all His attri - butes are manifested and so that people comprehend His Oneness, and they may not entertain the belief that there is some defect in His excellences, and so that His Oneness may shine through, and His Glory may become manifest, and so that the religion of God may be recognised as an eternal circle through His eternal practice, and so that the

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141 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS falsity of the Atonement of the disbelievers is manifest - ed, and the ways of associating partners with God and innovation may cease to exist, and it may become plainly obvious that such is the path of the sinners.This was the matter which the Being of God carried out so that His attributes may thereby become evident, and so that the last remnant of the people who fabricated lies may be cut off.Thus, a time befalls this universe when nothing survives except God Almighty, and the deluge of annihilation floods the canyon of creation, the traces of which are destroyed, and labour and struggle brings nought benefit to anyone.Then another era begins, and the system of creation re-commences.Thus, these two successive events continuously follow each other by de - cree of the Lord of Creation, so that there is no idleness ascribed to the attributes of God.Thus, since this cycle is proven to be among the attributes of the Ever Merciful, and creation and extinction are evident from ancient times, the matter of mankind’s existence being eternal is disproved.And how can the belief in the eternal exis - tence of mankind remain valid when there are periods of nothingness, void and annihilation? Thus, think like those who endeavor [to explore] and do not express yourself hastily, in the manner of a rash person.

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142 Know for sure that true eternity is not found in any - thing except the Lord of Glory and Honour.And that the millstone of extinction operates on both the soul and body.And the Oneness of God requires, at certain times, the extinction of every entity other than Him— with the exception of those who persevered in faith and, after their death, entered the abode of Allah, and were cleansed in the rivers of Allah, and Divine Light encom - passed them, and the signs of God effaced the trace of all others and having been annihilated in God, they died in God’s love.Thus, these people will not taste death after their first death.This mercy is from their Lord, the Most High.They do not experience any pain nor any ordeal, but that they continually reside in the Garden of God the Ever-Living, and Allah bestows life upon them from His existence, and grants them excellences from His own excellences, and His jealous regard for them does not let them perish, for His own Oneness encompasses them.Blessed are those who have lost themselves in the love of the Lord Who is the All-Powerful Master.Now I revert to my earlier discussion and say that God, the Self-Subsisting, created every living thing from water.And water has descended from heaven with many blessings and favours.Thus, every grace has indeed ema -

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143 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS nated from God Almighty, and He is the fountainhead of goodness for all.This is another response to the deniers, who allege that man was created mute and God did not teach him anything, nor caused him to comprehend any - thing, and created him deficient.I have stated this for the atheists and the naturalists who do not believe in the religion of God, and auda - ciously speak out whatever falls upon their mind.But for those who believe in what the Seal of the Prophets, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has brought; for them what I have proven from the Clear Book [i.e.the Holy Qur’an] will suffice.Can their faith in the Oneness of God allow them to attribute an act of God to anyone else or divide the act of creation between God and feeble humanity? Or do they regard His noblest creation as de - ficient and reliant upon their own deficient selves? Certainly not! For such a statement could not issue forth from the mouth of a believing monotheist.For the faculty of speech has a special distinction, just like life itself.Similarly, of all the animals, Allah has singled out human beings to be bestowed the faculty of speech.Thus, just as man has been bestowed the blessing of life from Ar-Ra h m a n [the Most Gracious], similarly he has received the blessing of speech from Al-Mann a n [the Benefactor].

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144 And this indeed is the truth, are you then from among those who doubt? If you believe that it was your mother who taught you how to speak, then who taught your first mother, and who had imparted to her the faculty of ex - pression? Thus, be not from among the ignorant! Indeed, Allah has indicated at a number of different places in the Qur’an, that Arabic is the mother of all lan - guages and the only one which is divinely-revealed.That is why He named Makkah, as Makkah and the mother of all towns , for people drank the milk of languages and guid - ance from it; thus, this indicates that it is where speech and reason originated from.Therefore, reflect over the words of God Almighty that “This Qur’an is in Arabic so that you may warn Makkah, the mother of all towns.” In this there is a sign for anyone who fears God, who seeks the truth, who does not reject, and who is not a follower of the ways adopted by those who turn away.Furthermore, you are aware that our Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is a Warner for the entire world, and this is the name given to him by the Lord who is the Most Truthful amongst the truthful.Thus, it is established that Makkah is the mother of the entire world, and the birthplace of nations, large or small, and the principle origin of

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145 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS language and the centre of all creation.As such if this is the case, then it is also proven that Arabic is the mother of all tongues because Makkah is the mother of all places from the beginning of creation.It is also established that the Qur’an is the mother of all the pure scriptures, which is why it was revealed in a perfect language that is all- encompassing.The wisdom latent in divine will required that His Perfect Book, which is the seal of all books, may be revealed in a dialect that is the origin of tongues and is the mother of all languages of creation—such a language is indeed Arabic, plain and clear.And you have already heard that, in the Holy Qur’an, Allah has proclaimed eloquence and fluency as the characteristic features of Arabic and has named it ٌ ض �ْ ی �ِ ج �ُم ٌّ ی �ِ ج عَر�َ [Arabic, plain and clear].Thus, such a statement points towards the eloquence inherent in this tongue and points to its lofty rank in the sight of the Most Gracious.God Almighty has not characterised other tongues with this quality; rather He has not even attributed those tongues to Himself, instead, He has named them ٌّ ی أَع�ْج َم�ِ [ A‘jamiyyun —destitute of the faculty of speech].Thus, you should ponder this matter if you are pure.Blessed are those who reflect.The Torah did not make such a claim, nor did the

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146 Vedas of the Hindus nor did any other book; none have even hinted towards it.Therefore, do not attribute a claim to them which they have not made themselves.Present such a claim found therein and show us if you believe it so.And you will certainly not be able to produce it; therefore, you should not follow the footsteps of the fabricators.Furthermore, you should know that the word ج عر� [ ‘Arab ] is derived from I‘r a b and this refers to a discourse characterised by grand fluency and eloquence, as the saying goes, ُ الر�َّج ُل َ ج أَعْر�َ [ A‘rabar-Rajulu ].This is spoken in reference to a person whose speech is eloquent and not inarticulate.But the word أع�ج م [ A‘jam ], is spoken for a person who is not eloquent in discourse, whose speech does not flow well, nor does his tongue possess sweetness and whose discourse does not have proper structure, rather like someone who swallows his words, rendering his speech broken.Thus, these two words are antonyms.None, whether young or old, coined these words himself; rather, they were created by the Creator of humanity Himself, for a people who reflect.The word Arab appears in earlier books as well, such as the scriptures of Isaiah and Moses, and you can read and find mention of it in the Gospels.Thus, it is proven

