Reply to a Mockery

Reply to a Mockery

Response to the booklet entitled Ilhami Girgit [Divine Chameleon]
Author: H. Ali

Language: EN

EN
Allegations on Ahmadiyyat

Is it true that the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was a British agent, planted to sow division among Muslims? Did he claim to be the Son of God, the Seal of Prophets, or the House of God? Are Islamic scholars truly agreed that God will never raise a Messenger after Holy Prophet Muhammad<sup>(sa)</sup>? The answer to each of these questions is a resounding no, but a campaign of misinformation seeks to create enmity and incite the masses to persecute Ahmadi Muslims. This book was written to refute the absurd ideas presented in one such slanderous pamphlet, entitled ‘<em>Ilhami Girgit</em>’ (Divine Chameleon). It lays bare the author’s deceitfulness and provides relevant quotations of past Muslim divines to explain the true purport of some of the Promised Messiah’sas writings.


Book Content

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ْلُق ِهّٰللاِبَا َو ٖهِتٰيٰا َو ٖهِلْوُسَر ْمُتْنُك َنْوُءِزْهَتْسَت۠ Say: Was it Allah and His Signs and His Messenger that you mocked at? ( S u rah at-Taubah, 9:66).Reply to a Mockery Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit [Divine Chameleon] H.Ali Islam International Publications

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Reply to a Mockery— A response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit— by H.Ali First published in Urdu in UK, 1991 (ISBN: 1 85372 462 9) First English Translation published in UK, 2019 © Islam International Publications Ltd Published by: Islam International Publications Ltd Unit 3, Bourne Mill Business Park, Guildford Road, Farnham, Surrey UK, GU9 9PS Printed in UK at: Raqeem Press Farnham For further information, please visit www.alislam.org Cover design by: Farhan Naseer ISBN 978-1-84880-319-0 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Contents Foreword.................................................................................v Reply to a Mo c k e r y — Response to the booklet entitled ‘Ilh a m i Girgit’.......1 Light of the Highest Order..............................................1 The So-Called Consensus...............................................14 A British Agent.................................................................26 Villager and Farmer.........................................................29 Preacher of the Message of Islam..................................31 The Mirror to Manifest the Almighty..........................35 Imam Husain and Imam Mahdi....................................41 Perfect Intercessor...........................................................47 Ghulam Ahmad—The Perfect Reflection....................52 Mary and Jesus.................................................................57 House of Allah..................................................................60 H ajr-e-Aswad [the Black Stone]....................................62 His Name Will be Ahmad..............................................64 Mercy for the Universe...................................................66

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Reply to a Mockery iv Seal of Prophets................................................................72 Michael..............................................................................76 The Supreme Prophet Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a s as......................................79 Manifestation of God......................................................82 Water of Faith...................................................................92 Master of the Garden......................................................97 Children of Allah...........................................................101 Be and So it Became......................................................110 I have the Power to Bestow Life and Death...............113 Holy is my Lord, the High............................................118 House of Salvation.........................................................119 I am the God of the Time.............................................125 The True Islamic Beliefs...............................................129 The Qualities of Truth..................................................138 Publisher’s Note................................................................143 Glossary.............................................................................147 Index...................................................................................149

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Foreword There is a long and painful history of poisonous accusations against the Prophets of God.Since the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was founded in 1889, its opponents too have attacked the Promised Messiah (as) in every manner possible.The author of a pamphlet titled Ilh a m i Girgit [Divine Chameleon] has seem- ingly built a case against the Promised Messiah (as) by portraying his teachings as inconsistent, blasphemous, and pandering to colonial powers.This present book, Reply to a Mockery, by H.Ali, is a refutation of these allegations.It exposes the deliberate false- hoods and misleading claims the pamphlet employs to misguide the public.Furthermore, it demonstrates from the writings of the Promised Messiah (as) that his teachings are not only in line with the Holy Quran and Hadith, but that many Islamic scholars, earlier as well as recent ones, hold similar beliefs as the Promised Messiah (as).Even though this book was written as a rebuttal to a specific pamphlet, the same allegations are recast by other opponents of Ahmadiyyat on many occasions.Therefore, both Ahmadis and seekers of truth are sure to find this book beneficial in clearing up

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Reply to a Mockery vi doubts about the claims and teachings of the Promised Messiah, peace be on him.The present English translation will make the arguments of both sides accessible to a larger audience, which can then make up its own mind after reading it.We would like to acknowledge the contributions of Munawar Saeed, Fouzia Bajwa, and Pir Wahid Ahmad in rendering Ris a lah Ilh a m i Girgit kei B a z a r i Tamaskhur K a Jaw a b into English.The Research Cell in Rabwah, Pakistan, carefully verified various cita- tions and references in the book.The English Translation Section of Additional Wak a lat-e-Ta s n i f then finalized this publication.May Allah reward them all for their contributions to this task.A m i n.Al- Ha j Munir-ud-Din Shams Additional Wak i lut-Ta s n i f, London, UK July 2019

