The Miracle of Ahmad

Page 1

The Miracle of Ahmad

Page 2

Page 3

The Miracle of Ahmad (I‘j a z-e-Ahmad i ) Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi as , Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Islam International Publications LTD.

Page 4

The Miracle of Ahmad I‘j a z-e-Ahmad i (Urdu) Written by Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi, peace be on him, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community First published in Urdu in Qadian, India, November 1902 First English translation published in the UK, 2019 Translated by: Ahmad Mustansir Qamar © Islam International Publications Ltd.Published by: Islam International Publications Ltd.Unit 3, Bourne Mill Business Park, Guildford Road, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 9PS, UK Printed at: Raqeem Press Surrey, UK For further information please visit www.alislam.org Cover design by: Farhan Naseer ISBN: 978-1-84880-901-7 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Page 5

Contents About the Author......................................................................ix Foreword...................................................................................xi Appendix to the Book Nuz u lul-Mas ih.........................1 Urdu Poem..................................................................56 The Miraculous Q a si dah.............................................69 Announcement of Ten Thousand Rupees...............168 Publisher’s Note.....................................................................175 Glossary..................................................................................179 Index......................................................................................183

Page 6

Page 7

Page 8

Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian The Promised Messiah & Mahdi as

Page 9

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

Page 10

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

Page 11

Foreword The Promised Messiah as wrote I‘j a z-e-Ahmad i to respond to three bold assertions that Maulaw i Sanaullah made during his debate with Ahmadi Muslims in the Indian city of Mudh Bhilowal, District Amirtsar, namely: 1.All the prophecies of the Promised Messiah as proved false; 2.He was ready for a mub a halah [prayer duel] with the Promised Messiah as ; and 3.He was capable of writing a book comparable to I‘j a zul-Mas ih, an eloquent Arabic work of the Promised Messiah as , whenever he desired.The Promised Messiah as wrote the present book in the span of just five days.In it, he rebuts forcefully the assertions made by Maulaw i Sanau l lah.In addition to the Urdu text, he penned a qa si dah (ode) in classical Arabic, which depicted vividly the details of the Mudh Bhilowal debate, and cites numerous Signs manifested by Allah

Page 12

xii the Exalted for him, and ends with a fervent prayer for the victory of Islam and breaking of the Cross.The Promised Messiah as offered a reward of Rs.10,000 to Sanau l lah and his associates if they could produce a qa si dah of the same quality, along with a response to the assertions made by him in prose, in twenty days.The Promised Messiah as declares: If I am true in my claim—and God is well aware that I am true in my claim—it will never be possible for Maulaw i Sanaullah and his cohorts to compose a qa si dah like the one I have in five days and refute the essay written by me in Urdu.For God will cause their pens to break and their hearts to become inept.( , p.65) Ahmad Mustansir Qamar performed the initial English transla - tion of this book in Wak a lat-e-Ta s n i f, Rabwah, with help from Syed Tanwir Mujtaba.Please note that the English translation of the Arabic qa si dah is based on the idiomatic Urdu translation given in the original book.The book was finalized and formatted for publication by the English Translation Section (USA) of the Additional Wak a lat- e-Ta s n i f.Valuable services were rendered by al- Ha j Munawar Saeed, Naveed Malik, Hassan Khan, Abdul Wahab Mirza, Rawan Mallas, Naeemuddin Tahir, and others.May Allah reward them all.A m i n.Al- Ha j Munir-ud-Din Shams Additional Wak i lut-Ta s n i f, London July 2019

Page 13

Page 14

Facsimile of the original title page for I‘j a z-e-Ahmad i , printed in 1902.

Page 15

God be praised, by whose favour, the Appendix to Nuz u lul-Mas ih , which is accompanied by an announcement of a prize worth ten thousand rupees, has been written as requested by Maulaw i Sanaullah of Amritsar in only five days starting from 8th November 1902.The book has been titled: It also addresses Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Maulaw i Asghar Ali, and Maulaw i Ali Hairi Shia, etc., whose names are mentioned in detail in the booklet.Published on 15 November 1902 From Qadian under the management of H ak i m Fazl-ud-Din Printed at the d ia ’ -ul-islam Press Translation of the original Urdu title page for I‘j a z-e-Ahmad i.

Page 16

Page 17

1 ِ بِسۡم ِ الل ِّٰ الرَّحۡمٰن ِ الرَّحِیۡم 2 ِ نَحۡمَدُہ ٗ وَنُصَلِّی ۡ عَلٰی رَسُوۡلِه ِ الۡكَرِیۡم Appendix to the Book Nuz u lul-Mas ih Dated: Saturday, 6 Sha‘b a n 1320 AH , i.e.8 November 1902 CE with an Announcement of a Prize of Ten Thousand Rupees 3 4 اَنَّبَر ْحَتْفا اَنَنْيَب َو َنْيَب اَنِمْوَق ِّقَحْلاِب َو َتْنَا ُرْيَخ َنْيِحِتٰفْلا O our Lord, decide between us and our people with utmost truthfulness and You indeed are the One who is the Best of those who decide.Worthy Readers! May Allah guide you! Let it be clear that the need to pen this treatise arose as two of my sincere companions took part in a debate at Mudh, District Amritsar, at the insistence of Munshi Muhammad Yusuf.I, therefore, appointed Maulaw i Muhammad Sarwar as my representative, while the other party 1.In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.[Publisher] 2.We praise Him and invoke blessings upon His Noble Messenger.[Publisher] 3.The preparation of this essay was delayed as I had been summoned to give a testimony in Batala on 7 November 1902.(Author) 4.S u rah al-A‘r a f, 7:90 [Publisher]

Page 18

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 2 called upon Maulaw i Sanau l lah from Amritsar to represent them.The need to pen this treatise would not have arisen had Maulaw i Sanau l lah not employed deceit and falsehood during the debate.But since Maulaw i Sanaullah considers it a duty of his to tell lies in denying my prophecies, God Almighty drew my attention towards writing this treatise, اتس ی روےئ وشد رہ ہک دروشغ ابدش [in order to heap disgrace upon all liars].O Fair-minded ones! It must be known to the readers of my book Nuz u lul-Mas ih, wherein as many as 150 heavenly Signs have been recorded along with the testimonies of hundreds of peo - ple, that God’s perfect and pure Signs are pouring down like rain in my support.If the number of people who have witnessed the fulfilment of these Signs were to be counted, it would, I believe, exceed six million.But, sadly, prejudice and worldliness together make up such an accursed disease as does not allow one to see despite being able to see, and does not allow one to hear despite being able to hear, and does not allow one to understand despite being able to understand.I declare in the name of that God in whose hands my life rests that if the witnesses to the Signs, which were demonstrated in my favour and manifested in my support, were to be assembled in one place, they would outnumber the army of any ruler on earth.However, the world is so fraught with sins that people deny Signs of even such magnitude.Heaven testified in my favour, and so did the earth, yet a greater portion of mankind did not accept me.Indeed, I am the one in whose time camels have been abandoned, a fact that fulfils the prophecy mentioned in the verse:

Page 19

3 1 َو اَذِا ُراَشِعْلا ْتَلِّطُع And then a hadith—which states, 2 ولیترکن القالص فال یسعی علیھا [i.e.then the she-camels shall be abandoned, and no one will ride them]—showed the truth of its purport with full lustre, so much so that in Arabic and other languages of the world, editors of var - ious newspapers and periodicals emphatically raised the point that the railway track being laid between Makkah and Madinah is undeniably the fulfilment of the prophecy made by the Holy Quran and Hadith in the above-recorded words, which is a Sign for the age of the Promised Messiah.Similarly, all divine scriptures had also prophesied that in the time of the Promised Messiah the plague will break out; restric - tions will be imposed on Hajj; a comet will appear; and at the turn of the seventh millennium there will appear the promised one whose appearance is destined to take place towards the east of Damascus and who is to appear at the turn of the century when the Cross will have achieved great dominance.As such, today, all these prophecies have been fulfilled and, in order to support me, God has demonstrated extraordinary Signs at my hand.The death of A tham was a grand Sign, which appeared as fore - told in the prophecy.An indication towards it was also given in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya twelve years earlier.What is more, a tradi - tion of the Holy Prophet s as also spoke of this event.But the wicked 1.And when the she-camels, ten-month pregnant, are abandoned.( S u rah at-Takw i r, 81:5).[Publisher] 2.See Musnad Ahmad bin H anbal, Kit a b B a qi Masnadul-Mukthr i n.[Publisher]

Page 20

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 4 people treated it with ridicule and refused to acknowledge it.The time-frame given for the fulfilment of the prophecy was subject to certain conditions.Moreover, the prophecy was made not because A tham was a Christian; rather, as has been stated in the book in which the proceedings of the debate were recorded and which has been titled by the Christians as Jang-e-Muqaddas, the reason for this prophecy was that he had, in his book Andr u nah Bible, called the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, a dajj a l [deceiver].My prophecy was read out to him in the presence of around seventy men and it was explained to him that the reason why this prophecy was being made was that he had labelled our beloved, the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, as a dajj a l.Therefore, he was warned that if he failed to repudiate this word, he would die within a period of fifteen months.Consequently, A tham recanted in that very gathering, saying: ‘ God forbid! I have not uttered any such word about his honoured self.’ He then raised both his hands and held out his tongue while he was shaking with fear and then verbally denied to have said any words to that effect.The witnesses to this event include not only Muslims; rather, it can also be testified to by more than forty Christians as well.Does this not constitute repudiation on his part? Did his fear and abandoning totally, during the pronounced time-frame of the prophecy, the argu - mentation he always used to engage in with me and with the late Sheikh Ghulam Hasan , who was the Grand Chief of Amritsar, and Miyan Ghulam Nabi, the brother of late Miyan Asadullah, a lawyer from Amritsar, not furnish the proof that A tham surely had certainly become frightened? Does his moving away from Amritsar and living in seclusion and spending most of his time

Page 21

5 crying and weeping not establish that a terrible fear had gripped his heart? Does his aversion to taking an oath while he had been offered a sum of four thousand rupees for this purpose—and while it had been proved to him that the Christian faith allowed the tak - ing of oath and that the Messiah himself took an oath and so did Paul—not establish that he had become frightened? Has it still not been established that he recanted the word he had spoken, i.e.dajj a l? What is more, who can prove that he ever labelled the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, as dajj a l after this, during the time-frame given for the fulfilment of the prophecy? Besides, did he not die in my lifetime just as the prophecy said: رم اجےئ اگ.ی اکذب اصدق یک زدنیگ م The liar will die within the lifetime of the one who is truthful.So, show me where A tham is today if the prophecy has not been fulfilled.He was as old as I was, i.e.about sixty-four years.If you have any doubt about this, you may take a look at his pension doc - uments lying in the government offices to confirm at what time and age he began to receive his pension.If the prophecy was not true, why did he die earlier than me? May God’s curse be on those people who tell lies! When a person has become shameless, he may blabber as he likes, as no one can hold him back.Consider the prophecy about Lekhr a m, wherein it was stated clearly that he would be murdered within six years on a day next to the day of Eid.How manifestly was that prophecy fulfilled!

Page 22

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 6 Testifying to this, Fateh Ali Shah, the Deputy Collector, as well as many other notables who number close to 4,000, prepared an attested petition bearing out the manifest fulfilment of the prophecy, despite the fact that they belonged to the party of our opponents.Yet the impious people, who are maulaw i s only in name, refuse to acknowledge the fulfilment of the prophecy.The hand-written testimonies of their own elite are on record and the petition has been signed by several Hindus as well.Prejudice, however, is such a thing as renders people blind [to the truth].Otherwise, such are these prophecies that listening to them would make the eyes of a righteous person run with tears.But still these people insist that not a single prophecy has been fulfilled.They do not consider that one day they too will meet their death.If the Signs that have been shown to these people had been shown to the people of N uh [Noah], they would not have drowned.If the people of L ut [Lot] had been apprised of these Signs, stones would not have rained down upon them.But these people say it is night while seeing the sun; they have outdone even the Jews.To reject the Signs of Almighty God is not a trivial mat - ter.It never resulted in anything good in any age.How then will it result in anything good now? Atheism has, however, become rife in this age.Hearts have hardened and have no fear [of the Almighty].Who should I liken these people to! They are like that blind man who denies the exist - ence of the sun but is unaware of his own blindness.These people are like those Jews and Christians who fail to appreciate hundreds of incidents of divine support in favour of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the miracles he showed, and keep citing the stories of the Battle of Uhud and the

Page 23

7 Treaty of H udaibiyyah.The same is the case of the Jews regarding Hadrat ‘ I s a [ Jesus] also.A Jewish man has recently published a book, which is with me at this time.It reads as if it has been written by Muhammad Husain or Sanaullah.He writes in his book that this man, i.e.Jesus, did not show even a single miracle and that none of his prophecies were fulfilled.‘He used to say that he would be given the throne of D a w u d [David], when did he get that.’ ‘He used to say that the twelve disciples would attain to twelve thrones in Heaven, when did the twelve get those thrones.Judas Iscariot betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver and was thus cut off from the disciples.And Peter cursed him three times, so was he then worthy of the throne.’ ‘He used to say further that he would return to the world while the people of his time would still be alive, but did he so come back.’ This Jewish person then writes that for this person [ Jesus] to be proven false it is sufficient to see the prophecy recorded in the book of Malachi wherein we were informed that the true Messiah who was to come among the Jews would never come until the prophet Ily a s [Elijah] comes again into the world.So where did Ily a s descend from the heaven.’ And then he [the Jewish Author] raises a great clamour at this point and appeals to the people, that look, this was the prophecy in the book of Malachi, that Ily a s would himself come back into the world again, but this man [ Jesus ] says that Yu h ann a (who is known as Ya h y a [ John] among the Muslims) is Elijah—that is to say declares him to be his likeness.But God did not give us the tidings of the coming of a math i l [likeness].He had said clearly that Elijah himself would come again.And even if we are asked on the Day of Judgment we would put before God this very same book and question Him

Page 24

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 8 where it was stated by Him that someone in the image of Ily a s would be sent before the Promised Messiah.Having said this, the author goes on to use extremely uncivilized language about Jesus.The book is here, whosoever wishes may see it.Now, do tell whether the heart of this Jew and the heart of Maulaw i Muhammad Husain and that of Miyan Sanaullah resemble each other or not! In opposing any prophecy of mine they speak so much falsehood concerning it, despite the fact that not a single prophecy of mine has proven to be false.Instead, all my prophecies have been most manifestly fulfilled.Those subject to certain conditions have been fulfilled accordingly and will con - tinue to be fulfilled, and those not subject to any condition, such as the one regarding Lekhr a m, were fulfilled as they were foretold.This indeed is the truth regarding my prophecies.In contrast to this, the objections raised by the said Jewish scholar against the prophecies of Jesus, may peace be upon him, are extremely damaging.Even I find those objections too diffi - cult to answer.I will confer a cash prize of 100 rupees to Maulaw i Sanaullah, Maulaw i Muhammad Husain or anyone from among the Christian clergymen, who succeeds to aptly refute these objec - tions.This is the state of the prophecies while he is called God—I am also amazed by this.Regarding such prophecies one cannot even make the excuse that the prophecies were abrogated so one could think that they were annulled.The fulfilment of the proph - ecies of wa‘ i d [warning], however, such as my prophecy regarding A tham or the one about the son-in-law of Ahmad Baig, may be deferred according to the Holy Quran as well as the Torah, for a delay in their fulfilment does not render them false.The reason for this is that God has the authority to withhold the punishment, as

Page 25

9 both Muslims and Christians believe.Although there was no con - dition attached to the prophecy made by Prophet Y u nus [ Jonah] concerning the chastisement [of his people], the punishment was still revoked.No Muslim or Christian can raise the objection that Jonah was false.See the Book of Jonah and Durr-e-Manth u r.It is indeed surprising that my opponents raise against me such objections as render them liable to lose even their faith in Islam.If they feared Allah, they would never have raised such objections that apply even more strongly to other Prophets.What is even stranger is that they overlook thousands of the prophe - cies that were fulfilled most manifestly.If, however, due to their own folly, they fail to understand a prophecy, they say repeatedly it has remained unfulfilled.Is this fair on their part? Had they really been in search of truth, an easy method for this would have been to settle the matter by personally visiting Qadian.I would have even paid for their to and fro travel expenses and looked after them as my guests.In this way, they could have investigated the matter to their hearts’ content.To make allegations from afar without conducting a thorough investigation can only be due to stupidity or prejudice for what else could be its cause? At one time about 500 such foolish people had renounced Hadrat Mas ih [ Jesus, the Messiah] saying this person’s prophe - cies have not been fulfilled.And, as a matter of fact, Judas Iscariot also turned apostate for this very reason because weapons had been purchased openly, yet nothing really happened and the prophecy regarding the Kingdom of David remained unful - filled.Disillusioned, Judas ultimately lost his faith.Jesus, the Messiah, failed even to be informed that he would turn apostate and thus unduly promised Judas the Kingdom of God.Likewise,

Page 26

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 10 some of the opponents [of Islam] criticized the journey towards Hudaibiyyah saying that the prophecy related to this journey was not fulfilled.To them, the marathon journey had established that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, firmly believed that he would be allowed to perform t aw a f [cir - cuits] around the Ka‘bah as was mentioned in the prophecy.As a result, some of the ill-fated became apostates.The incident even put Hadrat ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, in a trial for a few days and, as is evident from his own statement.He then per - formed many good deeds seeking repentance for his error of judg - ment.These examples are there for the wicked to consider.Yet, the ignorant people who are opposing me today continue to treat me iniquitously.Overwhelmed by callousness, they ceaselessly fabricate absurd allegations against me.For instance, they say that prior to my claim to be the Promised Messiah, I had admitted in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya that Jesus, may peace be upon him, would appear.To this I would only say: O Ignorant ones! Why do you ruin your afterlife? May I ask that while making this pronounce - ment, where did I write that my statement was based on divine revelation , or that I possessed knowledge of the unseen? I held the same belief as you did, until God drew me away from it and repeatedly impressed upon me that I am the Promised Messiah and that Jesus is dead.This is indeed why, in complete simplic - ity, I wrote in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya that Jesus, the Hadrat Mas ih [ Jesus] would come again.However, when God revealed to me the real truth, I disavowed this belief; but I did not abandon this commonly held creed until perfect conviction overpowered my heart and enlightened me to the brim.What is more, I made the above-mentioned statement despite the fact that in the same

Page 27

11 Bar a h i n I had been called ‘ I s a and named Kh a tamul-Khulaf a ’ [the Seal of the Successors] and declared to be the one who was to break the Cross.Also, I was told that the Holy Quran and the Hadith contain the tidings of my advent, and that I am the one to whom the following verse refers: 1 َوُه ْۤيِذَّلا َلَسْرَا ٗهَلْوُسَر ىٰدُهْلاِب َو ِنْيِد ِّقَحْلا ٗهَرِهْظُيِل ىَلَع ِنْيِّدلا ٖهِّلُك Divine wisdom, however, caused this revelation, which was recorded in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya in unambiguous terms, to remain hidden from my eyes.Therefore, despite the fact that I had been clearly and categorically declared to be the Promised Messiah in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, it was due to this obliviousness that had been imposed upon my heart that I set out in Bar a h i n- e-Ahmadiyya the belief regarding the second coming of Hadrat ‘ I s a.This is, therefore, a proof of my complete innocence and obliviousness that while divine revelation recorded in Bar a h i n- e-Ahmadiyya accorded me the status of Promised Messiah, yet I wrote down this customarily held belief in the Bar a h i n.I per - sonally am amazed at how, despite the manifestly clear revelation in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya that declared me to be the Promised Messiah, I wrote down the customarily held creed in this very Book.Then, for as many as twelve years, which is quite a lengthy period of time, I remained absolutely unmindful and unaware 1.He it is Who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the Religion of truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all religions ( S u rah a s - S aff, 61:10).[Publisher]

Page 28

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 12 of the fact that God had so emphatically declared me to be the Promised Messiah in Bar a h i n; I continued to hold the traditional belief regarding the second coming of Hadrat ‘ I s a.Then, after as many as twelve years had passed, the time finally came for the real - ity of the matter to be made clear to me and Divine revelations began repeatedly to apprise me of the fact that I indeed am the Promised Messiah.In short, when the revelation of God in this regard reached to their maximum—and I was commanded, فاصدع بما تؤمر , that is, ‘Proclaim openly that which you are commanded’—and many Signs were granted to me and my heart was filled with manifest conviction; only then was it that I preached this message to the people.In fact, such planning on the part of Almighty God was to serve as proof of my truthfulness and a Sign of my innocence and simplicity.Had this scheme been initiated by a man with its roots in human planning, I would have claimed to be the Promised Messiah during the very days when Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya was published.But God caused me to overlook the [true purport of the] revelation recorded in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya and I failed to realize that it called me the Promised Messiah.This happened due to my innocence, and this forms a great proof of my truthfulness.If this is not true, I urge my opponents to tell me why I did not make the claim for twelve long years while I had already been declared to be the Promised Messiah in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya and why did I write words that clearly contradicted divine revelation recorded in Bar a h i n? Is it not worth considering how events unfolded? Is it not dishonesty on the part of those people that they quote the words of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya where I have mentioned the sec - ond coming of Hadrat ‘ I s a [ Jesus] as a commonly held traditional

Page 29

13 belief, but withhold the fact that the same Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya proclaims me the Promised Messiah? In fact, this was going to be a profound argument in my favour, which Almighty God had already prepared for my sake earlier on in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya.Even he who is an enemy of mine would testify that while Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya was being written, I did not know that I was the Promised Messiah.This is the reason why I did not make any such claim at that time.Hence, the revelations that declared me to be the Promised Messiah while I was unaware of it cannot be doubted as human fabrications.If I had fabricated those reve - lations, I would have exploited them in my favour when Bar a h i n was being written and therefore announced my claim.Besides, how could I have written in the same Bar a h i n that Hadrat ‘ I s a , may peace be upon him, would come again into the world? The fact that the two contradictory statements were recorded in the same book and that I did not claim to be the Promised Messiah at that time leaves a fair-minded judge with no other option but to affirm that indeed I remained unmindful of the revelation of Allah that had been recorded in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya concern - ing my status as the Promised Messiah.This, in fact, was the rea - son why I combined two contradictory statements in Bar a h i n.If Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya had stated only that the very same old ‘ I s a , may peace be upon him, would come back into the world, and if it had not spoken about me as the Promised Messiah, an impetuous person might have taken advantage of the statement and raised an objection, asking why the belief recorded in Bar a h i n- e-Ahmadiyya twelve years earlier was renounced later.This too, however, would have been an absurd objection, since Prophets and other recipients of divine revelation are responsible only for

Page 30

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 14 the authenticity of the revelation.They cannot be held accounta - ble if their inferences turn out to be false or contrary to the facts, because these are their own views and not the Word of God; though the ordinary people could fall prey to such a mistake.But as things stand, now there is no room left for one to make such an absurd objection, for in the same Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya I had been declared the Promised Messiah twelve years before I actually made the claim.For a reasonable person, this furnishes an evident proof of my truth.The mention in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya of the second coming of Hadrat ‘ I s a could have misled an ignorant person only if there had not been any mention of myself being the Promised Messiah.But this was so clearly recorded that the maulaw i s in Ludhiana, such as Muhammad, Abdul Aziz, and Abdullah, had raised objections at that very time accusing me of naming myself ‘ I s a and ascribing all those prophecies that referred to ‘ I s a to myself.Responding to the objections, Maulaw i Muhammad Husain wrote in his review that the objections were uncalled for, as the same Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya contained my endorsement of the second coming of Hadrat ‘ I s a.May I be sacrificed at the wisdom of Almighty God! With what profundity, He prepared the means of my exoneration beforehand.If there had simply been no mention in Bar a h i n- e-Ahmadiyya of the second coming of Hadrat ‘ I s a , and had the book spoken only of me as the Promised Messiah, the agitation which began after several years and the edicts of disbelief that were prepared later would have been prepared right at the time of the publication of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya.Conversely, if Bar a h i n had mentioned only the second coming of Hadrat Mas ih without

Page 31

15 citing the revelations that declare me to be the Promised Messiah, ignorant people would have raised the objection that while I had admitted in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya that Hadrat ‘ I s a would come again, what was it that forced me to deny this twelve years later? However, those who are wise would agree that the fact that, on the one hand, divine revelation declared me to be the Promised Messiah in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya and, on the other, I, with my own pen, recorded my endorsement of the traditional belief of the second coming of Hadrat ‘ I s a , clearly proves that this happened under the extraordinary planning of Almighty God.In short, by allowing me to commit the error whereby I affirmed the second coming of ‘ I s a in the same book in which I was declared as the Promised Messiah, divine wisdom caused my innocence and truthfulness to become manifest.Otherwise, all those revelations recorded in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya that declare me to be the Promised Messiah would have undoubtedly been regarded as imposture.What is more, wisdom simply cannot accept that the claim to be the Promised Messiah, which was made as many as twelve years after the publication of Bar a h i n-e- Ahmadiyya , was fabricated such a long time ago.The affirmation of the second coming of Hadrat ‘ I s a, therefore, in the very book that speaks of me as the Promised Messiah is living proof of my innocence and truthfulness.Sadly, my opponents have become senseless to the extent that they pay attention to only one aspect of every matter and ignore the other.While speaking about the Christian man, A tham, they blatantly ignore the condition [contained in the prophecy].They never mention the fact that he died in accordance with the proph - ecy and entered the grave, nor do they speak of the events that

Page 32

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 16 establish that A tham recanted from declaring the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, as dajj a l.They avoid mentioning all of the facts and try to conceal them altogether.What is more, when they speak of the son-in-law of Ahmad Baig, they never tell the people that a part of the prophecy has already been fulfilled within the stipulated period; i.e.Ahmad Baig died within the given time-frame and that the second part of the prophecy awaits fulfilment.They also withhold the fact that it was a prophecy of wa‘ i d [warning] and was subject to certain conditions as is evident from the revelation: توبی توبی فإن البالء علٰی عقبك Repent, repent for misfortune is about to befall your progeny.Which had been published a number of times.It was obviously natural to be overcome by fear after witnessing a death like that of Ahmad Baig, and it was this fear that caused the deferment of the fulfilment of the second part of the prophecy.For indeed such is divine practice regarding the prophecies of wa‘ i d.However, the malicious opponents of mine never mention these facts; instead, like the Jews they distort facts and make speeches that create doubts in the hearts of ignorant people.They have indeed put to shame even the Jews by being guilty of fabrication in every mat - ter, just as Maulaw i Sanaullah did during the debate at Mudh.He deceived the people by saying that I had written in one of my prophecies that a boy would be born to me; however, only a girl was born after whom a boy was born who died, and, therefore, the prophecy turned out to be false.

Page 33

17 Someone should ask these wicked people that if what they state is true and not intended to mislead others, they should put forth the published revelation about which I stated that God disclosed to me that a boy would definitely be born at that time, or that the boy born after the girl would unquestionably be the promised son and none other.Moreover, suppose I had thought that the said boy would be the promised one; my own thinking is of little importance unless supported by a clear revelation of Almighty God.The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in his own estimation, believed that he would migrate to Yamamah, but that never happened and ultimately he migrated to Madinah.Besides, if the prophecy required for the promised son to be born of the first pregnancy, divine revelation must have had words to that effect.But can anyone point out any such words in the revelation? Keep in mind that many Israelite Prophets made prophecies regarding the birth of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, but it was after the appear - ance of numerous other Prophets, at the very end, that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was sent.Should one now raise the objection that the prophecies of the said Prophets proved false because the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was born 2,000 years after M u s a [Moses]? The Jews, in view of the prophecy in the Torah, believed that the said Prophet would be born in the near future; however, it did not happen accordingly and a number of Prophets appeared in between M u s a and the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.Hence, only he who is insane or wicked and has no fear of God would raise such objections.Similar statements were made by Maulaw i Sanaullah during

Page 34

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 18 the debate at Mudh, from which a God-fearing person can under - stand how corrupt these so-called maulaw i s have become.Overwhelmed by prejudice, they fail to take into account the Signs of prophethood and the criterion set for the recognition of the Prophets.This is why all their allegations are utterly false and made as a diabolical plot.If they are in the right, they should personally visit Qadian and disprove any one of my prophecies.For disproving each of such prophecies they will be rewarded 100 rupees, in addition to their to and fro travel expenses.While mak - ing these investigations, they should, however, judge the truth and falsehood on the criterion set by the events in the lives of the past Prophets.I state firmly that if they believe my miracles and proph - ecies to be untrue, they will have to reject all Prophets and will ultimately die as disbelievers.Sadly, these people do not fear God.Their laps are filled with heaps upon heaps of the filth of falsehood.They follow in the foot - steps of the Christians and the Jews.The Christians used to object that if the Holy Quran had already prophesied the victory of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, why did he resort to wars and kill his enemies through various means and methods.Similar objections are being raised today against me by these people.For instance, regarding the daughter of Ahmad Baig, they object as to why efforts were made to win the hearts [of that family] and why letters to that effect were written to Ahmad Baig.Sadly, both of the above-mentioned parties, i.e.the Christians and these present-day ‘Jews’, do not realize that nowhere has the use of legitimate means been declared unlawful so as to cause a proph - ecy to be fulfilled.The one who has been informed by God about the recovery of a sick person is not forbidden from administering

Page 35

19 medicine to the patient as recovery might have been ordained to occur by using the medicine.In short, to make such an effort is not considered unlawful —neither by the Christians and the Jews, nor by Islam.During the debate at Mudh, Maulaw i Sanaullah also raised the objection that the prophecy regarding the humili - ation of Muhammad Husain, Ja‘far Zatalli, and one of their other friends has not been fulfilled.To me, if such objections had not been raised by these people, how could they have come to resem - ble the Jews? Hence, in my opinion, such objections were inevita - ble on their part.O Wicked man! Maulaw i Muhammad Husain’s article, which goes against his own allegations of disbelief against me, was dis - covered during the proceedings of this very case.Pray tell whether it has not brought disgrace and humiliation upon him—if consid - ered from the standpoint of his scholarly position? It was merely to oppose me that in his periodical, Ish a ‘atus-Sunnah, he declared the denial of the appearance of the Promised Mahdi to be an act of disbelief, and propagated against me that I stood opposed to an established tenet of Islam, and [he said] that the Promised Mahdi would surely appear and the Messiah would descend from Heaven.Later, however, he simply denied the coming of the Mahdi to ingratiate himself with the government.The said copy of his periodical was thus exposed and his own peers issued a edict of disbelief against him.Now tell whether this act of hypocrisy brought him honour or disgrace! The term ‘disgrace’ does not mean only to be thrashed publicly upon the head with shoes; rather, if a person, who claims to be a religious scholar and a pious man is proved hypocritical in

Page 36

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 20 his conduct, he would suffer the worst possible disgrace.Indeed, no one is more ignoble than a hypocrite.1 َّنِا َنْيِقِفٰنُمْلا يِف ِكْرَّدلا ِلَفْسَاْلا َنِم ِراَّنلا How disgraceful it is for a person to proclaim that the Mahdi shall come, that to deny him is an act of heresy, and that wars will be fought; to then, on the other hand, turn away from all these state - ments to please the government! If this is not called disgrace, then I am bound to say that perhaps the edifice of your self-proclaimed dignity is stronger than even a building made of mortar, for no matter how immoral an act you commit, it is not going to under - mine the edifice of your so-called dignity.As for the prestige of Ja‘far Zatalli, he and his ilk are not act - ing independently.They are all under the influence of Maulaw i Muhammad Husain since he is their advocate.Therefore, when the advocate himself has suffered disgrace, his dependants too have been disgraced.The shadow invariably follows the object from which it is created.How can the shadow of the tree exist if the tree has fallen? Still, if someone has doubts, I have with me both statements made by Maulaw i Muhammad Husain, one which he made to please the public and the other which he made to seek the pleasure of the government.One can look at both the statements and decide whether to commit such act of hypocrisy, while he desires to be called a religious scholar and styles himself 1.The hypocrites shall surely be in the lowest depth of the Fire ( S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:146).[Publisher]

Page 37

21 as a representative of the believers, has bestowed upon him hon - our or disgrace.I have thus witnessed the Jews of this age and, therefore, have come to believe that the verse, 1 ِرْيَغ ِبْوُضْغَمْلا ْمِهْيَلَع refers to the very fact that the Jews who would incur divine wrath would be born among this ummah as well.So it happened accordingly and the prophecy of the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was fulfilled.But is this ummah so unfortunate that it had been ordained to resemble the Jews alone? We cannot say that when it came to cursing someone, the Benevolent God cursed this ummah, but when He desired to send a Messiah, He sent one from among the Israelites.Indeed, such an act on the part of God would be a disgrace to this ummah, as it will render it unworthy of the title of ‘Blessed Ummah’.Therefore, in order for this ummah to resemble the Jews—as is understood from the verse, ِرْيَغ ِبْوُضْغَمْلا ْمِهْيَلَع —it would be desirable that just as the Messiah had appeared to confront the Jews who had become worthy of divine wrath, similarly, there should also appear a similitude of the Messiah in this ummah.The following verse alludes to this: 2 اَنِدْهِا َطاَرِّصلا َمْيِقَتْسُمْلا۰۰َۙطاَرِص َنْيِذَّلا َتْمَعْنَا ْمِهْيَلَع Sadly, the hadith which stated that the religious scholars at the time of the Messiah would be the worst of all mankind on earth 1....not those who have incurred Your displeasure...( S u rah al-F a ti h ah, 1:7) [Publisher] 2.Guide us in the right path.The path of those on whom You have be - stowed Your blessings ( S u rah al-F a ti h ah, 1:7).[Publisher]

Page 38

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 22 has also been fulfilled in this age.Why then lament the condition of the Jews of the past alone? They at least quoted from the Book of Allah when raising objections, though they did not understand its meaning.Contrarily, the people [of this age] present only fab - rications.The Jews have such strong objections concerning ‘ I s a [ Jesus] and his prophecies that even I find myself astonished in trying to refute them.All I can say is that surely ‘ I s a is a Prophet since the Holy Quran has said so.There is no other argument to establish his Prophethood.Whereas several arguments to negate his Prophethood are established.It is a favour of the Holy Quran upon him that it listed him among the Prophets.This is why we believe him to be a true Prophet, a chosen one of God, and inno - cent of the allegations levelled against him and his mother.It can be established from the Holy Quran that there were two principal allegations against him: 1.His birth, God forbid, was accursed; i.e.he was begotten illegitimately.2.Secondly, his death too was accursed, God forbid, for he was made to die on the cross.And it was written in the Torah that he who is born of an adul - terous relationship is accursed and that such a person shall never enter Paradise and shall not be raised to God.Similarly, it is also written that the one who is hanged on the wood—i.e.the one who dies on the cross—is also accursed and will not be raised to God.Both these allegations were very serious.God refuted them both in the Holy Quran in the one and same place, and it is this:

Page 39

23 َّو ْمِهِلْوَق اَّنِا اَنْلَتَق َحْيِسَمْلا ىَسْيِع َنْبا َمَيْرَم و ْمِهِرْفُكِب َو ْمِهِلْوَق ىٰلَع َمَيْرَم اًناَتْهُب اًمْيِظَع۰۰ۙ 1 Surah an-Nisa’, Part 6 َو اَم ُهْوُلَتَق َو اَم ُهْوُبَلَص َو ْنِكٰل َهِّبُش ْمُهَل‑— َلْوُسَر ِهّٰللاۚ This verse refutes both the allegations.The implication of the verse in a nutshell is that neither was ‘ I s a born illegitimately, nor did he die on the cross; rather, it was believed mistakenly that he had died [on the cross].Hence, he was an elect of God and was raised to God like other Prophets.Now, where do those maulaw i s stand who hold that ‘ I s a has ascended physically to Heaven? The whole controversy as stated here was regarding the spiritual sta - tion held by his soul.The body was never a part of the discussion.In short, the Holy Quran has declared Hadrat Mas ih to be true.However, it is sad that one has to admit that the Jewish alle - gations against his prophecies are so strong that they cannot be refuted in any way.It is solely on the basis of the Holy Quran that we believe in him and do so with sincerity of heart.Otherwise, we have no argument in favour of his Prophethood.The Christians fret about his divinity, while there is hardly any evidence to estab - lish even his Prophethood.Alas, before whom shall I lament the fact that three prophecies of Hadrat ‘ I s a (peace be on him) clearly turned out to be false? Who is there on earth today to help solve this riddle? As far as I am concerned, I can only bemoan those who, when it comes to my situation, are declaring the truth to be a lie.Indeed, 1.And because of their disbelief and their uttering against Mary a griev - ous calumny, and their saying, ‘We did kill the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah;’ whereas they slew him not, nor killed him by crucifixion, but he was made to appear to them like one cruci - fied ( S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:157–158).[Publisher]

Page 40

24 it is an overwhelming grace of Almighty God upon our beloved Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that the one who truly follows him shall never suffer humiliation before the people.But what title shall I bestow upon these ignorant people and how shall I instil the love of truth in the hearts of those who go about like comedians and have adopted the habit of derision and ridicule and made mockery their hallmark?! Hundreds of Signs are shining forth like the sun, but they insist that no Sign has ever appeared.I have heard, rather, I have seen, the document signed by Maulaw i Sanaullah of Amritsar in which he has stated that he wishes sincerely to see the matter decided in such a manner whereby both parties, i.e.he and I, should pray to God that out of the two of us, the one who is a liar shall die in the lifetime of the one who is truthful.He has also expressed his desire to write a book comparable to I‘j a zul-Mas ih in terms of eloquence and fluency and fulfilling the same objectives.Therefore, nothing can be better, if Maulaw i Sanaullah has expressed this desire sincerely and not as a show of hypocrisy.Hence, by becoming the valiant soldier who decides between truth and falsehood in both these ways, he will be doing a great service to this ummah in this age of discord.He has indeed put forward an excellent proposal.But it will be productive only if he remains committed to it.If a liar was to depart from the world and those remaining were to become guided, the person who contends such a liar will be rewarded like a Prophet.But I cannot initiate a challenge to a prayer duel seeking someone’s death, for the agreement with the government prevents me from issuing this kind of chal - lenge.However, Maulaw i Sanaullah and the other opponents of