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147 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS that this word is from God Almighty.Furthermore, no foreign tongue has been given such a name—you will not find a similar example used about Hebrew or any other dialect.Therefore, reflect! Do you find a synonym of Arabic mentioned regarding any other tongue? Thus, it is established that Arabic is the authentic tongue, and its prestigious rank is not to be found in any non-Arabic language.Reflect! If you still have any doubt.Among radiant signs one is that the language, which is from God Almighty, and is in reality the best language which possesses the most beautiful quality, is indeed the same tongue which Allah Himself has praised and given a beautiful name to, as is the continuous practice of God, the Bestower of bounties.Thus, if you are in doubt about my claim then acquaint me with another comparable tongue; but you will not find any language which describes itself with a name as comparable in beauty and radiance as the name Arabic.And in this there are signs for those who reflect.As for the ع�ج م [‘ Ajam ] people, they are in the sight of Allah like the dumb who do not possess a tongue, or like quadrupeds who cannot express themselves because they have acquired this ability only by virtue of Arabic.They do not possess even a single word [of their own] except

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148 that it is derived from this tongue.They are incapable of speaking except upon the foundation of Arabic.As such, it can be understood as to why they are like the quadrupeds.Thus, whether you meet me with a cheerful face, or you confront me with a verbose tongue, indeed you will be on the losing side.Therefore, I advise you to reflect over this claim and, if you are wise, to remind those who are unaware.Be grateful to Allah for the arguments that have been made clear to you.And do not forget that the word ع�ج م [‘ Ajam ] comes from the word اَلْع�َج ْمَاء [ Al-‘Ajm a ’ ], which, in this esteemed language, means a four-legged animal.Therefore, make an effort to understand the rationale behind the use of this name so that the crux of the matter becomes evident to you, and so that you may be among those who possess certainty.If you study further, you will find many verses which indicate this.One such indication is that in the Holy Qur’an Allah has named man سَم�ِی ْع [ Sam i ‘ ].From this it can be inferred that human-beings were bestowed hearing by God Almighty from the earliest period.As such God never turned His back upon humanity leaving it betrayed.Another indication that has been explained in S u rah

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149 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS Al-Baqarah is that He said: َ َْسْمَاء اَّل عَلَّم َ اٰدَمَ ا 1.The teaching of names proves several things: Firstly, that Allah the Exalted has taught words by means of musammay a t and by musammay a t is meant all that which can be indicated through gestures, whether they are verbs or names of creatures.Secondly, the properties of things and their hidden qualities were taught by Him in Arabic—the most clear language.And if you were to argue that grammarians only use the word اسم [ Ism : noun] to include those words that have meanings and are associated with any of the three tenses; the answer is that this is only a demarcation in terminology artificially created by grammarians; and if we look realistically we will see this terminology to be meaningless.Thus, you ought to reflect like those who possess insight.And if someone were to contend that it is a commonly held belief among the Muslim Ummah that [by names is meant that] Allah taught Adam all the various languages; that he spoke every tongue whether it be Arabic, Persian, 1 “ He taught Adam all the names”.S u rah Al-Baqarah 2:32 [Publisher]

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150 etc.The reply to this is that such a notion is obviously erroneous; it arose out of negligence and no intelligent person can pay any attention to it since it is opposed to common-sense and is only the false understanding of the uninformed.Rather, Arabic is the first tongue from the earliest age; whereas the others are its inheritance or like coral compared to its pearls.And you know that whatever I have said has been confirmed and fully proven by the Qur’an and Torah: do you not know that it is stated in Genesis, Chapter 11, that in the beginning the whole world spoke only one tongue, but when humanity entered Iraq, differences arose in Babylon? I have already elaborated regarding the narrative contained in the Holy Qur’an.Thus, you should reflect over this like a true researcher.Then, there is another type of proof for those who seek the truth and insight, namely that when we look at the practice of Allah, the Lord of Glory and Wisdom; we find that the system of His creation is based on the path of unity.This is a characteristic which Allah has adopted so that it may guide people and so that it may serve as proof of His Unity.It further indicates that He is the One Creator who has no partner in the heavens and the earth.Thus, how can unorganised plurality be attributed

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151 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS to Him Who created man from a single soul? How can such a scattered and disorganised group of languages be considered to have originated from Him? Do you not know that He has preserved unity in every plurality.And has indicated this in His Pure Scripture [the Holy Qur’an] which is the Imam for all those with insight? And He has declared in His Radiant Scripture that He created everything from water.Therefore, observe the practice of Allah; how He reverts a multitude to unity.And He has made water to be the mother of the heaven and the earth.Thus, deliberate carefully over this like one possessing wisdom, for this is the hallmark of guidance, rather than being hasty in your judgement like the ignorant.This verse furnishes clear evidence regarding the practice of the Creator of the heavens and the earth and in this there is insight for those with vision.O seekers of truth! Allah is ر ت و� [ Witr —odd] and He loves that which is ر ت و� [ Witr —odd].It is He Who has illuminated the stars from a single light, and created all humans on earth resembling one another, and created man like a universe embracing all the realities of everything.If the system of creation was not predicated upon unity, the creation of God Almighty would not have exhibited this resemblance, and creation would have been an unrelated mess.

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152 Moreover, had there not been a system based on oneness, science would have been rendered useless and spiritual mysteries purposeless, and the path to the Lord would have become closed, and extremely difficult to traverse for the spiritual wayfarer.Therefore, what is the matter with you that you do not comprehend this underlying unity that testifies to the One and only God.It is this concept around which the belief of the Unity of God in Islam revolves; it is this which forms the great foundation for His glorification and praise; it is this which is a bright lamp for recognising the Unity of God Almighty and His Uniqueness; and this concept is among those branches of knowledge which is specific to the followers of Islam.Furthermore, let it be known that the prophetic narrations and texts of Ahadith are so numerous in this regard that it provides the light of comfort and satisfaction to the heart as would not be hidden to the scholars of Ahadith.Ibn ‘As a kir 1 , who is deemed an authentic source and popularly accredited, narrates in his work of history, with reference to Ibn ‘Abb a s, that 1 Ibn ‘As a kir (1106-1175 C.E), a Muslim scholar and historian who is known for his works, including T a r i kh Dimashq.See The Ency - clopaedia of Islam.Vol.IX.Brill.p.778.[Publisher]

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153 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS the language of Adam in the Garden was indeed Arabic.Similarly, ‘Abdul Malik and other scholars through various chains of narration, have narrated a hadith from the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as that Arabic is the first tongue, which originated from Allah and descended from Paradise along with Adam.Subsequently, it underwent distortion and other languages were born out of it.Following this distortion, the first tongue that came into being, through the will of God the Knower of all subtleties, was Syriac.God Almighty altered the dialect of those who had distorted the language; which is why the ancients used to refer to Syriac as the ُ َْوَّل اَّل ِیُّ ا ج اَلْعَر�َ [the original Arabic].This was indeed Arabic, but with minor inflection.Then a variety of other tongues came into being, just as a variety of religions and sects have been born in the world.And this is the truth.Reflect therefore, like those who are intelligent.Furthermore, out of the methods for discerning the truth, one is that you will find in the Holy Qur’an the mention of differences of colour and tongue in the same place.Thus, by mentioning both in the same place God Almighty is indicating that once there was only one language and similarly one colour.Then, after some time a variation arose in both.