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1 ِمْسِب ِهّٰللا ِنٰمْحَّرلا ِمْيِحَّرلا Reply to a M o c k e r y Response to the booklet entitled ‘Ilh a m i Girgit’ 2 Light of the Highest Order Maulaw i Abul Bashir Irfani, President of Majlis-e-Ta h affu z -e- Khatm-e-Nubuwwat of Ahmadpur Sharqiyyah, has written a pamphlet.It has been published by Majlis-e-Ta h affu z -e-Khatm-e- Nubuwwat, Multan.He tries his level best to falsify the claims of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as of Qadian in the pamphlet enti- tled Ilh ami Girgit [Divine Chameleon], and the reason given for this title is: He [i.e.Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad] does not stick to any one claim, so we have called this pamphlet Ilh a m i Girgit.As a chameleon changes its colours, so does Mirza Sahib change his claims.( Ilh a m i Girgit , p.6) 1.In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful [Publisher] 2.Divine Chameleon [Publisher]

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2 In his attempts to justify this tall talk, he cites various claims of Hadrat Mirza Sahib.For example, his claim that he is the divine reformer appointed by Allah; that he is a Mujaddid (reformer) and a Mu h addath (recipient of divine revelation) ; that he is the Im a m of this age; that he is Waliyyull a h (friend of Allah), Waliyyur R a hma n (friend of the Gracious Lord); that he is a Nabiyyull a h (Prophet of God); that he is Kh a tamul-Khulaf a ’ (the Seal of the Caliphs); that he is the Promised Messiah, Mahd i (the Guided Leader), recipient of divine revelation, Ras u l (Messenger), and a manifestation of the previous Prophets—i.e.Prophets Adam, Seth, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, and John (may peace be on them all).Similarly, in declaring him- self to be a likeness of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as , he claims to be a fulfilment of the prophecy 1 ۤٗهُمْسا ُدَمْحَا.Thus he claims that he is a reflection of Kh a tamul-Anbiy a ’ (the Seal of the Prophets) and of Ra h matullil-‘ A lam i n (Mercy for all the worlds).Again, he takes on the titles of Krishna, Gopal, King of the Aryas, Am i n-ul-Mulk Jai Singh Bah a dur, and so on.Moreover, for the sole purpose of increasing the number of his allegations, when quoting from Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s writings, Maulaw i Sahib manufactures certain titles and leaves the reader with the impression that those titles were used by Hadrat Mirza Sahib himself.Before lifting the veil from his fraud and deception, we would like to point out to our esteemed readers that in Maulaw i Sahib’s pamphlet, the lineage and personal status of Hadrat Mirza Sahib is also counted as a claim.For example, his being of the Chinese race, of Persian descent, a Barl a s Mughal, a descendant 1.His name will be Ahmad ( S u rah a s - S aff, 61:7).

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 3 of Hadrat Fatimah through some paternal grandmothers and in fulfilment of certain prophesies, his being a landowner.Esteemed reader! Maulaw i Sahib is a learned man with an Honours degree in Arabic.Even the most ignorant of men knows that an individual has several titles with reference to his per- sonal status and relationships.If, after receiving his various aca- demic accolades, Maulaw i Sahib had taken the trouble to reflect on his own person he may have realised that he is Abul Bashir as well as Irfani.He is a scholar as well as a degree holder.He is an Ahmedpuri as well as a Punjabi and a Pakistani, etc.Having con- ducted such an analysis of himself, he could then describe himself as a ‘strange chameleon’! Maulaw i Sahib’s state of mind reminds us of an incident from the time of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.The Holy Prophet s as asked a child, ‘Who is the brother of your mother?’ The child had to think hard; the Holy Prophet s as then told him with a smile, ‘He is your maternal uncle, of course.’ Had, God forbid, Maulaw i Sahib been present at that time, what would he have made of this man who, at one and the same time, was an uncle to the boy and a brother to his mother? As far as Maulaw i Sahib is concerned, making a number of claims and holding many descriptive and dignitary titles proves a person’s falsehood.Attacks of this nature on Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) prove that Maulaw i Sahib’s heart holds no love for our Lord and Master, the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.Nor does he have any comprehension of the Holy Prophet’s s as descriptive and dignitary titles, his high status, or his claims.Had he any such understanding, he would have realised that our beloved leader, the manifestation of divine attributes, beloved of