Page 41

Nuzulul-Masih 25 mine have not been barred from asking me to respond to such a challenge, be it from Maulaw i Sanaullah or from some other renowned maulaw i who is from among the reputed scholars or is a person who is revered by members of his community and in whose favour at least fifty honourable men put their signatures to the announcement prepared by him, so as to testify to his cred - ibility.And since Maulaw i Sanaullah, in light of his tract, seems to be well-prepared for such a challenge, I have no objection if he actually issues one.In fact, I hereby give my consent to it, as his challenge itself would be sufficient to decide the matter.However, it will be subject to the condition that no death should occur by way of murder; rather, it should occur in consequence of some disease, such as the plague or cholera or some other similar ail - ment, so that it does not unnecessarily disturb the authorities.I will also pray for both parties to remain safe from deaths [caused by murder], and that only the death that is caused by a physical ailment should befall the liar.The same course of action will have to be adopted by the other party as well.Remember though that my prophecy predicting murder was a special prophecy which pertained specifically to Lekhr a m.In that prophecy, God had made it clear that Lekhr a m would die as a result of murder, and therefore it was published accordingly.And I believe that the secret behind his murder was that he had used extremely foul language about the Holy Prophet, peace and bless - ings of Allah be upon him, and all other Prophets.When God observed that his verbal abuse had exceeded all limits and he had vilified every Prophet, the dagger of his own abusive tongue fell upon him.This was an extraordinarily great Sign and a grave sin

Page 42

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 26 was committed upon the earth that the fulfilment of such bright and shining prophecies were denied by the people of the world.Therefore, if Maulaw i Sanaullah is prepared for such a chal - lenge, a mere handwritten letter by him will not suffice.He should rather publish a printed announcement containing the following words: 1 I consider this man (here, he should clearly write my name) to be a liar, a dajj a l, and a disbeliever.I firmly believe that all his claims of being the Promised Messiah and a recipi - ent of divine revelation and inspiration are false.O God, I pray to You that if I am wrong in this, my belief, and if this man is truly the Promised Messiah and if Hadrat ‘ I s a [ Jesus], on whom be peace, has indeed passed away, cause me to die before the death of this man.But if I am justified in my aforementioned belief and this man is truly a dajj a l, a disbeliever, a kafir, and an apostate, and Hadrat Mas ih is alive in Heaven and will return at some unknown time to the world, then cause this person to die so that disor - der and discord may come to an end, and so that Islam remains safe from suffering harm at the hands of a dajj a l and a misguided person who may misguide others as well.A m i n, again a m i n.Formerly, Maulaw i Ghulam Dastgir Qusuri had also challenged 1.He should also write that he himself is initiating the challenge and that he strongly backs such a challenge.Otherwise, an absurd and dubious round about statement alone will not be able to elicit any response.(Author)

Page 43

27 me to a mub a halah [prayer duel] of this kind on page 27 of his book, Fat h -e-Ra h m a n i.Within a few days after the challenge, he entered into the grave well within my lifetime and thus testified to my truth through his death.Still, if Maulaw i Sanaullah also wishes the same, he may try out the same method for himself.What should he have to do with Ghulam Dastagir because he appears willing himself to have this contest with me.The challenge, which, in fact, would be tantamount to a mub a - halah, is to be written verbatim following the sample I have given above.Not even a single word should be omitted from or added to the above-mentioned paragraph.If, however, some specific amendment is required, it will have to be decided through private correspondence.After this, the announcement of the mub a halah should bear the signatures of at least fifty notable persons and at least 700 copies of the announcement, which should contain the aforesaid wording, should be published across the country, and twenty copies of the announcement should be sent to me by reg - istered post.I do not need to challenge him to a mub a halah or to engage in a mub a halah with him.His own mub a halah, for which he has expressed his willingness, furnishes adequate proof of my truth.The reason for this is that from the very days of Bar a h i n-e- Ahmadiyya, which was written approximately twenty-three years ago, God had declared it to be a Sign in my support.Therefore, I announce hereby that if I end up defeated in this duel, my com - munity, which currently numbers more than 100,000, would be allowed to leave me disdainfully and dissociate itself from me.If God declares me to be a liar and destroys me, I will not desire any

Page 44

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 28 leadership or Imamate.Rather, in such a case, I would be worse than a Jew and a cause of shame and ignominy for all.And the name of the person who will stand up to dispel disor - der through issuing a challenge like this—provided he turns out to be true in his stance—will be remembered with great honour in the world.And the death of the one who will be proven to be a dajj a l, a disbeliever, and an imposter will result in peace for the rest of the world, as goes the famous adage: سخ مک اہجں اپک [the lesser the evil, the purer the world].What more can I write; and if I have missed any important requirement warranted by justice, I should be made aware of it.I will fulfil it readily, provided it is not absurd and does not reek of subterfuge or lame excuses and provided it is based on right - eousness and not coloured by the kind of trickery which is pecu - liar to worldly people.Almighty God knows that I desire truth be manifested in one way or another.Although I see the Signs of Almighty God as clearly as one sees the sun; and I believe in the revelation of God that has been vouchsafed to me just as I believe in the Holy Quran, yet I wish to establish my argument from every angle against those who deny me.O my Lord! You are a witness to our actions.You can see what is in our hearts, and our secrets are not hidden from Your pene - trating vision.Pray decide between me and my opponents and let not ruin come to the one who is truthful in Your eyes, for a whole world will perish if he who is truthful is ruined.O My All-Powerful Lord! Draw close and hold Your court and bring to an end these ongoing daily disputes.Our statements are well-known to the public, while the truth of our hearts is evi - dent to You.How shall I express my point of view and how shall

Page 45

29 my heart ever come to accept that You will allow the truthful to enter into the grave disgraced? How can those who live self-indul - gent lives end up victorious? I swear by Your Being that You will nover let this happen! Before God alone do I put forth all my complaints regarding the insult I have suffered at the hands of Maulaw i Sanaullah, for he made false allegations against me and took false oaths during the debate at Mudh.I am not at all saddened by his denial.People like him declare even Hadrat ‘ I s a [ Jesus ], peace be upon him , to be a liar.So, why shall I lament their remarks if they also declare me to be one? According to their statement, ‘ I s a told a lie, as it were, when he was asked by God whether it was he who had commanded that he and his mother be worshipped as gods.In other words, He gave a completely false answer, as he argued that he was a witness over his people as long as he remained with them; but since God caused him to die, God alone was the Watcher over them and that he knew nothing about what happened after him.Evidently, there cannot be a liar worse than the one who will tell lies even before God, when God will hold His court on the Day of Judgment.Can one tell a lie worse than the one told by a person, who returns to the world before the Day of Judgment, stays in the world for as long as forty years, fights battles with the Christians, breaks the Cross, kills the swine, and converts all the Christians to Islam, yet denies knowledge of all these events on the Day of Judgment and insists that he is unaware of what happened to the Christians and their faith after God caused him to die?! Just consider how con - temptible a lie it is and then say whether or not Hadrat Mas ih [ Jesus, the Messiah] would be held a liar before God on account

Page 46

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 30 of this? Open the Holy Quran and read the verse 1 اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت to the end and then decide whether or not you have declared Hadrat ‘ I s a to be a liar or not! But why should I lament this when you consider even God to be guilty of falsehood! In the verse 2 اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت God has stated clearly that Hadrat ‘ I s a , peace be upon him, is dead and then vividly recorded the excuse made by him, that it was only after his death that his people went astray.Hence, here God seeks to make you understand that if Hadrat ‘ I s a is not dead already, then the Christians too have not yet gone astray.This is because the Christians were to stay on the right path only while Hadrat ‘ I s a as lived, and his death was to serve as a Sign of their fall into mis - guidance.Tell me how, according to your own stance, God can end up truthful in this matter while you are not willing to accept His statement to be true? Likewise, in the verse: 3 َو اَم ٌدَّمَحُم اَّلِا ٌلْوُسَر١ۚ ْدَق ْتَلَخ ْنِم ِهِلْبَق ُلُسُّرلا١ؕ God had clearly established the death of all the Prophets by using a comprehensive term, ْتَلَخ [ khalat ], and by not using any distinc - tive term for Hadrat ‘ I s a alone.In your opinion, this too is, God forbid, a lie told by God.Remember that this is the same verse by reciting which Hadrat Ab u Bakr ra argued that the Holy Prophet, 1.S u rah al-M a ’idah, 5:118 [Publisher] 2.S u rah al-M a ’idah, 5:118 [Publisher] 3.Muhammad is only a Messenger.Verily, all Messengers have passed away before him ( S u rah A l ‘Imr a n, 3:145).[Publisher]

Page 47

31 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had passed away.Strange indeed is the logic applied by Ab u Bakr that in spite of the fact that ‘ I s a was alive in Heaven, he recited this verse before the people! What kind of assurance did he mean to offer them by doing this? Did he not know that ‘ I s a was alive in Heaven and would return to the world and spend forty years in it?! Alas, such a long life for ‘ I s a and such a short one for the Chief of all the Prophets! 1 َكْلِت اًذِا ٌةَمْسِق ىٰزْيِض Further, the Companions [of the Holy Prophet sa ] would be deemed very weak in reasoning since they became silent when they heard this verse and none of them confronted Ab u Bakr by asking him why he was reciting a verse which made them feel even more miserable, for ‘ I s a was alive in Heaven and would return to the world and their beloved Prophet had left them forever! If ‘ I s a was exempt from this law of nature and could live up to thousands of years and then make a return to the world, why was our beloved Prophet not granted this privilege?! The truth is that Ab u Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and all other Companions who were all present on that occasion—and none was absent—inter - preted the verse to mean that all Prophets have died.It seems that one or two Companions, whose understanding was not perfect, used to believe—as they might have heard the statements made by the local Christians—that Jesus was alive in Heaven.One such person was Ab u Hurairah, who was a man of poor understanding.1.That indeed is an unfair division ( S u rah an-Najm, 53:23).[Publisher]

Page 48

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 32 However, when Hadrat Ab u Bakr ra , whom God had granted knowledge of the Quran, recited the above-mentioned verse, the Companions came to know for a certainty that all Prophets had died.As a result, the Companions were heartened by this verse, and the sense of grief that had overtaken them due to the death of their beloved Prophet was dispelled and they went about happily reciting the aforesaid verse in the streets of Madinah.It was on this occasion that H ass a n bin Th a bit wrote for the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, the follow - ing mournful couplets : ْ َ لِنَاظِرِي َ السَّوَاد کُنْت ُ َ النَّاظِر ْ عَلَیْك فَعَمِي ْ َ فَلْیَمُت َ بَعْدَك ْ شَاء مَن ُ ُ اُحَاذِر َ کُنْت فَعَلَیْك That is: You, O Prophet s as , were the pupil of my eye.Your depar - ture has made me blind.Now, no matter who dies, be it ‘ I s a [ Jesus] or M u s a [Moses], I cannot care less for them, as it was your pass - ing that I feared most.In other words, it was due to your passing that the Companions came to believe that all Prophets had died; hence they cared not in the least for anyone else.A line in another couplet says: وہ ی تبحموہوتا� ی بجعاھتقشعاسدلم Wonderful indeed was the love occupying that heart.Indeed, such should be the condition of love.

Page 49

33 Then, in a way, you determine God Almighty to be a liar, because God says that after the event of the cross He settled ‘ I s a and his mother on an elevated piece of land with pristine running water, i.e.springs flowed in it; it was a place affording great comfort and quite like Paradise, as God says: 1 َو ۤاَمُهٰنْيَوٰا ىٰلِا ٍةَوْبَر ِتاَذ ٍراَرَق َّو ٍنْيِعَم That is: After the episode of the cross, which was a great calamity, We granted ‘ I s a and his mother refuge in a great elevated land, which was a place of great comfort with pleasant tasting water; i.e.the land of Kashmir.If you have even the slightest knowledge of the Arabic lan - guage, you would be aware that the term اٰوی [ a w a ] is used only on such an occasion where one is provided refuge after having been rescued from a disaster.This usage can be found through - out the Holy Quran, Arabic sayings, and the a ha d i th.In addi - tion, the Word of God Almighty proves that during the entire life of Hadrat ‘ I s a , peace be upon him, the cross was the only calamity that befell him.And it is proven from the hadith that it was this very incident which aggrieved Maryam [Mary] the most during her entire life.Hence, this verse proclaims loudly that after the incident of the cross, God rescued Hadrat ‘ I s a from this calamity and took him away from that dangerous country and settled him in some other country where springs of clear water flowed and which was situated on elevated ground.The question now is whether there is a highland in Heaven where springs of 1.S u rah al-Mu’min u n, 23:51, [Publisher]

Page 50

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 34 clear water flow and where, after the incident of the cross, God Almighty caused Hadrat Mas ih and his mother to settle.Reflect upon the life history of Hadrat Mas ih and cite an example where having suffered a misfortune he was provided refuge in a country that was as calm and serene as Paradise and situated on elevated ground above the rest of the world and having springs flowing in it.Hence, according to your belief, God Almighty turns out to be, God forbid, a blatant liar, for He speaks of an elevated land wherein ‘ I s a and his mother were settled after the episode of the cross, while you seat him in Heaven for no reason or purpose.Would you now care to tell why, in spite of being a Prophet, he has been sitting idle for such a long time? What is more, you and Maulaw i Sanaullah—who, due to having denied this verse, take him to the second Heaven—cannot come up with an answer as to why a living person joined the souls of the dead.Those people had all departed from this world and arrived in the next.Has he too then reached that next world? Again, yet another lie attributed by you to God is that He might not have understood the objection of the Jews and therefore replied in an ambiguous manner.The Jews’ objection was that the spirit of Messiah was not raised to God, and God replied that He had raised him alive in his physical body to the second Heaven, and that He would cause him to die sometime in the future.What kind of answer is this on the part of God? The charge was that ‘ I s a was not raised to Heaven after his death and, therefore, God for - bid, became accursed.The right answer to this question was: ‘ ‘ I s a

Page 51

35 [ Jesus] has not died as of yet.When he dies, I will raise his spirit 1 to Myself.’ But the evasive answer given above this has nothing to do with the point at issue.Likewise, you believe that the Holy Prophet, peace and bless - ings of Allah be upon him, told a lie when he said that he had seen ‘ I s a among the souls of the dead who had already left this world.May I ask you how a man in his physical body can sit among the [heavenly] souls and reach the next world without having been dispossessed of his earthly life? I wonder what kind of faith you have; for God, by His word, bears witness that ‘ I s a is dead but you do not accept His testimony.The Prophet s as also gave his tes - timony through his action, i.e.through his eyewitness account.He saw him among the souls of the dead; however, you reject this testimony as well.And yet you claim to be Muslim and take pride in being ‘Ahl-e-Hadith’.The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did not even speak with ‘ I s a on the night of Mi‘r a j [spiritual ascension to Heaven].Instead, it was M u s a [Moses] with whom he had a discourse.The Holy Quran says that one should not be doubtful about the meeting of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with M u s a.Hence, what an extremely repulsive lie it is that you have ascribed to both God and His Messenger.1.The Jews did not know that Hadrat Mas ih had become unconscious.This was the uncertainty that they was inflicted upon them.And since they thought that ‘ I s a had died on the cross they did not believe in his spiritual ascension, nor do they believe in it until now.In order to re - fute them, the only matter that needs to be addressed is the spiritual ascension, as they do not believe that salvation depends upon physical ascension.(Author)

Page 52

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 36 What is more, the maulaw i s argue that the verse 1 ٗهَّنِا ٌمْلِعَل ِةَعاَّسلِّل pertains to ‘ I s a.Indeed one should fear people who have such gross misunderstanding of the Holy Quran, for an incompetent religious scholar can put a person’s faith in danger.O Wicked people! Is the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, himself not ِ عِلْم ٌ لِلسَّاعَۃ while he has stated that: 2 ِ بُعِثْت ُ اَنَا وَالسَّاعَۃ ُ کَھَاتَیْن and while God also stated: 3 ِتَبَرَتْقِا ُةَعاَّسلا َو َّقَشْنا ُرَمَقْلا Then how obnoxious a folly it would be on the part of the people to interpret the term سَاعَۃ [ s a ‘ah —the hour] here as the Day of Judgment! Now, allow me to explain that the term سَاعَۃ [ s a ‘ah ] that has been used here refers to the punishment inflicted upon the Jews at the hands of Titus, the Roman Emperor, after Hadrat ‘ I s a had left them.God Himself spoke of this سَاعَۃ [ s a ‘ah ] in the 1.Verily, He was a Sign of the Hour ( S u rah az-Zukhruf, 43:62).[Publisher] 2.‘I and the Last Hour are like this...’ S a hih al-Bukh a r i , Kit a bur-Riq a q, p.546, Mausu‘ a al- H adith, D a rus-Sal a m Pub.Riyadh.[Publisher] 3.The Hour has drawn nigh, and the moon is rent asunder ( S u rah al-Qamar, 54:2).[Publisher]

Page 53

37 Holy Quran in S u rah Ban i Isr a ’ i l.This verse is elaborated further by another one: 1 اًلَثَم ْۤيِنَبِّل َلْيِءٓاَرْسِا That is, during the time of Hadrat ‘ I s a , the Jews were given a taste of the Day of Judgment by being afflicted with a severe chastise - ment which could be likened to the سَاعَۃ [ s a ‘ah ] for them.In the Quranic idiom, the term سَاعَۃ [ s a ‘ah ] means punish - ment.This is why it had been foretold that the سَاعَۃ [ s a ‘ah ] would strike the Jews as a result of their rejection of ‘ I s a.Consequently, the Sign appeared as foretold and the سَاعَۃ [ s a ‘ah ] befell the Jews.What is more, they were also stricken severely by the plague in those days.These events served as Doomsday for them, since the سَاعَۃ [ s a ‘ah ] resulted in the destruction of hundreds of thousands of Jews.Besides, thousands died of the plague and the remaining became dispersed in utter disgrace.The Last Day will be a great affliction for the whole of humanity.This, however, was an afflic - tion meant specifically for the Jews.This argument is supported further by the Holy Quran when Allah, the Exalted, says: 2 ٗهَّنِا ٌمْلِعَل ِةَعاَّسلِّل اَلَف َّنُرَتْمَت اَهِب This means: ‘O ye Jews! With the advent of ‘ I s a , you will experience 1.S u rah az-Zukhruf, 43:60.[Publisher] 2.S u rah az-Zukhruf, 43:62.[Publisher]

Page 54

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 38 the horror of the Day of Judgment as you will be afflicted with a similar calamity, i.e.: 1 اًلَثَم ْۤيِنَبِّل َلْيِءٓاَرْسِا which means that an affliction akin to the Day of Judgment will befall you; hence, you must not have any doubt about it.’ It would clearly have been out of place for God to have urged the Jews not to doubt the occurrence of the actual Last Day, say - ing they would surely witness it.The Jews of that time all passed away and they never witnessed the Last Day, which is actually yet to come.So, did God tell a lie?! What they did witness, however, was the destruction brought about by Titus, the Roman general.Therefore, the term قِیَامَة [ Qiy a mah ] here refers to the calam - ity the Jews suffered at the hands of Titus, the Roman emperor, in Jesus’ time and which they then witnessed again as a result of the plague.Since the ancient times, divine Scriptures contained the promise of the punishment that finds mention in the Bible on a number of occasions.In the Holy Quran, a verse was revealed specifically in this context.Hence, the same promise is recorded in the Holy Quran as was recorded in the previous scriptures with a view to warn the Jews.Otherwise, who would have cared for the distant Doomsday?! Do the present-day maulaw i s fear the Day of Judgment? Surely, they do not! As I have just explained, the term سَاعَۃ [ s a ‘ah ] is not peculiar to the Day of Judgment, nor has the Holy Quran used it specifically in relation to the Day of Judgment.It is appalling that men of imperfect knowledge, who are destined to be 1.S u rah az-Zukhruf, 43:60.[Publisher]

Page 55

39 ruined, make such interpretations as are clearly contradictory to the purport of the terms themselves.What fear did the Jews have of the Last Day! The promise of an imminent punishment, however, would surely have left their hearts in distress.Sadly, the maulaw i s, who are mere simpletons and remain, for most of the time, confined to their chambers, are very nar - row-minded.They do not know that the promise recorded in the previous scriptures was related to that very سَاعَۃ [ s a ‘ah ] that struck the Jews during the reign of Titus, and that the Holy Quran has stated explicitly that the Jews were punished due to the curse invoked upon them by ‘ I s a [ Jesus].Besides, to apply the term سَاعَۃ [ s a ‘ah ] to an instance of extraor - dinary punishment is not only a Quranic idiom, it is found in the previous revealed Books as well and is found in abundance.I wonder from where and whom these simpleton maulaw i s have come to hear that the term سَاعَۃ [ s a ‘ah ] applies only to the Day of Judgment.Unfortunately, these people have become senseless like animals.In spite of suffering humiliation step after step due to their mistakes, they are still not willing to give up their errors.Is there no limit to their mistakes! They most certainly do not understand the meaning or intent of the Quran.They have raised ‘ I s a bodily to Heaven, but failed to address the accusation levelled [against him] by the Jews.God responds to the Jews, who made the claim, 1 اَّنِا اَنْلَتَق َحْيِسَمْلا ىَسْيِع َنْبا َمَيْرَم 1.We did kill the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary...S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:158.[Publisher]

Page 56

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 40 and says in reply that it is not true; rather, We raised him.Pray tell what does God intend to refute by this statement? Does He mean to deny only that Jesus was killed [or there is something else that He wants to convey]? Therefore, listen! By raising the clamour that they had cruci - fied ‘ I s a , the Jews wanted to assert that he was accursed and that unlike M u s a as or A dam, his soul was not raised to God.Hence, the appropriate answer on the part of God should have been that this was not true, for the soul of ‘ I s a had indeed been raised to Him.Whether the physical body was raised to Heaven or not was never the point of contention.Based on this, the reasoning attrib - uted to God is, God forbid, very weak, as it was the ascension of the soul to God that was being denied [by the Jews], yet God refuted this allegation by stating He had caused ‘ I s a to be seated physically in the second Heaven.What an answer! The death and the possession of the soul by God are yet to take place, so who knows whether his spiritual ascension would take place or not— the matter on which the whole controversy rests.In the same vein, having presumed some of my prophecies to be false, these benighted people argue that when some prophecies have proven to be false or have been misunderstood, then how can one believe that the claim of being the Messiah is credible, as this claim too may be false.The foremost answer to this argu - ment is: َ ْن ی ِ لَعْنَة ُ الل ِّٰ عَلَی الْكٰذِب [The curse of Allah be upon the liars].Maulaw i Sanaullah had asserted, during the debate at Mudh, that all my prophecies were established to be false.I therefore invite him to pay a visit to Qadian and I ask him in the name of God to thoroughly investigate the matter and scrutinize all my proph - ecies.And I promise under oath that I will give him 100 rupees

Page 57

41 for each of the prophecies that turns out to be false in light of the precedent set through the circumstances faced by the previous Prophets; otherwise, if none of the prophecies is proven false, it will be as if he is wearing a special medal of accursedness around his neck.What is more, I will even pay him his to and fro travel expenses, and it will be incumbent upon him to scrutinize all of my prophecies, so there remains no further dispute.The payment will be subject to the fulfilment of this condition and the onus of proof will lie with me.It must be remembered that I have recorded as many as 150 prophecies in my book Nuz u lul-Mas ih.If they turn out to be false, Maulaw i Sanaullah will receive 15,000 rupees; and he will be freed from having to go begging door to door.In fact, I will put before him some more prophecies as well, along with the proofs of their fulfilment and then, in keeping with the promise above, go on giving him 100 rupees for each of the prophecies he proves to have been false.At present, the number of my followers is in excess of 100,000.If I raise only one rupee per head from them to be given to the said maulaw i , the amount will reach 100,000 rupees, which will all be given to him.Compared to his current financial position— whereby he is obliged to go door to door to collect a paltry sum of money and is thus stricken with divine wrath as he is living on the earnings made from funeral rites and sermons—to be in receipt of 100,000 rupees would be like having entered Heaven for him.But, if he does not pay heed to this announcement of mine and avoids paying a visit to Qadian to investigate the matter in accordance with the above-mentioned terms of reference—which include his [agreeing to give] testimony in favour of the prophecies if they are

Page 58

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 42 proven to be true, or denouncing them as untrue if they turn out to be false—then woe betide upon the bragging which Sanaullah engaged in during the debate at Mudh, and most shamelessly uttered blatant falsehood.Allah, the Exalted, says: 1 اَل ُفْقَت اَم َسْيَل َكَل ٖهِب ٌمْلِع But Maulaw i Sanaullah denounced me publicly as a liar without really being aware of the truth of the matter and without having conducted a thorough investigation.Is this how a believer should act? Indeed, he who speaks virulently without any justification is worse than dogs, and accursed indeed is the life spent in such shameless pursuits.There are some who think that if a mistake is made in under - standing some revelation then the assurance of safety, security and protection is lost, and a suspicion is created that perhaps that Prophet or Messenger or Mu h addath [a recipient of divine con - verse] might also be mistaken in his claim.This thought is totally sophistic and those people who are on the verge of insanity are the ones who say precisely such things.If this is indeed their belief they should wash their hands from believing in the prophethood of all Prophets, as there has not been a single Prophet who did not make an error of judgment at one point or another.For instance, Hadrat Mas ih as [ Jesus, the Messiah], who has even been deified, most of his prophecies are full of mistakes.For example, the claim 1.And follow not that of which thou hast no knowledge ( S u rah Ban i Isr a ’ i l, 17:37).[Publisher]

Page 59

43 that he will be given the throne of D a w u d [David].What else could such a claim mean than that relying upon some revelation that needed interpreting the thought arose in his mind that he would become a king; he was clearly a descendent of D a w u d and was called a prince.His words show that he had a keen desire for the throne and kingdom and the Jews, for their part, were also expecting someone to be born among them to restore the king - dom to them and set them free from subjugation to the Romans.Thus, in reality, such a claim that the throne of David would again be re-established was the very wish of the Jews and, there - fore, initially many of them—overjoyed at this statement of his— had gathered around him.Later, however, as a result of certain incidents, the Jews came to understood that such fate or for - tune was not the lot of this man, and hence they left him.What is more, some mischievous people even reported to the Roman governor that this man was a claimant of the throne of David.At this, Hadrat Mas ih forthwith changed his stance and said that his kingdom was heavenly rather than earthly.However, the Jews, to this very day, raise the objection that if it was a heavenly king - dom, then why did he order his disciples to sell their clothes to buy weapons? So, there is no doubt that it was an error of judg - ment on the part of Hadrat Mas ih.Or another possibility is that it was a satanic whispering from which he subsequently turned away, as Prophets are not left to stay in error for long.I have called it a satanic whispering only because of the text in the Gospel, for it is proven from the Gospel that at times he received satanic rev - elations 1 but that he rejected those revelations and God Almighty 1.Note: Three German clergymen have given exactly this meaning to the dialogue [of ‘ I s a ] with Satan mentioned in the Gospel.(Author)

Page 60

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 44 would save him from the influence of Satan, as the corpus of Hadith in Islam records these attributes of his and says that he always remained safe and never followed in the footsteps of Satan.An evil-minded Jew has written in his book that once [ Hadrat ‘ I s a as —Jesus] fell in love with a woman who was a stranger.But the statement which issues forth from the mouth of an enemy is not reliable.1 He was an elect and beloved of God, and depraved are those who utter such calumnies against him.He did cher - ish a desire for the throne of David due to an error of judg - ment he made, but that desire was not fulfilled.A famous adage goes: ی ب امےگن ےلم ہن � ی نب امےگن ومیت لم [Everything goes to him who wants nothing].So he remained deprived of the Davidic throne but God bestowed kingdom upon the person He Himself had ele - vated, i.e.the Chief of all the Prophets, who had denied himself the earthly kingdom and said: ْ اَلْفَقْر ُ فَخْرِي , i.e.I take pride in being poor.He said willingly that he would be happy to go hungry one day and eat one day.But God safeguarded him against hunger and poverty.That was a special grace of the Almighty! Perhaps the reason why most of the interpretations of Hadrat Mas ih turned out to be wrong was that his initial ambitions failed to materialize.Nonetheless, this does not do any harm to his prophethood.A Prophet comes with hundreds of bright Signs by which he is recognized and the truth of his claim is manifested.So, if some interpretation is proved wrong, it brings no harm to the claim itself.For instance, if the eyes misconceive a man to be a 1.Note: The Christians also make such vile statements about the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.And, an allegation of this kind was once levelled at M u s a as [Moses] as well.(Author)

Page 61

45 bull from afar, it cannot be said that the eyes are of no use or that their ability to see cannot be relied upon.Hence, in the case of a Prophet, his claim and teachings can be likened to the eye looking at things from very close and does not err in identifying them correctly.And, the misjudgement on their part regarding certain matters can be likened to the eye that at times makes an error in recognizing the objects lying at some distance.On this very basis, we can say that—since Hadrat ‘ I s a as , for the sake of the well-being of the Jews, thought of becoming a king—Satan, as mentioned in the verse, 1 ۤاَّلِا اَذِا ىّٰۤنَمَت ىَقْلَا ُنٰطْيَّشلا ْۤيِف ٖهِتَّيِنْمُا succeeded in deceiving him by putting into his heart a desire for the throne of David.However, as he was close to God and dear to Him, those satanic delusions could not prevail and he soon came to realize that his kingdom was heavenly rather than earthly.In summary, this interpretation of Hadrat Mas ih turned out to be wrong.The actual revelation was surely true, but he erred in understanding it.It is sad that the extent to which Hadrat ‘ I s a erred in his interpretations, the like of it is not to be found among any other Prophet.Perhaps this was also a pre-condition to attain - ing divinity.However, can we say that, on account of his many wrong interpretations and wrong prophecies, his prophethood became doubtful? Certainly not.The fact of the matter is that the conviction that is instilled in the heart of a Prophet regarding 1.When he sought to attain what he aimed at, Satan put obstacles in the way of what he sought after ( S u rah al- H ajj, 22:53).[Publisher]

Page 62

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 46 the authenticity of his prophethood is reinforced by the Signs that shine forth like the sun and pile up so consistently that his prophethood becomes a self-evident reality.And, after this, if an error of judgment occurs on his part regarding some insignificant issues, it is not detrimental to the conviction granted to him.For instance, the human eye would not err in identifying the objects brought closer to a person or to the eye itself.In this case, the eye is sure to comprehend the nature of the objects and their size, and this understanding is invariably correct.Further, the courts of law accept the testimony based on such eyewitness accounts.However, when an object is not lying nearby, for example, if a person is asked to identify an object of white colour from some distance, which is of a half or quarter of a mile, the person might mistake a man clad in white clothes to be a white horse; or for that matter, he might confuse a white horse with a man dressed in white clothes.Likewise, the Prophets and Messengers are enabled to perceive their claim and teachings so clearly and consistently that there remains no doubt about them.But, matters of lesser significance, which are not related to the chief objectives of the Prophet, are viewed by the spiritual eye in a way as if they are lying at some distance.What is more, they are not disclosed quite often.And, this is the reason why the spiritual eye at times misperceives them.The misperceptions on the part of Hadrat ‘ I s a , on whom be peace, were in reality of this very kind.However, he had no misperception regarding his claim of being a Prophet, for its authenticity had been impressed upon him from a close distance and repeatedly.Maulaw i Sanaullah is involved also in this other mistake that he puts contradictory traditions before everyone.The very same

Page 63

47 fault lies with his mentor, Maulaw i Muhammad Husain.And at every place where the issue of the life and death of Hadrat ‘ I s a is raised before them, they forthwith begin to quote a huge assort - ment of traditions from S a hih al-Bukh a r i , S a hih Muslim, J a mi‘ Tirmidh i , Sunan Ibn M a jah, Sunan Ab u D a w u d, Sunan Nas a ’ i , Musnad Im a m Ahmad, T abar a n i , Mu‘jam Kab i r, Nu‘aim Ibn H amm a d, Mustadrak Ha kim, S a hih Ibn Khuzaimah, Naw a dir-ul- U su l Tirmidh i , Ab u D a w u d T ay a lis i , Ahmad, Musnad al-Firdaus, Ibn ‘As a kir, Kit a b al-Waf a Ibn Jauz i , Shar h as-Sunnah Baghaw i , Ibn Jar i r, Baihaq i , Akhb a r al-Mahd i , Musnad Ab u Ya‘l a , and cer - tain other books of Hadith saying they all mention that ‘ I s a will descend.Whether it would take place in Jerusalem or Damascus or on Mount Af i q or among an army of the Muslims is, however, still not decided.They cite this as the most complex issue today.What is even more surprising is that some of the books men - tioned above are so rare that even the fathers of these esteemed gentlemen would not have seen them.Yet, they keep mention - ing these books so that the people may at least think of them as learned, scholarly men familiar with such a large corpus of litera - ture.Alas, they act perfidiously.I now feel embarrassed to invoke the name of the Jews, for ‘Jews’ such as these are found only in Islam.Only a few days have passed since Maulaw i Muhammad Husain tried to ingratiate himself with the British Government by presenting to them a book regarding the Mahdi.The book says that not even a single hadith regarding the Mahdi can be proved as authentic.The author has also received a piece of land as reward for his services.I do not know what services he has rendered.But, one service that he has surely rendered to the government is that

Page 64

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 48 he has straight away rejected the very idea of the appearance of a Mahdi.May I ask him among whose army the Messiah would descend if there were to be no Mahdi at all? The assortment of the books listed above is mentioned only to establish that the Messiah would descend to support the cause of the Mahdi.But, why would he ever appear if there were to be no Mahdi at all? The Khalifah had to appear from among the Quraish, but this does not seem to be the case anymore.I state justly that the traditions in the above-mentioned books are bipartite.One, which Maulaw i Muhammad Husain has ruled out as inauthentic, pertains to the Mahdi.As for the second part, that pertains to the advent of the Messiah from Heaven.I will prove it inauthentic.When one of the two interdependent parts is rendered inauthentic, the other one necessarily becomes liable to revocation.‘ I s a [ Jesus] cannot be the Khalifah as he is not from the Quraish; as for the Mahdi, the Maulaw i has himself done away with him.So why then should ‘ I s a be burdened with returning to the world? For about 2,000 years now he has become accustomed to remaining idle and has become disposed to inaction.It would now be improper to bother him needlessly.What is more, these a ha d i th contradict each other so greatly that if you were to try and find a hadith to oppose another, you could find it at once with no delay.Hence, to abandon the deci - sive statements of the Holy Quran thereby, and to ruin one’s faith by following such contradictory traditions, can only be the work of a fool, not of a wise person.If a ha d i th held any weight despite being inconsistent with the Holy Quran, the traditions regarding S al a t should have been given prime importance and should have had an unbroken chain

Page 65

49 of narrators.However, you have your differences and dissensions in this case as well.It is also not firmly established where exactly to position one’s folded arms [during Prayer]; further, the disagree - ments over whether or not to raise the hands, or to recite S u rah al-F a ti h ah behind the imam, or to say a m i n aloud, and so on, continue to this day with different groups rejecting the traditions supporting the view held by others.If a Wahh abi were to practice rafa‘ yadain [i.e.raising both hands during various movements in prayer] in a H ana fi mosque and recite S u rah al-F a ti h ah behind the imam and fold his arms against his chest and say a m i n aloud, he would definitely emerge therefrom beaten and thrashed, even if he were to present four hundred authentic traditions in support of his action.This proves that from the early times, the Hadith has not been accorded great prominence.Imam A‘zam [Imam Abu Hanifah rta ], who lived before Imam Bukhari, does not care at all for the a ha d i th of Imam Bukhari.His was an age that was closer [to that of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him].It should have been the case that those a ha d i th should have reached to him.It is, therefore, quite appropriate that the Quran not be abandoned for the sake of the Hadith.To do so would put one at risk of losing one’s own faith: 1 َّنِا َّنَّظلا اَل ْيِنْغُي َنِم ِّقَحْلا أًـْيَش Besides, if the verdict of the H akam [Arbiter] is not to be accepted, then of what exactly is he the H akam? 1.Surely, conjecture avails nothing against truth ( S u rah Y u nus, 10:37).[Publisher]

Page 66

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 50 On the other hand, even if I am highly accommodating, I would bestow only the status of conjecture to these a ha d i th, and the same viewpoint is held by the Mu h addith i n [scholars of the Hadith].A conjecture is a statement that might have an element of falsehood in it.So what kind of prudence and righteousness would it be to have one’s beliefs based on conjecture and to do away with the authentic and categorical Word of God? I do not say all a ha d i th should be set aside like mere rubbish; rather, I say that you should accept those from among them to be authentic that do not oppose or contradict the Holy Quran, lest you be ruined.It is not proven from any ha d i th that ‘ I s a as would live up to two or three thousand years.Instead, it is recorded that he lived for 120 years.Now tell me, have those 120 years come to an end yet or not? In which hadith—that can be traced directly to the Holy Prophet s as and has an uninterrupted chain of narrators—can you find recorded that Hadrat ‘ I s a , having torn apart the roof [of his house], ascended to Heaven, and that one of his disciples, or an enemy, was crucified in his place to become accursed? If the per - son was a disciple of ‘ I s a , then, in view of the Torah, this believer became accursed as he was crucified.Can such an abominable act be ascribed to God? On the other hand, if the person was a Jewish man, why did he remain silent when he was being crucified? Had his wife and other relatives already passed away? Or was he dumb that he was unable to say anything to prove his innocence? Further, Maulaw i Muhammad Husain, who is called an advo - cate for those who believe in the Unity of God, has written in his journal Ish a ‘atus-Sunnah— in which he penned a review of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya —that those who are granted an audience

Page 67

51 with the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in a vision, are not bound to follow the opinion of the Mu h addith i n.By way of their visions, they declare certain a ha d i th to be mau du ‘ [inauthentic], despite the fact that the Mu h addith i n consider them to be s a hih [authentic].And they consider certain a ha d i th to be authentic based on the testimony of their visions, whereas they are mau du ‘ according to the Mu h addith i n.When this is the case, why is Maulaw i Muhammad Husain so angry with the person who has claimed to be the Promised Messiah and the Arbiter, as to not even consider his vision to be equal to the vision of others even though it is in accord with the Quran? The state - ment of the latter should be accepted as his vision is consistent with the Holy Quran and is also supported by certain a ha d i th.Otherwise, of what benefit is it to name the Promised Messiah H akam [Arbiter] ? Some cunning maulaw i s go so far as to say that even if some - one descends from Heaven and declares inauthentic this or that hadith which they consider to be s a hih, they will never accept his verdict; rather, they will slap him in the face.In answer to this one can only say: ‘Yes! This is what is expected of you!’ However, I would hereby like to politely ask such people to explain to me the meaning of the term H akam that has appeared in S a hih al-Bukh a r i regarding the Promised Messiah.I have always understood the term ‘ H akam ’ to refer to a person whose verdict is accepted to settle differences, and whose decision is seen as final even if he has to dismiss thousands of a ha d i th as mau du ‘.The one who will come from God will certainly not come to be slapped around by you.God Almighty will Himself open the way for him.The person who is blessed by God with visions and

Page 68

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 52 revelations, and at whose hands God has manifested very great Signs, and whom God has shown a certain course that is in accord with the Holy Quran, why should he abandon such a bright and certain path on account of a few conjectural traditions? And is it not incumbent upon him to act upon what God has bestowed upon him, and reject the a ha d i th that he finds inconsistent with the pure revelation of God, especially when the revelation received by him is in accord with the Holy Quran and when he also finds some other a ha d i th in support of his viewpoint? And will he not acknowledge only those a ha d i th to be true as are in line with the Holy Quran and are not contradictory to the revelation received by him? Indeed, I am amazed at the kind of disposition possessed by the worthy advocate: He acknowledges that in the past there have been auliy a ’ [friends of Allah] who, based on their meeting the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him [in their dreams], rejected certain so-called s a hih traditions as inauthentic, and accepted inauthentic ones as s a hih; however, he is reluctant to bestow this status upon the Promised Messiah as well, who is H akam.And, I am amazed at the kind of followers he has.They do not question him that while other auliy a’ were entitled to such authorities, why then does he hold the H akam to be a kafir for [ruling on] these differences, and why does he not fear Allah.It is surprising that Maulaw i Muhammad Husain lost his memory in this manner due to old age.He has forgotten what was recorded in Ish a ‘atus-Sunnah and is now proclaiming something entirely different.My dear fel - low! No judge is willing to hear dissent after consent.You have

Page 69

53 acknowledged that those to whom God shows visions and who have discourses with God occupy a lofty station and are not bound to follow the research made by Mu h addith i n.The Mu h addith i n relate from those who are dead, while those who are blessed with divine visions hear from the Living and Self-Subsisting God.Hence, how would you like to describe the status of the one who has been named H akam? Don’t you think he has been granted the status that you assign to others? Further, Maulaw i Sanaullah asks me why I have taken into account the prophecy regarding the Promised Messiah asserting that surely this must have been done so on the basis of a ha d i th.This is why he then asks me why I do not accept other signs given in a ha d i th.These simpletons either say this on the basis of sheer fabrication or rank stupidity.In reply to this I swear by Almighty God that I have not based my claim on the Hadith; rather, I have based it on the Holy Quran and the revelation that has descended upon me.I do, however present in my favour those a ha d i th that are in accord with the Holy Quran and which do not oppose the revelation I have received.Other a ha d i th I discard as worthless.Even if there been no such thing as the Hadith in the world, my claim would not have been harmed in the least.But yes, God has presented the Holy Quran in His revelations to me in a num - ber of places.Thus you will see in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya that no hadith is quoted regarding my claim; rather, in my revelations Allah, the Exalted, has presented the Holy Quran on numerous occasions.I believe that I have now provided sufficient answers to the deceptive objections raised by Maulaw i Sanaullah in the debate

Page 70

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 54 at Mudh.However, I remember that he had also put forth the notion that the hadith that speaks of the solar and lunar eclipse being a Sign of the appearance of the Mahdi, which is recorded in D a r Qu t n i and Ikm a lud-D i n, pertains to a lunar eclipse that will take place on some day before the 13th of the lunar month and on a day when the moon can be labelled as qamar.It has to be remembered that this interpretation too is a kind of interpo - lation committed by the Jews.God has appointed three nights, in accordance with His practice, for the eclipse of the qamar.Similarly, there are three days appointed for the eclipse of the sun.The hadith mentions categorically that at the time of the advent of the Mahdi, the qamar would be eclipsed on the first of the nights appointed for it in the law of nature, while the sun would be eclipsed on the middle day of the days appointed for it by the practice of Almighty God.To discard such a straight - forward meaning and wander around lost in other directions - if this is not misfortune what is it? A part from this, according to the Arabs, the night in which the hil a l is called qamar is not any one specific night concerning which there should be no disagreement.Some say that the moon is hil a l for only one night and that on the next night it becomes qamar.Some call the third night moon qamar.While to some the term hil a l is applicable for as many as seven nights.Hence, while this is the situation, one cannot specify one specific night for the fulfilment of the prophecy.And to say that the occurrence of the solar and lunar eclipse, in accordance with the practice of Almighty God,

Page 71

55 is not any extraordinary phenomenon is yet another act of stupidity.The actual purpose of this prophecy is not to promise the occurrence of an extraordinary phenome - non; the actual purpose is to set forth a Sign which no one else shares [with the Promised Messiah].Hence, the Sign that has been mentioned in the Hadith is that at the time when the true Mahdi would make his claim, the qamar would be eclipsed in the month of Ramadan on the first night of the nights of the eclipse, and that such an incident would not have taken place ever before.Indeed, never in the time of a false Mahdi has a lunar or solar eclipse taken place on the said dates in the month of Ramadan.If it has taken place, it must be brought to light.Otherwise, while this situation is in itself extraordinary when seen in its entirety, why shall we interpret the prophecy to mean what is contradictory to the practice of Almighty God? What was intended was to show one Sign of the fulfilment of the prophecy, so that was fulfilled.If it has not been fulfilled, you ought to present a precedent of the occurrence of such an event from the annals of history.And, I would like to remind you that you will never be able to do so.