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154 Another subtle hint is indicated by the Seal of the Prophets, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who declared himself to have shared this distinction with Adam, that he had also been taught the names, as Daylami 1 has narrated in the hadith regarding clay and water.Thus, reflect over the following saying of the Seal of the Prophets s as : “My Ummah was personified for me in water and clay, and I was taught names just as Adam was taught names.” 2 Therefore, reflect over what the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as has alluded to.You are aware that the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as was unlettered and was not versed in any language other than Arabic.Indeed! He was granted perfect expression in this dialect.Thus, it is evident that the meaning of names, in the story of Adam as and the hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is the blessed Arabic language.As is also indicated by the conclusive texts of the most Clear Book [i.e.the Holy Qur’an].Do you not observe the similarity between the various tongues? For this similarity is found across 1 Fairoz Ad-Dailami, one of the non-Arab Companions of the Holy Prophet s as.[Publisher] 2 Subulul-Hud a War-Rash a d , Part 10, Page 265.[Publisher]

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155 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS many different words.Such similarity to such degree can only be possible if all of them are descended from a common ancestor.To deny this is like denying what can be perceived directly by the five senses, and what is already proven through direct observation.If a difference had been present in the tongues from their very inception, how could it be that despite them not originating from a single source, there is such a degree of commonality amongst them? Therefore, we must acknowledge the existence of a language that is the mother of all expressions, and to reject this view amounts to ignorance and a lack of wisdom, and to be argumentative [about it] is mere obstinacy and stubbornness.If you are a seeker of truth, lo! The truth has become manifest! There are such excellences and signs in the Arabic language that researchers have declared it to be the mother of all other languages.Those languages are like a shadow to Arabic, or like a sparrow before a preying falcon.Listen therefore, with a fair mind to some features of Arabic.Among these excellences, one is that after deep research and meticulous investigation, and observing and examining evidence we are compelled to admit that the Arabic language is much more extensive than all other

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156 languages; it is the highest in degrees of rank; the greatest in blessings; the brightest in insight and wisdom; the most perfect with regards to its system of root words; the most correct in the formation of its compound words; it is the best [language] for expressing subtle matters and indications; it is the most complete in all attributes, as bestowed by God the Lord of all the worlds; it embodies many branches of knowledge in the structural formation of its nouns and many finer points are radiant in its compositions and manners of articulation.I will shortly elaborate, at the appropriate place, so that these qualities are made manifest.I will explain the science of its root words and the art of its compound words for those who seek guidance.I shall now prove the perfection of the system of root words, as this is the principal hallmark for which reason [Arabic] ought to be called the mother of all languages and considered to be the revelation of the All-Wise, Powerful, Mighty One.We observe that from the very beginning, human nature was in need of a system of root words which contain the means for perfect expression, just as human life itself has been granted perfection from the Best of Creators.We observe that human nature and disposition was

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157 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS perfected with various faculties.Similarly has it attained excellence through all manner of differing concepts and desires, varying circumstances and ideas, capricious morals and conflicting emotions.Likewise, the various forms of dialogue that occur between fathers and sons, enemies and friends, and young and old complement the excellences of human creation.Then we have the various actions that can be performed by man through his limbs, such as his hands, feet, eyes and ears.Then there is everything that can be sought through the use of these limbs including the science of the earth and the heavens, and all other related branches of learning.Thus, when Allah the Almighty created man with these powers, abilities, skills, objectives and intentions, His mercy demanded that He perfect man’s nature by bestowing upon him the faculty of speech which is equal to man’s needs and sufficient to satisfy all the conditions and tasks that he may be faced with.God did not abandon man leaving him deficient.The fulfilment of these potentials was dependent on a language that would possess a perfect system of root words such that it would be equal to the demands of man’s conscience and all his thoughts, and so that it may provide an adornment of words to the seekers [of knowledge].

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158 Such is Arabic and this excellence has been made unique to it: this is that language which has been granted a perfect system of root-words by Allah, and its scope of application has been made equal to all the possible needs of expression.That is why the Arabic language consists of words that comprise such subtlety of meaning that they paint a perfect and complete picture of what is in the mind, like an artist.If we want to write a story in Arabic, or narrate an anecdote or incident, or write a book on theology, we are not reliant upon formulating a new word which is not based on a root word as if our language is wandering aimlessly.Instead, the perfect system of Arabic helps us in every field, and we find its root words like perfect garments for the expression of meaning and mysteries, and we do not find it mute in any context.This is because its system is complete, it has an exalted status and possesses a vast amount of materials; its root words are numerous, it has balance and rectitude.Its derivatives are extensive.Its order and arrangement is consistent, and it fulfils expectations.The law of nature and the root words of this language proceed hand in hand—like a pair of oxen pulling a plough, or like two opposite walls of a courtyard.Perceive then, like those possessed with insight.

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159 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS And among its wonders is that this was the tongue of the illiterate, who would not have polished it like the scholars.They did not possess the philosophy of the Greeks, nor did they have the arts of the Indians or the Chinese.Despite this we find it the most eloquent tongue for expressing the fine ideas of the wise and portraying the countenance of every opinion, as if this language paints a picture of thoughts in the way the image of an embryo is taken in the womb.And among its excellences is that it has never extended its hand towards others asking for something, and no philosopher or scholar has adorned it, and there is no one who has bestowed any favour upon it except the Omnipotent One.It is He Who perfected it with His own hand and protected it from every evil eye and guarded it from the causes of fatigue and boredom.Thus, this language has been brought up behind the curtain of eternity like virgins and chaste wives.And this language is pregnant with wisdom and subtle insight.The delirious mob cannot hear its voice, yet its face shines forth with wisdom like an illuminating light.And Allah has created it in the best way, just like the creation of man.He has bestowed upon it all the excellences required to be the perfect tongue and He has granted it such beauty that it attracts all those who

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160 possess sight.These excellences and brevity in composition ensure that our time is not wasted; our discourse is profoundly eloquent; we are protected from any kind of linguistic limitation; and it helps us capture the deer and fawn of meaning.Thus, we are not left embarrassed in any field, nor are we restricted by any limitation in being able to express ourselves fully.And through it the Word of God, the Lord of the Worlds, is made manifest to us.The Holy Qur’an and Arabic are like two mill stones; it is only when they converge that the objective can be achieved.Or their example is like that of a husband and wife, Arabic being like the wife who is perfect in terms of beauty and adornment.Another one of the unique qualities and wonders of Arabic is that it is a tongue that has been adorned with the subtleties of creativity with a single word possessing numerous meanings, so that expression may become as easy as possible and does not cause boredom.This is a feature of grand majesty which aids conversation and the like of it cannot be found in any other tongue.For this reason, you will observe that other tongues are not free from the defect of stuttering, and are bereft of the skill of eloquence, they are not free from

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161 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS superfluous speech, nor are their root words sufficient to fulfil all the needs required of them nor do they have a sufficient repertoire of root words—especially such which comprise insight, divine knowledge and religious subtlety.In fact, you will not be able to write any fiction or true account, whether pertaining to worldly or religious matters—based on just its root words.For they have been mutated leaving them deficient and disfigured.Thus, these languages do not possess energy or strength, nor structure or grandeur, nor excellence like clear Arabic.Because of this, a speaker of these languages cannot prevail in a contest with Arabic, and at such a time, flees like a coward and weakling, facing humiliation and reproach and meets a bad end like the unsuccessful do.And there is no doubt that Arabic has reached the mountain-peaks of glory and perfection and has stepped forth into the arena, like a man full of motivation and who is brave, challenging the opponent to step forth saying “Is there any brave soul among you who shows courage? Is there any brave one among your ranks?” This is not an unsubstantiated claim, rather, you will find its evidence accompanying it like an army, as if it circumabulates it.You will find this tongue steadfast like a brave and determined warrior carrying a sword and spear.