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4 the Exalted Lord, the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as is the one who becomes the real target of his attacks.Before we go into details, we present our readers with a sampling of claims made by various holy Muslim personages.These show that a multiplicity of claims and titles emphasize their high rank and status.Their rank and status is not diminished by such multiplicity.If these claims are objectionable and prove the falsity of the claimant, as Maulaw i Sahib states, do these people also deserve the title given by him to this pamphlet? We find such a notion repug- nant.We ask Maulaw i Sahib what he makes of Hadrat Shams-ud- Din Tabrezi rta who says: م وتیئ ی � ٰی و رم ع�یس مہ آدم و آن دم وتیئ، مہ را ش � ی � زی دبہ درو � مہ راز و مہ رحمم وتیئ، �چ�ی� You are N uh , You are A dam , You are ‘ I s a [son of ] Maryam...( D i w a n-e-K a mil, Hadrat Shams Tabrezi p.9, S a zm a n Intish a r a t J a wid a n Press, 1352 AH) And what allegation would he level against Hadrat Ibn ‘Arabi rta who says: ْ اَنَا الْقُرْآن ُ و َ السَّبْع ُ الْمَثَانِی I am the Holy Quran and I am the S u rah al-F a ti h ah… ( Al-Fut uha tul-Makkiyyah, Mu h yud di n Ibn ‘Arabi, vol.1, p.43, D a ru I h y a ’it-Tur a thil-‘Arabiyyi, Beirut, first edition) Likewise, what appellation will he give to Hadrat Bay a z i d Bis t am i , who when asked, ‘What is ‘Arsh? ’, replied: ‘It is I;’ when

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 5 asked, ‘What is the Throne of God?’, replied: ‘It is I;’ when asked, ‘What is the tablet and the pen [with which the decrees of God are written]?’, replied, ‘It is I;’ when asked, ‘Who are these men of God—Ibr a h i m, M u s a , and Muhammad [may peace and bless- ings be on them]?’, replied, ‘They are all I;’ when asked, ‘Is it true that Jibr a ’ i l, M i k a’i l, Isr a f i l, and ‘Izr a’i l [may peace be on them] are all servants of the Great and Glorious God?’, replied, ‘They are all I’ ( Tadhkiratul-Auliy a ’, Urdu, Sheikh Far i d-ud-D i n ‘A tta r, pp.146–147, published by D i n Muhammadi Press, Lahore).And what name will Maulaw i Sahib assign to Hadrat Sh a h Wali yy ull a h Mu h addith Dehlav i , who claimed that: یم اامسء رمدم را نم وبدم وآہچن رب ونح وطافن دش و ببس رصنۃ او دش نم وبدم عل� ت � را نم ت ٰی م�ی� ع�یس ٰی نم وبدم اح�ی�اء س وم ت یم را زلگار تشگ نم وبدم وتر�ی� �ہ� آہچن اربا.� ی� م� ل ٰی نم وبدم وادمحل ہّٰلل رب ااعل مصطف وبدم رقن I was found in the teachings of names [given to Hadrat A dam as] and I was the succour that came at the time of N uh ’s deluge; it was I who turned the fire of Ibr a h i m as into flowers, I was the Torah of M u s a as.I was the one who revived the dead at the time of ‘ I s a as and I was the Quran of Muhammad s as.And all praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.( At-Tafh i m a tul-Il a hiyyah, Sh a h Wali yy ull a h Mu h addith Dehlav i vol.1, p.17, printed at Ak a d i miyyatush-Sh a h Wali yy ull a h, Ma t ba‘ al- H aidari Lajpat Road, Hyderabad, Pakistan, 1970) Respected readers! By now you will have gained an idea of the

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6 perversity of Maulaw i Sahib’s logic.The truth is, and no one can deny it, that: کَثْرَۃ ُ الَْسْمَاء ِ تَدُل ُّ عَلٰی شَرْف ِ الْمُسَمّٰی وَفَضْلِہٖ.Multiplicity of titles is proof of the high status, nobility, and superiority of the bearer of those titles.( Tafs i rul- Kh a zin al-Musamm a Lib a bit-T a’ w i l f i Ma‘ a nit-Tanz i l, vol.1, p.15, Commentary on S u rah al-F a ti h ah, D a rul- Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, first edition, 1995) The Chief of all Prophets, Muhammad s as , was blessed with the greatest number of titles because: The light of utmost grandeur given to man, that is, the most perfect man, could not be found in the angels, the stars, the moon or the sun.It could not be found in the oceans and rivers of the earth.It was not even to be found in rubies or garnets, emeralds, diamonds or pearls.In short, that light could not be found in any earthly or celes- tial material.It was only to be found in man, that is, in the most perfect man—whose most profound, most perfect, and the highest being is our lord and master, the Chief of Prophets, the Chief of all living beings, Muhammad Mu st af a, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.So that light was given to that [perfect] man and it was also given, in accordance with their respective merit, to those who, to some extent, adorned themselves with his attrib- utes..And this glory is to be found in its highest, its most