Page 72

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 56 Urdu Poem یال یں قح اک �خ م�ہ� �ت ولوگ ی ہ خ کی وں � وَس وَس اُابل آات ےہ رِمے ی دِل م Why do you not, O people, heed the truth? Your condition constantly worries my heart.می رے درد ےہ ی آھکن رت ےہ دِل م رگد ےہ ی کی وں دِولں رپ اِس دقر � My eyes are tearful and heart in anguish.Why are your hearts covered in the dust of remissness? رقار ےب رہدم ےہ اجات وہا دِل اخبر ی � اکنولں ی م ِ �ب یاابں ک My heart is aching due to constant distress; To which desert shall I retreat and vent my woes? زرب و ر ی ز� ےس درد مہ وہےئگ متوکربخ ی ہ خ رَم ےئگمہرپ� I am totally overpowered with grief; I have gone through a veritable death; but you are totally unaware.ےہ وجش اِک اغولف رپ آامسں یں ھچک وہش ےہ م�ہ� �ت ھ� و رگ �یک ھچک وت د Heaven is keen to show its glory— O negligent ones! Behold, if you are in your senses.

Page 73

57 رفک ےک ولمحں ےس وُچر ی وہگ ی ا د� ی ور خ � ِ دخاودن کت بک پُچ رےہ Faith has been ruined due to the assaults launched by disbelief; How long shall Almighty God, who is jealous of His honour, remain quiet? �ب�یس�واں اب اسل ےہ اِس دصی اک رشک و دبتع ےس اہجں اپامل ےہ The twentieth year of this [Hijri] century is in progress; The world has been ravaged by idolatry and innovation.ےہ �یاد ھچک دخا وہ کی وں دبامگں ےہ یاد خ ب � کلت بک یک ارتفا Why do you think so ill of me? Why have you forgotten God? How long do you think falsehood can last? انشس وجرہ ےہ وج می را دخا وہ اِک اہجں وک الراہ ےہ می رے اپس My Lord, who recognizes the worthy ones, Is bringing a whole world to me [to accept me].�ری ِ مُف�ت رَمد ےہ وہات یتنعل رسوری ی � ےلم بک وک یتنعل Accursed is he who tells lies: And an accursed person is never granted the pre-eminence that has been bestowed upon me.Another point that has not been mentioned before and which must be mentioned here is that when my friend, Syed Muhammad Sarwar Shah, presented my book, I‘j a zul-Mas ih, which I wrote in Arabic, at the debate in Mudh as a Sign—saying it was a miracle and that the opponents had failed to produce a befitting response to it—Maulaw i Sanaullah referred to Maulaw i Muhammad

Page 74

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 58 Husain of Batala and said that he had prepared a long list of the errors found in I‘j a zul-Mas ih.I accept that he may have prepared one, but such a list would be similar to the last time the said maulaw i raised an objection to one of my statements, wherein he claimed that the preposition l a m [ ل ]cannot be used alongside the Arabic word ‘Ajaba, and he had indeed laid much stress upon this.But when he was shown couplets written by a number of classical writers and poets from the pre-Islamic period, and indeed he was also shown some a ha d i th as well that contained the preposition of lam he became so embarrassed that none of his learned friends were able to help him out of the mortification he suffered.This happened during those days when a prophecy was made about the humiliation he was going to suffer and it was published later in an announcement that the prophecy was fulfilled in two ways: First, it was proved that Maulaw i Muhammad Husain’s atti - tude was hypocritical.He assured the government that no such person as the Mahdi would appear, that all a ha d i th in this regard were flawed and unreliable, and that there was no question of the appearance of such a Mahdi and of the Messiah who would come from Heaven to help the former.The fact of the matter is that all these statements are baseless and it appears as if he hopes to receive a large reward by making such statements.If he had denied the coming of such a Mahdi and warrior Messiah from his heart, I too would have been much pleased with him, for the one who truly speaks his heart deserves respect.Then, if the government had given him some land in Lyallpur or handed him the town of Batala as his estate, he would surely have been worthy of it.But I can never accept or reconcile with the fact that a person should present to the government, merely out of hypocrisy, a list of weak

Page 75

59 or inauthentic a ha d i th regarding the Mahdi and thus seek to impress upon the government that the Muslims are not waiting for any Mahdi or ‘ I s a [ Jesus] who would launch a fight against the Christians, or tries to reassure the government that at least he per - sonally believes that no such Mahdi will appear who wreaks havoc by spilling blood, nor will any Messiah appear who descends from Heaven to help the Mahdi; however, on the other hand, to his own people such a person says that it is an act of disbelief to deny the appearance of such a Mahdi.What is even more surprising is the fact that he believes his honour has not been harmed by this kind of action on his part, nor has the prestige of his followers been undermined for that matter.In short, this was the disgrace Maulaw i Muhammad Husain had to face, which was shared by Ja‘far Zatalli and the like-minded of his followers.Whether they become shameless and choose not to feel it, is now up to them.The second disgrace that was heaped upon them was in terms of their intellectual standing.They erroneously propagated among the people that the preposition lam is not to be used alongside the word ‘ajaba.Nevertheless, it seems that Maulaw i Sanaullah underestimates the above-mentioned instances of disgrace and is keen to experience some other kind of disrepute.What is more, they announce happily that he was awarded land, although that very land is testifying to his disgrace and bearing a categorical testimony to his hypocrisy.As long as he maintains possession of that land, his hypocrisy will be seen as fruit borne by the land itself, or vice versa.By launching an investigation into this mat - ter, you will find that all his success in this regard is based on his hypocritical conduct.If one is interested in learning the hidden

Page 76

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 60 beliefs of these people, one ought to peruse the books written by S idd i q H asan, who, in those books, even holds, God forbid, Her Majesty the Queen, answerable before the Mahdi, attributing to her extremely insulting and disrespectful titles, which are impos - sible for me to reproduce here.Anyone who is interested can see those books for himself.I am referring to the same S idd i q H asan, who Muhammad Husain considers to be a Mujaddid [Reformer].How is it possible, and in what way could this happen that he should entertain an opinion different from the opinion of the person he considers to be a Mujaddid? This could never be.It is indeed a commendable act to help the British government and erase from the minds of the people the incorrect understanding of jihad and deny that a bloodthirsty Mahdi or bloody Messiah would appear.But, if Muhammad Husain had been truly sincere in articulating such beliefs before the government, I too would have viewed him with much respect.But, his conflicting books, whereby he preaches different viewpoints before the government and his religious fellows when they are behind closed doors, serve only to establish his hypocritical behaviour.And, a hypocrite is viewed with contempt by both God and His creation.As a matter of fact, these people are faced with serious difficul - ties.A number of their beliefs are anti-government.Hence, they are not left with any choice but to act hypocritically.In a nutshell, it is not today that I became convinced of Maulaw i Muhammad Husain’s ‘knowledge’ of the Arabic lan - guage; rather, I have been a confessor of it since the very day he proclaimed that the preposition l a m cannot be used alongside the word ‘ajaba.I am not going to deny if such a ‘learned scholar’ has prepared a long list of errors found in my book, I‘j a zul-Mas ih.He

Page 77

61 must have made one.However, Maulaw i Sanaullah must be aware that the foremost addressee of my challenge to write a discourse in Arabic was the same learned scholar to whom I had written, that I could offer him as many as five rupees per error that he might be able to identify, provided he first proved himself to be a scholar of the Arabic language.And, how he ought to do this is that he should sit side by side with me and pen the commentary of a verse of the Holy Quran, in the length of a Juzw 1 or two in eloquent Arabic.After this, I never heard anything from him.Everyone can understand that to point out a mistake is the prerogative of the person who has first established his ability to do so; other - wise, a mere claim to have done so is nothing but an absurdity.For instance, if a person who knows nothing about architecture says that the masons in this country make mistakes while doing their work, will he not be worthy of the retort: O ignorant one! You cannot set even a single brick perfectly in its place; why do you then object to the masons who have already erected so many buildings with their hands? Returning to the subject being discussed earlier, it now has to be remembered that I have published around seventeen books of unparalleled excellence in Arabic, in contrast to which my oppo - nents have not published even a single book over a period of the last ten years.Nevertheless, it occurred to me today that the books mentioned have been written not only in eloquent and expressive Arabic, but are also filled with numerous profound points of wis - dom from the Holy Quran.It is therefore possible that my oppo - nents would say that they are unaware of such profound points 1.A juzw comprises sixteen pages.[Publisher]

Page 78

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 62 of wisdom and that if only a poem had been written in eloquent Arabic, as a qa si dah is ordinarily composed, they would surely have produced the like thereof.It also occurred to me that if I only seek a match of I‘j a zul- Mas ih from Maulaw i Sanaullah, he is sure to ask how it can be proved that the book was written in no more than seventy days; and to say that if he were to argue that the book was actually com - pleted in two years’ time and he, too, should be given two years to produce the like thereof, it will be difficult for me to furnish clear proof before him that I wrote it in seventy days.For these reasons, it was considered appropriate that a supplication be made before Almighty God that He may support me by the Holy Spirit to pro - duce a qa si dah wherein I should speak of the debate at Mudh, so that it is not difficult to understand as to how many days the qa si dah has taken to be prepared.So, I prayed: ‘O Omnipotent Lord! Enable me by way of a Sign to pen a qa si dah of this kind.’ So, this prayer of mine was granted and I was bestowed extraor - dinary support from the Holy Spirit, enabling me to finish the qa si dah in only five days.If there had not been any other engage - ment occupying my attention, I would have finished it in only a day.And then, if the printing had not been delayed, 1 it would have been published by 9 November 1902.This is indeed a great Sign—to which Maulaw i Sanaullah him - self is a witness, and as it is proven from the qa si dah itself—that it was composed after the debate, which was held 29–30 October 1.Another reason for the delay was that I had to go to Batala to attend the court of the honourable judge on 7 November 1902.The actual time required to compose the qa si dah was just three days and two extra days were due to this inconvenience.(Author)

Page 79

63 1902 and the qa si dah was begun to be composed on 8 November 1902, after my companions had returned, and was finished on 12 November 1902 along with this Urdu text.Since I know it with heartfelt conviction that it was a great sign of divine help to bring disgrace upon my opponents and silence them, I therefore present it before Maulaw i Sanaullah and his cohorts, promising a cash prize of 10,000 rupees.If they succeed in publishing a similar qa si dah within this time, i.e.within five days, along with a sim - ilar length in reply to the Urdu essay, which, in fact, is a sign in itself, I will forthwith hand over 10,000 rupees to them.I hereby also grant them one additional week to publish it.This makes the total number of the days twelve.They will also have two more days to post the material to me.Hence, if starting from the date on which they receive my qa si dah and the relevant Urdu essay, till the 14th day, they manage to publish the couplets in eloquent and articulate language and in the same number, neither more nor less than the ones written by me, I will present to them an award of 10,000 rupees.They will be entitled to seek help from Muhammad Husain—or anyone else for that matter.In fact, another reason why they should try to publish the qa si dah soon is that, in an announcement issued by me, it has been foretold by way of a prophecy that by the end of December 1902, an extraor - dinary sign will appear.The Sign has already appeared in cer - tain other ways; however, if Maulaw i Sanaullah and others of my addressees fail to pen or dictate their response to the qa si dah and the relevant Urdu essay within the given time frame, it will be seen as the fulfilment of this Sign.So, it is incumbent upon them that

Page 80

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 64 if they consider my mission to have been planned by man, 1 they should come out to confront me and prevent the fulfilment of the sign.But you ought to pay attention to the fact that I say it under oath that if they, alone or with help from others, publish a qa si dah and the relevant Urdu essay within the given time frame, with the same number of couplets, and then dispatch it to me by post within twelve days from the receipt of my qa si dah, I will not only award them 10,000 rupees, but also be proved a liar, as they will have achieved victory over me.In this case, Maulaw i Sanaullah and his friends will no longer need to make false accusations against me and will win against me without having spent a single penny.Otherwise, he will have no right to call me a liar or reject my signs.Behold, making the heavens and the earth my witness, 1.Since their abuse and rejection has reached extremes, which is evident from the documents I keep with me preserved in a large bag, and since these people repeatedly reject, in their announcements, the Signs shown in the past and ask for more Signs to be shown, I therefore present this very sign to them.Similarly, the Christians, too, repeatedly addressed me, saying it is recorded in the Gospel that false Messiahs would appear.Hence, they have thus declared me to be a false Messiah, despite the fact that among them a false Messiah by the name of Piggott is living in the city of London at this very moment.He claims to be God as well as the Messiah and is thus fulfilling the prophecy recorded in the Gospel.However, if in the future, someone wishes to declare me to be false in my claim, such a person shall be obliged to do so by confronting my signs.Among Christians also many who renounced Islam claim to be maulaw i s.If Christian clergymen are true in their rejection of my claim, they should have such maulaw i s compose a qa si dah like this within five days, and obtain from me 10,000 rupees and spend the money on the cause of the Christian mission.He who makes empty claims only after the appointed date, or even produces a literary work for that matter, his work will be worthy of being thrown into a filthy drain.(Author)

Page 81

65 I would hereby like to state that beginning the count of the days from today, I put my reliance in this very sign.If I am true in my claim—and God is well aware that I am true in my claim—it will never be possible for Maulaw i Sanaullah and his cohorts to com - pose a qa si dah like the one I have in five days and refute the essay written by me in Urdu.For God will cause their pens to break and their hearts to become inept.Maulaw i Sanaullah shall find no way to state that I had already composed the qa si dah, for he ought to open his eyes and see that it makes mention of the ‘Debate at Mudh’.If, in his opinion, I had composed it already, then he ought to confess that I have knowledge of the unseen.Nonetheless, this too is a sign rendering them unable to flee in any direction.Today has been fulfilled the revelation whereby God had said: وہےئگ ومندار اکروابر ےک اقدر اکرف وج ےتہک ےھت وہ رگاتفر وہ ےئگ The Powerful One has manifested His affair; Those who called [me] a disbeliever have been seized.And, let it be clear that three Signs will appear in my favour through Maulaw i Sanaullah: 1.He will never pay a visit to me in Qadian to investigate all my prophecies; and to bear testimony by his own pen in favour of my true prophecies would be like embracing death for him.2.If he were to pursue the challenge, that the one who is a liar should die in the lifetime of the one who is truthful, he will surely die before I do.3.And, before anything else, having been unable to compete

Page 82

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 66 with me in terms of penning a response to the Urdu essay and the Arabic qa si dah, his disgrace will soon be established.Since Maulaw i Muhammad Husain has lavished much praise on Sa’ i n Mehr ‘Al i of Golra for his scholarship, and since ‘Al i Ha ’ir i , who is a Shiite, is also unable to control his joy over the praise showered on himself, I therefore also invite them for a compe - tition with me.Their tongues are quite skilled when it comes to hurling abuse and mocking me; however, this time around I hope to see how much help they will be granted by God.I have also spoken about these people to some extent in my qa si dah, so that I may stir their sense of honour.This is going to be the final battle, so the Shiite should seek help from Husain, and Golarhi from some of his own elders.As for Maulaw i Sanaullah and his associ - ates, they already like to be called by the title of maulaw i.In short, all these people are free to do their level best in this regard.What I have written in the qa si dah about Imam Husain, may Allah be pleased with him, or about Hadrat ‘ I s a [ Jesus], peace be upon him, is not based on human understanding.Evil indeed is he who speaks foul of God’s perfect and righteous servants based on his own selfish notions.I believe firmly that no one can sur - vive even for a night after having spoken impertinently about such righteous people like H usain and Hadrat ‘ I s a.Instead, according to the wa‘ i d 1 مَن ْ عَادَا وَلیًّا لِي [He who is at enmity with a friend of Mine ] such a person is quickly seized.Therefore, blessed is the one who recognizes the wisdom 1.See Tadhkirah, edition 3, p.890, Islam International Publications Ltd.[Publisher]

Page 83

67 behind heavenly actions and ponders over the ways of Almighty God.It is not only the 10,000 rupees that I have promised to hand over; rather, every such mischief-maker who does not desist from hurling abuse and ridicule and does not refrain from his blasphemous practices and denies my Signs in every gather - ing, should show within the stipulated period of time the like of the Sign shown by me; otherwise, the curses that I am going to invoke below will also continue to pour down upon him from Heaven forever; i.e.until the time the world has ceased to exist.Here, I mean to address Maulaw i Sanaullah in particular, as he has claimed unilaterally that my writings fall short of being a mir - acle.He ought to fear, lest by being silent he is squashed under the curses I am going to invoke.And, the curses are as follows: 1.C urse 1.............................2.C urse.............................3.C urse.............................4.C urse.............................5.C urse.............................6.C urse.............................7.C urse.............................8.C urse.............................9.C urse.............................10.C urse.............................And, this completes the number up to ten.1.The word l a ‘nat (curse) is short for the prayer, ‘may the curse of Allah be on the liars.’ [Publisher]

Page 84

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 68 Now, putting my trust in God, the Omnipotent and Benevolent Lord, who is Holy and Jealous for His honour, I hereby record the qa si dah and I seek help from my Helper and Benefactor and pray, ‘O my dear Lord, the Almighty and Knower of the secrets of the hearts, pray help me and act in such a way as this Sign of Yours should shine forth in the world and no opponent should be able to produce the like thereof within the appointed time limit.O my Beloved, do You cause this to happen exactly in this manner and cause many to be guided aright by this sign and this essay of mine.A m i n, again a m i n.And that qa si dah is as follows:

Page 85

The Miraculous Q a si dah 1 ُ مُدَمَّر 3 ِ قَد ْ دَفَاك 2 ٭ ٍّ َا أَرْض َ مُد ی أَ ُ ِ مُوْغِر أَغْرَاك َّ ٌ و ْل ِّی ِ ضِل وَأَرْدَاك O Land of Mudh, while you were on the brink of ruin, a ruined man has perfected your ruin.A devious man has destroyed you and an instigator has tempted you.ْ ْدِي َ الَّذِي ی دَعَوْت ِ کَذُوْبًا مُّفْسِدًا صَ ُ َ یُعَذَّر ُ ل ٍ أَخْذُه ْر ی ِ ِ غَد کَحُوْت You invited an iniquitous liar, whom I consider an easy prey like the trout in a brook.1.In the original book, an idiomatic translation in Urdu is given alongside the Arabic qa si dah.The English translation provided here is based on the Urdu.[Publisher] 2.ّ مُد [ mudd, the etymological root of the city named Mudh] is an Arabic name, not a non-Arabic one.To whichever countries Muslims migrat - ed, and where they named places, they mostly chose Arabic.(Author) 3.The literal meaning of دفو [ dafw ] is to grind down something that is already broken.The people of Mudh were already ‘broken’ due to their misconceptions.Then, Sanaullah went there and ground them down with his lies.He himself was مُدمّر [ mudammar ], meaning that he was annihilated before me.And so, the one who was himself destroyed also destroyed the ignorant people.(Author).

Page 86

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 70 ٍ َ کَإِخْوَة ْن ی ِ ْ نَاصِح ِ صَحْبِي وَجَاءَك تَصَبَّرُوْا َ و ھَوًی َ تَبْغُوْا َ ل َقُوْلُوْن ی My friends approached you with a brotherly advice and Told you not to be driven by lowly desires; rather, exercise patience.ٍ تَعَصُّب ْ أُسَارٰی َّ أُسَارَاکُم فَظَل ُ َخْتِر ی َّ َعْوِي کَذِئْب ٍ و ی ْ ْدُوْن َ مَن ی ِ یُر But those among you who were held by prejudice Looked for someone who could howl like a wolf and deceive.ْ ٍ أَذَابَهُم َ جُھْد ٍ بَعْد بِذِئْب فَجَاءُوْا ُ ُ وَنُظْھِر ِ مِنْه ّٰ الل َ ْ ثَنَاء وَنَعْنِي So, they finally procured the services of a wolf, And by that I mean Sanaullah, and I hereby state it clearly.ٍ ْ تَصَلُّف ْ مِّن ْ سَرَّھُم أَتَاھُم فَلَمَّا ُ ٌّ مُّظَفَّر ْ کَمِي إِنِّي َ افْرَحُوْا قَال َ و When he called on the people, he amused them with his boasts, And told them to rejoice, saying he would win.ْ وَقَال َ اسْتُرُوْا أَمْرِي ْ وَإِنِّي ْ أَرُوْدُھُم وَیُدْبِرُوْا َفِرُّوْا ی ْ ْ أَن ْھِم ی ُ عَلَ أَخَاف He told them not to disclose that he had already arrived, Lest the other party, which he said he was eager to face, should flee and run away.ْ وَأَرْضَی اللِّئَام َ إِذَا دَنَا مِن ْ أَرْضِھِم ُ َبْطَر ی َ عَلَی النَّار ِ مَشَّاھُم ْ وَقَد ْ کَان He amused the people of that land by his arrival; He made them walk on fire, and rejoiced.

Page 87

71 ٍ ِ فِطْنَة ْر ی ْ غَ ِ مِن َف ال َجْ ْأ َ کَال َلَّم ك َ ت ُ َنْظُر ی َ ْ کَان ِ مَن َخْبَار ْأ َ بِال ْك ی َأْتِ ی َ و Like the mean did he talk—devoid of sense; You will hear this from those who were present on the occasion.ْ َذِّبِي ك َا مُ ی ْ فَسَل ٍّ وَإِن ْ کُنْت َ فِي شَك ُ ُ أَظْھَر ْقَة ی ِ ٍّ وَّالْحَق َ مُد ْن ی ِ دَھَاق However, O my denier, if you are in any doubt about this, You may ask the landowners in Mudh and the reality will be disclosed to you.فَلَمَّا الْتَقَی الْجَمْعَان ِ لِلْبَحْث ِ وَالْوَغَا ْن َ النَّاس ِ وَالْخَلْق ُ أُحْضِرُوْا ی وَنُوْدِي َ بَ When the two parties met for the debate, And announcements were made and the people assembled; ْ ْفَة َ شَرِّہ ِ بَعْض ُ رُفْقَتِي ی أَوْجَس َ خِ َ و لِمَا عَرَفُوْا مِن ْ خُبْث ِ قَوْم ٍ تَنَمَّرُوْا The situation created fear among my companions, As they saw the mob turning wild.ٌ ْنَة ی ِ ك َ ِ س ِّ السَّمَاء ْ رَّب َ مِن فَأُنْزِل ُ َنْصُر ی َ عَلٰی صُحْبَتِي ْ وَهللا ُ قَد ْ کَان Hence, comfort from Heaven descended, Upon my companions, and God was surely supporting them.ِ الْوَغٰی ْ قُوَّۃ ُ مِن ُ الرَّحْمٰن وَأَعْطَاھُم ٌ فَأَبْشَرُوْا ْن ی ِ ٌ أَم ْ رُوْح َّدَھُم ی َ أ َ و God granted them strength to fight, And the Holy Spirit aided them; so they were pleased.

Page 88

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 72 َطْرُد ُ الْقَوْم َ بِالضُّحٰی ی ٌ وَکَان َ جِدَال ُ الْمَعْشَر ْھَا ی َ إِل ٍ أَوْمٰی خِطَّة إِلٰی The people set off at the growing brightness of the forenoon to witness the debate, At the place specified by the other party.ً ْرَۃ ی تَحَرَّوْا لِھٰذَا الْبَحْث ِ أَرْضًا شَجِ إِلَی الْجَانِب ِ الْغَرْبِي ِّ وَالْجُنْد ُ جُمِّرُوْا A piece of land with trees in it was chosen for the debate, Towards the west, and my companions were quartered over there.ِ َ قَوْمِه ِ مَقْبُوْل ُ هللا َ ثَنَاء َان ك َ ف ُ ِ سَرْوَر لِلتَّخَاصُم تَصَدّٰی وَمِنَّا Sanaullah was chosen by his people to be their representative, And Maulaw i Syed Muhammad Sarwar Shah came up to the stage from our side.ٍ َ کَأَجْمَة ِ کَان َ الْبَحْث َّ مَقَام کَأَن ُ َزْأَر ی ُ وَالْغَضَنْفَر َعْوِي ی ُ ِ الذِّئْب بِه The site of the debate appeared to be like a jungle, Wherein on one side howled a wolf, and on the other a lion roared.ُ ْ جُنُوْدَه ِ یُغْوِي ُ هللا َ ثَنَاء وَقَام ُ َهْذُر ی َّ وَیُغْرِي ْ عَلٰی صَحْبِي ْ لِئَامًا و There stood Sanaullah directing his party to misguidance, And provoking it through his mean talk against my companions.ٍ ِنَّة ك وَکَان َ طَوٰی کَشْحًا عَلٰی مُسْتَ ُ َهْجُر ی َ مَا رَاد َ نَهْج َ الْحَق ِّ بَل ْ کَان َ و Resolute had he become in his grudge against me; So, he refrained from stating the truth and turned abusive.

Page 89

73 ْ ْب ِ دَعْوَتِي ی ْذِ ك سَعٰی سَعْي َ فَتَّان ٍ لِتَ ُ ُر ك َمْ ی َ و تَجَلّٰی ْ مَا َ یُدَسِّي وَکَان Like a mischievous man, he sought to refute my claim, Covered up the truth and behaved deceitfully.ُ ُ لَه ْ نَفْسُه سَوَّلَت ْرًا ك َ مَ وَأَظْھَر َرْض َ طُوْل َ الْبَحْث ِ فَالْقَوْم ُ سُحِّرُوْا ی ْ لَم َ و He came up with a ploy begotten in his heart; He did not accede to a thorough debate and thus beguiled his people.ُ ٌ أَرَادَه ْق ی ِ ْ طَر صَحْبِي َّ عَلٰی فَشَق ُ قَد ْ ظُن َّ أَن َّ الْحَق َّ یُخْفٰی وَیُسْتَر َ و So, this method of the debate bore heavy upon my companions; They thought it would obscure the truth.ُ ُ وَتُعْمَر ٍ تُشَاد َ بُهْتَان بُرْج رَأَوْا ُ ر ِّ َ تُزَو ْف ی ُ کَ ّٰ َ الل لَحَاك فَقَالُوْا They saw an edifice of lies being erected, So they said: ‘May Allah’s curse be on you for your blatant lies.’ ٍ ُ سَاعَة ِ مِقْدَار ِ الْبَحْث ُّ زَمَان أَقَل َقْبَل ِ الْحَمْقٰی وَصَحْبِي ْ تَنَفَّرُوْا ی ْ فَلَم They proposed that the duration of each speech should be an hour at the least; But the ignorant people rejected it.My companions were, therefore, unhappy with their proposal.ٍ بِثُلْثِھَا ٍ وَّبَحْث ْرَار ك َ َ ت بَعْد رَضُوْا ُ وَفِي الصَّدْر ِ حُزَّاز ٌ وَفِي الْقَلْب ِ خَنْجَر Eventually, after much discussion, they agreed to make it twenty minutes each; Resentful, however, they were of this settlement, and heart-broken.

Page 90

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 74 ْ حُمْقُھُم َ ِ و ُنَاس ُ الْأ َات ی ْ عَمَا دَفَاھُم رَأَوْا مُد َّ قَوْم ٌ وَّالْمُدٰی قَد ْ شَھَّرُوْا The ignorance of the people disappointed my companions, Who found that the people of Mudh were at daggers drawn with them.ً َة ی ِ ِ دَر لِلرِّمَاح ٍّ بِمُد فَصَارُوْا ُ ُّ الْمُدَبِّر ْ عَلِي أَحْمَد َعْلَمُھَا ی َ و So, my friends had to face a ‘barrage of spears’ at Mudh, And Ahmad Ali, who chaired the event, is well-informed of this.ٍ ِّ سَاعَة ْ کُل ِ فِي ّٰ ُ الل َ ثَنَاء وَکَان ُ َ یُسْعِر ِ و َ الْفَسَاد ْرَان ی ِ ُ ن یُأَجِّج On the other hand, Sanaullah continued, To fuel the fire of mischief and disorder.ُ َلْب ُ مِثْلَه ك َنْبَح ُ الْ ی أَرٰی مَنْطِقًا مَا ُ َتَزَخَّر ی َ الْھَوٰی ِ کَان ْ قَلْبِه فِي َ و The statements he made were more virulent than the barking of a dog; Lowly passions overwhelmed his heart.ُ ُن ْ لَّه ك َ ی ْ وَإِن َّ لِسَان َ الْمَرْء ِ مَا لَم ُ َ مُشْعِر ِ ھُو عَوْرَاتِه ٌ عَلٰی أُصَاۃ And unless one’s tongue is backed by reason, It only betrays one’s hidden flaws.ْ ُ کُلُّھُم َ النَّاس َعْلَم ی ُ حَتّٰی م ِّ َل ك ُ ی ُ َتَبَصَّر ی َ ْ وَل َدْرِي ی َ ال َ ٌ ف جَھُوْل When a person of this kind speaks, everyone finds out, That he is ignorant with no sense and wisdom.

Page 91

75 ٌ َ جَاھِل ِ مَازَال ّٰ ُ الل َ ثَنَاء لَوْل َ و ُ َحْصُر ی َ ْ و ْ مَقَامِي َدْرِي ی َ ل َ َشُك ُ و ی If Sanaullah was not there, an ignorant person would have, Doubted my truth and annoyed me with his questions.الْوَفَا ْ أَبِي ٌ مِّن مِنَّة ْنَا ی عَلَ فَھٰذَا ُ ُر ك َائِي ْ فَنَشْ ی أَرٰی کُل َّ مَحْجُوْب ٍ ضِ It is, therefore, a favour of Maulaw i Sanaullah to me that, He enlightened every ignorant person of my truth, so I am thankful to him.ُ َ بَعْدَہ َفِّر ك ُ ُ الْم َعْتَام ی َ الْمَوْت أَرَی ُ تَظْھَر َ ِ و ُ السَّمَاء ْ آي ظَھَرَت بِمَا The one who called me a disbeliever will now be as if he was dead; For through my victory a Sign of Almighty God has become manifest.ٍ َائِد ك ْ بِمَ َمْرَتْسَرِي ْأ ال اعْتَدَی لَمَّا َ و کَفَّرُوْا َّ وَأَغْرٰی عَلٰی صَحْبِي ْ لِئَامًا و When Sanaullah exceeded all limits in employing trickery, And instigated the people against my companions; ْر َ ھٰھُنَا ی َ فَقَالُوْا لِیُوْسُف َ مَا نَرَی الْخ ُ َحْذَر ی َ ِ کَان ْ قَوْمِه ُ مِن ِنَّه ك وَلٰـ My companions told Munshi Muhammad Yusuf that this kind of debate and the allotment of only twenty minutes to each side were futile; But Munshi Muhammad Yusuf was afraid of his people.

Page 92

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 76 مُّؤَیِّدًا ْمًا ی ِ کَر ا ًّ رَب َ دَعَوْا ھُنَاك ُ ٍ فَنَصْبِر َ رُجْز أَرْض حَلَلْنَا قَالُوْا َ و My companions therefore prayed to God the Benevolent for His help: ‘We have set foot on a defiled land and patience is our only recourse.’ ْ ُ تَنُوْشُھُم وَالرِّمَاح بَرِحُوْھَا فَمَا ُ َرَّر ك ل َ طَعْن َ رُمْح ٍ مِثْل َ طَعْن ٍ یُ َ و They did not flee that place despite the fact that they were hit by a ‘barrage of spears’.And no spear injures a person as does a repeated slander.ِ وَاعِظًا الْقَوْم ِ فِي ّٰ ُ الل َ ثَنَاء وَقَام فَصَارُوْا بِوَعْظ ِ الْغُوْل ِ قَوْمًا تَنَمَّرُوْا And when Sanaullah addressed his people, It was as if a ghoul had turned them into wild beasts.ْ َ کُفْرِھِم َافَأَة ك ْ مُ ْ صَحْبِي ذَکَّرَھُم َ و ُ َنْفَعَن ْ أَھْل َ الْھَوٰی مَا یُذَکَّر ی ْ ھَل َ و And my companions reminded them of the consequences of denying me.But, has an advice ever benefited the self-indulgent? أبُو الْوَفَاء ِ ابْن ُ الْھَوٰٓی َّ تَجَنّٰی عَلَي ُ َزْجُر ی َ َ و ْ جَنَاي مِن َ حَمْقٰی لِیُبْعِد Sanaullah, a man reigned by greed and passion, began to decry me, To deprive those who were unwise of the delicious fruits prof - fered by me.