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162 Whoever casts a glance at its brilliance turns pale and falls like the dead.The enemies do not have the chance to produce evidence in support of their claim, or to emerge from their tents; rather they are like the dead who have already been buried.You will find that their languages do not possess a countenance that is handsomely formed, full of life and has a glowing freshness.Instead, you will find these languages resembling a desert, that has nothing except sand and stones, without even a spring of clear water.Linguistic experts and researchers in this field, who are well-informed of the wonderous characteristics of Arabic, have examined its system of root words, evaluated them , and observed the purity of its compound words and tasted them.They know with certainty and resolutely acknowledge that Arabic is unique in its characteristics, its root words are perfect, its compound words remarkable, one is enchanted by the beauty of its sentence construction, and there is no other tongue in the world that reaches the rank of its excellences.They know that its system of root words is at the pinnacle of perfection and no other language comes close in matching its excellences.This claim has been put to test numerous times and the adversaries and critics have

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163 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS been left speechless and every assailant has been repelled.However, if you insist upon denial, then present its likeness from any other language.And you will certainly not be able to do so, even if you were to wipe yourselves out like a swarm of locusts who have stripped the land or commit suicide like the foolish.Be not therefore, from among the ignorant.One has to feel deep regret for those amongst the aggressive Christians who are quick to jump to conclusions: they are overconfident.They have come to regard Sanskrit as the greatest of all tongues, praising it based on their feeble ideas and rejoicing in their own false notions.Their example is like a woodcutter who goes out at night, or like someone who collects the froth and straw floating on the water but discards the water itself or takes a gulp from a turbid source while ignoring clear water.Do you not observe the Hindi language, Sanskrit etc.and the other ‘ajam i languages, as to how the majority of their vocabularies comprise of chiselled words and manufactured expressions? Thus, how can they ever be compared to the pure root words [of Arabic]? The deficiency of their vocabulary and the paucity of their linguistic trove is clear evidence that those languages have not originated from God Almighty, nor were they in existence from the beginning.

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164 Instead, true insight, the heart and the conscience all proclaim that new words in these languages had to be manufactured at the time of need, because their root words were insufficient to relieve the speakers of those languages from the clutches of linguistic poverty.And those words were only conceived due to need and would never have been coined if the age did not demand.This was even recognised by the opponents.Indeed, sound opinion and sane reason bears witness, that speakers of these languages had lived in a prolonged state of ignorance and confusion.And the hand of the Most Gracious God had not helped them, and as such were not able to attain what was possessed by the people bestowed with the truth and insight.Therefore, they were left with no choice but to expand their tongues with their own hands and not with the hands of the One Who is the Bestower of abundant bounties.Thus, they were left to try and construct new words without any reference to the root words.Thus, they became pleased with a morbid artifice and fell far away from such wonderous fruits which have neither been cut down nor are forbidden and which are beneficial to the one who eats them.Due to the scarcity of their root words, the deficiency in their language was exposed, and it became apparent that they

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165 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS were untruthful.They heaped excessive, undeserved praise on their own languages.Therefore, Allah exposed their underlying flaws and made them taste their own haughtiness for having exceeded all limits.And you can see how they oppose the truth and the manifest evidence, and reject what is praised, well-known and visible.They do not give up their rancour and enmity, walking like the blind, especially the Hindus, as they are set on a course of rejection, and their enmity has exceeded all bounds and they possess a lot of arrogance and conceit.They do not fear God Almighty, nor do they adopt humility, nor reflect like those who fear God.They conjecture that they possess the most perfect language.In fact, they claim that it is divinely-revealed.In this manner they have become content with superstitions and have deceived their own hearts through fabrications, and they were not those who possessed insight.You will find their language to be a collection of manufactured words, void of the system of root words.As if their god was only able to synthesize compounds just as he only possessed the power to create human- beings by mixing particles—indeed he was helpless! But Allah the Almighty safeguarded the Arabic language from all these constraints and endowed it with a perfect system

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166 of root words.Indeed, in this is a sign for those possessed of insight.It is no secret to any wise person, nor to any literary writer, that all other tongues are dependent upon a variety of miscellaneous compound structures, and do not utilise root words in the same manner as the clear Arabic language does.You already know that root words predate compound words, because it is through root words that the well-set teeth of compound structures appear, and upon them depends the art of composition and writing.Thus, the component which takes precedence by natural occurrence is indeed that which was issued directly from the Most Gracious God, and the knowledgeable people see that every compound word reverts back to a root word.Therefore, do you perceive what we have perceived, or is it still veiled to you? Furthermore, there is no doubt that the words which have accumulated due to the loss of root words and were put in their place due to dire necessity, are themselves proclaiming with the tongue of their form that they were concocted at the time of need.Therefore, when it is established that they were fabricated by man and collected as a result of necessity, they cannot be attributed to that Perfect Creator Who adopts the approach of brevity

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167 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS and wisdom and loves the way of simplicity and unity and unlike the heedless, is not reliant upon using new compositions.Rather it is God, who understood from the beginning, what meanings could be intended; therefore, for each situation He placed the most appropriate root word.In this manner He made use of His customary wisdom.He was not like someone who wakes up after sleeping, or like someone who realises his mistake only after being reprimanded.Instead, He has placed against every spectrum of meaning, a root word clear as a bright star.Do you not recognise Him, whilst He is the Best of Creators? Do you think that Allah forgot the way of wisdom or that some obstacle prevented Him from carrying out His will, or that He did not possess the power to create root words appropriate to the intended meaning, such that His helplessness compelled Him to use fabricated words and new compositions? And He was compelled to seek the help of compound-words and to rely upon such constructions instead of the natural and wonderful system of root words, and adopt the path of those who are given to affectation? And you can observe that when a wise and experienced

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168 builder plans to construct a mansion or intends to build a palace on some land; he will firstly ascertain all the requirements and foresee everything that may be needed when he lives there.And even if he is constructing the building for someone else, and the other is ignorant of the principles of construction, he will advise him and will not undertake the task blindly, rather he will anticipate in his mind every need of the inhabitants that could arise: such as the rooms, closets, courtyard, entrance and exit, windows for letting in air and light, quarters for men and quarters for women, kitchen, privy, guestrooms for travellers and friends, a place of rest for those who seek help, and such quarters that are appropriate for the summer and those that are essential for the winter months.In this manner, there is no requirement which the builder does not attend to when constructing a home; whether it is a chamber, an upper storey, a staircase, a terrace or what pleases the heart like the orchards.The result is that from the very beginning he foresees all such potential needs which are essential features in the work he is tasked with.And he does not forget to address any need and completes the building like a thoughtful man.However, an ignorant fool who habitually makes mistakes, only becomes aware of the good or bad features