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 7 complete, and its most excellent form in our leader, our master, our guide, the Truthful and the Authenticated, Muhammad Mu st af a, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.( A’ i n a h Kam a l a t-e-Isl a m, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.5, pp.160–162) Some of the names of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as found in the Holy Quran are: 1.Ahmad (The One Who Praises) S u rah a s - S aff, 61:7.2.Muhammad (The Praised One) S u rah al-Fat h , 48:30.3.Y a S ī n (Perfect Leader) S u rah Y a S i n, 36:2–4.4.Ta H a (Perfect Man) S u rah Ta H a , 20:2–3.5.Muzzammil (Wrapped in Mantle) S u rah al-Muzzammil, 73:2.6.Muddaththir (Covered in the Cloak) S u rah Al-Muddaththir, 74:2.7.Umm i (Unlettered Prophet) S u rah al-A ‘ r a f , 7:158.8.D a ‘ i Ilall a h (Summoner to Allah) S u rah al-A h z a b , 33:47.9.Sir a jun Mun ī run (Radiant Lamp) S u rah al-A h z a b , 33:47.10.Mundhirun (Warner) S u rah ar-Ra‘d , 13:8.11.H a d i (Guide) S u rah ar-Ra‘d , 13:8.12.Sh a hid (Witness) S u rah al-A h z a b , 33:46.13.Mubashshir (Bearer of Glad Tidings) S u rah al-A h z a b , 33:46.14.Nadh ī r (Warner) S u rah al-A h z a b , 33:46.15.Muzakk i (Purifies) S u rah al-Jumu‘ah , 62:3.16.Yu‘allimuhumul-Kit a ba wal H ikmah (Teacher of the Book and Wisdom) S u rah al-Jumu‘ah , 62:3

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8 17.Nūr (Light) S u rah al-M a ’idah , 5:16.18.Burh a n (Manifest Proof ) S u rah an-Nis a ’ , 4:175.19.Hudan (Guidance) S u rah an-Naml , 27:78.20.Ra h matul-Lil-Mu’minīn (Mercy for Believers) S u rah an-Naml , 27:78.21.Ra h matul-Lil ‘Ālamīn ( Mercy for all People ) S u rah al - An- biy a ’ , 21:108.22.Desirous of your Welfare S u rah at-Taubah , 9:128.23.Ra’ūf (Compassionate) S u rah at-Taubah , 9:128.24.Ra h īm (Merciful) S u rah at-Taubah , 9:128.25.Sh a h i d (Witness) S u rah al- H ajj , 22:79.26.‘Al a Khuluqin ‘A zī m (Possessor of High Moral Excellences) S u rah al-Qalam , 68:5.27.Awwalul-Muslimīn (The First to Submit) S u rah al-An ‘ a m , 6:164.28.Rasūlull a h (The Messenger of Allah) S u rah al-A h z a b , 33:41.29.Kh a tamun-Nabiyyīn (The Seal of the Prophets) S u rah al-A h z a b , 33:41.30.‘ Abdull a h (Servant of Allah) S u rah al-Jinn , 72:20.31.Al-Kauthar (Recipient of Abundance) S u rah al-Kauthar , 108:2 32.Mu h y i (Giver of Life to Believers) S u rah al-Anf a l , 8:25.33.[The One] Carried from the Sacred Mosque to the Distant Mosque S u rah Ban i Isr a ’ i l , 17:2.34.Q a ba Qausain (One Chord to two Bows) S u rah An-Najm, 53:10.In addition to the above Quranic names, the Holy Prophet s as has also mentioned the following blessed names as applying to him:

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 9 35.al-M ahi (Eraser of disbelief ) 36.al- Ha shir (Gatherer—of people under his auspices) 37.al-‘ Ā qib (One who comprehends the goodness of all Prophets) These three names are mentioned in the following hadith: هللا ُ عَلَيْه ِ وَسَلَّم……َأَنَا الْمَاحِي الَّذِي ْ يَمْحُو الل َُّ بِي َ الْكُفْرَ، ی َّ قَال َ رَسُول ُ الل َِّ صَل قَدَمِيْ، وَأَنَا الْعَاقِبُ.ی وَأَنَا الْحَاشِر ُ الَّذِي ْ يُحْشَر ُ النَّاس ُ عَلَ The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: I am al-M ahi —Eraser of disbelief, and I am al- Ha shir —the Gatherer of people under his auspices, and I am al-‘ Ā qib [i.e.One who comprehends the good- ness of all Prophets].( S a hi h al-Bukh a r i , Kit a bul Man a qib, Hadith no.3532) 38.al-Muqaffa (Well-compo sed—i.e.created in the perfect mode ) 39.An-Nabiyyur-Ra h mah (The Prophet of Mercy) 40.An-Nabiyyut-Taubah (The Prophet of Repentance) 41.An-Nabiyyul-Mal h amah (the Prophet who is made to fight bloody battles) These names are mentioned, along with some others, in the fol- lowing hadith: ً هللا ُ عَلَيْه ِ وَسَلَّم َ نَفْسَه ٗ أَسْمَاء ی َّ لَنَا رَسُوْل ُ الل َِّ صَل ی َشْعَرِي ِّ قَال َ سَمَّ ْأ ال ی َ عَن ْ أَبِي ْ مُوس