Page 93

77 ْ وَخَاطَب َ مَن ْ وَّافَاه ُ فِي ْ أَمْر ِ دَعْوَتِي َرُوْا ی ٌ تَخَ ْر ك ِ مَ ّٰ ُ الل ْن ی ِ َم ی َ قَال َ و Everyone who approached him was told [regarding my claim]: ‘By God, it is nothing but a ploy’.َذِّبًا ك ِ مُ ِ الْغَیُوْر ّٰ َ بِالل أَقْسَم َ و ُ َجْسُر ی َ ْف ی َا عَجَبًا مِّن ْ مُّفْسِد ٍ کَ ی فَ So much so that he dared to take a false oath by the name of the Honourable and Glorious God.I am amazed at the audacity of this wicked man.ِ ْ بِوَعْظِه ْ کَفَّرُوْنِي ٌ قَد فَطَائِفَة ُ ٌ یُّزَوِّر کَذُوْب ٌ قَالُوْا طَائِفَة َ و As a result, one group denounced me as a disbeliever, While another pronounced him to be a liar.مَا مَسَّه ُ نُوْر ٌ مِّن َ الْعِلْم ِ وَالْھُدٰی َ و ُ َسْتَنْسِر ی ٍ ْ بَقَّة مِّن عَجَبًا َا ی فَ As a matter of fact, Sanaullah is completely bereft of knowl - edge and guidance; I wonder at him—a mere gnat posing as an eagle.ُ ْ أَنَّه َّ صَحْبِي وَأحَس اعْتَدٰی فَلَمَّا ُ َ یُقَصِّر ِ ل ْبِه ی ْذِ ك َ ت ُّ عَلٰی یُصِر He exceeded the limits and my companions realized, That he was adamant in rejecting me and that he was not to desist.1 ِ مُزَوِّرٍ٭ ْ لِمَوْت َبْتَھِلَن ی ُ لِ دَعَوْه ُ َتَحَسَّر ی ْ ْ وَلَم ُت ك ْ َس ی ْ فَلَم ٍّ مُضِل They called upon him to pray to God for the death of the one who lied and misled the people; But, he neither stopped his propaganda nor did he ever tire of it.1.They said this only after seeing Sanaullah exceed the bounds of false - hood and having witnessed him engaged in bluster.(Author).

Page 94

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 78 ُ َه ی ِ وَآ ْح ی َ الْمَسِ َ إِعْجَاز وَکَذَّب ُ َ یُزَوِّر وَّکَان ُ کِذْبًا وَغَلَّطَه He dismissed my book I‘j a zul-Mas ih and denied its signature eloquence; Out of sheer imposture, he declared it to be discreditable, and he surely lied.ِ ِ کَمِثْلِه ِتَاب ك ْ ِ ال َء ال ْ َ لِإِم ْل ی وَقِ ُ فَقَال َ کَأَھْل ِ الْعُجْب ِ إِنَّي ْ سَأَسْطُر Hence, he was challenged to write a book like I‘j a zul-Mas ih; He declared with self-conceit: ‘I will definitely write one.’ ْ َ دَعْوَتِي َر ك ْ ْ وَأَن َاتِي ی َ آ َر ك ْ وَأَن ُ َ مُزَوِّر قَال َ ْ و َ إِلْھَامِي َر ك ْ وَأَن He rejected my Signs and dismissed my claim; He denied my revelation and accused me of being a liar.ٍ ِّ صُوْرَة ْ کُل ِ مِن ْ بِالْبُخْل وَکَذَّبَنِي ُ ٍ أُذَکِّر ِّ وَعْظ ْ کُل ْ فِي وَخَطَّأَنِي He branded me a cheat by every possible means; And declared me to have been wrong in each and every address I delivered.َ ال َرْبَ ك ِ ِ ب َ الْحُسَيْن ُّ إِفْرَاد فَأُفْرِدْت ُ فِي الْحَي ِّ صِرْنَا مِثْل َ مَن ْ کَان َ یُقْبَر َ و I was left alone as Husain was left in the land of Karbala;.And to the people I became like a dead man whose burial had been performed.ْ َتِي ی ِ آ َار ك ْ ْ وَإِن َارِي ك ْ لِـإِن تَصَدّٰی ُ َأْبُر ی ِ ٍ کَالْعَقَارِب َ لِحِقْد وَکَان He set out to reject me and my Signs; Out of sheer malice, he took to sting me like a scorpion.

Page 95

79 ٌ فَقَد ْ سَرَّنِي ْ فِي ْ ھٰذِہ ِ الصُّوَر ِ صُوْرَة 1 َحْشُرُ٭ ی َ کَان ْ کُلَّمَا َ رَبِّي َدْفَع ی لِ Under these circumstances, there was one way out of the many at hand that drew my attention; So that God my Lord may put down the unrest created by Sanaullah.ْ ْدَتِي ی ِ فَأَلَّفْت ُ ھٰذَا النَّظْم َ أَعْنِي ْ قَص ُ َهْذِر ی َ ْ کَان َّ مَن ْ کُل ي ِّ َ رَب لِیُخْزِي I composed this poem, namely this qa si dah of mine, So that my God may heap disgrace upon all those who vituperate.ِ ْ سُؤَالِه ِ فِي إِصْرَارِہ عَلٰی وَھٰذَا ُ أَنْهَر َ ْف َ بِهٰذَا السُّئْل ِ أُغْضِي ْ و ی َ ك فَ And I have composed it as Sanaullah insisted upon it; How could I ignore such a persistent plea and how could I reproach the one who made it? ٌ ْمَة ی ِ ْنَا فِي الْجَوَاب ِ جَر ی وَلَيْس َ عَلَ ُ َبْذُر ی َ َکْل ِ مَا کَان ْأ فَنَهْدِي ْ لَه ُ کَال And I cannot be blamed for my response to his plea; I am only presenting to him the fruit of what he had sown.ْ بِمِثْلِھَا َأْتِي ی فَ ُ کَذَّابًا ْ أَك فَإِن ُ وَإِن ْ أَك ُ مِن ْ رَّبِّي ْ فَیُغْشٰی وَیُثْبَر If I am a liar, he will succeed in composing a qa si dah like the one I have composed; But if I am from God, his mind will be rendered unproduc - tive and he will not be allowed to put his plan into action.1.This couplet was revealed by Allah the Most High—may His glory be exalted.(Author).

Page 96

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 80 ْ ْ وَبَيْنَهُم ِ بَيْنِي ّٰ ُ الل قَضَاء وَھٰذَا ُ َ یُخْبِر کَان ِ وَمَا َ آیَاتِه لِیُظْھِر Thus has God given His verdict regarding the issue between me and them, So that He may show His Signs, especially the one foretold by Him! ْ ِ کُلِّھِم َ الْقَوْم دَابِر بِهٰذَا قَطَعْنَا ُ ٍ تُجَذَّر ْ کَغُصْن ْ رَبِّي غَادَرَھُم َ و Through this Sign, I have given my judgment regarding all of them; And God my Lord has made them like the branches severed from the trees.َ تَبَارُھَا ْد ی ِ ْ أُر قَد ٍّ َ مُد أَرْض أَرٰی ُ ٍ تُجَذَّر ْ کَغُصْن ْ رَبِّي غَادَرَھُم َ و I can see that the doom of the land of Mudh is nigh; God my Lord has rendered them like a branch that has been cut away.ِ َا مُحْسِنِي ْ بِالْحُمْق ِ وَالْجَھْل ِ وَالرُّغَاء ی أَ ُ ْعَك َ وَاحْذَر ی ِ ْدَك َ ل َ تُبْطِل ْ صَن ی َ رُو O you who has done a favour to me! Desist from your folly and ignorance and from grumbling like a camel; And thus render not void the good deed that you have done.ِّ وَالنَّدٰی ِ وَالْمَن َ العَوْن ُ بَعْد أَتَشْتِم ُ وَّمَا کُنْت َ تَنْصُر ٍّ أَتَنْسٰی نَدٰی مُد Will you hurl abuse at us after you aided us, did a favour to us, and showed generosity toward us? Will you forget the kindness you demonstrated in Mudh and the assistance you provided to us there?

Page 97

81 ُ بِآیِهَا ِ السَّمَاء َ أَغْبَرَت ْف ی کَ تَرٰی وَغَبَّرُوْا ْ وَعَابُوْا ُ آذَوْنِي الْقَوْم إِذَا You can see how the heavens poured down signs like a heavy rain, When the people wronged me, criticized me, and slandered me.ٍ وَّشَقْوَة ٍّ َ غَي ْ سُبْل ر یَّ َ تَتَخَ ال فَ ُ ِّر ك ِ وَفَـ َ النَّوَال ْ بَعْد َ تَبْخَلَن وَل So, adopt not the path of misguidance and wickedness, And act not miserly after being so generous—and reflect.ٍ ْبَة ی وَّغِ ٍّ ْ بِسَب لَحْمِي َ تَأْکُلُوْا وَل ُ ٌّ مُّدَمِّر ِّ سَم ِ الْحِب ْ بِوَجْه وَلَحْمِي And do not eat my flesh by way of vituperation and back-biting against me; And I swear by the blessed countenance of my Beloved that speaking ill of me behind my back is to eat a fatal poison.ْ فِنَاءَکُم ِ جِئْنَا َشْوَاق ْأ ِ ال بِأَجْنِحَة ُ فَنَحْضُر َا ی ْ عَطَا ُم ك ْ ْ مِن قُدِّمَت بِمَا We have come to your town in all keenness; We have come to you solely because of your favours upon us.ْ َفَتِي ال وَإِن ْ کُنْت َ قَد ْ سَاءَتْك َ أَمْر ُ خِ ُ فَسَل ْ مُرْسِلِي ْ مَا سَاء َ قَلْبَك َ وَاحْصُر If you are resentful of my Khilafat, You may pray fervently to the One who has sent me and ask Him why He has done so! ْ َ دَعْوَتِي ُ نَوَّر ّٰ ْ وَالل ِرُنِي ك ْ أَتُن ُ ٍ مُّنَوَّر َ بَدْر َ مِثْل ْ ھُو ُ مَن أَتَلْعَن Do you reject me while God has made my claim manifest? Would you curse the one who shines forth like the moon?

Page 98

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 82 یُصَدِّق ُ أَمْرِي ْ کُل ُّ مَن ْ کَان َ فِي السَّمَا ُ ْفُر ك ْن ُ إِن ْ کُنْت َ تَ ی ِ ك َا مِسْ ی َ فَمَا أَنْت All those who are in Heaven testify to my truth; O impoverished one! Who are you, and what worth does your rejection have? ُ ْلَه ی ِ قَت ِّ فَاخْشَوْا ُ الْحِب ْل ی ْ قَتِ وَإِنِّي ُ َّر ك َ ٍ یُّن َ نَعْش ْ مِثْل َ تَحْسَبُوْنِي ل َ و I have lost myself in my Beloved, so fear the one who is lost in Him; And do not consider me to be a rotten corpse that is unidentifiable.ٍ ِ کَھَائِم ِ الْحَبِيْب ُ لِمَرْضَاۃ أَطُوْف ُ ٌ وَّمُغْبِر ْ مُسْتَھَام وَإِنَّي وَّأَسْعٰی To please my Friend, I run to Him like a person who has lost his way; I run towards Him and passionately seek after Him, covered in dust though I may be.ْعَھَا ی ِ ْ جَم ُ عِظَامِي ْ مَحَبَّتُه أَذَابَت ُ َسِّر ك ٌ تُ َاح ی ِ ْ ر نَفْسِي ْ عَلٰی وَھَبَّت His love has softened my bones entirely, And the strong wind that He caused to blow with the power to crush, swept away the self in me.ٌ ب یَّ َ ذَرُوْا حِرْص َ تَفْتِيْشِي ْ فَإِنِّي ْ مُغ ُ صَرَاصِر ْ سَفَتْھَا ْ قَد ٌ عِظَامِي غُبَار Seek not to know me, for I am hidden from your eyes; And my bones have become like dust blown away by ferocious winds.

Page 99

83 ُ َ وَقْت َ بَعْدَه ال إِذَا مَا انْقَضٰی وَقْتِي ْ فَ ُ ِ آخَر ْه ی ِ َّ یُحَاک ٌ ل ْن ی ِ مَع ْنَا ی لَدَ When my time is over, there will be no more time; And the pure water that I possess is matchless in its purity.ُ ُ وَقْعُه َ یُؤَخَّر ٌ ل ْ حُسَام دُعَائِي ُ ْ مُفَقِّر ِ رَبِّي أَعْدَاء ْ عَلٰی وَصَوْلِي My prayer is like a sword whose attack cannot be averted; And my attack on the enemies of God is like the attack of a piercing rapier.ً ْ رِسَالَة ِي ك ْ ی ِمَّل ْ ُ عَن ْ أُبَلِّغ وَإِنِّي ُ نَیِّر َ ِ و ْر ی ِ الْمُن ِّ الْحَق ْ عَلَی وَإِنِّي I convey only the message of my King; I am a manifest truth, I am one like the sun.ٍ ْن ِ فِي ْ وَقْت ِ عُسْرَة ی ِّ تَصَدّٰی لِنَصْر ِ الد ُ َ یُنْذِر ن ْآ ِ فَال َ الرَّحْمٰن ٌ مِّن ْر ی نَذِ To promote the cause of the Faith at a difficult time, A Warner has been raised by God and he has begun to warn.ِ َ رَبِّه ٌ عِنْد ٌ مُقْبِل ْن ی ِ ٌ أَم ْن ی ِ ك مَ ُ یُحَسِّر ِّ مِمَّا ِ الْحَق ْن ی ُ دِ مُخَلِّص God sees him as His honourable and trustworthy servant, Who is here to save the Faith from ruinous calamities.ْن ِ شَرُّھَا ی مِن ْ فِتَن ٍ یُّخْشٰی عَلَی الدِّ َ و ُ َسِّر ك ٍ تُ ْ کَصَخْر ٍ کَانَت ْ مِّحَن مِن َ و He is here to save the Faith from disorders that had become so imminent, And from the calamities that can crush like a rock.

Page 100

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 84 ْ کُم ُ ُ أَرُوْد جِئْت َ و ً عُظْمٰی َة ی ْ آ أُرِي ُ ْ أَغْبَر ٌ أَو ْغَم ی ْ ضَ ٌ أَو ْ فَاتِك فَھَل Behold! I am going to show a great Sign and I am after you now! So, is there a brave one, a lion, or a wolf [among you]? ٌ َ کَاذِب ْ أَنْت ِ لِي ّٰ ُ الل َ ثَنَاء وَقَال ُ َت ُ أَنْت َ سَتُحْسَر ال ْ ی َ فَقُلْت ُ لَك َ الْو Maulaw i Sanaullah accused me of being a liar; I told him that I felt sorry for him as he was going to be exposed soon.ْ ُم ك َمَ ال أَقْ وَّانْحِتُوْا ْعًا ی ِ جَم تَعَالَوْا رُوْا ِّ خَی َ أَمْلُوْا کَمِثْلِي ْ أَو ْ ذَرُوْنِي ْ و َ و I call upon you all to accept my challenge and get your pens ready; Compose [a qa si dah] as I have done, or leave me alone and accept my authority.َ تَقْبَلُوْنَهَا ال ٍ فَ َات ی ُ آ ْت ی وَأَعْطَ َ تَلْطَخُوْا أَرْضِي ْ وَبِالْمَوْت ِ طَھِّرُوْا ال َ ف I showed you many Signs but you deny them; Hence, defile not my land with filth and let it be free of death and mortality.ٌ تَوْبَة َّ ْر ُ خِصَال ِ الْمَرْء ِ خَوْف ٌ و ی َ وَخ أَبْشِرُوْا َ ِ و ْم ی ِ َر ك ِ الْ ّٰ الل إِلَی فَتُوْبُوْا The best merit of man is to fear God and repent; Repent to Allah the Benevolent and rejoice.

Page 101

85 ْف َ التَّطَاوُل ِ مِن ْ عِدَا ی َالِ ك َ سَئِمْنَا ت ُ ي َ انْصُر ِّ َا رَب ی ِ َالِي الْجَوْر ی َ تَمَادَت ْ ل We suffered hardship at the hands of our adversaries; The nights of persecution have become so long—God our Lord, pray help us! ِ أُمُوْرَنَا فَأَحْي َ کَالْمَوْتٰی وَجِئْنَاك ُ ِ فَاغْفِر ْن ی ِ کَالْمَسَاک ُّ أَمَامَك نَخِر We have come to You as dead.Pray, breathe new life into our deeds; Like the meek and humble, we prostrate ourselves before You.Pray, grant us forgiveness.ْ َ جَنَّتِي ُ إِنَّك َ النَّفْس ْ فَدَتْك إِلـٰھِي ُ وَمَا أَن ْ أَرٰی خُلْدًا کَمِثْلِك َ یُثْمِر My God! I may sacrifice my life for Your sake! You are my Paradise; I have not witnessed a paradise that bears fruits as You do.طُرِدْنَا لِوَجْھِك َ مِن ْ مَّجَالِس ِ قَوْمِنَا ُ ٌ وَّمُؤْثَر ْد ی ِ ٌّ فَر حِب َ لَنَا فَأَنْت For Your sake we have been expelled from the councils of our people.You are our Sole Friend, who we have preferred to all.ً إِلـٰھِي ْ بِوَجْھِك َ أَدْرِك ِ الْعَبْد َ رَحْمَة ُ َ وَمَعْبَر ٌ سِوَاك بَاب َ لَنَا وَلَيْس My Lord! I beg You in the name of Your blessed countenance to pray to take care of Your servant; There is not a shelter for me or recourse other than You.

Page 102

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 86 ْ ْ تَرُدُّنِي إِلـٰھِي َا ی ٍ ِّ بَاب أَي إِلـٰی ُ َصْعَر ی َ ِ و َزْر ی ِ ُ بِالرِّفْق ْ جِئْتُه مَن َ و My God! To whose door will You send me? Everyone I approach gently addresses me rudely and turns away from me.ْ ِ کُلِّھِم َئِق ال ِ الْخَ جَوْر عَلٰی صَبَرْنَا ُ ِن ْ عَلـٰی ھَجْر ٍ سَطَا ل َ نَصْبِر ك ٰ وَلـ I have endured persecution at the hands of the whole world; Being estranged from You though is unbearable for me.ْ رَاحَتِي َ تَعَال َ حَبِيْبِي ْ أَنْت َ رَوْحِي ْ و ُ ر ِّ وَإِن ْ کُنْت َ قَد ْ آنَسْت َ ذَنْبِي ْ فَسَت Come, my Friend, you are my comfort and peace; Forgive me if You have ever observed in me a sin.بِفَضْلِك َ إِنَّا قَد ْ عُصِمْنَا مِن َ الْعِدَا ُ ِ وَانْظُر قَّاتِلِي ْ فَأْت َّ جَمَالَك وَإِن Your Grace protected me from my enemies; And Your Beauty has vanquished me of my self.Come and see! ْ ْ وَنَجِّنِي إِلـٰھِي َا ی ْ ْ کُرُوْبِي وَفَرِّج ُ ْ وَعَفِّر ْرِي ی ِ َانَص ی ْ ْمِي ی ِ ْ خَص وَمَزِّق My God! Dispel my sorrows and save me; My Helper! Crush my enemy and heap disgrace upon him.ُ ُّ بَعْدَه الْھَم فَمَا َ رَحْمَانًا وَجَدْنَاك ُ ٍ تُنَوَّر ْن ی َ ْ بِع َاحِبِّي ی َ ْنَاك ی رَأَ I have found You to be Ever-Gracious and thus all my sorrows were removed; O my Beloved, I beheld You with enlightened eyes.

Page 103

87 َا مَعْشَر َ الْوَرٰی ی ُ َان ی ْ أَنَا الْمُنْذِر ُ الْعُر ْ فَأَبْصِرُوْا َ رَبِّي ام َّ ی َ ْ أ أُذَکِّرُکُم People! I have come to you as a clear warner, And I remind you of the days of the Almighty’s wrath.ٌ ُ إِنَابَة َج ال ْ وَالْعِ ُم ك ْ ی ٌ عَلَ َء ال بَ ُ ِّ نُنْذِر بِالْحَق َ و ِّ أَنْذَرْنَا وَبِالْحَق You are afflicted with a calamity and its cure is to repent and to refrain from sins; This is why I warned you truthfully and continue to do so.ٍ حُب َّ تَعَصُّب َ َاکُم ْ و ی دَعُوْا حُب َّ دُنْ ُ َّر ك َشْرَب ِ الصَّھْبَاء َ یُصْبِح ْ مُسَ ی ْ مَن َ و Discard your affection for this world and for bias; The one who drinks at night is sure to wake up with a hangover.ْ ُم ك ِ َجْل ِأ ْنَا ل ی کَم ْ مِّن ْ ھُمُوْم ٍ قَد ْ رَأَ َ و ُ نَضْجَر َّ نَضْرَم ُ فِي الْقَلْب ِ اضْطِرَامًا و َ و I went through a great deal of distress for your sake; And, my heart continues to be in sincere anguish for you, although I try to hide this from you.ْ تَأَلُّمًا ْ دُمُوْعِي ْ فَاضَت ُ وَقَد ْح ی أَصِ ُ ٍ یُوَغَّر ِّ آن ْ کُل ْ فِي ُم ك ْ لَـ وَقَلْبِي I cry and tears flow from my eyes due to my anguish for you; And my heart burns for you ceaselessly.فَسَل ْ أَیُّهَا الْقَارِئ ُ أَخَاك َ أَبَا الْوَفَا ُ َخْدَع ُ الْحَمْقٰی وَقَد ْ جَاء َ مُنْذِر ی لِمَا Therefore, worthy reader! Ask Sanaullah, your brother in faith, Why he is deceiving the ignorant while the warner has appeared.

Page 104

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 88 ُ ْت ُ جِدَالَه ی أَل َ رُب َّ خَصْم ٍ قَد ْ رَأَ ُ ْ یُّزَوِّر ُ مَن مِثْلَه ْنَا ی َٔرَا ْ إِن وَمَا Beware! I have seen many debaters, But I have never seen a deceiver like him.ٍ ِ سَاعَة ثُلْث ِ إِلٰی ُ لِمَبْحَثِه عَجِبْت ُ أَکَان َ مَحَل ُّ الْبَحْث ِ أَو ْ کَان َ مَيْسِر I was surprised that he gave only twenty minutes to [speak in] the debate.Was it meant to be a debate, or just a game of chance? ُ َ تَذْکُر کُنْت ً کُلَّمَا ال ِ مَھْ ْفِر ك أَمُ ُ َ مُظَفَّر َّ أَنْت ْ ثُم ِ کَمِثْلِي وَأَمْل O one who calls me a disbeliever! Put aside the past, And compose a qa si dah as I have.If you succeed in composing one, you will emerge victorious.ً ْت ُ بِأَن ْ تَخْتَار َ فِي النَّمْق ِ رُفْقَة ی رَضِ ُ ر ِّ َ نُعَی ْ ل ِم ھ َءِ ال إِمْ عَلٰی وَإِنَّا I am pleased for you to even seek partners to assist you if you fear that you will lose the competition; I would not hold you accountable if they assisted you in writ - ing down the qa si dah.َا أَبَا الْوَفَا ی فَمَا الْخَوْف ُ فِي ْ ھٰذَا الْوَغَا ُ ْ أَصْغَر ْ أَو ْ ظَفَر ٌ أَو ِ حُسَيْن لِیُمْل Sanaullah! Why be afraid of the contest? Let the qa si dah be composed by Muhammad Husain or Qazi Zafr-ud-Din or Asghar Ali.

Page 105

89 ٍ وَإِنِّي ْ أَرٰی فِي ْ رَأْسِھِم ْ دُوْد َ نَخْوَة ُ َجْذُر ی َ َّ و ْ یُخْرِجَن ي ِّ َ رَب ْ شَاء فَإِن I can see worms of vanity in their head; If God so wills, He will remove the worms from there and root them out for good.ْ َمْر ِ أَرْفَع َ عِنْدَکُم ْأ وَإِن ْ کَان َ شَأْن ُ ال ُ ْن َ بِهٰذَا الْوَقْت ِ مَن ْ شَان َ جَوْلَر ی فَأَ If you consider this task to be too difficult for the aforesaid maulaw i s, Then where is Mehr Ali Shah who defamed Golra? ْ لَنَا َنْبَرِي ی َ ِّ ل ِ الْغَي ٌ بِقَبْر ْت ی أَمَ ُ َزْأَر ی َ َ مَحَالَة ل ْثًا ی َ َ ل ْ کَان وَمَن Is he dead that he cannot come out? For a lion will roar anyway.ْ َتِي ی ْع ُ إِبْطَال َ آ ی َسْطِ ی َ وَإِن ْ کَان َ ل ُ ِ وَازْمُر َلَة ال َّ َ الض ْر ی ْ مَزَامِ ْ خُذ فَقُل And if he cannot refute this Sign of mine, Then tell him to play the tambourine, as it is not for him to pursue knowledge.ِ ٌ بِعِلْمِه ْ حُسَيْن َ إِعْجَازِي أَغَلَّط ُ تَسْخَر َٔ ْئَات َ مَا حَوْل ُ الْجَھُوْل ِ ا ی وَھَ Has Muhammad Husain pointed out mistakes in my book I‘j a zul-Mas ih ? How is it possible? How can Muhammad Husain be capable of this? Are you saying this by way of a joke?

Page 106

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 90 ْ ُم ك ُ وَإِن ْ کَان َ فِي ْ شَيْء ٍ بِعِلْم ٍ حُسَيْن ُ َحْصُر ی ُ فَمَالَك َ ل َ تَدْعُوْه ُ وَالْخَصْم If your [champion] Muhammad Husain is really somebody who can be relied upon, Why do you not call him to your help and tell him that the enemy is getting hard on you? ٖ ِ بِنَظْمِه ِ فَأْت ُ کَالْحُوْت وَنَحْسَبُه ُ ُ وَنَأْسِر نَقْتَنِصْه َّ بَحْرًا حَل مَتٰی I consider Muhammad Husain to be an easy prey, like when one hunts a fish.Hence, you ought to produce a poem com - posed by him; Mark! No sooner does he enter the ocean of poetry’s metres than I shall hunt him down and overpower him.َأْتِنِي ْ أَصْبَحْه ُ کَأْسًا مِن َ الْھُدٰی ی ْ وَإِن ُ َقْدِر ی َ ْ کَان ِ إِن َء ال مْ ِ ْإ ال ِ ُ ل فَأَحْضِرْه If he came out to me, I would give to him the cup of guidance to drink the same morning he approaches me; So convince him to compose [the qa si dah] if he is really capable.ً َرْض ِ سُخْطَة ْأ ُ بِال ّٰ َه ُ الل ال إِذَا مَا ابْتَ ُ ٌ وَّمُعَزَّر ْرَم ك مُ َ قَالُوْا َئِل ال بِ When, as a Sign of displeasure towards him, God gave him a piece of land in Lyallpur, My opponents said it was an honour bestowed upon him.ِ وَالتُّقٰی َّ بِالتَّوَرُّع ُّ إِل الْعِز وَمَا ُ ٍ مُّطَھَّر وَقَلْب َا ی َ الدُّنْ ٍ مِّن وَبُعْد Honour is due only for self-denial and righteousness, And renunciation of the world, and purification of the heart.

Page 107

91 ٌ َ لَذِلَّة ْن ی َ الْغَافِلِ َاة ی َ َّ ح وَإِن ُ َدَّر ك ْ تَ أَو َ الصَّفَا ُ زَاد ْ قَلْبَه فَسَل To live a life of remissness is a cause of shame for man; Ask him if his heart has now become purer as compared to the past, or is it still occupied by worldly abominations.ْ ُم ك ُ َ حُسَيْن ْن ی فَأَ ُ بَارَزْنَا نَحْن إِذَا ُ أَخْبِر َ وَإِن ْ کُنْت َ تَحْمَدُه ُ فَأعْلِن ْ و Where will your [champion] Husain be when I will come out to confront him? If you praise him so highly, let him know of this.ْ ِّٰ إِنَّنِي وَتَالل ا ًّ ُ حَی أَتَحْسَبُه ُ وَیُقْبَر وَیُفْنٰی ْ یُّدْفٰی ُ کَمَن أَرَاه Do you think he is living? By God, I see him as someone already perished, dead, and in the grave.ْ َتِي ی ِدَا ھ ْ َبْغِي ی َ لَو ْ شَاء َ رَبِّي ْ کَان َ و ُ ْ یُبَصَّر َ مِمَّن ْ کَان َ رَبِّي ْ شَاء وَلَو If my Lord had so desired, Muhammad Husain would have accepted the truth; And if God my Lord had so willed, he would have recognized me.ٌ ُ مُعَظَّم وَالرَّجَاء ْ قَنَطْنَا إِن مَا َ و ُ ْ وَیُخْبِر ِ یُدْرِي ّٰ ُ الل َ وَحْي کَذٰلِك I have still not lost hope about him becoming a believer; Rather, hopes are high as this is what revelation from Allah means to convey.

Page 108

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 92 وَإِن َّ قَضَاء َ هللا ِ مَا یُخْطِئ ُ الْفَتٰی ُ ِّر ك َ مُف َرَاھَا ی َ ٌ ل َات ی ُ خَافِ لَه A true adherent to the right path is never neglectful of Divine injunctions; To him are disclosed such hidden truths as cannot be dis - cerned by a philosopher.ْ ُم ِّك ُبْدِي ْ لَك َ الرَّحْمٰن ُ مَقْسُوْم َ حِب ي سَ ُ ٌ مُّقَدَّر َوْم ی ِ ْه ی ِ َ یُنْس ال ٌ فَ ْد ی ِ سَع God shall disclose to you the fate of your friend, Muhammad Husain; He is fortunate; therefore, the Day of Reckoning will not be neglectful of him.ٌ ُ قَادِر ّٰ ِ وَالل ّٰ الل ْدِي ی بِأَ وَیُحْیٰی ُ َأْتِي ْ زَمَان ُ الرُّشْد ِ وَالذَّنْب ُ یُغْفَر ی َ و He will be given a new life by the hand of God and God surely is capable of this; The days of piety shall surely come and [his] sins will be forgiven.ِ وَالتُّقٰی َ الطَّھَارَۃ ُ مَآء فَيَسْقُوْنَه ُ یُّعَطِّر ا َّ ی َ ْ بِر تَأْتِي ُ الصَّبَا ْم ی ِ نَس He will be offered to drink the water of purity and piety, With the east wind bringing forth pleasant fragrance and perfuming the air with scent.ْ ُ خَالِقِي ٌ قَوْل ْ صَادِق َّ کََمِي وَإِن ُ ً فَسَيَنْظُر ْ بُرْھَة ُم ك ْ َ مِن ْ عَاش مَن َ و My words are true.They are the words of God my Creator; He who, for a while, lives from among you will witness.

Page 109

93 ُ َ تَعْجَبَن ْ لَّه ال أَتَعْجَب ُ مِن ْ ھٰذَا فَ ُ ٌ مُّطَھَّر وَحْي َ و َ الْمَوْلٰی ٌ مِّن کََم Do you consider this to be strange? You ought not to; It is the Word of God and pure revelation.ٍ مَا قُلْتُه ُ مِن ْ عِنْد ِ نَفْسِي ْ کَرَاجِم َ و ُ َّر ی َ ِ أَتَح ِ الْقَضَاء ْ أَمْر مِن َ ُ و ْت ی ِ أُر I have not said this based on my own thoughts and thinking; I have rather been shown this in a vision, and indeed it amazes me.ُ َظُنُّه ی ْ ْ مَن َهْتَدِي ی ٍ ُ حُسَيْن أَقَلْب ُ ْسَر ی أَ َّ ٌ و ْن ی ِ ھَ ّٰ َ الل عِنْد َّ ٌ و ْب ی عَجِ Will the heart of Muhammad Husain turn to guidance? Who can imagine that this will happen? It sounds strange, but it is easy for God to accomplish.ْ ْتُھُم ی َ ْ رَأ ٖ قَد ٍ بِه ُ أَشْخَاص ثَلـٰثَة ُ ذَکِّر َ مِنْهُم ْ إِلٰھِي ْ بَخْش ُ فَاسْمَع ْ و َ و Beside him, there are three other men as well; one of them is Ilahi Bakhsh Multani, the accountant; You must listen to this and make an announcement about this.ْ ٍ رِمَاحَھُم َ ذَنْب دُوْن َ ذُقْنَا لَعَمْرُك ُ َرَّر ك ُّی ٌ َّ دُعَاء ل إِ سَرَّنَا فَمَا I say it by Your name my Lord that I have been injured by their spears in return for no wrong, And for my part I have chosen only to pray for them.ْ ْ بِذِکْرِھِم ُّ قَلْبِي َغْتَم ی ذُکِّرُوْا مَتٰی ُ ِ نُبْشِر َقَاۃ ال ُ ٌ بِالْم َ وَقْت کَان بِمَا My heart becomes sad when they are mentioned before me, As I remember that once each other’s company made us happy.

Page 110

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 94 َا أَبَا الْوَفَا ی َ ال َ أَأُرْضِعْت َ مِن ْ غُوْل ِ الْف ُ َّر ك َ َ تَتَف ل َ و َ تَخْشٰی َ ل لَك فَمَا O Sanaullah! Were you suckled with falsehood? What has gone wrong with you that you do not fear [God], nor do you reflect? َا ی ْل َ الْحَق ِّ وَالْخَوْف ِ وَالْحَ ی تَرَکْتُم ْ سَبِ ُ َنْظُر ی ُ ّٰ ِ وَالل َ الْعَدْل ْ حُدُوْد وَجُزْتُم You have abandoned the path of truth, fearfulness, and modesty; You have crossed the limits of justice and verily God is a wit - ness to it.َ وَحْیِنَا ْقَة ی ِ ٌ حَق نَفْس َ تَرٰی ْف ی کَ َ و ُ َجْھَر ی ِ بِالسُّوْء َّ ٍ و کِذْب ُّ عَلٰی یُصِر How can he know the reality of my revelations, Who insists upon falsehood and openly uses uncivilized language? ْ ُم ك وَإِن ْ کُنْت ُ کَذَّابًا کَمَا ھُو َ زَعْمُ ل َ تَسْتَأْخِرُوْا َ ي ْ و ِّ ْعًا ل ی ِ ْدُوْا جَم ی ِ ك فَ If I am a liar as you perceive me to be, You should all strive for my ruin and never desist.َ کُلَّھَا َرْض ْأ ُ ال َبْلُغ ی ْ َائِي ی ِض َّ وَإِن ُ ْ مُذَکِّر ْ وَإِنِّي فَاسْمَع ِرُھَا ك ْ أَتُن My light will spread all over the world.Would you still deny this? Remember this well and I hereby remind you of this.

Page 111

95 َا أَبَا الْوَفَا ی ْ صُحْبَتِي ٍّ عَقَرْت َ بِمُد ُ َقْھَر ی َ ْ س ٍ فَرَبِّي ْن ی ِ وَّتَوْھ ٍّ بِسَب Sanaullah! You injured the feelings of my companions in Mudh, By using uncivilized language and by insulting them.Mark! God shall soon overpower you! ْ َلَتِي ال َ جَ ْ ل ْ أَبْتَغِي َ رَبِّي َلَك ال جَ ُ تُبْصِر َ عَزْمِي ْ و َ أَنْت َ تَرٰی قَلْبِي ْ و َ و My Lord! I yearn for You to be glorified and not myself to be revered; You very well see my heart and my intention.ُّ کُلَّھَا ْ رُدْت ُّ مَحَامِدِي َ أَرُد ْك ی َ إِل ُ ٍ یُّعَفَّر ُ ذَرْق َّ مِثْل ل إِ أَنَا مَا َ و I revert to You all the praise I can; Indeed, I am nothing but one who is like the refuse thrown away to be mixed into the soil.ُ ْن ِ فَضَّل َ نَفْسَه ی َ وَقَالُوْا عَلَی الْحَسْن ُ ْ سَیُظْھِر ُ رَبِّي ّٰ ْ وَالل ُ نَعَم أَقُوْل They [my opponents] said I claimed to be better than Hasan and Husain; I hereby affirm that I am so, and by God, my Lord will soon make it manifest.ُ ُ بَعْدَه ُ کَذَّابًا لَمَا کُنْت لَو ْ کُنْت َ و ُ َتَنَصَّر ی ْ مَن َّ و ٍّ َهُوْدِي ی ِ کَمِثْل If I were to be an imposter, I would be worse, Than a Jew or a Christian who apostatized Islam.

Page 112

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 96 ٌ ْفَة ی ْ خَلِ ِ رَبِّي ْ أَمْر ْ مِن ِنَّنِي ك ٰ وَلـ َّرُوْا ك َ ُ فَتَف ْ وَعْدَه ٌ سَمِعْتُم ْح ی ِ مَس But, by the decree of my Lord I am His Khalifah and the Promised Messiah; You heard His promise, so it is up to you now to reflect! ْ ْه ِ عِنْدَکُم ی ِ مَا ف َّ فَمَا شَأْن ُ مَوْعُوْد ٍ و فَتَدَبَّرُوْا ِ نَبِیِّـنَا ِ قَوْل َ الْقَوْل مِن What do you think about the spiritual station of the Promised Messiah and; What is the saying of the Holy Prophet , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that you possess regarding him? ُ ْ تَقْرَؤُوْنَه ٌ عِنْدَکُم ْح ی ِ ٌ صَح ْث ی ِ حَد أَظْھِرُوْا َ َ و تَعْلَمُوْن مَا ْتُمُوْا ك َ َ ت ال فَ You surely have an authentic hadith with you which you recite; Therefore, do not conceal what is known to you.Instead, let it be publicized.ُ َ عِنْدَه ً کَان َّ شَھَادَۃ ْتُمَن ك َ ی ْ مَن َ و ُ ٍ تُسَعَّر َ نَار ْب ی تَعْذِ َرٰی ی َ فَسَوْف And he who conceals this testimony while he has it with him, Will soon witness the torment of the fire being fuelled constantly.ً ْ عُقُوْبَة ُم ك ْ ی عَلَ کِذْبًا َ تَجْعَلُوْا ال فَ ُ ً تُزَوِّر ِ قَوْل ّٰ َ الل ثَنَاء َا ی ْ دَع َ و Hence, make sure your falsehood does not earn you the wrath of the Almighty; O Sanaullah! Discard falsehood.

Page 113

97 ْ ٍ وَّخُلْقَھُم ِ قَوْم َ کِرَام ْق ی ِ َ طَر تَرَکْت ُ لِّتُحَقِّر عَامِدًا ٍّ َ بِمُد َجَوْت ھ You have abandoned moral qualities and the path of noble people; You intentionally insulted me at Mudh so as to denigrate me.ْ ُم ك َ بَيْن َ ِ و ِرَام ك ْ َ ال ْن ی َ مَابَ شَتَّان َ و ُ َحْذَر ی َ َخْشَی الْحَسِيْب َ و ی وَإِن َّ الْفَتٰی Surely, you and the righteous are poles apart; A pious person fears God and refrains from evil.َعْرِف ُ الْقِلٰی ی َ ْل َ ل ی تَرَکْنَاك َ حَتّٰی قِ ُ ْبِر ك الْمُسْتَ أَیُّهَا ْمًا ی ِ َ خَص فَجِئْت I had abandoned you, so much so that you said why was it that I was not willing to write anything to you? Conceited one! You have yourself now sought this encounter.ُ َ تَهْجُر ُ مَالَك اللَّعَّان َ أَیُّهَا أَل ُ و َ تَلْعَن ُ مَن ْ ھُو ْ مُرْسَل ٌ و َّ مُوَقَّر O one who curses me! What has gone wrong with you that you defame me, And thus curse the one who has been sent by God and granted honour by Him? ْ ْقَة َ بَاطِنِي ی ِ مَا تَدْرِي ْ حَق َ شَتَمْت َ و ُ ِ یُسْتَفْسَر ْ قَوْلِه ٍ مِّن ء ِ ُّ امْر وَکُل You hurled abuse at me while you were unaware of my reality; Remember, everyone will be held accountable for his words.