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169 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS of his house once construction is complete.Such a one walks like a blind camel and is unable to foresee the end of a project at its inception and his vision does not extend to whatever needs will eventually arise.So, he builds without due calculation, planning and organisation, without envisioning the scheme like a wise and skilled person, and does not perceive what such a construction needs until after living in the building and seeing its deficiencies.He then realises that it is insufficient for habitation.Thus, he grieves after practically experiencing such a dwelling: sometimes he cries over his misfortune, and at other times he cries over his own foolishness, ignorance and loss of money.His heart feels the fire of wistfulness, ruminating over why he did not foresee, like a rational person, the outcome of his plan? And, after experiencing the outcome and its related worries, he proceeds to address the varying different deficiencies, sorry for what has happened and weeping with regret.Such negligence, which runs contrary to reason, wisdom, and perfect insight, cannot be ascribed to the Omnipotent God, the Lord of Majesty and Power, Who encompasses everything due to His Knowledge and Wisdom.Holy is He.He knows all that is hidden—even that which is hidden within the hidden—and He knows

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170 what is near and what is far, and He knows the unseen— even that which is unseen within the unseen.His every action is free of every kind of blemish and shame, nor does He commit mistakes like someone who is deficient.Behold what He has created with Perfect Power.Do you find any sign of incongruity or fault in it? Cast your gaze once more, do you find any flaw in the creation of the Lord of all the Worlds? To understand the truth, it would be sufficient for you to observe what you see in nature around you.And you shall certainly find no incongruity in the creation of the Honourable One God.Therefore, this is indeed the criterion for the evaluation of tongues.Use this criterion as light to reveal the reality.Fear God Who loves the righteous.Awaken from your slumber and do not be of those who excessively exaggerate.And do not let any doubt enter your mind, just because you find some root words in Sanskrit etc.for those words are not the property of their desolate house, for such clothes could not have come from tattered wardrobes.On the contrary, they are like stolen money or borrowed merchandise found in the houses of poor men.The evidence of this is that such languages are devoid of the abundance of word generation [from roots] and any roots which may be mutually placed in a proper order,

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171 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS and the essence of their meaning is not realised until after we revert them to Arabic.Do not be deceived by the fact that these languages contain some root words, for these do not achieve the objective and from the root meanings we do not find a uniform method with which the derivative words have been obtained, and through which the mine of words can be excavated.Instead, they constitute a superficial explanation deceiving the ignorant and blind.Whenever the origin of a word is sought and after extreme toil, its root is discovered, you will realise that it is a distorted form of Arabic, as if it is a sheep that has been skinned, and you will find every part of it to be from Arabic – the most clear tongue.We have not discussed Hebrew and Syriac in this book, because the similarity of these two languages is accepted by people of understanding and there is no doubt that both these languages were born out of a perversion of the pure Arabic language, albeit keeping most of the literary structures and inflexions.These [languages] are like thieves.Whereas the mansion of Arabic is more beautiful than a garden of flowers and its lush greenery is more beautiful than a thicket of trees; its residents do not experience the heat of any need nor the fire of

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172 any hunger; it possesses wealth; silver and pure gold; gardens and rivers; flowers and fruits; slaves and free men.It has fine horses, enviable entourage, wealth, and lofty structures and decorated assemblies.Then due to disorder, all those gatherings dispersed taking whatever they could with them.And everyone gathered provisions according to their capacity and then embarked upon the mounts of disunity and dissent.And due to their departing from appropriateness of conduct, they mutilated the impression of words to such an extent that: a date tree was transformed into a date stone; a ruby became a stone; food served at the occasion of marriage became food served at the occasion of mourning; virtue became vice; a fine-bred horse became a donkey; and a garden became a desolate wasteland.They cleaned out the house of eloquence like the bare palm of an empty hand, casting out any pleasure and comfort that was once found therein.Neither their gardens remained nor their wells; neither their lush green meadows nor its freshness; after which a rain of adversity befell their tongues, calamities decimated them until stagnation and inactivity destroyed their merchandise and even its admirable parts began to decay.Thus, the houses [of such languages] came to

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173 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS resemble those which have been robbed by thieves who spare nothing—or such houses which have been cleaned out as the lender recovers his debt—and plundered their town, leaving nothing behind, so they were reduced to paupers.And you have already heard that Arabic was revealed at the beginning of time, from the Honourable One Lord and when that era passed, its cloth became dirty; thus, Hebrew and other languages are the dirt of Arabic and the remnants of its banquet.Arabic is the first milk that human nature was weaned on, and it was the first food which was provided to the Mother of Mankind from the Best Provider.And it is to this that the Being Who created reason and the senses, and Who repelled the insinuating whisperings of the sneaking whisperer, has alluded to in the verse: 1 َ ن �ْ ی َ م�ُب َارَكًا وَّھُدًى لِّلْعَالَم�ِ ة �ََّك ب�ِ ب� ی �ِ ن �ََّّاس ِ لَل ن ِع َ لِل� ن �ُّو ٍ ة �ْ ی �َ ب� َ ن َّ أَوَّل �ِإ The First House is indeed the one which is located in Becca; the one characterised by blessing and guidance for all the worlds.Thus, this verse indicates that Arabic takes precedence 1 “Surely, the first House founded for mankind is that at Becca, abounding in blessings and a guidance for all peoples.” S u rah A le-‘Imr a n 3:97.[Publisher]

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174 over all other tongues and encompasses all the worlds and is the first source of nourishment for those who speak.We can infer this because a house is never empty of a gathering of people—and any gathering is in need of speech whether to address various needs or just to socialise.Social relations depend on understanding others and making others understand, as is not hidden from anyone who is intelligent and discerning.Similarly, ponder over the Word of God: َ ض ْم َ مَكَا� ی ْرَاه�ِ ج �ِِ اَّل َا ض �َْوَّأ ج � ْ ض ذ ِ إ 1 ِ ت �ْ ی �َ ج ال� [meaning] remember the time when We identified for Abraham the location of that House.This statement clearly proves that Makkah is [the site of] the first building in the world.Thus, do not keep silent like a dead person, but be alive.The conclusion of this discussion is that Mecca was the [site of the] first building in the world.This structure then decayed due to calamities and the passing of time.Thus, it inevitably entails that, prior to the existence of any other 1 S u rah Al- H ajj 22:27.[Publisher] Note: Since the House of God is a means of attaining guidance for the entire world, it clearly means that it is located at such head - quarters, the language of which, bears resemblance to all the lan - guages of the world; this is the reality of being the mother of all languages.(Author)

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175 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS language, the language that existed was Arabic, which Allah the Almighty taught Adam and with it perfected [the creation] of man.Subsequently, this language was corrupted and altered, and those illuminated words and phrases became tarnished, defaced and the perfect [linguistic] system perished and the pearl that lay hidden within was lost.And afterwards, those who succeeded them, fell far from the Arabic language, distorting and changing it to such an extent that the divergence became new tongues which contained very little of the original Arabic and only a small portion of the world were left speaking it; whereas, the rest of the world perverted the original Arabic words from their [appropriate] places, casting its jewels far away from their places and mines.As such those [transformed] languages appeared to be new languages in the sight of the ignorant.And they became stripped of their clothing, exposing them as bare-skinned and overtly naked, an abhorrent sight to the beholder.It is for this reason that you can see these languages falling short of systemic organisation, deficient in being able to fully describe the laws of nature, scattered and irregular like timber collected from many different forests and flung down aimlessly.Furthermore, you can see that they are like vagabonds who have no fixed abode or