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10 َ مِنْهَا مَا حَفِظْنَا فَقَال َ أَنَا مُحَمَّدٌ، وأَحْمَدُ، والْمُقَفّٰي، والْحَاشِرُ، ونَبِي ُّ الرَّحْمَةِ، قَال يَزِيْدُ، ونَبِي ُّ التَّوْبَة ِ و نَبِي ُّ الْمَلْحَمَةِ.Hadrat Abu M u sa al-Ash‘ari says that the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, informed us of some of his names.Those among them that we remem- ber are that he said: I am Muhammad , Ahmad, al-Muqa- ffa [well-compo sed—i.e.created in the perfect mode ] , al- Ha shir [the Gatherer], An-Nab i yyur-Ra h mah [The Prophet of Mercy], An-Nabiyyut-Taubah [The Prophet of Repentance] and An-Nabiyyul-Mal h amah [the Prophet who is made to fight bloody battles].( Musnadul Im a m Ahmad bin H anbal, vol.6, p.594–595, H ad i th Abi Musa al-Ash‘ariyy, H ad i th 19754, Ma t bū‘ah ‘ A lamul-Kutub, Beirut, 1998) 42.Sayyidu-Waladi- A dam (Noblest of the progeny of Adam) 43.Shaf i ‘ (Intercessor) These names are mentioned in the following hadith: ِ هللا ُ عَلَيْه ِ وَسَلَّم َ أَنَا سَيِّد ُ وَلَد ِ آدَم َ يَوْم َ الْقِيَامَة ی َّ عَن ْ أَبِي ْ سَعِيْدٍ، قَال َ قَال َ رَسُول ُ هللا ِ صَل وَل َ فَخْر…َوَأَنَا أَوَّل ُ شَافِع ٍ يَوْم َ الْقِيَامَة ِ وَل َ فَخْرَ.Hadrat Ab u Sa‘ i d says that the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: I am Sayyidu- Waladi- A dam [Noblest of the progeny of Adam], but I am not proud of it and I am Shaf i ‘ [Intercessor] but I am not proud of it.( Musnadul Im a m Ahmad bin H a n bal,

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 11 H ad i th Abi Sa‘ i d al-Khudriyy ra, H ad i th 11000, printed at ‘ A lamul-Kutub, Beirut, 1998) 44.Was i lah (Recipient of the Highest status in Paradise) This name is mentioned in the following hadith: هللا ُ عَلَيْه ِ وَسَلَّم َ سَلُوا هللا َ لِي َ الْوَسِيْلَة َ قَالُوا يَا رَسُول َ هللا ِ وَمَا ی َّ َقَال َ رَسُول ُ هللا ِ صَل ُوْن َ أَنَا هُو.ک َ دَرَجَة ٍ فِي الْجَنَّة ِ ل َ يَنَالُهَا إِل َّ رَجُل ٌ وَاحِد ٌ أَرْجُو ْ أَن ْ أ ی َ الْوَسِيْلَةُ؟ قَال َ أَعْل The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: Pray to Allah that I may be granted Was i lah.We asked: O Prophet of Allah, what is Was i lah? He answered: It is the highest station in Paradise; only one person will attain it, and it is my hope that I would be the one.( Sunanut-Tirmidh i , Abw a bul-Man a qibi ‘an Ras u lill a h sas , B a bun f i Fa d lin-Nabiyyi s as , H ad i th 3612) 45.Ha milu Liw a ’ il H amd (Bearer of the flag of homage to Allah the Almighty) This name is mentioned in the following hadith: هللا ُ عَلَيْه ِ وَسَلَّم َ أَنَا سَيِّد ُ وَلَد ِ آدَم َ يَوْم َ الْقِيَامَة ِ وَل َ فَخْرَ، وَبِيَدِي ی َّ قَال َ رَسُول ُ هللا ِ صَل لِوَاء ُ الْحَمْد ِ وَل َ فَخْرَ.The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: On the Day of Judgment, I will be the Sayyidu-Waladi- A dam [Noblest of the progeny of Adam],