Page 114

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 98 ْتَنَا ی ِ آذَ بِه ٍّ سَب عَلـٰی صَبَرْنَا ُ َ نَصْبِر ْ ل تَفْتَرِي مَا ْ عَلـٰی ِن ك ٰ وَلـ I remained patient in the face of the abusive language you employed to hurt me; But I cannot remain patient at the imposture you have attrib - uted to me.ُ کَاذِبًا ٌ لَسْت ْ صَادِق ِ إِنِّي ّٰ وَوَالل ِّرُوْا ك َ وَفَـ ْن ی ِ مُسْتَعْجِل ُوْا ك ِ َ تَهْل ال َ ف I swear by God that I am true in my claim and that I am not an imposter; So bring not ruin upon yourself by being impetuous; rather, ponder upon the matter.ْ نِي َّ لَضَر ا ًّ شَقِی ُ کَذَّابًا کُنْت لَو َ و ْ وَکَفَّرُوْا ٍ کَذَّبُوْنِي ُ قَوْم عَدَاوَۃ If I were a wicked liar, I would have incurred harm at the hands of those who, Out of their enmity, denounced me as an imposter and disbeliever.ْف َ تَدَاکَئُوْا ی شَاھَدْت َّ أَن َّ الْقَوْم َ کَ َ و وَّجَمَّرُوْا سِھَامًا َ رَمَوْا ْف ی َ َّ وَک عَلَي You have witnessed how people have raised an outcry against me, Maligned me and continue to fight me.ْ َالِھِم ی رَمَوْا کُل َّ صَخْر ٍ کَان َ فِي ْ أَذْ ُ َّر ی َ ْ أَتَح لَم َ ْ و ْ أَقْلَق ٍ فَلَم ْظ ی َ بِغ They threw upon me all the rocks they had, and they did this out of their ferocious anger against me; But I was neither distressed nor taken aback by this.

Page 115

99 ٍ ِ إِھَانَة ْ رِمَاح ْ مِن َ عِرْضِي جُرِّح َ و ُ الْخَنْجَر َّ إِلَي ٍّ ْ سَب َ مِن أُلْقِي َ و Injury was inflicted to my honour with the spears of defamation, And daggers of abusive language were cast at me.ٍ ُ صَادِق ْر ی َ ٌ غ ٌ مُّفْنِد کَذُوْب قَالُوْا َ و ُ َا سَتَظْھَر ی فَقُلْنَا اخْسَئُوْا إِن َّ الْخَفَا They insisted that I am an imposter and untrue in my claim; My reply was: Leave me alone! The hidden truth shall even - tually become manifest.ْ ِ سَبِّھِم ْ بِأَنْوَاع آذَوْنِي َ و وَسَبُّوْا ُ ِ أَبْتَر سَمَّوْن َّ ً و ِ دَجَّال سَمَّوْن َ و They hurled abuse at me and hurt my sentiments with unciv - ilized language of all sorts; They called me Dajj a l [the Antichrist] and labelled me sheer evil, devoid of all good.ِ مُلْحِدًا وَّسَمَّوْن ْطَانًا ی ِ شَ سَمَّوْن َ و ُ مُزَوِّر قَالُوْا َّ و ِ مَلْعُونًا وَسَمَّوْن They called me Satan and labelled me an atheist; They also called me accursed and declared me a fabricator.ٌ َة ی ِ ِ دَر ْ لِلرِّمَاح ُ کَأَنِّي فَصِرْت ُ ٌ مُّحَقَّر َ عَبْد ْل ی ِ ق ُ حَتّٰی ْت ی وَأُوْذِ I, therefore, became like the one who had been targeted with arrows; I was afflicted with pain so much that people said an extremely contemptuous person I was.

Page 116

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 100 ُ ْ وَبَعْدَہ لِّدَوْسِي ْدًا ی کَ غَادَرُوْا مَا َ و ثَوَّرُوْا َ ِ و ُنَاس ْأ َ ال زَمْع َّ حَضَوْا عَلَي They spared no mischief, so as to crush me for good; As if this was not enough, they incited the mean against me and instigated them.ْ َ ھَوَانُهُم ِ کَان َمْر ْأ ُ ال ْ مَآل ِن ك ٰ لـ َ و ُ تَبْھَر َ ُ و ْر ی ِ ٌ تُن ْ آي َ لِي أُنْزِل َ و However, eventually, they were humiliated; Signs were shown for me, bright and prevailing.َا رِدْف َ الْحُسَيْن ِ أَبَا الْوَفَا ی َ ْك ی فَأُوْصِ ُ َ الْمُحَاسِب َ وَاحْذَر ّٰ أَنِب ْ وَاتَّق ِ الل I, therefore, admonish you O one who walks in the footsteps of Muhammad Hussain! You ought to repent before God and fear Him as He is the Reckoner.ْن ِ وَالْھَوٰی ی َا عَن ِ الدِّ ی وَل َ تُلْھِك َ الدُّنْ ُ أَکْبَر َ و ِ أَدْھٰی ّٰ َ الل َّ عَذَاب وَإِن The world and avarice and the greed for it should not stop you from acting upon Faith; Divine chastisement is surely hard to bear and very tormenting.ْ َا کَنَاطِف ِ نَاطِفِي ی وَل َ تَحْسَب ِ الدُّنْ ُ َ تُصْبِح ْف ی ٍ کَ ِ مُسَرَّة ْل ی ْ بِلَ أَتَدْرِي Consider not this world a sweetener made by the manufacturer; Do you know what the morning will bring for you after the night of celebration?

Page 117

101 ٍ َ تَصَنُّع َ عِنْد الرَّحْمٰن َ تَتَّقِي أَل ُ َحْذَر ی َ مَن ْ کَان َ أَتْقٰی ل َ أَبَاَلَك َ و Are you not afraid of God that you are still engaged in your fabrications? He who is righteous surely fears God.ْت َ شِعْرِي ْ ھَل ْ تُشَاھِد ُ بَعْدَنَا ی َ أَل َ ل ُ ِ وَیُنْذِر َ السَّمَآء ُّ مِن َحُط ی ْحًا ی ِ مَس If only you had been wise enough! Will another Messiah descend from Heaven after me and warn you? ُ َ إِنَّه ٍ قَال ُّ مُذَکِّر دَر ِِّٰ لل وَ ُ ْم ٌ مُّدَعْثَر ی ْس ٌ زَنِ ك َعَاف ُ الْھُدٰی شِ ی How commendable are the words of the warner who said: ‘A wicked and ruined person who is also mean would hate guidance’.َ بِالْھَوٰی َ بَحْثِك عِنْد ٍّ َ بِمُد ذَکَرْت ُ ْ وَتَهْجُر َ تُلْغِي َ وَالْقُرْآن ْث ی أَحَادِ At the time of the debate at Mudh, you said you had many a ha d i th in your favour, While the Holy Quran is seen by you to be of no avail and false.ْ َ ظُھُوْرِکُم ِ خَلْف ّٰ َ الل ْ کََم نَبَذْتُم ِّرُوْا ك َ ِ فَف لِلظُّنُوْن ْنًا ی ِ َق ی ْ ْتُم ک َ تَر You have turned your back on the Word of Allah; You have discarded certainty for the sake of uncertainty.It is now for you to reflect.

Page 118

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 102 ْ بَت یَّ َ ْ وَتَغ ٍ عَفَت ثَار َ کَآ فَصَار ُ َبِّر ك مُتَ َا ی ِ ِ النَّاس ُ نَجَاۃ مَدَار O arrogant one! The Holy Quran became like ruins; And that upon which salvation for mankind depended, became hidden.ُ َانُه ی َ بَ ِ کَان َ النَّاس َّ شِفَاء وَإِن ُ ِ نُبَادِر َ الظُّنُوْن ُ نَحْو ْ بَعْدَه فَھَل The words of the Holy Quran served as a cure for mankind; Shall we still run towards suspicion and abandon the Book? ْ تَأَلُّمًا ِ مِنِّي ْن ی ُ الْعَ ْ دُمُوْع وَفَاضَت ُ َا مُتَھَوِّر ی َ إِذَا مَا سَمِعْت ُ الْبَحْث Having thought of this, my eyes became tearful; O shameless one! This happened when I heard your arguments.ْ َلَت ی فَتَمَا عَامِدًا ٍّ َ بِمُد کَذَبْت َ وَثَوَّرُوْا ْن ی ِ َ جَاھِل َ شَطَایِب ْك ی عَلَ You intentionally lied at Mudh.As a result, The ignorant inclined towards you and raised a tumult.ٍ ْقَة ی ِ ُّ حَق ِ کُل الْقُرْآن ِ فِي ّٰ وَالل َ و ُ َّر ی َتَغ َّ ٌ ل ُ مَقْطُوْعَة َاتُه ی وَآ By God, the Holy Quran is possessed of all verities; Its verses are categorical and unchangeable.ْنِنَا ی ِ ُ مُع ِ نُوْر ُ الْخُلْد ْن ی ِ ٌ مَّع ْن ی ِ مَع ُ َدَّر ك َتَ ی َ ِ ل ُ الْمَاء ْر ی ِ ُ نَم ھُدَاه It is like pure water—the water of Paradise; It is the light of our Lord, whose guidance is clear and free of contamination.

Page 119

103 ِ ْد ِ جَاءَت ْ مِن َ السَّمَاء ی ِ َه ُ کَالْغ ی أَرٰی آ ُ َتَدَبَّر ی ْ لَّذِي ِّ ٌ ل شِفَاء ْھَا ی فِ َ و Its verses are beautiful and have descended from Heaven; There is cure in them for those who ponder over them.وَیُصْبِي قُلُوْب َ النَّاس ِ بِالنُّوْر ِ وَالْھُدٰی ُ َظْأَر ی َ ِ و ْن ی ِ بِالْمَع الْعَطَاشٰی وَیُرْوِي The Holy Quran attracts the hearts of mankind to itself with light and guidance, And quenches the thirst of the thirsty and offers them milk like a maidservant.ٍ وَقَد ْ کَان َ صُحْف ٌ قَبْلَه ُ مِثْل َ خَادِج ُ لِیُغَزَّر ِ الْوَرٰی ْل ی ِ ْم ك َ لِتَ فَجَاء The scriptures before it were like the she-camel that gave birth prematurely to its offspring; The Holy Quran came to perfect mankind, so that the entire amount of milk could be obtained once and for all.ُ سُدُوْلَه ِ أَرْخٰی ِ الْبَحْر ٍ کَمَوْج ْل ی بِلَ ُ أَدْرٰی کُل َّ مَن ْ کَان َ یُبْصِر َ تَجَلّٰی و The Holy Quran came during a night that had spread like a sea-wave; So, it came and caused all—who were capable—to see.ُ ُ شَأْنَه ِر ك ْ ْ أَتُن الْمُغْوِي أَیُّهَا َا ی أَ ُ مُزَوِّر َا ی ُ ْرُه ی غَ ْنَا ی َدَ ی ْ فِي مَا َ و O one who misleads! Will you dare to deny the glory of the Holy Quran? O one who fabricates lies! Aside from the Holy Quran, what else is there that we possess?

Page 120

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 104 ْ ُ مُدَّھُم ّٰ َ الل َ بَارَك ل ٍ ھَذٰی لِقَوْم ٍ فَأَبْشَرُوْا َّ کِذْب حَق ٌ فَأَدّٰی جَھُوْل This man has uttered nonsense only to curry favour with a pack of people.May God never bless their Mudh! An ignorant person he is and has fulfilled his obligation as a liar by making the people pleased with him.َ صَفَا ِ وَل ْه ی َ فِ َّ رُوْح ٌ ل ُ جَسَد لَه ُ ِ تَدَبُّر ْه ی ِ َ ف لَيْس َ ُ و َجُوْش ی ٍ کَقِدْر He is only a body without life and purity, And boils up occasionally like a thing in a pan, and never reflects.ْ نَبَذْتُم ْ ھُدَی الْمَوْلٰی وَرَآء َ ظُھُوْرِکُم ُ َ یُسْتَر کَان ْ کُلَّمَا ْ أُبَیِّن فَدَعْنِي You have turned away from the guidance God has imparted; So leave me alone, so that I may lay bare that which is hidden.وَإِنِّي ْ أَخَذْت ُ الْعِلْم َ مِن ْ مَّنْبَع ِ الْھُدٰی ُ َثِّر ك ُ الْمُتَ ْ فَضْلُه عُیُوْنِي أَجْرٰی َ و I have been granted knowledge from the very source of guidance; Indeed, His grace has caused the springs [of guidance] to flow in me.ً ْحَة ی ِ ْت ُ مِن ْ رَّبِّي ْ عُلُوْمًا صَح ی وَأُعْطِ ُ َ وَأُعْثَر َ تَعْلَمُوْن ل ُ مَا وَأَعْلَم And, I have been granted upright knowledge from God my Lord; That which you do not know of is taught to me and made known to me.

Page 121

105 و َ کَأْس ٍ سَقَانِي ْ رُوْح ُ رُوْحِي ْ کَأَنَّهَا ُ ِ أَحْمَر ِ اللَّوْن ٍ نَاصِع ٌ کَنَجْم ْق ی رَحِ I have drunk a number of goblets from the hands of the soul of my soul; It was as if it was a wine of red colour which was shining like a star.َا مَعْشَر َ الْعِدَا ی ِ َ تُبْشِرُوْا بِالنَّقْل ال فَ ُ ن ْ نُّقُوْل ٍ قَد ْ فَرَاھَا مُسَحِّر ِّ وَکَم ْ م Therefore, O my opponents! Let not mere historical traditions please you; There are many traditions and sayings that have been fabri - cated by the fabricators.ْحَاء ِ رَبِّنَا ی ِ ھَل ِ النَّقْل ُ شَيْء ٌ بَعْد َ إ ُ ر یَّ ُ نَتَخَ ٍ بَعْدَه ْث ی ِ َّ حَد فَأَي Moreover, of what significance are traditional records in light of revelation from God? Which hadith shall we believe over Divine revelation? ٍ َّ مُمَزَّق ُ کُل َخْبَار ْأ َ ال ْ مُزِّق قَد َ و ُ َسَتَبْشِر ی ُ ْ عِنْدَه ھُو ٌّ بِمَا ُل ك فَ The a ha d i th are scattered; Each sect is pleased with their own assortment of traditions.ٌ ٌّ مُّنَقَّح ٌ قَوِي َ بُرْھَان أَعِنْدَك ُ ْخ ٍ عَاب َ أَو ْ أَنْت َ تَهْذِر ی عَلٰی فَضْل ِ شَ Do you have an argument to prove the erudition of Muhammad Husain, Who finds faults with my writings, or are you uttering mere absurdities?

Page 122

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 106 أَتَحْسَب ُ مِن ْ حُمْق ٍ حُسَيْنًا مُّحَقِّقًا ُ َدَّر ك ُّم ٌ مَاء َّ ٌٔ و ِ حَمَا ْ کَفِّه فِي َ و Do you, out of your stupidity, consider Muhammad Husain to be a learned man, While his hands are soiled with grime and filthy water? ُ ْتَه ی رَأَ ٍ مَّا ْ نَّازِل ْ مِن أَتُخْبِرُنِي ُ التَّغَیُّر دَفَاھَا ُ أَخْبَارًا تَذْکُر َ و Do you tell me about the one you think has descended [ from Heaven], while you have not seen him personally? And, do you quote to me traditions that have been ruined by interpolation? ٍ َ بِقَاطِع َّ لَيْس َّ الظَّن ُ أَن وَتَعْلَم ُ یُثْمِر َ ْن َ الْبَحْت َ یُرْوِي ْ و ی ِ َق ی ْ أَن َّ ال َ و And, you are well-aware that a conjecture cannot be presented as a categorical argument, And that conviction alone satisfies and bears fruits.دًا یَّ َ وَلَسْت ُ کَمِثْلِك َ فِي الظُّنُوْن ِ مُق ُ أُبْصِر َ َ و ْر ی ِ َ الْقَد ّٰ الل ْ أَرَی ي ِّ إِن َ و And, I am not a prisoner of conjectures as you are; I am beholding and witnessing Allah the All-Powerful.ُ أَخَذْنَا مِن َ الْحَي ِّ الَّذِي ْ لَيْس َ مِثْلُه ِّرُوْا ك َ ْ فَف ْتُم ی َ رَو ِ الْمَوْتٰی ْ عَن أَنْتُم َ و I have partaken from Him who is Living, Self-subsisting, and the One without an associate, While you narrate traditions on behalf of the dead.

Page 123

107 ِ ِ فِي ْ حُجْر ِ لُطْفِه ّٰ أُرَبّٰی بِفَضْل ِ الل ُ أُنْصَر َ ُ و ٍ أُعَان ْدَان ی َم ِّ ْ کُل فِي َ و I am being nourished whilst seated in the benevolent lap of Allah, And I am granted victory by Him in every contest.ٍ رَحْمَة َّ قَد ْ خَصَّنِي ْ رَبِّي بِفَضْل ٍ و َ و ُ َرَّر ك ُّی ٍ وَحْي َّ ٍ و ْد ی ِ تَأْی َّ ٍ و نَصْر َ و God my Lord has bestowed upon me distinction out of His grace and mercy; He has vouchsafed to me His support, help, and repeated revelation.ً ة َّ ی ِ رَو ِ کَأْسًا َسْرَار ْأ َ ال ْ مِن سَقَانِي ُ َبْھَر ی ُّ ِ الْحَق ٍ بِه نَهْج ْ إِلٰی ھَدَانِي He enabled me to drink from the goblet that satisfies, And guided me to the way that enlightens the truth.ُ وَّذِکْرَه ْ حُسَيْنًا الْمُغْوِي ْ أَیُّهَا فَدَع ُ ٍ تُنَوِّر َ شَمْس ً عِنْد ال ْ ی َ ُ ل أَتَذْکُر Therefore, O one who misleads, turn away from Muhammad Husain and do not mention him; Will you compare a dark night to the bright sun? ٖ بِأَمْرِہ ِ جِئْنَا ّٰ ُ الل ُ کُمَاۃ وَنَحْن ُ َخْفُر ی ُ ّٰ ِ وَالل رْك ِّ َ الش د َ ال بِ حَلَلْنَا I am a Knight of Allah.I have come under His command; I have entered the towns sunk in idolatry.And, God surely is my Guide.

Page 124

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 108 ُ ْحُه ی ِ ْ مَس فَإِنِّي َ أَخْشٰی ُ وَل أَقُوْل ُ ْف ِ أُنْحَر ی َّ لَو ْ عِنْد َ ھٰذَا الْقَوْل ِ بِالس َ و And, I declare openly and without fear that I am the Promised Messiah; Even though I may be killed by a sword for this declaration.ْ قَد ْ جَاء َ فِي الْقُرْآن ِ ذِکْر ُ فَضَائِلِي َ و ُ ٍ تُثَوَّر َ فِتْن ْ عِنْد ُ ظُھُوْرِي ذِکْر َ و My excellences are recorded in the Holy Quran, And the troublesome age in which I was to appear is also recorded.ٍ َ فِتْنَة ٌ عِنْد َّ مُرْسَل إِل أَنَا مَا َ و ُ َ تَقْدِر ْ کُنْت ِ إِن ّٰ َ الل َّ قَضَاء فَرُد I am naught but sent by God at a time of trial; So, strive to alter the command of Almighty God—if you think you are capable.ِ ِ خَلْقِه ْن ی ْ بَ ُ مِن الرَّحْمٰن نِي َ َّر ی تَخَ ُ َأْمُر ی َ َشَاء ُ و ی َقْضِي ْ مَا ی ُ ْم ك ُ لَه ُ الْح Out of all His creation, God has chosen me; The final decision is His.He can do what He chooses.ٌ ْ لَصَادِق َ إِنِّي ْ و أَفْرِي ِ مَا ّٰ وَالل َ و ُ َبْھَر ی َ ُ و َلُوْح ی ْ صِدْقِي َّ سَنَا وَإِن By God, I am not an imposter and I am true in my claim; And the light of my truth is shining bright.تَرَاءَت ْ لَنَا کَالشَّمْس ِ صَفْوَۃ ُ أَمْرِنَا ُ ٌ تُنَضِّر عُیُوْن ْ حَدَائِقَنَا أَرْوَت َ و The truth of my matter has become manifest like the sun; My gardens were watered by the springs that nourish them and enable them to flourish.

Page 125

109 ْنُنَا ی َ وَعَ ْن ی ِ ُ السَّابِق َ مَاء َدَّر ك َ ت ُ َدَّر ك َ تَتَ ِ ل َام ی َ ْأ ِ ال آخِر إِلٰی The waters of others from among the ummah have dried up; But, my spring is not going to dry up until the last days of the world.ً ال ِ ُ صَائ ّٰ َغْضَب ُ الل ی إِذَا مَا غَضِبْنَا ُ َجْھَر ی ِ ْ وَبِالسُّوْء ٍ یُّؤْذِي مُعْتَد عَلٰی When I become angry at a person, God too becomes angry at him, Who crosses the limit and is intent on manifest evil.ٍ َّ ظَالِم ٌ کُل ٌ کَاسِر ْ زَمَان َأْتِي ی َ و ُ َّ الْمُدَمَّر َ إِل َوْم ی ْ َّ ال َن ك ْ یُهْلَ وَھَل The time is coming when He will destroy every wrongdoer; No one will then perish but the one who is already perished.ْ ُن ْ لَّھُم ك َ ی ْ وَإِنِّي ْ لَشَر ُّ النَّاس ِ إِن ْ لَّم ُ ٌ یُّصَغِّر ْ صَغَار َ إِھَانَتِھِم جَزَاء I may be considered to be the worst among mankind, If those who maligned me are not punished with humiliation.ُ تَعَلِّیًا ْت ی ادَّعَ ْ مَا ِ إِنِّي ّٰ وَالل َ و ُ َبُّر ك التَّ ْھَا ی ِ َل ی ً مَّا َاۃ ی َ ْ ح أَبْغِي َ و By God, I have not made my claim out of egotism; Rather, I desire a life that is not tainted by even the shadow of arrogance.ٍ َ بِـإِصْبَع َّ یُشَار ْ ل ْ أَن نِي َّ ْ سَر قَد َ و ُ ٍ یُعَفَّر َ عَظْم مِثْل أُلْقٰی َ َّ و إِلَي My pleasure lay in the fact that nobody should consider me pious; I wished to have been disposed as one disposes a rotten bone.

Page 126

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 110 ِ کُلَّھَا ِبْر ك َ الْ سَاحَة أَجَزْنَا فَلَمَّا ُ َبِّر ك ُّی ٌ ِ وَحْي َ الرَّحْمٰن ْ مِن أَتَانِي When I had distanced myself from arrogance and covered the required distance, Only then was the revelation of the Gracious God vouchsafed to me, making me immensely honourable.ْ ْل َ إِنَّك َ مُرْسَل ٌ خِلْت ُ أَنَّنِي ی إِذَا قِ ُ َعْسُر ی ِ ْت ُ إِلـٰی أَمْر ٍ عَلَی الْخَلْق ی دُعِ When I was told that I had been sent by God, I thought I was being called for a task that the people will find hard to accept.ٍ ْ کَطَالِب ْ آنَسُوْنِي َّ قَوْمِي ْ أَن وَلَو ْن َ عَقْل ٍ وَبُصِّرُوْا ی دَعَوْت ُ لِیُعْطَوْا عَ And, if my people had approached me as seekers of truth, I would have prayed for them that they be granted wisdom and insight.وَزَوَّرُوْا وَآذَوْا ْ عَابُوْا ِنَّهُم ك وَلٰـ َ وَثَوَّرُوْا ْن ی ِ َّ الْجَاھِل عَلَي وَحَثُّوْا But, they sought only to find faults with me, inflicted pain upon me, told lies about me, And incited the ignorant against me.ٍ ِ خُبْرَة ْر ی ْ غَ َ مِن الْوَاشُوْن َّرَنِي ی وَعَ َابِي ْ مِن ْ جُنُوْن ٍ وَّأعْذَرُوْا ی ِ وَنَاشُوْا ث And, the slanderers criticized me without having tried me or becoming fully aware of me; Deranged, they grabbed hold of my garments and made exag - gerated statements about my mission.

Page 127

111 ْف َ خَالَطُوْا ی عَجِبْت ُ لَھُم ْ فِي ْ حَرْبِنَا کَ ُ تَنَمُّر َ ْ و ٌ بَيْنَهُم َ ضِغْن َبْق ی ْ لَم َ و It surprised me how they all became part of this fight against me, Ignoring their own mutual animosity and malice.قَضَّوْا مَطَاعِن َ بَيْنَهُم ْ ثُم َّ أَصْدَرُوْا َ و َ شَھَّرُوْا الْخَنَاجِر َ َ و َسِنَّة ْأ ال ْنَا ی َ إِل For long had they been criticizing each other; Then they all turned their arrows towards me and drew their swords at me.ْ ُم ك َا أَیُّهَا النَّاس ُ مَا لَ ی ْ فَقُلْت ُ لَھُم ُ ٍ یُّزَوَّر ْ کََم ن ِّ م ْ غُبَارًا أَثَرْتُم I then said to them: ‘O my people! What has gone wrong with you? Why have you vituperated against me to this extent, merely on the basis of misinformation?’ ٍ ْر ِ فِطْنَة ی َّاشُوْن َ مِن ْ غَ ی عَلَی الْحُمْق ِ جَ ُ َوَّر ك َ تُ ْن ی ِ ُ ح ِ الصَّفْوَاء زَلَّت کَمَا In fact, they were all ignorant people, who would quickly lose their temper without reason; Just as a round piece of rock slides down fast when pushed.َ الْوَغٰی مَوْطِن ْ أَقْدَامُنَا بَرِحَت فَمَا ُ َ الْمُظَفِّر أَعَان ْ حَتّٰی ضَعُفَت مَا َ و To sum up, my feet did not move from the battleground, Nor did I tire, until that time when God granted me victory.

Page 128

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 112 ٍ ْقَة ی ِ َم َ مِثْل َ حَد ال کُنْت ُ أَرَی الْإ ِسْ َ و ُ ٍ یُّنَضِّر ِ مَاء ْن ی ْ عَ ٍ مِّن مُبَعَّدَة I considered Islam to be a garden, Lying too far from the spring that could have watered it and caused it to flourish.َدَھَا ال ْ بِ أَسْقِي َ و ْھَا ی ِ ُ أَسْق زِلْت فَمَا ُ مِن َ الْمُزْن ِ حَتّٰی عَاد َ حِبْر ٌ مُّدَعْثَر So I kept watering this garden.Indeed I watered its lands with rains of heavenly water, So much so that its departed glory was restored to it.جَاشَت ْ إِلَي َّ النَّفْس ُ مِن ْ فِتْنَة ِ الْعِدَا َ و ُ َسَّر ك ُت َّ ً ل ْ حَرْبَة َ رَبِّـي فَأَنْزَل And, my heart began to free itself from the disorder created by the enemies; God my Lord then sent down to me an indestructible weapon.ْ فَأَصْبَحْت ُ أَسْتَقْرِي الرِّجَال َ رِجَالَھُم ُ أُنْذِر َ َ و ْن ی ِ جَابِر َ قَوْمًا ُفْحِم ِأ ل I therefore waited for the day to break and began to look for such people, So that I may establish my argument against the wrongdoers.ْ قَد ْ کَان َ بَاب ُ اللُّد ِّ مَرْکَز َ حَرْبِهِم َ و ُ ٌ مُشَھَّر َّ حُسَام ٌّ ل ٌ مُّضِل کََم And, their war tactics were confined to verbal rhetoric, that is, They talked in a manner that misled people, and the sword was not being used for propagation of faith.

Page 129

113 ْ قَتَلْتُھُم َ ْ و َ لُدِّھِم ُ مَجْمَع ْت ی فَوَافَ ُ ْ أَتَحَسَّر لَم َ ْ و ْ أَکْسَل لَم َّ ٍ و بِضَرْب So, I approached the horde of the ones who were prepared to fight and struck them down with a single blow; And, I did not become weary, nor did I tire.ْ ُ الَّذِي ُ وَالْقَائِم الْمَوْعُوْد نَا َ ْ أ إِنِّي َ و ُ تُثْمِر َّ ً و ُ عَدْل َرْض ْأ َّ ال ََٔن ال ِ تُمْ بِه And, I am the Promised Messiah and the Imam Q a ’im Who will fill the earth with justice and turn the deserted jun - gles into fruit-yielding gardens.ِ لِلْوَرٰی ّٰ ُ الل ْ طَلْعَة ْ تَجَلَّت بِنَفْسِي َا طَالِبِي ْ رُشْد ٍ عَلـٰی بَابِي َ احْضُرُوْا ی فَ Through me will become manifest the countenance of Almighty God for His creation; Therefore, O seekers of guidance! Present yourselves at my threshold.ْ ُم ك ْ إِمَامُ ْ فَإِنِّي ْ مِّنِّي ُم ك َّ حَظ خُذُوْا ُ بَشِّر ُ أ َ ْ و ُم ك َامَ ی َ ْ أ رُکُم ِّ أُذَک Take from me your share as I am your Imam; I hereby remind you of your good days to come and give you glad tidings.ٍ َا قَوْم ِ عِنْد َ ضَرُوْرَة ی ْ ُم ك قَد ْ جِئْتُ َ و ُ َتَدَبَّر ی ٍ ٍ عَاقِل ْد ی ْ رَشِ ْ مِن فَھَل My people! I have come to you at a time of need.Is there among you someone righteous and wise to reflect upon this?

Page 130

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 114 مَا الْبِر ُّ إِل َّ تَرْك ُ بُخْل ٍ مِّن َ التُّقٰی َ و ُ َتَبَقَّر ی ْ ُّ مَن َّ رَد ُ إِل الْبُخْل مَا َ و And, what is piety except shunning parsimony when it comes to observing taqw a ? And, what is parsimony but to deny the superiority of the one who is equipped with wider and better knowledge.ٍ َ بِحَاجَة ِ لَيْس الْمَوْعُوْد إِلَی قَالُوْا َ و ُ یُخْبِر َ ْ و َهْدِي ی ِ ّٰ َ الل َّ کِتَاب فَإِن And, they said that there was no need for the Promised Messiah; As it is for the Book of Allah to provide guidance and give glad tidings.ٌ ِ دُعَابَة َّ بِالْغَیُوْر َ إِل ھِي مَا َ و ُ ٍ تَتَھَوَّر ْ فِطْرَۃ مِّن عَجَبًا َا ی فَ Indeed, this is to treat God with mockery and ridicule; It amazes me to find people with such audacity.ِ بِالرُّسْل ِ تَوْأَمًا ّٰ و َ قَد ْ جَاء َ قَوْل ُ الل ُ و َ مِن ْ دُوْنِهِم ْ فَھْم ُ الْھُدٰی مُتَعَسِّر The fact is that Word of Allah and Prophets are like twins to each other; It is difficult to understand the Word of God without help from the Prophets.ُ دَائِمًا ِ تَحْتَاج َاف ی ْ َس ْأ ال َّ ظُبَی فَإِن ُ إِلـٰی سَاعِد ٍ یُّجْرِي الدِّمَاء َ و َ یُنْدِر The blade of the sword needs an arm to cause blood to flow, And the head to be severed from the body.

Page 131

115 ٌ ْمَة ی ِ ِ ھَز ْن ی ِ الشَّفْرَتَ ْق ی ِرَّق ٍ بِعَضْب ُ ٌ مُّحَقَّر ْف ی ِ ٌ ضَع ُ طِفْل نَاشَه إِذَا Even if the edge of the sword is sharp, It will result in defeat if handed over to a weak and frail child.رًا ِّ ُّ مُفَق َمِي ك ْ َ ال أَخْذ إِذَا أَمَّا َ و ُ َنْحَر ی َّ کَفَی الْعَوْد َ مِنْه ُ الْبَدْء ُ ضَرْبًا و But when a brave man holds a sharp sword, his first attack never needs a second, As he would slay his enemy with the first strike.ُ إِذَا قَل َّ تَقْوَی الْمَرْء ِ قَل َّ اقْتِبَاسُه ُ مِن َ الْوَحْي ِ کَالسَّلْخ ِ الَّذِي ْ ل َ یُنَوِّر When taqw a in a person diminishes, his ability to infer and deduce, From he Word of God decreases like the last night of the month that has no light.أَرْضُھَا َ ُ و َ التُّقَاۃ ْن ی أَ أَسَفَا َا ی فَ ُ َظْھَر ی ِ وَإِنِّي ْ أَرٰی فِسْقًا عَلَی الْفِسْق I can only pity this situation! Where is taqw a and where is the land that will generate it?! I see only sinfulness upon sinfulness being manifested.ُّ قَبْلَھَا ْ مِت ْتَنِي ی َّ ٍ ل ظُلُمَات أَرٰی ُ ذُقْت ُ کُئُوْس َ الْمَوْت ِ أَو ْ کُنْت ُ أُنْصَر َ و I see such overwhelming darkness that I wish I had died before witnessing it, And partaken of the chalice of death; or I had been helped.

Page 132

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 116 ُ بَاکِیًا َاه ی ٍ لِدُنْ َّ مَحْجُوْب کُل أَرٰی ُ ْن ٍ یُحَقَّر ی ِ ِي ْ لِد ك َـبْ ی ْ فَمَن ْ ذَا الَّذِي I see everyone who is negligent of Almighty God to be crying over worldly matters.Is there anyone who laments the condition of the Faith being subjected to scorn? ٍ کََھِف ٌ أَرَاھَا َل ال ِ أَطْ ْن ی ِّ لِلد َ و ُ َتَحَدَّر ی ٖ ِ قُصُوْرِہ ْ بِذِکْر دَمْعِي َ و What is left of the Faith but signs of ruin and destruction which I look upon with sadness? While thinking of the Faith’s glorious palaces of the past, tears are flowing from my eyes.ٍ ْحَة ی ِمُّج ٍ ْح ی ِ ٌ کَر َات ی ْ غَوَا تَرَاءَت ُ َدَّر ك ُّم ٌ ْل ی َ ِّ ل َ الْغَي ْل ی ِ سَد أَرْخٰی َ و Darkness has emerged like a storm—the storm that uproots trees violently; A dark night has surpassed all veils of darkness.ٌ کَأَنَّهَا ٌ عَاصِفَات َاح ی ِ ُّ ر تَهُب ُ تَزْأَر َ ْ و ِ تَعْوِي ِ الْھِنْد ٌ بِأَرْض سِبَاع Ferocious thunderstorms are blowing like wild beasts, Roaring in the land of India like wolves and lions.ْ زُمْرَھُم َ ْن َ و ی ِ ْن َ الْمُفْسِد ی ِ أَرَی الْفَاسِق ُ ْثُر ك َ ی ُّ الْغَي َ ِ و ُ النَّاس َح ال َص َّ قَل َ و I witness hordes of sinners and mischief-makers; Piety has disappeared and darkness has increased.ْ َدَّرَت ك َ ِ مِنْهُم ْ ت ّٰ ْن ِ الل ی ِ ْن َ د ی أَرٰی عَ ُ تَعْبُر َ ْ و ُ تَمْشِي رَام ْآ ال َ ُ و ْن ی ِ الْع بِهَا I see the spring of the Religion of Allah rendered impure; And the wild animals walking in it and moving across it.

Page 133

117 َرْض ِ رَاغِمًا ْأ ْن َ کَالْمَرْضٰی عَلَی ال ِّی أَرٰی الد ُ َتَبَخْتَر ی الْھَوٰی ٍ فِي ُّ جَھُوْل کُل َ و I find the Faith lying on the ground like a sick person, And every ignorant person walking by it amusing himself with his pride and vanity.ْ ِّ نُفُوْسِھِم َّ لِحَظ ْ إِل ھَمُّھُم مَا َ و ُ َوَفَّر ی ٍّ َّ لِحَظ ْ إِل جُھْدُھُم مَا َ و All their resolve is confined to seeking selfish pleasures, And all their efforts are confined to seeking an abundance of carnal delight.ً غَفْلَة َّ و ِ خُبْثًا ّٰ ِ الل ْن ی ِ َ د نَهْج نَسُوْا ُ مَيْسِر َّ ٌ و فِسْق َّ ٌ و ْر ك ُ ْ س ْ سَرَّھُم قَد َ و They neglected the path of the Faith due to their wickedness and remissness, And preferred to engage themselves in mischief, misconduct, and gambling.ٍ ْعَة ی ِ أَرٰی فِسْقَھُم ْ قَد ْ صَار َ مِثْل َ طَب ُ مَا إِن ْ أَرٰی عَنْهُم ْ شَقَاھُم ْ یُقَشَّر َ و I see sinfulness becoming an essential part of their nature; It seems to me that it is impossible for them to distance them - selves from their wickedness.ِ ْلِه ی ُ بِسَ ْد ی ِ ُ الْمُب الْفِسْق طَغٰی فَلَمَّا ُ ُ الْمُتَبِّر َ الْوَبَاء ْ کَان ُ لَو تَمَنَّيْت Hence, when sinfulness became rife to the extent of a vicious storm, I wished for the plague to spread in the country and destroy it.