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176 neighbourhood, and you can see that their elementary root words are scattered and there is no relationship between them and they are so bare that their blemish and shortcomings have become exposed.This has happened because their system was lost and their guardian no longer remained in place, leaving cattle to graze them away.And you observe that those languages are like a barren empty waste land devoid of any vegetation and are like such a frightening forest wherein ghosts dwell, which is repugnant in the sight of researchers.And the condition of these [languages] has not improved over time and their offspring did not develop new teeth after their first set had fallen out.But the unjust deceive the ignorant.These [languages] have neglected their similar genealogy and common foundations [with the Arabic language].So, they have become like people with opposing opinions or like disunited clashing rabbles who have conflicting desires.Thus, it is as if some of them are on top of a hill supporting themselves with a stick, whilst others are lying in a ditch as if lifeless, yet others have lost all traces of reasoning behind names as if they have fainted or suffered a stroke or been seized by a stomach ache.Some appear in an ugly form, their face became disfigured, like children afflicted with smallpox repelling

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177 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS the onlookers.Some of these [languages] have covered their faces with a cloak, masking themselves due to shame; whilst others have dyed their coverings out of deception, posing as if they were wearing a mantle.Then there are those [languages] which have retained their original form: the scorching sun of foreign lands and the mid-day heat has not transformed their faces nor have the hurricanes of separation shaken their foundations.Rather, a certain aroma from them has lingered on, its waft revealing this hidden secret, whose scent manifests the garden of truth, and they are recognised by the spreading of their fragrance from their lofty windows; they attract one’s heart like the appearance of a handsome person.Albeit, it is true that these [languages] were expelled from their designated homes, banished from their ancestral homelands separated from their companions, and extraneous material was heaped on them as if they were being buried with soil, covered up like the dead, rather as if they had been buried alive.They were left alone and friendless.Thereafter, the time arrived when the memories of their homeland came flooding back, and they longed to return.So they became ready to uproot the tents of their

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178 exile and they drew up the saddles of their horses of the echoes [of their homeland], after they had been vagrants, ready [to retrace their origins] like friends travelling together.However, they lacked a man who could lead them on this journey and without a guide to accompany them, there was no other way.Thus, I reached out to them and took hold of them as one takes into possession one’s inheritance.And despite the annals of time having proclaimed their demise, I pulled them out of their graves.Thus, after a long time they were able to see their home and meet with their own clan and proceed to their palace after having been imprisoned by many hardships.Their return was like that of a friend who returns after being missing for such a long time, that his friends have even gathered together to mourn his loss and perform his last rites.As such, it was as if I pulled a coffin of the dead, or returned the slave who had run away from [his master’s] home, or brought back into the fold a person of noble birth who had fallen into debauchery, or returned back a relative who had deserted a noble family, or returned the son who was lost having run away from home, or retrieved those children who had drowned.Amongst the words of these languages are those that did not sustain an iota’s worth of damage during the era of their separation,

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179 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS returning to their homeland in good health.But there are some words which were transformed by disease so much so that they reached the point of being uprooted, and looked like [corpses in] funeral processions after they had been persons of generosity and munificence, and their faces aged, when once they had been like hidden pearls, and their beauty and radiance was lost, and their light and brightness vanished, where once they had looked like a delicately and gracefully formed woman, they emerged like an old man whose strength is lost, or they can be likened to a horse that once had impressive speed, or to a she-camel which once possessed such fast pace that she had never suffered defeat, or to a sturdy she-camel which once had speed beyond par.And no one can contradict this statement unless he is ignorant of the truth or may be a liar.There is no doubt that the truth has come to light and falsehood has vanished.And the army of truth and certainty has surely waged a war against falsehood.The above was a description of the significance of Arabic root words.As for its compound forms, they have an even higher status according to those who possess insight.If for instance musk and pearls are mixed for some purpose, then there is no doubt that they form a more potent medicine for preventing disease than when

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180 they are used individually.And you will be aware that combining various herbs, can produce miraculous results which are highly effective for treating many different types of ailments; then why would you not expect the composition of these root words to possess a lofty rank; whose manifest evidence shines forth and its brilliance is marvelled at? They are light upon light, a key to hidden mysteries, and a grand sign for the seekers of guidance.The secret in the greatness of Arabic compounds is that they are based on a system of blessed root words which contain an abundance of material, a perfect framework and a wise methodology.As such, its compounds are infused with numerous meanings through the influence of root words.Furthermore, due to the use of alif, l a m and tanw i n [nunation], and a wide range of subtle arrangements, they generate a multitude of new meanings.But other languages and tongues do not possess this rank and soon you will come to know of their reality, as I will reveal to you their pebbles and their rocks, so that I may invite the just towards the truth.Those tongues have not been bestowed articulation and lustre, apart from muttering and fumes.This is why I intend to expose their inner reality upon every seeker and make manifest their inner secrets and demonstrate the

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181 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS eclipse of their moon, so that the boastfulness of the liars is laid bare.Thus, if you do not believe in the ingenuity and dignity of Arabic and are not convinced of the grandeur of its fast moving she-camel.Then, if you are truthful, you should demonstrate to me from your own tongue, the excellences that are found in Arabic: show me their root words in comparison to the root words of Arabic; their compound words in comparison to the compound words of Arabic; and their deeper wisdom in comparison to the deeper wisdom inherent in the words of Arabic.There is no life after experiencing humiliating defeat.O opponents! If you possess even an iota of shame, then arise and jump into a deep well to put an end to your life, perishing like those stricken by shame! But if you seek to rise up and compete against me, then I offer you a reward of five-thousand rupees on the condition that you submit your responses under a set of agreed conditions, which two arbiters testify to, so that my argument is completed before those experienced [in this field] and so that there is no more room for any excuse.And if I am proven to be a liar then I would have to pay the fine.Arise, therefore, to receive this reward, or at least demonstrate some courage in support of your own deficient language.

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182 And you are free to have this sum deposited wherever you choose.If you are suspicious or are afraid, then I will accept any demands that you may make.Whatever conditions you lay down, I shall write up whatever you dictate, and shall satisfactorily answer whatever you ask.Perhaps with this assurance, your mind will be put at ease, as I will conform to whatever demands you make, provided they are fair.And I do not desire to burden you and I am not someone who challenges anyone with an evil intent and God willing, you will find me to be of the just.I see that very soon all tongues will become tied; all whisperings of doubt will be imprisoned; my argument will be completed; the opponents will flee, trembling, after seeing what I possess in my hand; and with the help of the Majesty of God, I will pursue them, and they shall have nowhere to flee even if they were to gallop away upon lean horses.Then I will force them to run further so that, while fleeing, they end up in a hole.When I brandish the spear upon the adversaries and show them the daggers, and dart the horses of death, you will see them baring their teeth without laughing.And whatever I have written, is nothing but inspiration from my Lord who has supported me in this task.