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12 and I am not proud of it, and in my hand will be the Liw a ’il- H amd [the flag of homage to Allah the Almighty], and I am not proud of it.( Sunanut-Tirmidh i , Abw a bul- Man a qibi ‘an Ras u lill a h s as , B a bun f i Fa d lin-Nabiyyi s as , Hadith 3615) 46.Akramul-Awwal i n wal- Ā khir i n [Noblest among the first as well as the last] This name is mentioned in the following hadith: خِرِيْن َ وَل َ فَخْرَ.ْآ َوَّلِيْن َ وَال ْأ ْرَم ُ ال ک َ أَنَا أ I am the Noblest among the first as well as the last, and I am not proud of it.( Sunanut-Tirmidh i , Abw a bul-Man a qibi ‘an Ras u lill a h s as , B a bun f i Fa d lin-Nabiyyi s as , H ad i th 3616) 47.Ākhirul-Anbiy a ’ (Last among the Prophets) This name is mentioned in the following hadith: َنْبِيَاء ِ وَإِنَّه ُ آخِر ُ الْمَسَاجِدِ.هللا ُ عَلَيْه ِ وَسَلَّم َ فَإِنِّي ْ آخِر ُ الْأ ی َّ قَال َ رَسُوْل ُ الل َِّ صَل The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: I am the last of the Prophets and this mosque of mine is the last of the mosques.( Sunanun- Nas a ’i, Kit a bul-Mas a jid, B a bu Fa d l Masjidin-Nabiyyi s as , H ad i th 693)

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 13 48.Mu h ill (He who declares what is lawful) 49.Mu h arrim (He who declares what is prohibited).These names are mentioned in the following hadith: هللا ُ عَلَيْه ِ وَسَلَّم َ إِل َّ مُحِل ًّ وَمُحَرِّمًا.ی َّ مَا بُعِث َ نَبِي ُّ هللا ِ صَل The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him was raised as Mu h ill (He who declares what is lawful) And Mu h arrim (He who declares what is prohibited).( S a hih Muslim, Kit a bu s - S aidi Wa-dhab a ’i h wa m a yu’kalu minal- h ayaw a ni, B a bu Ib ah ati d - D abbi, H ad i th 5014.) The above is a sample of the claims and the blessed titles of the Holy Prophet s as.In fact, our lord and master Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is a perfect reflection of all divine attributes.His claims reflect his truthfulness and his nobility.Borrowing from Abul Bashir’s reasoning, we pose the question: Does he believe that the numerous claims of the Holy Prophet s as prove him (God forbid, God forbid) to be a liar and impostor? No, certainly not.We declare in the name of God that it is not so; rather, every single title and claim testifies to the extent of his glory.But Maulaw i Abul Bashir, with his novel reasoning, proves himself a liar, time and time again.Who can be more foolish than the one who cuts the very branch on which he is sitting? Or who, blinded by obstinacy or enmity, attacks others in such a manner as to attack his dear ones? If Maulaw i Sahib had in his heart even an ounce of love for God’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, he would

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14 have considered the repercussions of his attacks on our lord and master the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as before levying them upon Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as.The So-Called Consensus Maulaw i Abul Bashir has cited in his pamphlet the follow- ing extract from Shara h Fiqh Akbar [The Great exposition of Jurisprudence] by Hadrat Mull a ‘Al i Q a r i rh.The arguments he then gives are based on this extract.ِ ُفْر ٌ بِالِْجْمَاع ک دَعْوَی النُّبُوَّۃ ِ بَعْد َ نَبِیِّنَا ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص It is the consensus of opinion that any claim to prophet- hood after our Holy Prophet s as is tantamount to kufr (disbelief ).( Sharhu Mull a ‘Al i al-Q a r i , p.164, Shirkah Maktabah Mu st af a al-B a bi al-Halabi wa Aul a duhu bi-Mi s ra, second ed., 1900) Maulaw i Sahib! You claim to be a learned man with an honours degree, yet you do not know that the question of consensus (of opinion) about an issue only arises when clear, definitive state- ments from the Quran and the Hadith are not available to come to a conclusion.Why do you not give precedence to the Quran? Does the community not have consensus of opinion regarding the Quran? We realise that you cannot, as the Quran does not contain a single verse to support your stance.In fact, there are a number of verses that not only leave open the possibility of prophethood,

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 15 but also clearly indicate that a Prophet will most certainly come, but also mention the covenant whereby the Prophets pledged their support to all other Prophets, and this pledge was specifi- cally taken from the Holy Prophet s as.For details, see S u rah Āl-e- ‘Imr a n 3:82 and S u rah al-A h z a b 33:8.Similarly, in many of the a ha d i th , the Holy Prophet s as men- tions the advent of a subordinate Prophet and he refers to the future Promised Messiah and Mahdi as a Prophet.As an example the following hadith is presented.ْنَه ُ نَبِي ٌّ وَل َ رَسُولٌ، أَل َ إِنَّه ُ خَلِيْفَتِي فِي ْ أُمَّتِيْ.ی ْنِي وَبَ ی َم َ لَیْس َ بَ ي ْ اَل َ اِن َّ عِیْسَی ابْن َ مَر Beware that there is neither a Prophet nor a Messenger between Isa son of Mary and me.Beware that he will be my successor from within my Ummah.( Al-Mu‘jamul- Ausa t u Li t - T ibr a ni, B a bul-‘Aini Manismuhu ‘Īs a , H ad i th 4898, vol.3, p.383, D a rul-Fikr, Amman, Jordan, first ed., 1999) In the face of such clear-cut pronouncements by God and His Messenger, does the so-called consensus have any value? Such a belief could mean only that there is a consensus that the Holy Prophet’s s as prophecy would not be fulfilled and that God’s Word is not true (God forbid, God forbid).It is wrong to say that all Muslims, without exception, believe that a Prophet can never be born into the Ummah.As far as the question of a law-bearing Prophet is concerned, all Muslims, the Quran, and the Hadith, agree that there can never be a Prophet outside the Shariah and dominion of the Seal of Prophets,