Page 134

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 118 َك َ النَّاس ِ عِنْد َ أُولِي النُّهٰی ال فَإِن َّ ھَ ُ ٍ یُّدَمِّر َل ال ْ ضَ مِن أَوْلـٰی َ ُّ و أَحَب To the wise, it is better for a person, To be no more instead of dying a death of ignorance.ُ َخَاف ُ حَسِيْبَه ی ْ مَن ْ ذَا الَّذِي ْ مِنْهُم َ و ُ ثِر ْ یُؤ َ َبْغِي السَّدَاد َ و ی ْ مَن ْ ذَا الَّذِي َ و And, who is there among them who fears his Reckoner? And, who among them is opting for the path of righteousness? َ عَامِدًا ّٰ َفْجُر ُ الل ی َ مَن ْ ذَا الَّذِي ْ ل َ و ُ ٌ مُّطَھَّر ْف ی ِعَف ٌّ ْ بَر الَّذِي ْ ذَا مَن َ و And, who among them does not intentionally commit trans - gression against God? And, who among them is pious and righteous and has a pure heart? ِ ْ لِتُقَاتِه سَبَّنِي ْ مَا الَّذِي ْ ذَا مَن َ و ُ أُکْفِر َ ْ و َ أُوْذِي ْف ی ْ کَ َ ذَرُوْنِي قَال َ و And, who among them is the one who, out of his so-called sense of piety, has not hurled abuse at me, And has not pleaded others to forsake me, so that he could cause distress to me and declare me a disbeliever? ْ ِ کُلَّھُم َ الْقَوْم َّ أَکَابِر إِن َ َ و ْف ی کَ َ و ُ ُ مُشَھَّر الْحُسَام َّ ٌ و حِرَاص َّ عَلَي How can they prevent themselves from hurling abuse at me, While they are intent on taking my life and while the sword is drawn? ٌ ْھِم ْ رُعْب ُ صِدْقِي ْ مُعَظَّم ی ِن ْ عَلَ ك ٰ لـ َ و ُ ْث َ مَن ْ ھُو َ جَوْذَر ی ْف َ یُبَارِي اللَّ ی َ ك فَ In fact, they are overwhelmed by my grandeur; How can a mere calf dare to compete with a lion?

Page 135

119 ْ َّ لِسَانُهُم ِ إِل الْقَوْم ْدِي ی َ بِأَ فَلَيْس ُ َنْظُر ی ُ ّٰ الل َ و ِّ ً بِالسَّب مُنَجَّسَة So, what my people have is a tongue alone— The tongue that is mired in the filth of vituperation.But, God is witnessing all this.ْنَنَا ی ُ أَن َّ الطَّعْن َ بِالطَّعْن ِ بَ ّٰ قَضَی الل ْ لِیُبْصِرُوْا ٌ أَتَاھُم َ طَاعُوْن فَذَالِك God has decided that a curse be responded with a curse; And the plague is that very curse.It has now arrived in their country, so that it may open their eyes.ْ َّ إِطَاعَتِي ِ إِل ُ الْوَقْت َج ال َ عِ لَيْس َ و ُ یُدْحَر َ و ُ یُفْنٰی ِ فَالطَّاعُوْن ْعُوْن ی ِ أَط The remedy for the troubles of this era is to show submission to me; Show obedience to me and the plague shall vanish.ْنِنَا ی قَد ْ ذَاب َ قَلْبِي ْ مِن ْ مَّصَائِب ِ دِ َ و ُ أُبْصِر َ َ و َعْلَمُوْن ی َ ل ُ مَا أَعْلَم َ و My heart is distressed due to the calamities afflicting the Faith; And, I know that which they do not know, and I have been made to see.ُ َ حَدَّه ْ تَجَاوَز ْ قَد حُزْنِي َ ْ و بَثِّي َ و ُ ٌ أُتَبَّر ِ فَضْل َ الرَّحْمٰن َ مِن لَوْل َ و My pain and affliction has exceeded limits; Were it not for the grace of Almighty God, I would have perished.َا ی ِ َ الْمَآق ْ طَلَعْن ٌ قَد ْ دُمُوْع عِنْدِي َ و ُ َفِّر ك ُ الْمُ َرَاه ی َّ ٌ ل ْ صُرَاخ عِنْدِي َ و My tears are flooding up to the corners of my eyes; He who calls me a disbeliever cannot perceive the condition of my distressed prayer.

Page 136

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 120 لِي ْ دَعَوَات ٌ صَاعِدَات ٌ إِلَی السَّمَاء َ و ُ ِ تَقْعَر َة ی َ ال َّ الص ٌ فِي ْ کَلِمَات لِي َ و Indeed, my prayers are making their way up to Heaven; And my words can pierce even a stone.ْ ِ خَالِقِي ّٰ َ الل مِّن ْرًا ی ُ تَأْثِ ْت ی أُعْطِ َ و ُ ٌ تُطَھَّر ْ قُلُوْب قَوْلِي ْ إِلـٰی تَأْوِي َ و I have been granted a holy influence from Allah, who is my Creator; Those who are pure of heart turn towards my word.ِ ٌ بِصِفَاتِه ْ جَاذِب َّ جَنَانِي وَإِن ُ ِ یُـؤَثِّر ْ الصُّخُوْر ْ فِي َانِي ی َب َّ إِن َ و My heart attracts people to itself on account of its blessed qualities; And, my words can affect even stones.حَفَرْت ُ جِبَال َ النَّفْس ِ مِن ْ قُوَّۃ ِ الْعُلٰی ُ ٍ تُفَجَّر َ نَهْر ْ مِثْل َ فُؤَادِي فَصَار I have freed myself from the stones of my self with the power granted from Heaven; My heart has, therefore, become like a river that is made to flow.ْد ٍ مِّن َ الْھُدٰی ی ِ ْت ُ مِن ْ خَلْق ٍ جَد ی أُعْطِ َ و ُ ِ أُصَوِّر ْ الْقُلُوْب ٍ فِي َان ی َب َّ ُل ك فَ And, I have been granted a new birth of guidance; Therefore, I impress upon the hearts each one of my discourses.

Page 137

121 ْ ِرُوْنَنِي ك ْ َ یُن ِ ل َحْرَار ْأ َ ال ٌ مِّن ْق ی ِ فَر َرُوْا ك أَنْ َ َشْرَار ِ آذَوْا و ْأ حِزْب ٌ مِّن َ ال َ و There is one group of fair-minded people that does not reject me; And, there is one group of mischief-makers that persecutes me and refuses to accept my claim.ُ ٍ أَرَدْتُّه ِّ أَمْر ْ کُل فِي ْ زَاحَمُوْا قَد َ و أَدْبَرُوْا َ و ْ فَفَرُّوْا ْ رَبِّي دَنِي َّ ی فَأَ They placed hurdles in all that I intended to do; Hence, God helped me and forced them to flee and distance themselves from me.ِ لَم ْ یُدْر َ سِرُّھَا ّٰ ْف َ عَصَوْا وَالل ی کَ َ و ُ کَان َ سَنَا بَرْقِي ْ مِن َ الشَّمْس ِ أَظْھَر َ و By God I am not aware of what caused them to disobey the Almighty; The light of my erudition, though, shone forth brighter than the sun.ْ لَزِمْت ُ اصْطِبَارًا عِنْد َ جَوْر ِ لِئَامِھِم ُ ِ تَأْبُر ُ کَالْعَقَارِب َقَارِب ْأ َ ال کَان َ و I endured their cruelties and remained patient with them; On the other hand, my own relatives sought to sting me like a scorpion.ْ سِرَّھُم َ ْ و َّ قَلْبِي ْ سِر ُ رَبِّي َعْلَم ی َ و ُ ُ مُتَحَضِّر عِنْدَه ٍّ ُّ خَفِي کُل َ و God my Lord knows the secret of my heart as well as theirs; All that which is hidden is manifest before Him.

Page 138

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 122 و َ لَيْس َ لِعَضْب ِ الْحَق ِّ فِي الدَّھْر ِ کَاسِرًا ُ ْسَر ك فَیُ ِ بَغْیًا ْسِيْر ك َ لِلتَّ ْ قَام مَن َ و No one can break the sword of Almighty God; He who seeks to break it will himself be broken.ُ ْ حَبِيْبُه إِنِّي َ ْ و ْنِي ی ِ یُعَاد ْ ذَا مَن َ و ُ َنْصُر ی ُ ّٰ ِ الل ْ إِذ ْنِي ی یُرَادِ ْ ذَا مَن َ و Who can harm me as my enemy while God treats me as a friend? And, who can fight with me by throwing stones at me while God is my Helper? ْ َ زَعْمُھُم ھُو کَمَا ُ کَذَّابًا ْ کُنْت لَو َ و ُ أُقْبَر َ لَقَد ْ کُنْت ُ مِن ْ دَھْر ٍ أَمُوْت ُ و If I were false in my claim as they allege; I would have been dead for long and entered into the grave.ُ عَامِدًا ْ تَقَوَّلْت ْ قَد نِّي َ َ أ َظُنُّوْن ی ُ َر ك ْ مُن َّ ٌ و ِّ إِثْم ُ الظَّن بَعْض َّ ٍ و ْر ك بِمَ They think I have fabricated lies and manufactured falsehood with deception; Mark! Some thoughts are rejected by the Shariah as well as by wisdom.ْ بَرَاءَتِي َ أَبْدٰی ّٰ َّ الل إِن َ َ و ْف ی کَ َ و ُ تَبْھَر َ ُ و ٍ تَلُوْح َات ی َ بِآ جَآء َ و Because God demonstrated my innocence, And showed such Signs as were bright and evident.ْث ُ ل َ تَرٰی ی َ ِ مِن ْ ح ّٰ ْك َ وَعْد ُ الل ی َأْتِ ی َ و ُ تُبْصِر َ ُّ و ٌ تُحَد ْن ی ُ عَ فَتَعْرِفُه The promise of Almighty God will reach you in a manner that you will not be expecting; Only a sharp and acute eye will recognize it on that day.

Page 139

123 ِ ُّم ك َ التَّھ َ ھٰذَا ً بَعْض ال ْ ِ مَھ ْفِر ك أَمُ ُ قَال َ ل َ تَقْف ُ فَاحْذَر ٍّ خَف ْ قَھْر َ رَب َ و O one who calls me a disbeliever! Calm down, And fear the power of the Almighty, who says: ‘And follow not that of which you have no knowledge.’ ٌ َ کَافِر ٌ قُلْت ْ مُسْلِم ُ إِنِّي ْ قُلْت إِذ َ و ُ الْمُتَھَوِّر أَیُّهَا َا ی َ التُّقٰی ْن ی فَأَ When I say I am a Muslim, you say I am a disbeliever; O audacious one! Where has your piety gone? إِن ْ کُنْت َ ل َ تَخْشٰی فَقُل ْ لَّسْت َ مُؤْمِنًا َ و ُ تُخْبَر َ َّ و ٌ تُسْئَلَن ْ زَمَان َأْتِي ی َّ و If you do not fear God, you must declare that you are not a believer; Indeed the time is coming when you will be held accountable and made aware.إِنِّي ْ تَرَکْت ُ النَّفْس َ وَالْخَلْق َ وَالْھَوٰی َ و ُ ل َ الْمَدْح ُ یُبْطِر َ ْنِي ْ و ی ِ َ السَّب ُّ یُؤْذ ال فَ I have abandoned the self, the creation, and avarice; Consequently, neither vituperation distresses me nor does praise make me proud.کَان َ مِن ْ أَکْبَر ِ الْعِدَا ٍّ کَم ْ مِّن ْ عَدُو َ و ُ ُ أَصْغُر صِرْت ْ صَاغِرًا أَتَانِي فَلَمَّا There are many who used to be my mortal enemies; When someone from among them approached me with humility, I reciprocated with even greater humility.ْ َ أَنَّنِي ْر ی ٍ غَ ْ کُھْرُوْرَة ُ بِذِي لَسْت َ و ُ ٍ أُصَعِّر ْ عِنَاد ذُو َ فُحْشًا زَاد إِذَا I am not a man with a grudge; When someone surpasses the limits in hurling abuse at me, I simply turn away from such a person.

Page 140

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 124 ٍ ل َ مِن ْ جَبَانَة َ ل َ غِل َّ فِي ْ قَلْبِي ْ و َ و ُ أُشَھِّر َّ و ْ مُغْضِیًا ْ حُسَامِي أُلْقِي َ و I neither nurse a grudge against anyone, nor am I a coward; Rather, I forgive and throw down my sword.But at times I surely draw it in retaliation.ْ فَإِن ْ تَبْغِنِي ْ فِي ْ حَلْقَة ِ السِّلْم ِ تُلْفِنِي ُ ْن ِ أَحْضُر ی َادِ ی َ إِن ْ تَطْلُبَنِّي ْ فِي الْم َ و If you want to reconcile with me, I surely am ready; But should you look for me in the battleground, you surely will find me there.ِ ِ خَلْقِه َح ال ْ لِإ ِصْ ْ رَبِّي أَرْسَلَنِي َ و ُ تَصَبَّر َّ َا صَاح ِ ل َ تَنْطِق ْ ھَوًی و ی فَ God has sent me for the reformation of His creation; Therefore, my dear, speak not of your selfish motives; rather, be patient and reflect upon my works.ْ ْدُنِي ی ْ یُبِ ِذْبِي ك َ ف ُ کَذَّابًا ْ أَك إِن َ و ُ َ تَهْجُر ْ فَمَالَك ْ رَّبِّي ُ مِن ْ أَك إِن َ و If I am false in my claim, my falsehood will destroy me; But, if I am from God, why do you become guilty of vitupera - tion against me? ِ ْمِه ك ُ ْف َ ح ی َ انْتَظِر ْ س َ رَبِّي ْ و َ فَذَرْنِي ْ و ُ َفِّر ك ُّی ْ مَن ْ قَفَا ْ أَو َ رَأْسِي َقْطَع ی لِـ Leave me alone to be with God my Lord and wait for the sword of His command to act; As it will cut apart my head or the head of the one who calls me a disbeliever.

Page 141

125 ُ ْ مَاصَنَعْتَه ْ وَاجْتَنِب َ قِتَالِـي تَحَام ُ َ مُدْبِر فَإِنَّك جُلْنَا إِذَا إِنَّـا َ و Refrain from being at war with me and shun your evil practices; When I enter the battleground, you are bound to flee.ْ َ لِطَاعَتِي َ یُوَفَّقُوْن ْن ی ِ الصَّالِح أَرَی ُ ِ یُقْبَر َلَة ال الضَّ ُّ فَفِي الْغَوِي أَمَّا َ و I see that the righteous are granted the ability to act in obedi - ence to me; But, he who is eternally condemned will enter into the grave in ignorance.ٍ ِ فِطْرَة ْ بَدْو ِ مِن ّٰ ُ الل َ خَتْم وَذٰلِك ُ ر یَّ َ تَتَغَ ِ ل ّٰ َ الل َّ نُقُوْش إِن َ و God has put a seal on this since the beginning of time; And, imprints set by God cannot be changed.کَذٰلِك َ نُوْر ُ الرُّشْد ِ مَا یُخْطِیء ُ الْفَتٰی ُ َ تُثْمِر َّ مَحَالَة ٍ ل ْل ی ِنَخ ُّ کُل َ و In the same way, guidance does not depart from the one whose nature is blessed with the light of guidance; And, every date palm eventually bears fruit.ُ َك ُ ذَا فَضْل ٍ فَیُدْرِك ْ مَقَامَه ی ْ مَن َ و ُ و َ لَو ْ فِي شَبَاب ٍ أَو ْ بِوَقْت ٍ یُّعَمَّر He who is accompanied by divine grace shall attain to the sta - tion destined for him— Whether he does so in his youth or at an old age.ً ُ جِبِلَّة ْد ی ِ ُ السَّع ُ الْعَبْد َهْلِك ی َ ل َ و ُ َنْظُر ی َ بِآخَر َوْمًا ی ْ عَمِي مَا إِذَا He who is good by nature will not perish; If he is blind today, he will be able to see tomorrow.

Page 142

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 126 ِ مِثْلُھَا لِلرُّشْد َّ ٌ و ِّ آثَار لِلْغَي َ و مَات ِ وَانْظُرُوْا َ ال فَقُوْمُوْا لِتَفْتِيْش ِ الْعَ There are signs of ignorance, and there are signs of guidance; Therefore, study the Signs carefully and then investigate properly.ُ ْم ِ وَسْمُه ی ِ َبْقٰی فِي الْخَرَاط ی َ أَرٰی الظُّلْم ُ ٌ مُّخَسَّر ْف ی ِ ٌ ضَع ُ مَظْلُوْم یُنْصَر َ و I see that man’s nose bears signs of man’s wrongdoings; But, the wronged one—i.e.he who is weak and suffers loss—is eventually helped.ْ ْظِھِم ی َ ْر ٍ بِغ ی َ قَد ْ أَعْرَضُوْا عَن ْ کُل ِّ خ َ و ُ ٍ تُسَعَّر َ نَار ْ مِّثْل ْ أَرَاھُم نِّي َ کَأ They turned away furiously from every act of piety I proposed to them, As if I was a raging fire staring at them.ِ ِ أَمْرِہ ٌ بِآخِر ُ مَظْلُوْم یُنْصَر َ و ُ ِ مُنْذِر ّٰ َ الل ٌ مِّن عَبْد مَا یَّ ِ َ س ل َ و And, he who is wronged is eventually granted help, In particular the one who is from God.ُ َئِك ال ِي الْمَ ك َی الْمَعْصُوْم ُ تَبْ ك إِذَا مَا بَ ُ تُجْذَر َ َّ و َن ك ٍ تُهْلَـ َد ال ْ بِ ْ مِّن َم ك فَ When an innocent one cries, the angels cry with him; Many a town is then destroyed and ruined.ٍ بِغُمَّة ٍّ تَقِي ْنَا ی ْ عَ ذَرَفَت إِذَا ُ ْ یُبَشَّر ُ أَو ٌ مَّسَّه ُ کَرْب یُفَرَّج When, as a result of the distress he is undergoing, tears flow from the eyes of a righteous servant of God, The distress is removed, or a glad tiding is given.

Page 143

127 ْ َرْض ِ قَوْم ٌ کَالسُّیُوْف ِ دُعَائُھُم ْأ عَلَی ال ُ ْف َ بِالشَّر ِّ یُبْتَر ی فَمَن ْ مَّس َّ ھٰذَا السَّ On the earth is a group of people whose prayers act like a sword; He who dares to confront that sword is cut apart.ٌ الْحَوَادِث ُ جُمَّة َ ْف َ نَرْقٰی و ی تَرٰی کَ ُ ُر ك َمْ ی َ َکِي ْ و ال َبْغِي ْ ھَ ی ْ یُهْلَك ُ مَن َ و You witness how I am progressing despite the hardships facing me on all sides; He who seeks to destroy me and hatches a plan against me is destroyed.ٌ َة ی ٍ حِمَا ْن ی ِ ْ مُّع ٍ مِّن َّ آن کُل لَنَا ُ نَظْفَر َ َ و ْن ی ِ مَاکِر ُ صَرْعٰی نُغَادِر I have the support of a Helper; I incapacitate those who hatch plans against me, and I prevail.ْ ُم ك َ مِثْلَ َوْم ی ْ َ ال َّ شَاتِم ل شَاتِمًا أَیَا ُ ُم ْ مَا یُبْطِر ك ِّ مَا إِن ْ أَرٰی فِي ْ کَف َ و O one who utters abuse! There is none as vituperative as you; I do not see you being possessed of qualities as may incite you to show such pride.ْ مَا أَدْرِي ْ عَلـٰی مَا تَسُبُّنِي َ تَسُب ُّ و ُ ٍ فَتُوْغَر ْ حُسَيْن ْ فِي َ قَوْلِي آذَاك َ أ You hurl abuse at me, and I am not aware why you do so; Is your anger due to what I have said about Imam Husain? Is that what infuriates you? ْ ْرَھُم ی َ خ َ ِ و جَال ِّ الر ُ أَتْقَی تَحْسَبُه َ أ ُ مُعْذِر َا ی ِ ْرِہ ی َ ْ خ ْ مِّن ُم ك نَالَـ فَمَا Do you consider him to be more pious than the entire world? O exaggerator, what have you gained from such exaggeration? In response to the attack by Ali Hairi Shia

Page 144

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 128 ٍ ِر ھ ْض ِ ل َ مِثْل َ طَا ی أَرَاکُم ْ کَذَات ِ الْحَ ُ ِ تَطْھَر ِ الْعَذَابَة ْ مَّاء مِن َ ُ و ْب ی تَطِ I consider you a woman who is menstruating and has not yet purified herself; And has not applied perfume after the purification.حَسِبْتُم ْ حُسَيْنًا أَکْرَم َ النَّاس ِ فِي الْوَرٰی ُ َفْطُر ی َ ُ و ْر ی ِ َ الْقَد فَطْر َ مَا َ أَفْضَل و You have believed Husain to be better than the entire creation, And all those whom God has created.ُ ْرُہ ی کَأَن َّ امْرَءًا فِي ْ النَّاس ِ مَا کَان َ غَ ُ َفْجُر ی ُ ْر ی ُ وَالْغَ ُ الرَّحْمٰن طَھَّرَه َ و As if he was the only person whom God purified, And others are all impure.ٍ َم ی ْ ھٰذَا ھُو َ الْقَوْل ُ الَّذِي ْ فِي ابْن ِ مَر َ و ُ الْمُتَنَصِّر أَیُّهَا ُ النَّصَارٰی َقُوْل ی This would be like the statement issued by the Christians regarding ‘ I s a [Jesus], O ye who are so similar to the Christians! ْ ُ تَشَابَهَت َ الْقُلُوْب ْف ی کَ عَجَبًا َا ی فَ ُ ْ تَتَفَطَّر ُم ك ْ قَوْلِ مِن َ السَّمَا َاد ك فَ I find it amazing how the hearts of these two groups have come to bear such striking resemblance; Indeed, the heavens may well-nigh rend asunder because of what they say.ُ تَنْحِت َ أَتُطْرِء ُ عَبْدًا مِّثْل َ عِيْسٰی و ُ تَهْذُر َ ِ و َاء ی َنْبِ ً کَالْأ ُ رُتْبَة لَه Would you, like you do in relation to ‘ I s a , lavish such exagger - ated praise on a servant? Would you declare him to be equal to the Prophets?

Page 145

129 ُ ْت َ مَقَامَه ی ْت َ شِعْرِي ْ ھَل ْ رَأَ ی َ أَل َ ل ُ ْر ٍ أَو ْ عَلَی الظَّن ِّ تَعْمُر ی ِ کَمِثْل ِ بَص If only you had been wise enough! Are you personally a wit - ness to his elevated station, Or is the whole basis [of your belief ] based on imagination? ً َة ی ْ فِر َّ و کِذْبًا َّ ً و ِ إِطْرَاء ْه ی أَتُعْلِ ُ ُ الْمُقَدِّر سَقَاه مَا ِ کَأْسًا ْه ی ِ أَتَسْق Do you want to raise this edifice merely on falsehood and imposture? Would you make him drink from the goblet that God has not offered to him? ْ ُم ك َاد ُ السَّمٰوَات ُ العُلٰی مِن ْ کََمِ ك َ ت ُ مُتَقَرِّر َ وَقْتُھَا َ لَوْل تَفَطَّرْن Indeed, the heavens may well-nigh rend asunder because of what you proclaim, Even though the appointed time of their rending asunder may not have come.ْ أَکَان َ حُسَيْن ٌ أَفْضَل َ الرُّسْل ِ کُلِّھِم ُ مُؤْثَر َ ِ و َاء ی ِ َنْب َ الْأ ْع ی َ شَفِ أَکَان Was Husain better than all the Prophets? Was he an intercessor for the Prophets and more pious than all of them? ْ الَّذِي ِ عَلَی ِ الْغَیُوْر ّٰ ُ الل َ لَعْنَة أَل ُ َتَبَصَّر ی َ ل َّ ٍ و ُ بِإِطْرَاء ْن ی ِ َم ی Be on your guard! For Almighty God invokes His curse on the person, Who tells lies by making exaggerated statements and utilizes not the insight granted to him.

Page 146

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 130 ْ َّ خَالِقِي أَن ْ فَاعْلَمُوْا مَقَامِي أَمَّا َ و ُ یُوَقِّر َ ٖ و ْ عَرْشِه ْ مِن یُحَمِّدُنِي As for the spiritual station I possess, God praises me from Heaven and bestows honour upon me.أَزْھَارُھَا ُ الْھُدٰی ٌ سُبْل جَنَّة لَنَا ُ َر ی َ تَتَح ْ شَأْنِهَا مِن ُ الصَّبَا ْم ی ِ نَس For me is a Paradise whose flowers serve as its paths of guidance; The elegance of its beauty astonishes even the serene spring breeze.ْنُنَا ی عَ َ َ و ْن ی ِ ُ السَّابِق َ مَاء َدَّر ك َ ت ُ َدَّر ك َ تَتَ ِ ل َّام ی َ ْأ ِ ال آخِر إِلٰی The water of the earlier people became soiled, Whereas the water I offer will not become soiled until the Last Days.ْ ُم ك َ َ رُوَات ْ تَذْکُرُوْن أَنْتُم َ و ْنَا ی رَأَ ُ ْن ٍ تُبَصَّر ی َ ھَل ْ مِن ْ نُّقُوْل ٍ عِنْد َ ع َ و I have witnessed what you have to offer.You speak of [the authenticity of ] your narrators; Do you think mere stories have any standing in comparison to the witnessing eye? ْ ُم ك ِ َ حُسَيْن ْن ی بَ َ ْ و بَيْنِي َ مَا شَتَّان َ و ُ أُنْصَر َّ ٍ و َّ آن ُ کُل د َّ ی َٔ ْ أُو ي ِّ فَإِن There is a marked difference between me and your Husain, For I am ever supported and helped by Almighty God.َ ال أَمَّا حُسَيْن ٌ فَاذْکُرُوْا دَشْت َ کَرْبَ َ و َ فَانْظُرُوْا ُوْن ك ِ تَبْ ام َّ ی َ ْأ ِ ال ھٰذِہ إِلٰی But, so far as Husain is concerned, recall what happened in the desert of Karbala; You still cry over it.You ought to reflect.

Page 147

131 ْ ِ فِي ْ حُجْر ِ خَالِقِي ّٰ إِنِّي ْ بِفَضْل ِ الل َ و ٍ تَنَمَّرُوْا َـام ِّی ْ ل ُ مِن وَأُعْصَم أُرَبّٰی By the grace of God, I am being brought up in His kind lap and protected against the attacks of the mean, Who are coated in the colour of a leopard.ْف ِ وَالْقَنَا ی َعْدَاء ُ بِالسَّ َأْتِنِي الْأ ی ْ وَإِن ُ أَظْفَر َ َّ و ْ أُحْفَظَن ِ إِنِّي ّٰ فَوَالل If my enemies should come up to me armed with swords and spears, I will, I swear by God, be safeguarded and granted victory.ٍ ْبَة ی ِمُّذ ٍ ْ بِنَار ْ خَصْمِي ْ یُّلْقِنِي إِن َ و ُ ُّ یُدَمَّر الْعَدُو َّ و ْمًا ی ْ سَلِ تَجِدْنِي And, if my enemy should throw me into a raging fire, You will find me safe and the enemy shall perish.َ الْعِدَا ْ مِن ٌ لِّقَتْلِي ْ قَوْم أَوْعَدَنِي َ و خُسِّرُوْا َ ِ و ْك ی ُ الْمَلِ ْ قَھْر فَأَدْرَکَھُم Some of my enemies vowed to kill me; Therefore, they were overtaken by the wrath of the Sovereign Lord and became losers.ٍ ٍّ مُّحَاسِب َ رَب ْ قَھْر َ تَبْغِي َذٰلِك ک ُ َ یُؤَثِّر َ الْکََم ْك ی فِ ْ أَرٰی إِن مَا َ و Similarly, you too seek the wrath of the Lord who holds every - one accountable, And I do not see my words having any impact on you.ٖ ِ لِخَلْقِه ْم ی ِ الرَّحِ ّٰ َ الل ُ مِن بُعِثْت ُ أُخْبِر َ َ و ْن ی ِ غَافِل َ قَوْمًا ُنْذِر لِأ I have been sent by the Merciful God for the sake of His creation, So that I may warn those who are afflicted with remissness and so that I may apprise them [of what is to come].

Page 148

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 132 ٖ لُطْفِه َ ِ و ْم ی ِ َر ك ْ ِ ال ْ فَضْل َ مِن ذٰلِك َ و ُ ُر ك َشْ ی َ َح َ و ال َّ َبْغِي الْص ی ْ عَلٰی کُل ِّ مَن My coming is an act of grace on the part of the Gracious God.And, His grace surrounds all those who seek reform and are grateful.ْمَھَا ی ِ َبْغُوْن َ الْجِنَان َ نَع ی َ أَرَی النَّاس ُ َ تُحْصَر ْ ل الَّتِي أَطَائِبْھَا أَحْلٰی َ و I find that people desire Paradise and its bounties and wish to partake of the pleasures therein, As are of an elevated level and limitless.ْ َسُرُّنِي ی ْمًا ی ِ نَع َ الْمَوْلـٰی ْ مِن أَبْغِي َ و ُ َسَّر ك ُّ ی ٍ ْب ی ِ ْ صَل َّ فِي َ إِل ھُو مَا َ و My desire, however, is a heartfelt wish on which depends all my pleasure.And, that wish is to somehow see the Cross broken.ْ جَنَّتِي َ ْ و خُلْدِي َ ْ و َ فِرْدَوْسِي وَذٰلِك ُ أَضْجَر ْ أَنَا ْ جَنَّتِي ي ِّ ِ رَب فَأَدْخِلْن In this lies my Heaven, my Paradise, and my Garden.Hence, O my Lord, enter me into my Paradise, for I am restless.ٍ َ مُحَمَّد َ مَال ُ الْمَال ْ وَرِثْت وَإِنِّي ُ ر یَّ ُ الْمُتَخَ َّ آلُه إِل أَنَا فَمَا I have been granted the inheritance of Muhammad; I am his honourable progeny who is the recipient of the inheritance.

Page 149

133 ِ ْ أَبْنَائه ُ مِن لَسْت َ ُ و َ وَرِثْت ْف ی وَکَ ُ ِّر ك َ ْ مُّتَف ُم ك ِ ْ حِزْب ْ فِي ھَل َ ْ و ِّر ك َ فَف And, why have I been granted the inheritance while I do not descend from him physically? You ought to reflect upon this.Is there no one among you to reflect? َ الْوَرٰی سَیِّد َّ رَسُوْلَنَا ُ أَن أَتَزْعَم ُ َ أَبْتَر ِ تُوُفِّي ْه ی ِ ِ شَان زَعْم عَلٰی Do you believe that our Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, Died issueless, as the ill-mouthed enemy believes? ِ َ لَِٔجْلِه َ السَّمَاء ْ خَلْق الَّذِي َ َ و ال فَ ُ ِ یُحْشَر َوْم ی ٌ إِلٰی وُلْـد ُ مِثْلُنَا لَه I hereby swear by Him who created the heavens that it is not true; rather, our beloved Prophet, Has a few more sons like me and will continue to have even more until the Last Day.ُ ٍ مَتَاعَه َ وُلْد مِثْل وَرِثْنَا إِنَّا َ و ُ َ یُحْضَر َ ذٰلِك ٍ بَعْد ُّ ثُبُوْت فَأَي I have partaken of his inheritance like one’s own children.What further evidence is there that you want me to present? ْ إِن َّ لِي َ ْر ُ و ی ِ لَه ُ خَسَف َ الْقَمْر ُ الْمُن ُ ِر ك ْ ِ أَتُن ِ الْمُشْرِقَان الْقَمَرَان غَسَا For him was shown the Sign of a lunar eclipse and for me, Of lunar and solar both.Will you persist in your denial?

Page 150

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 134 ُ ً لَّه َة ی ٌ آ ٌ مُعْجِز َ کََم کَان َ و ُ َبْھَر ی ِّ ُل ك ْ کَذٰلِك َ لِي ْ قَوْلِي ْ عَلَی ال Among his miracles was his miraculous speech as well; Likewise, I too have been granted the speech that prevails against everyone.َدَّعِي الْوَحْي َ عَامِدًا ی إِذَا الْقَوْم ُ قَالُوْا ُ ٍ یُنَوِّر ُّ بَدْر ْ ظِل ُ فَإِنِّي عَجِبْت When my people alleged that I am false in my claim to receiv - ing divine revelation, I was surprised because I am only a reflection of the Moon [i.e.the Holy Prophet].ُ َ أَصْلَه ْ یُّخَالِف أَن ٍّ لِظِل أَنّٰی َ و ُ َزْھَر ی َ ُ و َلُوْح ی ْ ْ وَجْھِي ِ فِي ْه ی فِ فَمَا How can the reflection be different from the object it origi - nates from? The light in him is shining forth through me.ُ ْعُه ی ِ ٍ أُط ٍ کَأَصْل ْ نَسَب ْ لَذُو إِنِّي َ و ُ ْنِي ْ مُعَطَّر ی ِ ْنِه ِ الْمَعْصُوْم ِ ط ی ِ مِن ْ ط َ و I have noble ancestry like Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, And the essence of his pure nature is also found in me.کَفَی الْعَبْد َ تَقْوَی الْقَلْب ِ عِنْد َ حَسِيْبِنَا ُ ٍ مُعَیِّر َح ال َ ْ ص ٍ ذُو َ لِنَسْب لَيْس َ و It is quite sufficient for a person to be pious of heart; And a righteous person cannot be treated with disrespect just because he does not belong to a noble lineage.

Page 151

135 ٍ َئِمَّة ِأ ِ ل ُّ السَّمَاء رَب ْ قَضٰی ِن ك ٰ لـ َ و ُ َ التَّنَفُّر ْج ی َهِ ی َ ْ ل ٌ کَي ْ نَسَب لَھُم The Lord of the heavens, however, desired for the Imams to be descended from a noble ancestry, So that people may not look at them with contempt in view of their inferior ancestry.ْ ُن ك َ ی ْ لَم َ ْم ٍ و ی ِ مَن ْ کَان َ ذَا نَسْب ٍ کَر َ و ُ ُّ الْمُحَقَّر َ الدَّنِي ٌ فَھْو ُ حَسَب لَه He, who descends from a noble ancestry, But is devoid of personal excellences, is only mean and worthless.ٌ فَإِنَّنَا َّ حَمْد ٌ ثُم ِِّٰ حَمْد لل َ و ُ ُر ك ْنَش َِِ ف ا ًّ حَق جَمَعْنَاھُمَا God be praised and praised again that I comprehend in my person, A noble lineage both from my side and from the side of my in-laws.I therefore thank God for this.ِ َائِه ی ْ أَنْبِ ِ فِي ّٰ ُ الل َ سُنْن کَذٰلِك أَبْصِرُوْا َ ْم ِ الدَّھْر ِ فَاخْشَوْا و ی ِ جَرَت ْ مِن ْ قَد This, from the very beginning, is the practice of Almighty God in relation to His Prophets; You ought to fear Him and reflect.ٍ َ أَئِمَّة َ مِثْل جَاء ْ مَا الَّذِي أَمَّا َ و فَلَيْس َ لِذٰلِك ْ شَرْط ُ نَسْب ٍ فَأَبْشِرُوْا However, he who is not from among the Imams, Is not in need of a noble ancestry.Hence, rejoice.

Page 152

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 136 ٍ ْمَة ی دِ َّ مَا جِئْت ُ إِل َّ مِثْل َ مَطْر ٍ و َ و ُ أَعْمُر َ َ و َد ال ِ ُ الْب ْت ی َ أَرْو َّ ٍ و دَرُوْر I have come like rain which at times pours heavily and at times lightly, making its water flow constantly; I have caused cities to flourish and be habitable.ْ ْ بِصِدْقِھِم َعُوْنِي ی ٍ بَا ْ أُنَاس ْ مِّن کَم َ و مَا ھُم ْ تَذَمَّرُوْا َ مَا خَالَفُوْا قَوْلِي ْ و َ و There are many who pledged bai‘at to me with sincerity; They did not oppose my word, nor did they turn wicked.ْ ْ رِقَابَھُم یُّنَجِّي ُ قُرْبَانًا فَقَرَّبْت ُ أَنْحَر َ ُ و نَحَرْت ْ مَا ُ رَبِّي َعْلَم ی َ و In short, I made such a sacrifice as caused their necks to become free; And, God my Lord knows the sacrifice I made and continue to make.ْ ِ خَالِقِي ّٰ لِي ْ عِزَّة ٌ فِي ْ حَضْرَۃ ِ الل َ و آثَرُوْا َ ْ و ٍ طَاوَعُوْنِي لِقَوْم فَطُوْبٰی In the court of Almighty God, who is my Creator, I have been granted a place of honour; Delighted, therefore, should be those who showed submission to me and chose me.ْ بَعْدَھُم َ َ و ْن ی ِ ُ بِالْمُتَقَدِّم الْعِلْم أَتَی ُ ِ مُؤَخَّر َ الْفَائِتَات ْع ی ِ جَم َفٰی ال َ ت Knowledge was introduced through the ancients, and what - ever was left, To be imparted was introduced later by those who came after them.

Page 153

137 ٍ ِ تِجَارَة َ مَال َّ مِثْل إِل أَنَا مَا َ و خُسِّرُوْا َ و ْدُوْا ی ِ أُب ْ کِبْرًا ْ رَدَّنِي فَمَن I am not but like the riches of trade; Those who rejected me earned loss and ruin.ْ َّ لِبُخْلِھِم ُ إِل َشْرَار ْأ َ ال ھَلَك مَا َ و تَنَمَّرُوْا َ و أَقْوَالَنَا فَھِمُوْا مَا َ و The mischief-makers were destroyed for their own parsimony; They did not seek to understand my words and demonstrated their animal fury.ً ً مَوْحُوْشَة ْ أَجْمَة ٌ تُضَاھِي قُلُوْب ُ تَتَنَفَّر ٍ وَحْشُھَا ِ إِنْس ْل ك ْ شَ فَمِن There are hearts that resemble the forests populated by wild beasts; And, wild beasts in those forests are averse to human faces.ْ زَمَانِنَا ْ فِي ٍ شَرُّھُم ُ أُنَاس ْر ی ِ کَب ُ َر ك أَمْ َ ٍ و ُ قَوْم ْطَان ی ْ شَ أَعْقَلُھُم َ و In this age of ours, great is he who is a great mischief-maker, And wise is he who is the biggest evil and the biggest deceiver among his people.مَن ْ کَان َ خَائِفًا َ َتَّقِي ْ مِنْهُم ْ و ی ْ فَمَن ُ أَنْظُر َّ ٍ و َّ آن ْ کُل ُ طَرْفِي أُقَلِّب Who among them is fearful of God and who is afraid of Him? I turn my eyes in all directions to find one.ٍ َح ٍ کَنَادِر ال ْھِم ْ ذُو ْ صَ ی مَن ْ کَان َ فِ َ و ُ َ یُوَقَّر ْ ل بَيْنَھُم ْبًا ی ِ َ غَر َان ك فَ And, he who will be possessed of some insight among them, Will be the poor fellow enjoying hardly any respect.