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183 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS Therefore, I longed to unseal this secret and show people the favour and triumph God had shown me.And He is indeed the Bestower of the manifest favour.In summary, what I have written in this introduction is that Arabic is the mother of all tongues and is the Revelation of God, the Glorious and Honourable.The other tongues only consist of a sprinkling of this majestic rain, and whatever they possess whether great or small, is from this language.The Arabic language partitions various matters in terms of composition in such a way that closely conforms to the way Allah the Exalted has created differences in nature, and in this point, there is a sign for those who have insight.It always keeps within its rules, never crossing the limits.God has prevented its abode becoming too restricted and has provided it with vast accommodation for guests of all temperaments.Therefore, it has been able to extend an invitation to all guests of nature to its feast and provide everything that they crave for.And in this manner has proven that it is a generous benefactor.Thus, incline not towards any lowly and wretched one, and do not turn a blind eye to a transaction of loss; would you take in exchange that which is inferior for that which is superior? Therefore, reflect over this O shameless

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184 person! And seek the path of the successful.Know that it is this path that leads to the heights of knowledge, without causing fatigue and weariness.Thus, whoever aspires towards this goes for gold and whosoever distances themselves by abandoning them becomes content with obscenity and falls into the abyss of the lowest of the low.And Arabic is adorned with a perfect system, manifesting every aspect of beauty, and it is able to answer every question asked of it, to such an extent that its wealth has become manifest and dispels any doubts.Arabic follows the footsteps of the law of nature and the nature of man and its house is vast enough to accommodate them, and has incorporated them in various divisions in accordance with the divisions found in nature.Rather it has picked them up and carried them the same way a camel carries a load and in such accord with nature that amazes the onlookers.Thus, it is such a blessed tree that its branches are spread out and its principles are like a closely connected root system, and its material is as extensive as the seeds in a pumpkin.And we do not accept that the perfection of the linguistic system of Arabic can be found in any other language, or that any language is equal in measure to its character.We do concede that, to some extent, each

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185 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS language contains a certain amount of root words, but they are incomplete like dilapidated and ruined houses, or like a dried up and shrivelled tree, the owner of which has despaired of receiving any flowers or fruit from it.You will not find an abundance of root words in these unblessed tongues, except only a little which is insufficient to satisfy all requirements.You have already heard that these other languages were Arabic in the earliest of times; subsequently, they were transformed to present an ugly form.It is for this reason that you find them emitting an offensive odour like carrion, and you observe their quiver to be empty like that of the vanquished.And you find these tongues to be in obvious degradation; they do not possess any significant stock of material, nor do they have a wealth of word derivation morphology, nor do they possess the reason behind the formation of words.Their words cling to their meaning like a parasite.And they cannot complete the structure of any narrative, nor can they make any description perfect, by using the linguistic capital of their own home, which they inherited in turn.The speakers of these languages do not possess the ability to write a story or to pen an extensive tale in such a way that the system of root words may run in accordance with the narrative,

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186 and every step remains in accordance to the divisions found in nature.This is a true statement and not nonsense.It is for this reason that I have written this text in Arabic and have presented this introduction like a valiant soldier, so that I may cut the root of every rival; so that my opponents may ponder over the varying angles of this text or, if they are truthful, they ought to present a similar example from their own language.And you have already heard that the root words of Arabic imitate the divisions found in nature, and whatever such division has granted, these words also provide and use every word on such an occasion which has been required by the situation or determined by divine attributes.And these root words do not walk like vagabonds.On the contrary they demonstrate the distinctions between [the meaning of] words in accordance with the varying needs that can arise.They reveal all such matters through the system of root words which the One who has created various divisions has manifested in the mirror of events.Therefore, we demand a similar example, from the opponents.And I have not said all this like someone who is idly whistling away; rather, I have demonstrated this in the

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187 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS manner of one who has fully researched the matter and I have proven that the Arabic language is like a generous man who has great wealth and in addition, it possesses well-proportioned limbs, and a perfectly balanced temperament.Arabic is fully in tune with the essence of nature and carries its benefits like a mounted steed.O unjust people and fanatics, if you are one of the horses of this field, or your tongue is equal to Arabic like two hands are equal to one another, then present your own languages [in comparison].But if you cannot do so—and you will surely not be able to do so—then you ought to fear God, Who humiliates the liars.Now I will reveal to you the ingenuity behind the manner in which Arabic differentiates one word from another.Perhaps through this, Allah the Almighty will guide you to the path of rectitude and truth, or you may become among those who reflect.Therefore, know that the differentiation between words found in Arabic, is in accordance with the differentiation found within the universe, and this is what the Best of Creators has decreed.To explore the differentiation found within the creation of the universe and manifestly observed in the annals of nature, I will present examples found in the creation of a human being.May you understand the truth

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188 like someone who possesses insight or may you at least become someone who wishes to learn further.Thus, you should note that as a human being underwent various transformations through different stages of creation and was brought from the domain of potentiality to actuality and was fashioned with a variety of shapes and forms, during these phases of nature, each phase had various differences and distinctive features, which required an appropriate name.So, it is Arabic which bestowed upon each phase a particular name and perfected its benefaction like a generous financier.The details of this are that when Allah the Almighty intended to create man, He created him from an extract of clay which is free from every impurity.When God refers to the creation of man from ٌ ج ُرَا� �ت [ tur a bun : dust]; it is for this reason He names him, in speech and in the Book, آدَم [ A dam] because He has infused him with the qualities of all the world and likewise imbued two loves in his disposition: firstly, a love for that very thing from which he was created and secondly, a love for the Creator—the Most Gracious, just as children have love for the mother and father.It was for this reason that he was named ض ْسَا� ض ا�ِ [ Ins a n: human] - which is a noun in the dual form, so that this word may forever proclaim these

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189 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS two loves.Then, by God’s will, the law of nature underwent such change that after many transformations, man’s creation started to proceed through the wombs of mothers.Thus, the first transformation was named ٌ ت �ِ ض دَا� ٌ مَاء [ m a ’ un d a fiqun : gushing fluid] and ت �َ ض ُط�ْ ض � [ nu t fah : semen-drop].And the name given to the second transformation, through which the trace of life progresses, was ت �َ ت عَل�َ [ ‘alaqah : clot]; and the name given to the third transformation, is analogous to an intensely chewed morsel, which in Arabic has the name ت �َ ض �ْ ض م�ُ [mu d ghah : lump of flesh]; and the fourth transformation, which progresses further from a morsel, is when it reaches the point of extreme rigidity and God bestows on it a system of order full of great aspects of wisdom; hence at this stage was named َامًا ن ع�ِ [ ‘I za man : bones] for at this point it reaches greatness, increased honour and rank, which is the point at which bones from the Lord of All the Worlds have been bestowed.And the fifth [transformation] was named ٌ لَحْم [ La h mun : flesh] which increases it like a garment and it became the cause of its complete beauty and adornment; it is called this because in Arabic ٌ لَحْم [ La h mun : flesh] means to patch or connect something together when