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16 Muhammad s as.But as for a Prophet who is subordinate and com- pletely dedicated to Muhammad s as , all are agreed that there is no obstacle to his coming.Further, the Quran and the Hadith not only allow for such a Prophet, they clearly predict his advent.As far as the opinions of Muslim saints are concerned, some examples are presented to the reader.The eminent divine of the first century, Imam of the Shias, Hadrat Imam B a qir ra (died 765 CE, 148 AH) discusses the subject of prophethood and leadership as follows: َ ْم َ الْكِتٰب ي ِ ه ِ عَز َّ وَجَل َّ فَقَد ْ اٰتَیْنَا اٰل َ اِبْرَا هللا ِ ْہ ِ السَّلَم ُ فِی ْ قَوْل ي ِ عَن ْ اَبِی ْ جَعْفَر ٍ عَلَ َقِرُّوْن َ فِی ْ اٰل ي َ َئِمَّة َ فَكَيْف ْمًا.جَعَل َ مِنْھُم ُ الرُّسُل َ وَالَْنْبِيَاء َ وَالْأ ي ِ ُم ْ مُلْكًا عَظ ه وَاٰتَیْنَا هللا ُ عَلَيْه ِ وَاٰلِہٖ.ی َّ ُنْكِرُوْنَہ ٗ فِي ْ اٰل ِ مُحَمَّد ٍ صَل ي َ ْہ ِ السَّلَم ُ و ي ْم َ عَلَ ي ِ ه اِبْرَا Hadrat Ab u Ja‘far [i.e.Im a m B a qir ra], in one of his com- mentaries, explains these words of the Glorious God: ْمًا ي ِ ُم ْ مُلْكًا عَظ ه ْم َ الْكِتٰب َ وَاٰتَیْنَا ي ِ ه فَقَد ْ اٰتَیْنَا اٰل َ اِبْرَا He says that Allah made Prophets, Messengers, and Imams from the progeny of Hadrat Ibrahim as.Surprisingly, peo- ple accept the idea of Prophets and Im a ms from among the people of Ibrahim as, yet reject the same idea for the followers of Muhammad s as.( A s - Sa f i Shar h u Us u lil-K a f i , Mull a Khal i l, vol.3, pt.1, p.119, Ma t ba‘ Fai d Manba‘ Munshi Nuwalkishor, Lucknow) The eminent divine of the sixth century, Sufi Hadrat Mu h yudd i n Ibn ‘Arab i (died 1240 CE, 638 AH) says:

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 17 ٌ َان َ التَّشْرِيْع ُ قَد ْ اِنْقَطَعَ، فَالتَّشْرِيْع ُ جُزْء ک ْ يَوْم ِ الْقِيَامَة ِ فِي الْخَلْقِ.وَإِن ی ٰ فَالنُّبُوَّة ُ سَارِيَة ٌ إِل مِّن ْ أَجْزَاء ِ النُّبُوَّةِ.Prophethood continues in the creation till the Day of Judgment, although law-bearing prophethood has ended.Bringing down a law is just a part of propheth- ood.( Al-Fut uha tul-Makkiyyah by Mu h yudd i n Ibn ‘Arab i , vol.2, p.89, D a ru I h y a ’it-Tur a thil-‘Arabiyyi, Beirut, first edition) The Imam of Hind, Shah Wali yy ull a h rta Mu h addith Dehlav i (died 1762 CE, 1171 AH), who was the first to translate the Holy Quran into Persian, in accordance with God’s teachings states: ِ ْع ِ عَلَی النَّاس ي ِ ُ سُبْحَانَہ ٗ بِالتَّشْر هللا ُ َّأْمُرُہ ي ْ ُوْجَد ُ بَعْدَہ ُ مَن ي َ ُّوْن َ اَي ْ ل ي خُتِم َ بِہ ِ النَّبِ The Holy Prophet s as is the Seal of Prophets.This means that, after him, no divinely appointed person will be raised for mankind with a new Shari ‘ ah.( at-Tafh i m a tul-Il a hi- yyah, Sh a h Wali yy ull a h Mu h addith Dehlav i , vol.2, p.85, Ma t bū‘ah Ak a d i miyyatush-Sh a h Wali yy ull a h, al- H aidari Lajpat Road Press, Hyderabad, Pakistan, 1968) The eminent learned divine, Hadrat Maul a n a Abul H asan a t ‘Abdul H ayy (died 1882 CE, 1304 AH), has the following to say about the Seal of Prophethood: ی ہ ن آرضحنت ےک رجمد یسک یبن اک وہان احمل � ی دعب آرضحنت ےک � ی ا زامےن م ہکلب اصبح رشع دج� ی د وہان اہتبل عنتمم ےہ.