Page 154

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 138 جَاء َ کَرَھْط ٍ حَوْلَھُم ْ عَامَة ُ الْوَرٰی َ و َرُوْا ك شَطَائِب ُ شَتّٰی مِثْل َ عُمْي ٍ فَأَنْ And, the ordinary people came up to them like a crowd, A bunch of people who disagreed with each other and behaved like a blind person.Hence, they denied me.ٍ أَنَاخُوْا بِوَاد ٍ مَا رَأٰی وَجْه َ خُضْرَة ُ ھَل ْ عِنْد َ أَرْض ٍ جَدْبَة ٍ مَّا یُخَضِّر َ و They camped in a jungle with no sign of vegetation; Can a barren piece of land generate any vegetation? ْ ِ بَعْدَھُم َثَة ال َ الثَّ تِلْك ْ عَلٰی ِي ك فَأَبْ ُ ْ أَتَحَسَّر َقْفُوْنَهُم ی ٍ زُمْرَة عَلٰی I, therefore, cry over [the luck of ] these three: Sanaullah, Mehr Ali, and Ali Hairi.And, I feel pity for those who follow these three.ْ َ رَبِّهِم ْ مَّخَافَة ْھِم ی فِ ْ أَرٰی إِن مَا َ و ْ تَمَوَّرُوْا َھِي ال ٍ بِالْمَ ُ لِئَام شُعُوْب And, I do not see them having even a little fear of their Lord; They are a group of ill-fated people taking pride in their waste - ful activities.ْ مَا قُمْت ُ فِي ْ ھٰذَا الْمَقَام ِ بِمُنْيَتِي َ و ُ َشْعُر ی َ ْ و َّ قَلْبِي ْ سِر ُ رَبِّي َعْلَم ی َ و And, I have not taken up this task of my own volition; God, who knows the secrets of my heart, is well-aware of this.بَا ِّ کُنْت ُ امْرَءًا أَبْغِي ْ الْخُمُوْل َ مِن َ الص َ و ُ َ أُصَعِّر ْن ی ِ ْ زَائِر ْ مِن َأْتِنِي ی مَتٰی I was a person who, from the early days of his life, preferred seclusion; When someone wanted to see me, I sought solitude.

Page 155

139 ْ ِي ك ِ ْم ُ مَال ك ُ فَأَخْرَجَنِي ْ مِن ْ حُجْرَتِي ْ ح ُ ْ أَتَعَذَّر لَم َ ْ و ْ أُعْرِض لَم َ ُ و فَقُمْت It was the command of my Master that brought me out of my chamber; I, therefore, rose up in submission to Him making no delay.ُ إِنَّه َ ِ و ْم ی ِ َر ك ْ ال َ الْمَوْلَی ْ مِن إِنِّي َ و ُ َخْفِر ی َ ٍ و ِّ دَشْت ْ کُل ْ فِي یُحَافِظُنِي I am from God, the Benevolent; He protects me in every jungle and guides me.َا أَیُّهَا الْعِدَا ی ِ ْد ی َ ك ْ ْع َ ال ی ِ ْدُوْا جَم ی ِ ك َ ف ُ مُقَدَّر ھٰذَا َ ْ و ْ رَبِّي َعْصِمُنِي ی فَ O enemies! Hatch against me all kinds of plans; God my Lord will protect me.And, this is what has been decreed.دَفْوُھَا َ مَضٰی وَقْت ُ ضَرْب ِ الْمُرْھِفَات ِ و ُ ِ نَنْحَر ّٰ َ الل ٍ مِّن بِبُرْھَان إِنَّا َ و Gone are the times when swords were drawn for fight.I slay my enemies with arguments from Almighty God.ٌ شَوْکَة َّ ٌ و ْم ك ُ ح َّ ٌ و ِِّٰ سُلْطَان لل َ و ُ ِ نَحْضُر ٌ بِالْإ ِشَارَۃ ُ کُمَاۃ نَحْن َ و To Allah belong sovereignty, command, and grandeur; I am only a knight who answers His call when commanded.ْنَا حَائِرًا أَجْھَل َ الْوَرٰی ی إِذَا مَا رَأَ ُ ي ُ أَظْھَر ْآ ال َ ْنَا کِتَاب َ الْبَحْث ِ و ی َ طَو When I saw Ali Hairi, who is the worst among the lot of igno - rant people, I told him: ‘The Signs I put forth are evident.Why then is there need for any debate?’ Reference is to Ali Hairi Shia

Page 156

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 140 مَا کُنْت ُ بِالصَّمْت ِ الْمُخَجِّل ِ رَاضِیًا َ و ُ َتَبَصَّر ی ْ َ لَم ُ الْقَوْم ْت ی َٔرَّا ْ ِن ك ٰ وَلـ I could not be content with an embarrassing silence; But, I have seen that people are not willing to reflect on this.ٍ ُ کَخَافِت َ أَقُوْل ل ُ جَھْرًا أُخَاطِب ُ أُخْبَر َ و ِ أُوْحٰی َ الرَّحْمٰن ْ مِن فَإِنِّي I address people openly, I do not call them secretly, For I am granted revelation from the Gracious God and given the glad tiding.اللَّظٰی َ َ و َاك ی ِ إِ ْن ی َ َ الْحَسْن عَابِد َا ی أَ ُ تَشْعُر َ َ و ْر ی ِ ُ السَّع َ تَخْتَار مَالَك َ و O one who worships Husain and Hasan! Protect yourself from the fire of Hell; What has gone wrong with you that you opt for Hell while you know about it? وَّإِنَّنَا ٍّ أَنْت َ امْرَء ٌ مِّن ْ أَھْل ِ سَب َ و ُ ِ نُؤْمَر ِ الْحَقَائِق ٌ لِإ ِظْھَار رِجَال You are a person who hurls abuse, While I am from among those who are commanded to make manifest the verities.ْ ُم ك ِ ْن ی إِن َّ السَّب َّ مِن ْ سُنْن ِ دِ َ سَبَبْت َ و ُ ر یَّ َتُغ َّ ٌ ل ٍ سُنَّة ِّ أُنَاس ُل ك لِ You hurl abuse, and to vituperate is in your nature; All people have their own nature, which does not change.تَرٰی سُقْم َ نَفْسِي ْ مَا تَرٰی آي َ رَبِّنَا ُ ِ أَعْوَر ْن ی َ ُ الْع قِد ٌ فَا َ غُوْل نَّك َ کَأ You see the flaws in me, but you do not see the Signs of our Lord, As if you are a one-eyed monster with no insight.

Page 157

141 ْ ُم ك ِ مَا أَفْلَح َ الْعُمْرَان ِ مِن ْ ضَرْب ِ لَعْن َ و ُ أَجْدَر َ فَمِثْلِي ْ لِھٰذَا اللَّعْن ِ أَحْرٰی و You did not spare even Ab u Bakr and Umar from your curses; So, a person like me is more deserving of such curses.ْ َتِي ی وَصِ ھٰذَا ِ َ اللَّعْن َ دَأْب ْدَك ی َ رُو ُ تُذَکَّر َا ی ْ مَّنَا مِن َا ی ُ الْوَصَا بَعْض َ و Discard the habit of cursing others, this is my advice for you; And, there are pieces of advice that one comes to remember at the time of one’s death.ُ خِفَاءُنَا ْن ی ِ َسْتَب ی ٌ ْ زَمَان َأْتِي ی َ و ُ َ تَتَبَصَّر ل َ و َ تَخْشٰی َ ل فَمَالَك The time is nigh when I will no longer be hidden and become manifest; What has become of you that you neither fear nor recog - nize the truth? ْ فَإِنَّهَا َ عِنْدِي َخْبَار ْأ ال َ تَذْکُرُوا ل َ و ُ َسَّر ك ِ تُ َبُوْت ك ْ ِ الْعَن ِ بَيْت کَجَلْدَۃ Do not quote before me mere traditions, For they are easily nullified like the abode of a spider.ٌ مَوْقِف َّ ٌ و ٍ مُّقَام َخْبَار ِأ ل أَنّٰي َ و ُ ٍ مُعَزَّر ْم ی ِ ٍ عَظ ِ فُرْقَان شَأْن لَدٰى How can the traditions survive before the Book, Which comprises the Holy Word of Allah, i.e.the Holy Quran? ُ َ تَقْف ُ أَمْرًا لَسْت َ تَعْرِف ُ سِرَّه ال فَ ُ مُتَھَوِّر َا ی ِ َ الْمَوْت ُ بَعْد فَتُسْأَل So do not follow that—the secret of which—is unknown to you; O audacious one! You will surely be held answerable after your death.

Page 158

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 142 ِ الْعِدَا مَجْمَع ٍ إِلٰی ُ بِتَوَّاق لَسْت َ و ُ َسْتَحْضِر ُ الْقَوْم ُ أَحْضُر ی ِن ْ مَتٰی ك لٰـ َ و I am not keen to face the pack of my enemies; But, when my opponents call me, I surely call upon them.ِ ُ لُطْفِه ْ عَجَائِب ْ أَمْرِي فِي ِِّٰ لل َ و ُ أَنْظُر َّ ٍ و ِّ وَقْت ْ کُل فِي أُشَاھِدُھَا God is pleased to display the most wonderful manifesta - tions of His grace for the sake of my mission; And, I observe them in all my works.ْ ُم ك َ أَضَلَّ ْف ی ِ کَ ّٰ ِ الل ُ لِخَتْم عَجِبْت ُ ِّر ك َ یُّف ْدًا ی ِ ْ رَش ُم ك ْ ی فِ ْ أَرٰی إِن فَمَا The seal of the Almighty left me wonderstruck as to the man - ner in which He allowed you to go astray; Hence, I do not see among you any righteous person who is willing to reflect.ُ ْ تُؤْثِرُوْنَه ٍ عِنْدَکُم ْل ی ْ دَلِ ْ مِن ھَل َ و ُ ِّر ك َ نُف فَإِنَّا َ فَأْتُوْنَا ْ کَان فَإِن Do you have an argument in your favour, such as you have decided to adhere to? If you have any, present it and I will reflect upon it.ْمِن ُ کَاذِبًا تَارِك َ الْھُدٰی ی َ َجْزِي الْمُھ ی َ س ُ َ نَتَسَتَّر ِ ل ّٰ َ الل أَمَام کَِنَا God will punish the liar who abandons guidance; The parties of both of us are now before God from whom we cannot hide.

Page 159

143 ْ ُم ك ِ ك ْ ی أَتَعْصُوْن َ بَغْیًا مَّن ْ أَتٰی مِن ْ مَّلِ ُ ُ تَبْھَر ي ْآ ُ وَال َخْبَار ْأ ِ ال ْ تَمَّت قَد َ و Do you, out of sheer transgression, disobey the one who has come to you from your Master? Surely, the glad tidings were fulfilled and the Signs became manifest.ْ ُم ك َّ إِمَامُ َن ی َأْتِـ ی ْ ُم ك ْ َ مِن ْل ی ْ قِ قَد َ و ُ َرَّر ك ُّم ٌٔ ِ نَبْا الْقُرْآن َ فِي ذٰلِك َ و You have heard that your Imam will be raised from among you; The Holy Quran has repeatedly foretold this.ُ ٍ یُّزَوِّر ْ کَذُوْب ٌ مِّن ْ کِتَاب أَتَانِي ُ َأْبُر ی ِ ٌ کَالْعَقَارِب ٌ خَبِيْث کِتَاب I have received a book from a liar; Sheer evil is that book—stinging like a scorpion.َ َا أَرْض َ جَوْلَر ی ُ َت ال ْ ی َ فَقُلْت ُ لَك ِ الْو ُ ِ تُدَمَّر ٍ فَأَنْت ِ بِمَلْعُوْن لُعِنْت I, therefore, said: ‘O the land of Golra! May Allah’s curse be on you; ‘For you have become accursed due to an accursed person in you! As a result, you will surely face ruin on the Day of Judgment.’ ِ شَاتِمًا ُ کَالزَّمْع ْس ِّك الن َ ھٰذَا َلَّم ك َ ت ُ ِ یُسْبَر َ التَّخَاصُم ٍ عِنْد ء ِ ُّ امْر کُل َ و This ignoble person has talked, like the mean do, in a vituper - ative manner; Surely, one is tried at the time of a dispute.Reference is to Pir Mehr Ali Shah

Page 160

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 144 ْ ِ أَنَّنِي َلَة ال َ الضَّ ْخ ی شَ َا ی ُ أَتَزْعَم ُ ْ مُطَھَّر ْلِي ی َذ َّ ْ أَن ُ فَاعْلَم تَقَوَّلْت Do you, O chief of darkness, believe that I have fabricated my claim? Know that my life is free of falsehood.ا جَآء َ مِن ْ خَالِق ِ السَّمَا ًّ ِر ُ حَق ك ْ أَتُن ُ ِر ك ْ ُبْدِي ْ لَك َ الرَّحْمٰن ُ مَا أَنْت َ تُن ي َ س Would you deny the truth that has come from Creator of the heavens? The Gracious God will soon make manifest to you that which you deny.ْنَا أَن َّ قَلْبَك َ قَد ْ غَسَا ی إِذَا مَا رَأَ ُ َضْجَر ی ُ ْن ِ وَالْقَلْب ی فَفَاضَت ْ دُمُوع ُ الْعَ When I saw that your heart had become dark, Tears flowed from my eyes and my heart became restless.ْ ُم ك ِ ْن ی ْق َ الشِّرْك ِ مَرْکَز َ دِ ی ِ أَخَذْتُم ْ طَر ُ َبِّر ك مُتَ َا ی ُ َم ال ْ َ الْإ ِس ھُو أَھٰذَا You have made associating partners with God the focal point of your faith; Is this what we call Islam, O arrogant one?! ِ فِی الْوَرٰی ّٰ مَا أَنَا إِل َّ نَائِب ُ الل َ و جَانِبُوا الْبَغْي َ وَاحْذَرُوْا َ فَفِرُّوْا إِلَي َّ و I am God’s vicegerent for all creation; Therefore, run towards me and shun disobedience and fear Him.َ السَّمَا ْ مِن َأْتِي ی ِ ّٰ َ الل َّ قَضَاء إِن َ و ُ یُحْجَر َ مَا کَان َ أَن ْ یُّطْوٰی وَیُلْغٰی و َ و The decree of Allah shall descend from the heavens, And it is not possible for it to be delayed, aborted, or withheld.

Page 161

145 ً ُ شَقْوَۃ الْغُوْل ٍ أَیُّـهَا ِذْب ك ِ َ ب نَطَقْت ُ ْف َ تَجْسُر ی ْد َ الرَّدٰی کَ ی َ َا ص ی َ خَف ِ هللا O evil-minded man! You have lied on account of your wickedness; O one who is awaited by death! Fear Allah.Why are you so audacious? ِ وَالْجَفَا ْب ی ِ َکَاذ ْأ ْ بِال ُ عِرْضِي أَتَقْصِد ُ َ تَـتَسَتَّر ِ ل َان ی َ الدَّ َ مِن أَنْت َ و Do you seek to undermine my honour by misstating facts about me? Verily, you are not hidden from the Chastiser.ً َت ِ زُجَاجَة ال َّ عَلَی الص َّ وَإِن ْ تَضْرِبَن ُ ْسَر ك َ الصَّخْر ُ بَل ْ إِن َّ الزُّجَاجَة َ تُ ال فَ If you hit the glass with a rock, It will not be the rock, but rather the glass that will shatter.ْ ُم ك تَعَالـٰی مَقَامِي ْ فَاخْتَفٰی مِن ْ عُیُوْنِ ُ َ یُسْتَر َ مَحَالَة ٍ ل ْع ی ِرَف ُّ کُل َ و High was my station, so I became hidden from your eyes; All who are distant and highly-stationed do become hidden.ُم ْ إِنَّا نَرٰی بَعْض َ آیِنَا ك ِ فِي ْ حِزْب َ و ْ فَتَأَخَّرُوْا ُم ك حِزْبَ دَعَوْنَا فَإِنَّا It was due to some people in your group that I witnessed some of the Signs; The reason was that I invited those people in your group [to a contest], and they turned away.

Page 162

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 146 ٍ ْمِي ْ ھَل ْ تَرٰی مِن ْ مَّطَاعِن ی ِ تَبَصَّر ْ خَص ُ ٍ تُطَھِّر َ قَوْم ْر ی غَ َّ خُصُوْصًا عَلَي O my enemy! You must reflect whether there are objections that can be raised, Only against me, and were not raised against other Prophets whom you consider to be pure.ِ ِ فَضْلِه َات ی ْ بِآ ْ رَبِّي أَرْسَلَنِي َ و دَعْثَرُوْا َ ُ و َّ اللِّئَام ھَد َ مَا َعْمُر لِأ God has sent me accompanied by His Signs, So that I may reconstruct the building which the mean have destroyed and left in ruins.ٌ َة ی ٌ خَفِ سُبْل َّ ٌ و ِ أَسْرَار ْن ی ِّ ْ الد فِي َ و ُ ر ِّ ٍ یُخَی ْ لِعَبْد رَبِّي یُظْھِرُھَا َ و There are secrets of Faith and paths that are hidden; God my Lord makes them manifest to the one He chooses.ْف َ شَبْحُھَا ی َ وَکَم ْ مِّن ْ حَقَائِـق َ ل َ یُرٰی ک ُ َتَسَتَّر ی ٍ نُوْرُھَا ْد ی ِ ٍ بَع کَنَجْم There are many verities as are apparently invisible, like the star that is situated too far; Due to the distance, therefore, the light of such verities becomes hidden.ٌ ِ مُعَلِّم ْم ی ِ الْعَلِ ّٰ َ الل ْ مِن َأْتِي ی فَ ُ یُفَسِّر َ و أَسْرَارِھَا ْ إِلٰی َهْدِي ی َ و From God, then, comes a guide, Who demonstrates the secrets of those verities and expounds upon them.

Page 163

147 ُ ِر ك ْ َ تُن َ أَنَّك ْت ی َ ْ آل َ قَد ْ کُنْت وَإِن ُ َظْھَر ی ُّ ِدِنِي ْ لِمَا زَوَّرْت َ فَالْحَق ك فَ If you have vowed to continue to deny them, You are free to deceive people by your falsehood in any way you choose.The truth shall eventually become manifest.ٌ َد ی َٔ ٌ مُو ْ صَدُوْق نِّي َ أ َ تَرٰی سَوْف َ و ُ ِ مَا أَنْت َ تَسْطُر ّٰ لَسْت ُ بِفَضْل ِ الل َ و Soon will you witness that I am true in my claim and that I have been helped; I am, by the grace of Allah, not as you portray me in your writings.ْ َنْجَلِي ی وَیُبْدِي ْ لَك َ الرَّحْمٰن ُ أَمْرِي ْ فَ ُ ر ِّ ِ نَی ّٰ َ الل ْ مِن ٌ أَو م َ ال َ ْ ظ أَإِنِّي God shall demonstrate to you my reality; It will then become evident whether I am darkness or light.الْوَفَا ِ أَبَا َ الزَّمَان غَدَّار َ َ و ْك ی ِ أُر ُ یُسْتَر َ و ُ یُخْفٰی ِ فَالضَّوْضَاۃ ّٰ َ الل َد ی I will demonstrate to you and the traitor of this age, Sanaullah, the Hand of God; All your commotion and tumult will then be put to rest.َ وَافْتَرٰی ْ تَصَلَّف ْ مَن ُ رَبِّي َعْلَم ی َ و ُ ٌّ مُّطَھَّر ِ بَر ّٰ َ الل َ عِنْد ْ ھُو مَن َ و God my Lord knows who is mischievous and an imposter, And whom He considers pious and holy.

Page 164

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 148 ُ َ ظُھُوْرُه ْد ی ِ ْ أُر قَد ُٔ نُوْرًا أَتُطْفِی ُ َبْھَر ی ُ ْن ِ وَالنُّوْر ی َ لَك َ الْبُھْر ُ فِي الدَّار Do you seek to put out the light about which it has been decreed that it will be made manifest? Indeed, you are faced with ill-luck in both the worlds.The light shall surely become manifest.ل َ إِن َّ وَقْت َ الدَّجْل ِ وَالزُّوْر ِ قَد ْ مَضٰی َ أ ِذْب َ فَاصْبِرُوْا ك جَاء َ زَمَان ٌ یُحْرِق ُ الْ َ و Beware! The time for falsehood and deception has gone; Now has dawned the age that shall leave the liar burnt to death.You ought to, therefore, stay patient.ٍ وَإِن ْ کُنْت َ قَد ْ جَاوَزْت َ حَد َّ تَوَرُّع ُ الْمُتَھَوِّر ْ أَیُّهَا کَذِّب َ ْ و َفِّر ك فَ If you have already crossed the limits of pious behaviour, You may call me a disbeliever and deny my truth, O auda - cious one! ْ َا أَیُّهَا الْمُؤْذِي ْ خَف ِ الْقَادِر َ الَّذِي ی أَ ُ َقْھَر ی َ َ و ْن ی َ الْمُعْتَدِ ُّ رُؤُوْس َشُج ی O one who seeks to persecute me, fear the All-Powerful God, Who destroys those who cross limits, and punishes them.ُ الْوَرٰی ُ یُهْلِك قَھْرُه تَلَظّٰی مَا إِذَا ُ مُزَوِّر َا ی ُ ٍ بَعْدَه َ بِوَاق فَلَيْس When His anger flares up, He annihilates the people; After that, O base one, no one can protect anyone.ٍ ْنَة ی لِـ َ ٍ و َ رِفْق ْ نَهْج َ تُرَاعِي لَسْت َ و ُ تَأْبُر َ ْ و ِ تُؤْذِي ّٰ ِ الل ِ ثَنَاء کَدَأْب You are not willing to treat me courteously, And seek to sting and harm me like Maulaw i Sanaullah.

Page 165

149 ْ ل َ إِن َّ حُسْن َ النَّاس ِ فِي ْ حُسْن ِ خُلْقِھِم َ أ ُ یُحَقَّر َ خُبْثًا ْر ی ِ ِ التَّحْق َقْصِد ی ْ مَن َ و Remember that people are treated with respect for their good morals; He who mischievously seeks only to ridicule someone is himself ridiculed.الْوَفَا ْ أَبَا أَو عَایِثًا َ ذِئْبًا ْت ی َ أَآخ ُ َ امْرَتْسَر ْت ی َٔ ْ رَا أَو ا ًّ َ مُد ْت ی أَوَافَ Have you befriended a wolf or Maulaw i Sanaullah? Have you stepped on the land of Mudh or Amritsar? ٍ ل َ إِن َّ أَھْل َ السَّب ِّ یُدْرٰی بِلَطْمَة َ أ ُ َسَّر ك یُ ٍ بِالْھَرَاوٰی ُ لَطْم مُجْرِم َ و Be warned that he who abuses is reprimanded with a slap on the face, And, he who is guilty of slapping someone without reason is punished with a whip.َّ وَالْقَلٰی َ وَالسَّب ْن ی ِ َ وَالتَّوْھ اك َّ ی ِ فَإ ُ ْت َ الْحَجْر َ بِالْحَجْر ِ تُنْذَر ی إِذَا مَا رَمَ Therefore, you must refrain yourself from defamation, abuse, and enmity; If you hurl a stone, you will be reproached in kind.ْ ُم ك َّ دَأْبُ َ وَالسَّب َّ اللَّعْن ُ أَن وَأَعْلَم ُ ْفَر ك ُ سَی َوْمًا ی َ ْر ی ْفِ ك َ التَّ ْ أَکْثَر مَن َ و I know that hurling abuse and vituperation has become your habit; He who constantly calls others disbelievers is bound to be declared a disbeliever himself one day.

Page 166

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 150 ِنَا ك ْ ی َ مَلِ ْ أَمَام اکُم َّ ی ِ وَإ إِنَّا َ و ُ َنْظُر ی َ ھُو کَمَا َانَا ی ْ قَضَا َقْضِي ی فَ Our Master is watching me and you both; He will decide our case in view of what He is witnessing.ُ َ تَزْعَم أَنْت کَمَا ُ کَذَّابًا ْ کُنْت فَإِن ُ ِ أُحَقَّر َنَام الْأ ْ فِي وَإِنِّي فَتُعْلـٰی If I am false in my claim as you believe I am, Then your status will be raised and I will be maligned by the people.ْ ِھِم ك ْ ی وَإِن ْ کُنْت ُ مِن ْ قَوْم ٍ أَتَوْا مِن ْ مَّلِ ُ تُبْتَر َ َ و ْن ی َ الْمُفْسِدِ جَزَاء فَتُجْزٰی But if I am from among those who come from their Sovereign Lord; Then you will suffer the punishment that is due for the mischief-makers.ُ َّ شَأْنُه ْ جَل ِ الَّذِي ّٰ ُ بِالل وَأَقْسَمْت ُ َبَّر ك ْ یُ شَأْنِي َ ْ و ْ رَبِّي ْرِمُنِي ك سَیُ I swear by Allah, the Lord of glory, That soon God my Lord will vouchsafe honour to me, ele - vate my station, and enhance my glory.ْ َعِش ی ْ مَن َ ْن َ و ی ِ شَعَرْنَا مَآل َ الْمُفْسِد ُ َشْعُر ی َ ِ ذٰلِك ْ بَعْد ٍ مِن بُرْھَة إِلـٰی I have finally come to know of the destined end of the mischief-makers.And, he who lives for a while will also find them out.ْ شَرُّھُم َ سَبْع ٌ و َ َرْض ِ أَحْنَاش ٌ و ْأ فِي ال َ و کَفَّرُوْا َ و سَبُّوْا َ ْ و ٌ أَھَانُوْنِي رِجَال There are snakes in the world and also beasts, But the worst of them all are those who seek to defame me, hurl abuse at me, and call me a disbeliever.

Page 167

151 َاثَرُوْا ك َْر ِ ف ی َثِ ك ْ ِذْب ِ ال ك ْ مَنَعْنَا مِن َ ال ُ َرِّر ك ُّی ٌ ِ کِذْب ِ الْمَرْء ُّ خِصَال شَر َ و I stopped them from uttering so many lies.As a result, they became even more frequent in telling lies; The worst trait of man is to go on repeating falsehood.ِ ِ وَالْقَلْم نَامِل َ ْأ ِّال ٌ ل ْل ی َ َ فَو کَتَبْت ُ تَهْذُر َ َ و َنَام ْأ ال ٌ تُغْوِي َد ی ْ تَبَّت َ و You have written your book and I pity the fingers that have written it; Ruined is he who misleads the people and utters absurdities.ْ ِ حُصِّلَت لِلرِّسَالَة َ الْفَرَاغَة ْف ی کَ َ و ُ َ تَزْمُر أَنْت ٌ وَّمَا ُ طَنْبُوْر َك ی ْ أَلَم How is it that you had time to write this book? Were tambourines and other musical instruments no longer available to you? نَّهَا َٔ کَا ْھَا ی ِ فِ ِذْب ك ْ َ ال ُ رِجْز أُوَانِس ُ ُ تَقْذُر ْن ی َ الْع َ ُ و َنْت ی قَد ْ عَا َ ٌ و ْف ی ِ کَن I see the filth of falsehood in the aforesaid book, as if it is a privy; I saw it and my eyes detested it.ٍ ْقَة ی ِف ِّ ْ کُل َّ عَن ُّ الشَّر َّسُح ی ٌ زَمَان ُ َ وَصَرْصَر ُنَاس الْأ ٌ أَرْدَی زَلْزَلَة َ و This is an age that is causing clouds filled with the water of mischief to discharge its toxins at intervals; Or it can be likened to an earthquake that has destroyed the people while the wind is fierce and blowing fast.

Page 168

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 152 ٍ َم ی ْ َام ِ یُطْرَی ابْن ُ مَر ی َ ْأ فَفِي ْ ھٰذِہ ِ ال ْح ٌ أَضَل َّ بْه ِ النَّصَارٰی وَخَسَّرُوْا ی ِ مَس So nowadays, the Messiah—in whose name mankind was misled, And ruined by the Christians—is being lavished with praise.ٌ َ تَشَیُّع ِ عَاث َم ال الْإ ِسْ َ فِي کَذٰلِك ِ وَدَمَّرُوْا کَاللُّصُوْص ْرًا ی کَثِ أَبَادُوْا Similarly, the followers of the Shiite faith have spread among the followers of Islam, And, like thieves, secretly killed so many of them.نَرٰی شِرْکَھُم ْ مِثْل َ النَّصَارٰی مُخَوِّفًا تَنَصَّرُوْا َ و عُوْا یَّ َ َ تَش ْن ی الْجَاھِلِ نَرَی I consider Shirk [associating partners with Allah] among the Shias to be as perilous as Shirk among the Christians; I see the ignorant embracing the Shiite faith and Christianity.ْ عَلِي َا ی َ َ رَبَّك ِ الْقَھَّار ْ وَاتَّق فَتُب ُ وَإِن ْ کُنْت َ قَد ْ أَزْمَعْت َ حَرْبِي ْ فَأَحْضُر Therefore, O Ali Hairi! Fear God and repent; If you have decided to confront me, then here I am to confront you.ٍ ِن ْ کَمُشْرِك ي َ َفْتُم ْ عَلٰی قَبْر ِ الْحُس ك عَ ُ َنْصُر ی َ َ ھُو ل َ ْ و َ نَجَّاکُم َ ھُو ال فَ Like the idol-worshippers you have made rounds of Husain’s grave; He still failed to grant you salvation and did not come to your help.With reference to Maulaw i Ali Hairi Shia

Page 169

153 ْ َوْم ٍ کَان َ شَاھِد َ عِجْزِکُم ی َّ أَل َ رُب َوْم ٌ إِذَا الصَّحْب ُ خُیِّرُوْا ی مَا یَّ ِ ل َ س َ و Be warned that there are many days testifying to your failure, Particularly the ones when Abu Bakr and Umar and Uthman became Khulaf a ’ [successors] but Ali did not.ْ ْ بِغَدْرِکُم فَعَلْتُم ْ مَّا َ فَعَلْتُم َوْم ی َ و ْ أُحْصِرُوْا ِ إِذ وُلْدِہ َ ِ و ِّ الْحُسَيْن بِأَخ And, when you did that which you did to Husain’s brother, Muslim, and Husain’s children—they were all imprisoned.ْ ُم ك َ َ وَفَائ َلْعَنُوْن ی ُسارٰی ْأ َّ ال فَظَل دُمِّرُوْا َ أَھْل ُ الْبَيْت ِ أُوْذُوْا و َ فَرَرْتُم ْ و Then the prisoners—the Ahl-ul-Bait—invoked a curse upon you for your lack of faithfulness; You fled while they were tortured and killed.ُ ْ تَحْسَبُوْنَه ُ مَن عِجْز َ تَرَاءٰی ھُنَاك َّرُوْا ك َ ٍ فَتَف ِّ مُحَمَّد َ النَّبِي ْع ی شَفِ This exposed the weakness and shortcomings of the person, that is, Husain, About whom you said that on the Day of Judgment he would intercede even on behalf of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, so reflect.ُ الْوَرٰی ُ سَیِّد أَنَّه ْ حُسَيْنًا زَعَمْتُم ُ یُغْفَر َ ْ و َنْجُو ی ُ ٍّ مِّنْه ُّ نَبِي کُل َ و You believe that Husain is the Chief of all mankind; And that every Prophet shall be granted salvation and for - giveness by his intercession alone.

Page 170

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 154 ْن ِ جَاِئزًا ِّی رْك ُ فِي الد ِّ فَإِن ْ کَان َ ھٰذَا الش ِ فِي النَّاس ِ بُعْثِرُوْا ّٰ فَبِاللَّغْو ِ رُسْل ُ الل If the Faith could warrant such Shirk, Then the advent of all the Messengers of God was simply absurd.ْ ُ شَأْنِهِم ْن ی ِ تَوْھ َّ ٌ و َ بُهْتَان وَذٰلِك ُ ْف َ تَجْسُر ی َ کَ ال َ َا غُوْل ُ الْف ی ُ ْل ی َ لَك َ الْو This belief is a calumny and denigration of the high spiritual station of the Prophets; O beast of the jungle! May you perish! Why have you become so audacious?! ٍ ْبَة ی َ ٍ بِخ ْل ی ْ قَتِ مِّن َحًا ال ْ فَ طَلَبْتُم ُ ٌ مُّتَبِّر ٌّ غَیُوْر ْ رَب ُم ك َّبَ ی َ فَخ You sought salvation through the one who died in hopelessness; Therefore, the Lord, who is jealous for His honour and fully capable of destroying anyone, deprived you of all your hopes.ٌ َادَة ی ِ ْ ز ي ِّ ِ مِن ْه ی ْ فِ ِ لَيْسَت ّٰ وَالل َ و ِ فَانْظُرُوْا ّٰ عِنْدِي ْ شَھَادَات ٌ مِّن َ الل َ و By God, he [Husain] enjoyed no superiority over me; I have testimonies of Almighty God with me in this regard.You may have a look at them.ْ ُم ك ُ ِن ْ حُسَيْن ك ٰ ْل ُ الحِب ِّ لـ ی وَإِنِّي ْ قَتِ ُ أَظْھَر َ و ُ أَجْلٰی فَالْفَرْق ُ الْعِدَا ْل ی ِ قَت I was annihilated by [my love for] the Beloved, but your Husain, Was killed by his enemies.The difference is evidently clear and manifest.

Page 171

155 ُم ْ إِلٰی أَسْفَل ِ الثَّرٰی ك َ حَدَرْنَا سَفَائِن ُ َسِّر ك ٍ نُ ِّ وَقْت ْ کُل ْ فِي ُم ك َ أَوْثَان َ و I pushed your vessels down towards the lowest of the lows, And am ever engaged in destroying your idols.ِ ِّ وَقْتِه کُل َ فِي َّ الدَّھْر ِ إِن ّٰ وَالل َ و ُ َ یُقَصِّر ِ ل ْ نُصْحِه ْ فِي ُم ك ٌ لَ ْح ی ِ نَص By God the present era is admonishing you all the time, And it does not relent in its admonitions.ْ تَنَاھَی ٰ لِسَان ُ النَّاس ِ عَن ْ دَأْب ِ فُحْشِھِم ُ َتَحَسَّر ی َ ل َ ْ و َجْرِي ی ْ ُم ك مِقْوَلُـ َ و All others have shunned the habit of vituperation, But your tongue persists in hurling curses and does not give in.ٍ ْق َ اللَّعْن ِ فِي ْ أَھْل ِ سُنَّة ی ِ أَشَعْتُم ْ طَر ُم ْ فَإِن ْ شِئْتُم ُ انْظُرُوْا ك ْقَتْ ی ِ فَأَجْرَوْا طَر You have given currency to this habit of cursing among the Ahl-us-Sunnah; So, they began to act upon it.You may observe this on your own if you so wish.ِ ْت َ مِتُّم ْ قَبْل َ تِلْك َ الطَّرَائِق ی َ َا ل ی فَ ُ ْ یُخَسَّر ُم ك ْ ِ مِن ّٰ ُ الل ْن ی ُ دِ َك ی ْ لَم َ و If only you had died before following such ways, The Religion of Allah would not have been ruined on account of your misdeeds.

Page 172

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 156 ْ جَعَلْتُم ْ حُسَيْنًا أَفْضَل َ الرُّسْل ِ کُلِّھِم ُ َنْظُر ی ُ ّٰ الل َ جُزْتُم ْ حُدُوْد َ الصِّدْق ِ و َ و You declared Husain to be better than all the Messengers; And thus you crossed all limits of truthfulness.And, surely God is a witness to this.ُ تَذْکُرُوْنَه َذٰی ْأ ال َ ِ و َ النَّوَائِب عِنْد َ و ُ مُزَوِّر َا ی ْ ُم ك رَبُّ َّ حُسَيْنًا کَأَن In times of trial and hardship you seek help only from him, As if Husain is your Lord, O wicked liar! ٍ خَرَّت ْ لَه ُ أَحْبَارُکُم ْ مِثْل َ سَاجِد َ و فَمَا جُرْم ُ قَوْم ٍ أَشْرَکُوْا أَو ْ تَنَصَّرُوْا Your religious scholars fell down before him like ones prostrating; How can you now hold the disbelievers and Christians guilty of such acts of sinfulness? ِ وَالْمَجْد َ وَالْعُلٰی ّٰ َل َ الل ال نَسِيْتُم ْ جَ ُ ِر ك ْ ٌ أَتُن َّ حُسَيْن ْ إِل وِرْدُکُم مَا َ و You have forgotten the honour and glory of Almighty God, And recite only the name of Husain.Do you think you can deny this? ِ َم ِ إِحْدَی الْمَصائِب ال فَھٰذَا عَلَی الْإ ِسْ ُ لَدٰى نَفَحَات ِ الْمِسْك ِ قَذْر ٌ مُّقَنْطَر Hence, this has become a calamity for Islam; Alas! Alongside a pile of musk is lying a heap of stools.