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190 it connects to another and attaches onto it.Thus, like clothes, flesh connects to and forms over the body and flesh meets with tough bones and causes them to hold together and causes an affinity between them.And the sixth [transformation] was named ًا ت َل�ْ ض � َر ض آ� [ Khalqan A khar : another creation], and due to its preciousness and its ability to permeate within the limbs, it was also named نَفْس [ Nafs : the self].Then this entire entity was named ض �ْ ی�ِ ض �َ ج� [ Jan i n : foetus].Blessed be God, the Best of Creators.And when the foetus emerges from the womb of the mother; it was named وَل�ِی ْد [ Wal i d : newborn baby].When it inclined towards the mother’s breast for milk, it was named ٌ ی �ِ ج ص�َ [ S abiyyun : infant].Till it suckled, it was named ٌ ْع ی�ِ ض ر�َ [ Ra di ‘un : suckling infant]; and after it was weaned [off from the mother’s milk] it was named ٌ ْم ی َط�ِ ض � ٌ ْع ی َط�ِ ت � َ و [ Fa ti mun wa Qa ti ‘un : weanling].After some growth is observed, it is named ج دَار�ِ [ D a rij : the one who crawls]; and when it attains a height of four spans of the hand it is named ی َاع�ِ ج ر�ُ [ Rub a ‘i : fourer]; and when it attains the measure of five spans of the hand it is named ی ُمَاس�ِ ض � [ Khum a si : fiver]; and when it sheds its milk-teeth, it is named ُوْر ض �ْ ث م�َ [ Mathgh u r : the one whose front teeth were shed]; and when it regrows its real teeth, it is named ِر ض �ْ ث م�ُ

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191 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS [ Muthghir : the one whose permanent teeth grew]; and when it attains the age of ten, it is called in Arabic َرَعْرَع م�ُت [ Mutara‘ra‘ : growing child]; and when it reaches the age of seminal emission, it is called ِع ض َا� ی � [ Y a fi‘ : pubescent] and ت مَرَاه�ِ [ Mar a hiq : teenager]; and when it achieves full strength and the peak of youth, it is named ُوْر ض ح�َ [ H az u r : the child who has become stronger], and between the age of thirty and forty years, it is named ج َا� ث � [ Sh a b : youth]; then, up to the age of sixty, it is named كَهْل [ Kahl : middle-aged] and then ض �ْ ی �َ ث � [Sheikh: senior] and then ض َر�ِ ض � [ Kharif : senile].Similarly, there is a distinct name in the Arabic language for every phase of a person’s life.And when he dies, he is referred to as ّٰى ض �ََو م�ُت [ Mutawaff a : the deceased] – the word regarding which a faction of the ignorant are still engaged in contention.Similarly, there is a unique word in the Arabic language to refer to each physical state of a human being.And you will find at least one word in the Arabic language to describe everything that can be experienced through the senses or the eyes.This quality cannot be found in any other language.What then can be a more conclusive argument, if you are among those who see? Thus, O critic consider this point and search with the lamps of learning and enlightenment.

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192 If you desire to hear from me an example illustrating the common origin of languages then the word ٌّ أُم [ Ummun: mother] and ٌ ت أُم�َّ [ Ummatun: community] would suffice.This word is common amongst Hindi, Arabic, Persian and English, in fact, it is found in all languages.Experience and observation prove and its definition tell us that this word entered the non-Arabic tongues from Arabic.Indeed, its real and original definition is found in Arabic; whereas, in the case of other languages there is a pretention to its meaning.This is because the genuine meaning of something which is from God is that it must have always remained attached to such an object and that nobody should ever be able to detach the two, and no odour of human creation should be found in it.And whoever discovers its essence will acknowledge that it is undoubtedly from Allah the Almighty.Weigh truth and falsehood upon this scale and do not tread the path of fabricators.This is what I wanted to write in this introduction.I wrote this treatise to demon - strate the systemic qualities and organisation of Arabic.You should now reflect upon and benefit from the ev - idence I have narrated to you.Judge with insight from Allah and do not be of the ignorant.Do not let it trouble your heart, if the people of this country look down upon

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193 HADRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD AS Arabic and do not value it; this is due to the corrupt state of the people of this time.Their cornerstone of endeav - our is nothing except silver, gold and utensils.When I intended to thread these pearls through the string of organisation, it was put into my heart to compile them in Arabic, so that their lustre and radiance is not destroyed by writing them in the Hindi language.Thus, I wanted to present, for the grazing eyes, the real pasture— the Arabic language.

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GLOSSARY ‘Ajam i —literally means “mute”.It is used for non-arabic languages to demonstrate the grand eloquence of Arabic.Also refers to non-arabs.Kh a tamul-Kutub— literally means “seal of all books” and refers to the Holy Qur’an being the most superior book.Permeshwar— a Sanskrit word which literally means “The Highest Lord” is used to denote God Almighty.H aqqul-yaq i n— refers to certainty based on experience and is the highest form of certainty.Ra h man —the Most Gracious; an attri - bute of God Almighty as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an.Ra hi m —the Ever Merciful; an attribute of God Almighty as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an.Ramachandra —a legendary Indian King who has been deified by Hindus.Ummul-Qur a —literally means “the mother of all towns” and is used for Mecca.Al-Furq a n —literally means “the one which distinguishes between truth and falsehood.Is used for the Holy Qur’an.

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INDEX Adam was taught speech 138 Age characteristics of current, 1, 37 dishonesty in, 110 ‘ Ajam i 99, 146, 148 Allah the Almighty Allah is Witr 151 alone is the Protector 116 attributes of, in Arabic 82 created everything from water 143 taught language 69, 167 Arabic alone is worthy of revelation 3 contains hidden secrets 70 contains root words for everything 131 eloquence of, 9, 19 mother of languages 2, 3, 4, 8 perfect system of root words 19, 65, 162 possesses law of nature 8 possesses millions of root words 28 qualities of, 129, 181 related to other languages 8, 11, 12 taught through revelation 3, 39, 67, 134 words contain scientific wisdom 19 Aryas 2 abuse Islam 6

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198 Babylon linguistic diversity at, 14, 16 was five times size of London 15 Challenge 21, 182 Christian missionaries 2 Colonialism 115 Companions of the Promised Messiah 31 Disbelievers trying to destroy Islam 115 Father lexical meaning of 87 Hadith 152 Hebrew 18, 171 Holy Qur’an a brilliant ruby 1 contains Arabic verities 77 mother of previous scriptures 120 proves divine origin 2 relationship with Arabic 127 Jesus demise of, 192 false doctrine of divinity of, 87 Khalifah 136 Language influenced by heavenly phenomena 14 is distorted form of Arabic 8, 164 manufactured words 166 mutual relationship of, 4, 5 others also contain some root words 185 plight of other languages 177 similar to difference of colour 33 Lekhram would only abuse 29 Makkah mother of towns 118, 124, 144, 174 Mankind speech is essence of, 68 stages of creation 189 Max Müller 99 Minanur-Ra h m a n background into research 117 based on A ha d i th as well 121 perfect research 6 revealed by Allah 183 Moon compared to Arabic 127 Muslims apostacy in current age 112 plight of, 110 plight of the Ulema 113 Nature reflected in Arabic 131

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199 Promised Messiah saviour of languages 178 truth of languages revealed to, 38 Prophet Muhammad s as truthful and trustworthy 35 Ra hi m 72 Ra h m a n 71 Root words imitate laws of nature 187 pre-date compound words 166 Sanskrit has few root words 28 Syriac 172 first tongue after Arabic 153 Vedas makes no claim 2, 6

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