Page 173

157 ْن ِ جَائِزًا ی وَإِن ْ کَان َ ھٰذَا الشِّرْك ُ فِي الدِّ ِ فِي النَّاس ِ بُعْثِرُوْا ّٰ فَبِاللَّغْو ِ رُسْل ُ الل If the Faith were to warrant idolatry, 1 Then the Messengers of Almighty God were sent to the people without purpose.ِّنَا ي ِ َ نَب َ جُنْد ٍ سَاق َح ال َص ُّ أَي َ و ْن َ فَدَمَّرُوْا ی ِ إِلٰی حَرْب ِ حِزْب ِ الْمُشْرِک And, what motive did the Holy Prophet have, By going to war with the disbelievers? He simply destroyed them.ٍ بِمَوْطِن ٍّ َّ شَن ْ کُل ْھِم ی عَلَ شَنُّوْا َ و ُ ٌ مُعَصْفَر بَرَاز َ الْقَتْلٰی َ مِن فَصَار Through his efforts, he ruined the disbelievers on the battleground, So much so that the battleground turned red from the blood of the disbelievers’ corpses.مِثْلُھَا َ ْدَت ْ و ی ِ کَم ْ مِّن ْ زِرَاعَات ٍ أُب َ و ُ ٌ مُّصَدِّر طِرْف َّ ٌ و ٌ مَبِيْتَاة بُیُوْت The disbelievers ruined innumerable crops and destroyed so many houses, And killed the horses that could overtake their peers swiftly.1.Footnote: The meaning of this couplet is that if shirk were to be permis - sible, and the idolaters had started persecuting the Muslims in defence of their idols—who, like Husain, were other than God—then why were Muslims permitted to fight them.Instead, they should have told the idolaters: ‘You are right in your associating partners with Allah, and the Kalimah [declaration of belief in One God] is incorrect.Therefore, please stop your warfare and do not persecute us.We do not fight you, and admit that it is permissible to seek blessings from those other than Allah.We have no objection to it.’ (Author)

Page 174

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 158 ْ حُصِّلَت َ َ و ْن ی ُ الْمُشْرِکِ َ مَال وَأُحْرِق ُ ُ الْمُوَقَّر وَالْمَتَاع ُ شَتّٰی مَغَانِم Consequently, the houses of the disbelievers were also torched, And numerous bounties of war as well as wealth were seized.ٍ َامَة ی ِ ُ ق َ نَوْع ٍ قَام أُحْد َّ ٍ و بِبَدْر ِ کُسِّرُوْا ْن ی َفَانِ ُ کَالْأ َ الصَّحَابَة کَان َ و A doomsday spectacle was witnessed in the battles of Badr and Uhad; The Companions were broken like branches from a tree.ْ َان ِ الْعُیُوْن ِ دِمَاءُھُم ی ْ ھَمَت ْ مِثْل َ جَر ُ َقْطُر ی َ تَسَوَّر َ دِعْص َ الرَّمْل ِ مَا کَان Their blood flowed like a spring, And covered the sand dunes.ْ ْ فَھُم ِ مَوْقِفُھُم ِّ الرَّمْل َ بِحُر وَکَان جَمَّرُوْا َ عَلٰی رِسْلِھِم ْ بَارَوْا عِدَاھُم ْ و In pure sand alone was where they stood; With great resolve and dignity they confronted their enemy and showed steadfastness.ْ وَقَامُوْا لِبَذْل ِ نُفُوْسِھِم ْ مِن ْ صِدْقِھِم ُ َزْأَر ی ُ ة یَّ ِ ِ الْمَن ْه ی ٍ فِ مَوْطِن عَلٰی As they were faithful people, to lay down their lives they stood at a place, Where they could see death roaring at them like a lion.ٌ ْبَة ی ِ ِّ مُص ِ النَّبِي رَأْس ْ عَلٰی وَصُبَّت ُ ِ الْمِغْفَر َ السُّیُوْف ِ مِن ْه ی عَلَ وَدَقُّوْا On this occasion a calamity befell the Holy Prophet; The enemies struck his iron helmet with their swords causing it to depress his skull.

Page 175

159 ٍ َلَّم ك ْ مُ ْ فِي ْ نَطَّلِع لَم مِثْلِھَا عَلٰی ُ وَإِن ْ کَان َ عِيْسٰی أَو ْ مِن َ الرُّسْل ِ آخَر One cannot find a precedent for such hardships, Among any other Messengers, be it ‘ I s a [Jesus] or someone else.ً ال ِ َ بَاط ُ کَان کُلُّه ْ أَھٰذَا ِّر ك َ فَف ُ ر یَّ وَمَا کَان َ شِرْك ُ النَّاس ِ شَيْئًا یُغَ So, reflect whether or not all this happened with a purpose, And whether Shirk was not something which should have been replaced [by the Oneness of God].الْوَفَا ِ أَبَا سَاء ِّ َ الن ْ عَار َ لَئِمِي أَل ُ تَتَنَمَّر ِ الْوَغٰی َان ی َ کَفِتْ إِلَم O Sanaullah, you who even shames women by his behaviour! How long will you keep deceiving others by acting like soldiers on a battlefield? ْن َ حِجَّةً؟ ی أَرُدْت ُّ الْھَوٰی مِن ْ بَعْد ِ سِتِّ ُ ر ِّ ك َ ُ الْمُف َرَاه ی َ ٌ ل َ رَأْي ذٰلِك َ و Did I give in to avarice after I was sixty years of age? No sane person would have such an opinion about me.َ بَعْدَھَا َ عُذْر ال ٍ فَ َات ی َ آ ْنَاك ی َ أَر ُ وَإِن ْ خِلْتَھَا تُخْفٰی عَلَی النَّاس ِ تُظْھَر I will show you a number of Signs, after which you will have no excuse against me; And, if you think that this matter will remain hidden, I assure you it will not.ْتَھَا ی ْ فَرَأَ ذِلَّتِي ٍّ َّ بِمُد أَرَدْت ُ َّ یُوَقَّر ل ْ صَادِقًا َّ یُوَقِّر ْ ل مَن َ و You wanted to see me disgraced at Mudh; however, you your - self were disgraced; He who seeks to humiliate a truthful person shall himself be humiliated.

Page 176

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 160 َات ِ قَد ْ مَر َّ ذِکْرُھَا ی آ ن َ ال ِّ م 1 ْ ِن ی وَکَاْ ُ ْ تُزَوِّر قُلْتُم َ ْ و ْ فَأَعْرَضْتُم ْتُم ی رَأَ Many a Sign there is that I have mentioned; You witnessed these Signs yet you denied them and accused me of falsehood.ٌ ْلَة ی ِ حِ َ التَّجَارِب بَعْد َّ لَنَا فَعَن ُ َ تَشْعُر ي ْآ ال بِهَا َ أَشْعَارًا ْتُب ك َ لِن Hence, after so many experiences, I eventually found, A reason to write these few verses which may apprise you of the Signs.ْت ُ مِن ْ فَاطِر ِ السَّمَا ی ِ ك فَھٰذَا ھُو َ التَّبْ ِّرُوْا ك َ ْ فَف ُ مِنِّي َ الْإ ِفْحَام ھُو وَھٰذَا God, therefore, intends to seal your mouth through this; And, for my part, I wish to clinch my argument against you in this manner.ْ ُم ك أَثَارَت ْ سَنَابِك َ طِرْفِنَا نَقْع َ فَوْجِ ُ َتَبَخْتَر ی لِّلْوَغٰی ٍّ ْ کَمِي ْ مِن فَھَل The hoofs of my horses destroyed you; Is there among you a cavalry-man who would come out to confront me? ٍ ْ بِتَقَاعُس َتِي ی َ آ ُ عَظَمَة أَتُثْبِت ُ لِّتُحَقِّر سَاعِیًا ا ًّ َ مُد ْ جِئْت قَد َ و Or will you now retreat and thus prove my Sign to be a cate - gorical one? You had rushed to Mudh, so as to ridicule me.1.The word ن ی ْ َا ک [ ka’yin ] has been used the way ِّن ی َأَ ک [ ka’ayyin —i.e.many] is used in the Arabic lexicon Lis a nul-‘Arab.(Author)

Page 177

161 ٍ َا ابْن َ تَصَلُّف ی َ ن آ فَإِن ْ تُعْرِضَن َّ ال ُ ِ خَنْجَر َذِّب ك ُ ِ الْم بَطْن عَلٰی فَھٰذَا If you turn away from confronting me now, It will be as if you were a liar [ready to be killed by] a sword drawn over his belly.َ عَامِدًا ْمَة ی ِ ُ الْھَز َ تَخْتَار ْ کُنْت وَإِن ُ تَحْدُر َّ تَهْوِي ْ بِوَھْد ِ الذُّل ِّ عِجْزًا و َ و If you choose to accept defeat, And fall disgracefully into the pit of ignominy, ٌ َ وَلَعْنَة ْن ی ِ ُ الْعَالَم َال ك َ ن ْھَا ی فَفِ ُ َ تَتَذَکَّر ْ أَل ُم ك ْحَتُ ی ِ فَض ْھَا ی فِ َ و It will bring upon you dishonour and make you accursed both in matters of faith, And the world, and you will suffer humiliation.Will you not reflect upon this? ْع ُ إِن ْ کُنْت َ صَادِقًا ی مَا لَك َ ل َ تَسْطِ َ و ُ ٍ مُيَسَّر ُّ أَمْر ٍ کُل َح ال ِ صَ ْل ھ َ ِأ ل But if you are true in your stance, why do you not find the courage now to confront me? For a truthful person all tasks are made easy.وَکُنْت َ إِذَا خُیِّرْت َ لِلْبَحْث ِ وَالْوَغَا ُ لِتُوَقَّر شَاتِمًا ْنَا ی َ عَلَ سَطَوْت When you were chosen for the debate at Mudh, you launched, An assault against me for the sake of your own honour.ْ لَعَمْرِي ْ لَقَد ْ شَجَّت ْ قَفَاك َ رِسَالَتِي ُ ر ِّ ٌ مُّعَز َ عَوْن ْك ی َأْتِ ی َ َّ ل ْ مِت وَإِن But, I swear by God that my essay struck at your head and broke it apart; Even if you die now, you will not receive the help you thought will make you honourable.

Page 178

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 162 ْ ُم ك َ ْن ی ِ ْ مُع ْ تَرَکْتُم ْ قَد َ وَأَنْتُم ْف ی وَکَ ُ َنْصُر ی َ ُم ْ مَوْلٰی وَمَن ْ ھُو ك وَلَيْس َ لَ Why at all should help have reached you? You have abandoned God.You have no Friend now to extend help to you.ٌ ٍ شَمَرْدَل ْ نِضَال ٌّ ذُو ْ کَمِي ُم ك ْ ی أَفِ ُ َتَأَخَّر ی َ ل َ ْ و َحْضُر ی َ فَـلْ ْ کَان فَإِن Is there among you a rider courageous enough to square up to me? If there is one, he should come forward without delay.ٍ ة َّ ی ِ بِهَد َ الرَّدٰی ْد ی صَ َا ی َ جِئْنَاك َ و ُ َ نَعْقِر ِ و َ الْمُرْھِفَات ْك ی َ ْ إِل نُهْدِي َ و O one stricken by calamity! I have come to you with a gift, The gift of sharp swords; that is, I bring you the gift of an unparalleled qa si dah.ْ َسُبُّنِي ی ٍ َّ غُوْل ْ کُل ر ِّ بَش َ ْ و فَأَبْشِر ُ ِ سَرْوَر ْ بِالتَّحَائِف َ مِنِّي ْك ی َأْتِ ی َ س Therefore, rejoice and give glad tidings on my behalf to every such wicked person who used to hurl abuse at me, That soon Syed Muhammad Sarwar shall deliver to them a gift from me.وَإِنِّي ْ أَنَا الْبَازِي الْمُطِل ُّ عَلَی الْعِدَا ُ َبَّر ك ُّی ٍ ْن ی ِ ْ مُّع ٌ مِّن ْ مُعَان وَإِنِّي I am the hawk ever-ready to spring upon his enemies; I have been granted help from Almighty God.غَرْبِهَا َ ِ و َد ال الْبِ ِّ َّ شَرْقِي ْ کُل أَثِر ُ َطْمِر ی ِّ َ کَالْبَق ٍ کَان ْب ی ِأَد َّ کُل َ و Tempt the east and the west against me, And call to your assistance every such learned person who hops about like a mosquito.

Page 179

163 ً ً مُشْمَعِلَّة ْ نَاقَة ِي ك ْ َح ی َ ْ کَان مَن َ و دَبِّرُوْا َ َمُس ُّ الْقَوْم َ فَاسْعَوْا و ی ٌ صَغَار And invite to your aid all those who can move around swiftly like a camel; Your people are faced with a humiliating defeat.So, rush and plan.ٍ ُ بِجَائِر ِ لَسْت ّٰ ِ الل ْ لَعَمْر وَإِنِّي ُ ِ فَأُدْبِر ْ بِالصَّوَاب َ تَأْتِي ْ کُنْت وَإِن By God, I am not a cruel-hearted person; If you answer correctly, I will turn away from my stance.ً ال ُ ْنَا تَغَاف ی َ وَإِن ْ کُنْت َ ل َ تُصْغِي ْ إِل ُ َ تَعْمُر کُنْت ْ کُلَّمَا تُلْغِي َ ُّ و تَهُد But if you do not heed these words of mine, you will bring down, And make redundant the building that you yourself built.ْ َرْمِي الْقَنَا مَن ْ عِنْدَکُم ی أَلَسْت َ تَرٰی ُ أَکْفَر َ َ و الْعُلُوْم َدْرِي ی َ ل َ ٌ و جَھُوْل Do you not see that arrows are being shot at you, By a person whom you deem ignorant, illiterate, and a disbeliever? ْ ُم ك َمَة ُ صِدْقِ ال َُم ْ ع ك ْ ْن َ ضَرَت ْ مِن ی فَأَ ُ ْفِر ك ْن َ اخْتَفٰی عِلْم ٌ بِه ِ کُنْت َ تُ ی َ أ َ و Where has the Sign of your truth gone? Where has gone the knowledge by virtue of which you pro - nounced others as disbelievers? ِ وَالنُّهٰـی ُ بِالْفَضَائِل َ التَّصَلُّف ْن ی وَأَ ُ مَعْشَر َّ ٌ و ِ قَوْم الْوَقْت َ بِهٰذَا ْن ی َ أ َ و Where are the exaggerated claims that you made regarding your scholarship and wisdom? Where are your people now and the group that supported you?

Page 180

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 164 ٍ ُ أَلْسُن َقَة ال ْ طَ ُم ك ْ ْ مِن َ عَفَت ْن ی أَ َ و ُ ٍ یُّشَھَّر ْف ی َ َ س مِثْل ْنَا ی ٍ عَلَ َط ال ِ س Where has gone the sharpness of the tongues, The tongues that were drawn against me like a sword? ْ ْدَتِي ی ِ فِي ْ خَمْسَة ٍ قَد ْ تَم َّ نَظْم ُ قَص َ و ُ أَقْصَر َ ُّ و ً أَقَل ُ خَالِصْة ِ الْوَقْت بَل I finished my qa si dah in five days; In fact, the actual time is less than that [i.e.three days].ً ْلَة ی َ َ ل َ عَشْرَة َ خَمْس ْ بِجُھْدِك ِّر ك َ فَف ُ ْ أَصْغَر ْ أَو ْ ظَفَر أَو ِ حُسَيْنًا نَاد َ و You may, however, try for fifteen nights, And call to your assistance Muhammad H usain, Q adi Z afrudd i n, and Asghar ‘Al i.َا أَکْبَر َ الْعِدَا ی ِ یَات ْآ وَھٰذَا مِن َ ال ُ َا مُخَسَّر ی فَھَل ْ أَنْت َ تَنْسِج ْ مِثْلَھَا This is a Sign of God—O my mortal enemy! Do you think you will be able to produce one like mine O you who are constrained? ُ َخْشَی الْجَبَان ُ نُجَمِّر ی ٍ عَلـٰی مَوْطِن ُ فَإِن ْ کُنْت َ فِي ْ شَيْء ٍ فَبَادِر ْ وَنَبْدِر Where the cowardly cannot stay, I am standing steadfastly; If you amount to anything, then come forward to confront me.I surely will meet you head-on.ِ رَبِّنَا َ آیَات بَرْق ُ بَغْیًا أَتَسْتُر ُ َ تَسْتُر کُنْت ْ کُلَّمَا ُ رَبِّي سَیُظْھِر Do you transgress and thus seek to hide the brilliance of the Signs of our Lord? Indeed, God my Lord will make manifest all that you hide.

Page 181

165 ْ ُم ك ُ ُ ھَوَان نَحْن َ و َ ذِلَّتَنَا ْدُوْن ی ِ تُر ُ َأْمُر ی َ ٌ فَس ٌ نَافِذ ْم ك ُ ح ِِّٰ لل َ و You seek my disgrace and I yours! The judgment is with Allah; He will surely give His verdict.ٍ ِ حُجَّة ْر ی ْ غَ ِ مِن ّٰ َ الل ْ کََم تَرَکْتُم ُ أَظْھَر َ و ِ أَھْدٰی ّٰ َ الل کََم َّ إِن َ و You discarded Allah’s Word without an argument in your favour; The Word of Allah is indeed the true guidance and more manifest than all else.َ الْوَرٰی کَر َّ َد ی لِ ُ الْمَوْلـٰی َسَّرَه ی َ و ُ ْسَر ی أَ َ کْر َ أَجْلٰی و ِّ َ شَك َّ أَن َّ الذ ال َ ف God made it easy, so that people may commit it to memory; Doubtless, the Remembrance [i.e.the Quran] is clear and easy to learn.َ الْھُدٰی ٌ مِّن ِّنَات ي ْ بَ ِ تَجَلَّت ْه ی فِ َ و ُ ٌ مُقَدِّر ْم ی ِ عَل ُ فُرْقَانًا سَمَّاه َ و It contains clear and manifest guidance, And the All-Knowing has named it ‘Furq a n’ [the Discrimination; i.e.the Holy Quran] ً ال َّ ً مُّفَص قَوْل َّ و َانًا ی ُ تِبْ سَمَّاه َ و ُ َّر ی ُ نَتَخَ ٍ بَعْدَه ْث ی ِ َّ حَد فَأَي Also God called it ‘clear’ and ‘articulate speech’; Therefore, after it what hadith shall we adopt? ٌ َة ی ْ فِر َّ ْه ِ ظُلْم ٌ و ی فَدَع ْ ذِکْر َ بَحْث ٍ فِ ُ َرِّر ك نُ ْمَا ی ِ ِ ف ِ الْقَلْب ْ بِنُوْر ِّر ك فَ َ و You ought to put aside the debate that involves falsehood; With an enlightened heart, ponder over what I say.

Page 182

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 166 ٌ أَنْفُك َ رَاغِم َ َا و ی لَنَا الْفَضْل ُ فِي الدُّنْ ُ َ یُظْھَر َّ مَحَالَة ٍ ل ُّ صَدُوْق کُل َ و I have been granted respect and honour in the world while you are afflicted with disgrace; Every truthful person is eventually granted victory.ِ خَصْمًا أَبَا الْوَفَا ّٰ ْف ِ الل ی عَلَوْنَا بِسَ ُ نَسْطُر َّ و ْرًا ك ُ ِ ش ّٰ َ الل ْ ثَنَاء فَنُمْلِي I have killed my enemy—Abul-Waf a —with the sword of Allah; Being grateful for this, therefore, I praise Almighty God.ُ عَامِدًا ْ تَقَوَّلْت ْ قَد ُ أَنِّي َزْعَم ی أَ ُ َهْذُر ی َ َ و الُْٔنَاس ُ یُغْوِي ٌ لَّه ْل ی َ فَو Abul-Waf a thinks that I have intentionally fabricated falsehood; I pity his condition, for he is misleading people and uttering absurdities.ُ ُّ جُدْرَه َ الْحَق ْ ثَلَّم ً قَد ال ِ بَاط أَرٰی ُ فَأَضْحَی الْھُدٰی مِثْل َ الضُّحٰی یُتَبَصَّر I witness that truth has shattered the walls of falsehood; Consequently, guidance has become manifest like broad daylight.ْ ْدَتِي ی ِ َوْم َ نَظْم َ قَص ی ْ وَإِنَّي ْ طَبَعْت ُ ال ُ نُؤَمْبَر ٍ تَمَشَّی نِصْف َ إِلـٰی وَکَان Today I have published the verses of this qa si dah of mine, While the month of November is almost half expired.ِ ٌ کَمِثْلِه َ نِصْف ْ شَعْبَان َ مِن کَذٰلِك ُ َتَذَکَّر ی ْ لِمَن ِّ بَارِکْھَا رَب َا ی فَ Similarly, the month of Sha‘b a n is also half gone; God my Lord! Make this qa si dah a blessed one for those who seek to tread the path of guidance.

Page 183

167 ُ رَامِیًا کُنْت َّ وَّمَا َغْتَالَن ُ لِأ ْت ی رَمَ ُ ْ لِیُظْھِر ُ رَبِّي ّٰ ُ الل ْ رَّمَاه ِن ك ٰ وَلـ I have thrown this qa si dah like one throws an arrow, so that I may destroy my enemy in one go; In fact, it has not been thrown by me, rather by Allah, so that He may cause me to prevail.ْنَنَا ی َ بَ ْ تَّقَرَّر ٍ قَد لِعَھْد وَھٰذَا ُ َّر ی ْ نَتَغَ لَم َ ْ و ُث ك ْ ْ نَن فَلَم ٍّ بِمُد I have written this qa si dah to fulfill the promise I made at Mudh; I have not broken my promise, nor have I changed.َ السَّمَا مِن ٍ نَزَّلُوْھَا بَرَکَات نَرٰی ُ ُ یُنَضَّر ََم ک ِ وَالْ کَاللَّوَاقِح لَنَا I can witness the blessings that have been sent down for me from heaven, Like the she-camels who are heavy with children.And, what I have composed has been given a new life.ْ ْ مُّؤَیِّدِي ْ مِن ْدَتِي ی ِ َّ قَص ِ إِن ّٰ وَوَالل ُ ُر ك َ نَشْ ٍ و ْم ی ِ ٍّ کَر رَب ْ عَلٰی فَنُثْنِي By God! My qa si dah is from my Helper; Therefore, I praise and thank the Benevolent Lord.ٍ َة ی ْ عِنَا ْ مِن ْ أ َرْسَلْتَنِي إ ِن ِّ ر َب َا ی َ و ُ ُ وَا نْصُر قُلْت َّ مَا ْ کُل ْ و َکَمِّل فَأ َیِّد O my Lord! If You have sent me out of your providence, Then support me and cause all that I have envisaged to be accomplished perfectly.

Page 184

1 ِ بِسۡم ِ الل ِّٰ الرَّحۡمٰن ِ الرَّحِیۡم 2 ِ نَحۡمَدُہ ٗ وَنُصَلِّي ۡ عَلٰی رَسُوۡلِه ِ الۡكَرِیۡم Couplets وہےئگ ومندار اکروابر ےک اقدر اکرف وج ےتہک ےھت وہ رگاتفر وہ ےئگ The Powerful One has manifested His affair; Those who called me a disbeliever have been seized.اکرف وج ےتہک ےھت وہ وگناسنر وہےئگ ےنتج ےھت بس ےک بس یہ رگاتفر وہ ےئگ Those who called me a disbeliever have been put down; Each and every one of them has been seized.1.In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.[Publisher] 2.We praise Him and invoke blessings upon His Noble Messenger.[Publisher]

Page 185

Announcement of Ten Thousand Rupees This announcement is being published to advertise the Sign of Almighty God, which, like other Signs, will fulfil a prophecy.In other words, this too is a Sign about which it was promised that it will surely be shown by the end of December 1902.The announce - ment that accompanied it regarding a cash prize of 10,000 rupees was to serve as a testament to the fact that I have so emphati - cally, and by spending a large sum of money, informed my oppo - nents about the truthfulness of my claim.Maulaw i Sanaullah of Amritsar had stated loudly at Mudh that he would not call my book, I‘j a zul-Mas ih, a miracle, and that he too had the ability to write a book like it.In fact, if my opponents had the capability to come out and confront me and write a similar book within the stipulated period of time, how could my book have come to be considered a miracle? In that case, I am rather clearly proved to be a liar.However, a few days after my companions, namely Maulaw i Syed Muhammad Sarwar Sahib and Maulaw i Abdullah Sahib,

Page 186

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 170 arrived in Qadian on 2 November 1902, it occurred to me that if I would ask my opponents to produce the like of I‘j a zul-Mas ih, they might say—as they always look for excuses—that in their estimation the book was not prepared in seventy days’ time, as Maulaw i Abu Sa‘id Muhammad Husain had said about my speech at Mahotso, that it had been written prior to the convention and was written after much thought over a long period of time.So, I thought that this time too if they say that the book I‘j a zul-Mas ih has not been written in seventy days, rather in seventy months, then in the eyes of the general public the matter will become dubi - ous.Over the next few days I remained quite anxious about what I should do.Eventually, on the evening of 6 November 1902, God put into my heart the notion that I should compose a qa si dah [an Arabic ode] regarding the debate at Mudh, for the time of the composition of the qa si dah is definitely clear and categorical, as no one can deny the fact that a debate was held at Mudh on 29th and 30th October, that on 2nd November my companions arrived back in Qadian, and that on the 7th of November 1902, I visited the court of Munsh i Nasir-ud-Din, the judge at the court in Batala, to give my testimony in a case.I had probably composed a verse or two on my way to Batala, but I started composing the qa si dah with full attention only on 8 November 1902 and finished the Arabic verses and the Urdu treatise in five days.Therefore, no doubt or suspicion was left regarding the time-frame in which the qa si dah was composed, for the qa si dah and the associated Urdu treatise speak of the details of the debate that was held on 29th and 30th October at Mudh.Hence, if the qa si dah and the related Urdu treatise had not been prepared within this short span of time, and were prepared

Page 187

171 before it, then I should be acknowledged as a knower of the unseen, who spoke about all these incidents in advance.In short, this constitutes a grand Sign and an easy method to decide the matter.What also has to be remembered, as I have just mentioned, is that the entire period of time mentioned above was not spent on the composition of the qa si dah alone; rather, a part of the time was also spent on the Urdu treatise attached to this qa si dah.Hence, the two together constitute a Sign from Almighty God.To compete with me in this and to acquire the cash prize worth 10,000 rupees, the necessary condition would be that the person who pens [a qa si dah ] in response to the one writ - ten by me should pen the refutation of the Urdu treatise as well, so as to disprove my arguments.In addition, the words of such an essay should not be less than the words of my treatise.And, if one fails to fulfil one of the two conditions, he will be considered to have failed to fulfil both.I do not want to impose on my oppo - nents the hardship that I myself have not undergone.Evidently, the Urdu part, too, deals with the same debate and responds to the allegations made by Maulaw i Sanaullah.Under these circumstances, who can allege that the Urdu essay had been written in advance? It is, therefore, my right to demand from the people who consider these writings of mine to be impos - ture on the part of man, and thus deny their miraculousness, that they too should come up with a parallel to those writings in as extraordinarily small an amount of time as has been spent on the composition of the Urdu essay and the qa si dah by me.I hereby swear by Almighty God that if they manage to write, in as little time as I have spent on the composition of the Urdu essay and the qa si dah, an essay in Urdu that answers all my objections and

Page 188

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 172 leaves none of them unanswered; and, if, in the same way, they manage to write a qa si dah, which is comprised of the same num - ber of verses and recapitulates the same incidents, in refined and eloquent language and which is printed within the same amount of time, I will pay to them 10,000 rupees in cash.This is a solemn, bona fide declaration which will not be violated at all.They can pursue it even through a court of law.Now, if Maulaw i Sanaullah and other opponents of mine turn away from this arrangement and persist in calling me a disbeliever and an antichrist, it will not behove them to show such temerity in the face of being van - quished and defeated; for in that case, the general public will consider them to be liars.I even allow them to join hands with each other and collectively pen an answer to the Urdu essay and the qa si dah, shedding light on the events that have taken place.I will have no objection to this.And, if they manage to publish the qa si dah and their response to the essay related to the qa si dah, within the stipulated time, I will surely be proved a liar.What they must do, however, is that they should also give the Urdu transla - tion of each verse under every couplet—just as I have concern - ing my qa si dah.They should consider it a condition among other conditions.This competition will settle the dispute once and for all and, God willing, on 16 November 1902, I will dispatch this book, I‘j a z-e-Ahmad i, to Maulaw i Sanaullah through Maulaw i Syed Muhammad Sarwar.Moreover, the book will also be sent on the same date, through registered post, to all those who have been addressed in the qa si dah.What is more, I have also agreed to give all my opponents a grace period of fifteen days to write and publish their response to the above-mentioned qa si dah and the essay.For no matter how much they argue, if my qa si dah reaches

Page 189

173 them by 18 or 19 November, they will have to accept that, starting from the first of November to the middle of the month, the total number of days would be fifteen.I have, however, out of mercy for their condition, and in order to clinch my argument against them, given five more days to them, and the days spent on the delivery of the post are not included in this period.Therefore, to quell the confusion, we presume that the post will take three days to reach them—that is, from 17–19 November 1902.They will surely have received the qa si dah by these dates.So, the stipulated period of time for them will begin on 20 November and thus end on 10 December 1902.Now, if, within the twenty days’ time, which will expire in the evening of 10 December 1902, they will have pub - lished their response to the qa si dah and the related Urdu essay, you may rest assured that I am absolutely ruined and destroyed and all my enterprise is rendered null and void.With an outcome like this, my entire community should abandon me and cut their ties with me.Still, if my opponents intentionally stay away from this com - petition, they will not only deprive themselves of the cash prize worth 10,000 rupees, they will also continue to partake of the ten curses invoked against them.Out of the 10,000 rupees, Sanaullah will receive 5,000, while the remaining 5,000 will be distributed 1,000 per head, provided they emerge victorious.والسَّالم ُ علـٰی من اتّبع الھُدٰی [And peace be upon him who follows the guidance.] Humbly, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian

Page 190

Page 191

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

Page 192

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

Page 193

Publisher’s Note 177 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 similar to the French r in grasseye, and to the German r.It requires the muscles of the throat to be in the ‘gargling’ position to pronounce it.ق q – a deep guttural k sound.ء ’ – a sort of catch in the voice.Short vowels are represented by: a for __ َ ___ (like u in bud ).i for __ ِ ___ (like i in bid ).u for __ ُ ___ (like oo in wood ).Long vowels by: a for __ ٰ ___ or آ (like a in father ).i for ی __ ِ ___ or __ ٖ ___ (like ee in deep ).u for و __ ُ ___ (like oo in root ).Other vowels by: ai for ی __ َ ___ (like i in site ).au for و __ َ ___ (resembling ou in sound ).The consonants not included in the above list have the same

Page 194

178 phonetic value as in the principal languages of Europe.While the Arabic ن is represented by n , we have indicated the Urdu ں as ń.As noted above, the single quotation mark ‘ is used for transliterating ع which is distinct from the apostrophe ’ used for ء.We have not transliterated some Arabic words which have become part of English language, e.g.Islam, Quran, Hadith, Mahdi, jihad, Ramadan, and ummah.The Royal Asiatic Society’s rules of transliteration for names of persons, places, and other terms, are not followed throughout the book as many of the names contain non-Arabic characters and carry a local translitera - tion and pronunciation style.

Page 195

Glossary A m i n Let it be so.Arabic equivalent to amen.Auliy a ’ Literally means ‘Friends’ and is the plural of wal i , which is gen - erally used to refer to a saintly per - son.Shorter version of auliy a ’ul - l a h.Auliy a ’ull a h Literally means ‘friends of Allah’.Plural of waliyyull a h.Bai‘at Oath of allegiance to a re - ligious leader; initiation at the hands of a Prophet or his Khalifah.Bar a h i n Convincing and conclusive arguments, evidence, and proof; the singular is burh a n.Short name for Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, the five- part magnum opus of the Prom - ised Messiah as.Dajj a l A term in Arabic that liter - ally means, ‘the great deceiver’.In Islamic terminology ‘Dajj a l’ refers to those satanic forces that would be unleashed in the Latter Days to oppose the Promised Messiah as and al-Imam al-Mahdi.A similar prophecy in the Christian faith about the appearance of the Anti - christ refers to the same approach phenomenon, and we have there - fore used the terms ‘Dajj a l’ and ‘Antichrist’ and synonyms.Eid Literally, ‘Happiness that is of - ten renewed’.Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of the month of Ramadan.Eid ul-Adha is celebrated to commem - orate Ibrahim’s willingness to sacri - fice his son for God.Furq a n Literally, the ‘Discrimina - tion’.Another name for the Holy Quran, meaning the discrimina - tion between right and wrong.H ad i th A saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.The plural is a ha d i th.Hadrat A term of respect used to show honour and reverence for a person of established righteousness

Page 196

180 and piety.The literal meaning is: His/Her Holiness, Worship, Emi - nence, etc.It is also used for God in the superlative sense.H akam Arbiter, Judge.A title given to the Imam Mahdi by the Holy Prophet Muhammad sas.Hijrah Migration.Refers to the exo - dus from Makkah to Madinah by the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as in the year 623 CE , which marks the beginning of the lunar calendar of Islam.Hil a l Crescent.A term to describe a nascent moon, usually for the first three days.Holy Prophet s as A title used exclu - sively for the Founder of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad sa.Holy Quran The final and perfect Scripture revealed by Allah for the guidance of mankind for all times to come.It was revealed word by word to the Holy Prophet Mu - hammad sa over a period of twen - ty-three years.I‘j a z lit.Miracle Jam a ‘at Community.Although the word Jam a ‘at may refer to any com - munity, in this book Jam a ‘at gen - erally refers to the Worldwide Ah - madiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at.Juzw’ A term meaning ‘part’; it re - fers to a part consisting of sixteen pages of a publication.The word is also used to denote one of the thirty parts in which the Holy Quran is divided for conven - ience in recitation.Ka‘bah The first house built for the worship of God, located in Mak - kah.Muslims face Ka‘bah while performing their daily Prayers [i.e.S al a t ] and make circuits of it as a part of the pilgrimage and also as an act of devotion.Kafir A person who is not a Muslim; disbeliever.Khal i fa Caliph is derived from the Arabic word khal i fah , which herein means ‘successor’.Khu - laf a ’ is the plural of Khalifah.In many divine revelations someone commissioned by God Almighty is referred to as His Khalifah.In Islamic terminology, the title ‘Khal i fa-e-R a shid’ [righteous Khal - i fah ] is applied to each of the first four Khulaf a ’ who continued the mission of the Holy Prophet Mu - hammad s as.Ahmadi Muslims refer to each successor of the Promised Messiah as as Khalifatul Masih.Kh a tamul-Khulaf a ’ The Seal of the Successors.A title bestowed by God upon Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as of Qadian.

Page 197

Glossary 181 Khilafat The literal meaning of the term is successorship.Madinah The ancient Arabian city to which the Holy Prophet sa em - igrated from Makkah.Home to al-Masjid an-Nabawi and the tomb of the Holy Prophet sa , the second holiest site in Islam.Mahdi Literally means ‘Guided’.see Imam Mahdi.Makkah The ancient Arabian city of the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s sa birth, settled by Prophet Ibr a h i m as , and home to the Ka‘bah, the holi - est site in Islam.Maulaw i A Muslim religious cleric.Mi‘r a j The spiritual ascension of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as to Heaven, described in the Holy Quran and related in detail in ha - dith literature.Mub a halah Prayer duel.As de - scribed in S u rah A l-e-‘Imr a n, a contest between claimants to di - vine support wherein each party prays for God to curse the lying party.Mu h addath A recipient of divine revelation.Plural is mu h addath i n or mu h addath u n.Mujaddid Reformer.Holy person - ages within Islam who appeared in at the head of every century.Qamar Moon Qasidah An ode.Quraish The leading tribe in Mak - kah during the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.He himself was from the Ban u H a shim clan of the Quraish tribe.Quran see Holy Quran.Ramadan The ninth month of the lunar calendar, in which fasting is prescribed for all adult, able-bod - ied Muslims, except those trave - ling, ill, pregnant, or nursing.Sha‘b a n The eighth month in the lu - nar calendar, preceding Ramadan directly.Shariah Religious law of Islam.The term is also used in the general sense of any revealed law.S u rah A chapter of the Holy Quran.Taqw a Righteousness.Fear of God.

Page 198

Page 199

Index Ahmad Baig fulfilment of prophecy about, 16 Atheism spread of, 6 Bar « a » h « i » n-e-A « h » madiyya belief about Jesus in, 10, 12 role of Promised Messiah 11 Sign of « A » tham 3 Durr-e-Manth « u » r 9 Elijah (Ily « a » s) prophecies about the return of, 7, 8 Ghula » m Dastgi » r, Maulaw « i » prayer duel of, 26 God Grace of, upon the ummah 21 wisdom of, 14 Holy Quran challenge to Than « a » ’ull « a » h to pen a commentary of, 61 verses of, in revelations to Promised Messiah 53 Hudaibiyya criticism by opponents of Islam about, 10 I‘j « a » z-e-Ahmad « i » Book need for, 1 Israelite Prophets prophecies by, about Holy Prophet Muhammad 17 Jang-e-Muqaddas record of debate with « A » tham 4 Jesus critique of, in Jewish literature 7 orthodox belief about the second coming of, 12 Jonah punishment revoked in the prophecy of, 9 Judas Iscariot apostasy of, 9 Lekh R « a » m fulfilment of prophecy about, 5, 6 Malachi prophecy in the Book of, 7

Page 200

Hazrat Mirza ghulam AHmAD 184 Miya » n » Ghula » m Nabi » 4 Muh » ammad Husain, Maulaw « i » contradictory traditions cited by, 47 disgraces sufferred by, 59 dishonour of, 19 duplicity of, 20 efforts to please the British Government by, 47 excuses offerred by, 170 in no position to help Maulaw « i » Sanaullah 90 ‘knowledge’ of Arabic pos - sessed by, 60 not at all a learned man 106 proven hypocrisy of, 58 resemblance with Jews 8 Muhammad Sarwar, Maulaw « i » appointed by Promised Messi - ah for Mudh debate 1 Nuz « u » lul-Mas « i »« h » 150 Signs recorded in, 2 Oath taking of, permitted in Chris - tianity 5 Opponents of Promised Messiah prejudice and senselessness of, 15 Promised Messiah belief expressed in Bar « a » h « i » n-e-A « h » madiyya about Jesus was his own opinion 10 claims of being Allah’s prom - ised Khalifah in this age 96 designation as Arbiter in « S » a « h »« i »« h » Bukh « a » r « i » 51 proposal to Sanaullah to pub - lish statement 26 reason for raising the, 113 repeated revelations confirmed his status as, 12 Signs in favour of, 2 Signs of the age of, 3 solar and lunar eclipses 55 Than « a » ’ull « a » h’s mistaken notion about the claim of, 53 Prophecies fulfillment may be delayed 8 Prophecy of « A » tham’s death delay in fulfilment due to his recantation 3 Prophets responsible only for the authenticity, not interpreta - tion, of revelation 13 Qadian open invitation to visit, 9 Sanaullah, Maulaw « i » behaviour of, worse than Jews 16 cause of the appearance of Signs 65 challenge to, 26 challenge to disprove Signs 41 challenge to publish a qasidah 63 chosen by opponents for debate 2 claims made by, at Mudh 169 claims of writing a book like I‘j « a » z-e-Ahmad « i » 24

Page 201

185 disgraced in intellectual stand - ing 59 insults and false allegations by, 29 invited to respond to Jewish critique of Jesus 8 irrationality of belief about Jesus’s physical ascension 34 nothing stops him from issu - ing a mub « a » halah challenge 24 prejudice and false allegations made by, 17 prophecy of being disgraced 84 reliance of, upon contradicto - ry traditions 46 resemblance with Jews 8 Sheikh Ghulam Hasan 4 Signs for Promised Messiah 2 rejection of, not a trivial matter 6

Page 202

Page 202