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18 It is not impossible for a Prophet to be born during or after the Holy Prophet s as ; however, it is absolutely impossible that a law-bearing Prophet should appear.( Abul- H asan a t Muhammad ‘Abdul H ayy Atharu Ibni ‘Abb a s f i D a fi‘il Wisw a s, p.16, Ma t ba‘ Yūsufi Farangi Ma h al, Lucknow, second ed.) This learned divine of the Ahl-e-Sunnat, who is remembered as the sea of reason and knowledge and as the best of translators, also says: وکیئ ی ہک آرضحنت ؐ ےک رصع م ی ہ رکےت � ی املعء الہ تنس یھب اس ارم یک رصت� وہ اتکس.اور وبنت آپ ؐ یک اعم ےہ اور وج یبن آپ ؐ ےک ی ہ ن یبن اص ِبح رشع دج� ی د � ِ دمحم� ی اک وہاگ.ت رصعمہ وہاگ عبتم رش�یع� The learned people of the Ahl-e-Sunnat also accept that during the Holy Prophet’s reign there can be no new law-bearing Prophet.Further, his prophethood is ‘ A m [standard], whereas the Prophet who should appear in his era [i.e.after his advent] will be a follower of the law of Muhammad s as.( Majm u ‘atun li-Fat a w a by Maulaw i ‘Abdul- Hayy , vol.1, p.144, Ma t ba‘ Yūsufi, Lucknow, 1314 AH) Similarly the renowned Nawab Sidd i q H asan Kh a n, who is highly revered by the Ahl-e-Hadith, says: آ� ی ا ےہ اس ےک ینعم ْ ل َ نَبِي َّ بَعْدِي ےب الص ےہ اہں ْ ل َ وَحْي َ بَعْد َ مَوْتِی ث ی دح� ہک می رے دعب وکیئ یبن رشع انخس ہن الوے اگ.ی ہ الہ ملع ےک � ی � ی زند�

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 19 There is no basis for the so-called hadith ْ ل َ وَحْی َ بَعْد َ مَوْتِی [there will be no revelation after my death], but there is a hadith ْ ل َ نَبِی َّ بَعْدِي [There is no Prophet after me].People who are endowed with knowledge understand it to mean that there can be no Prophet after the Holy Prophet s as who would abrogate the Shariah.( Iqtir a bus-S a ‘ah, by N u rul- H asan Kh a n , p.162, Ma t ba‘ Muf i d ‘Ām Tab‘, 1301 AH) Respected readers! Maulaw i Sahib tried to make a truth out of a lie by referring to the so-called consensus.But where does this ‘consensus’ exist.The divines of Ahl-e-Tashayyu‘, Ahl-e-Sunnat, Ahl-e-Hadith, and the Barelvis, as quoted above, have expressed the belief that the door is certainly open for prophethood without a new law.Thus his tall talk stands uprooted.Now let us examine the ideology of the divine whom Maulaw i Abul Bashir follows, i.e.Maulana Muhammad Q a sim Nan o taw i , founder of the Madrasah Deoband.Maulana Muhammad (died 1880 CE, 1297 AH) writes: According to lay people, the Messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, being kh a tam means that his era came after the era of the past Prophets and that he is the last Prophet.But it is apparent to those endowed with insight that coming in a particular sequence holds no honour in itself.How then can the verse 1 َ وَلٰـكِن ْ رَّسُوْل َ هللا ِ وَخَاتَم َ النَّبِيِّيْن 1.‘...but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets’ ( S u rah al-A h z a b , 33:41).

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20 be interpreted to convey a compliment to the Holy Prophet s as.If one does not consider Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n to be a praiseworthy trait or a rank of honour, only then can Kh a tamiyyat be interpreted as the last […] But I know that this will be intolerable to every Muslim.( Ta h dh i run-N a s Min Ink a ri Athari Ibni ‘Abb a s by Maul a n a Muhammad Q a sim Nanotawi, p.41–42, Ma t bū‘ah Id a ratul-‘Az i z Gujranw a lah, Ma t ba‘ Suhail Printers, Bil a l Ganj, Lahore, third edition, 2001) He further explains in the same book: Assuming that a Prophet is raised after the time of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, such an advent would not in any way affect his status as the Seal of Prophets.( Ta h dh i run-N a s Min Ink a ri Athari Ibni ‘Abb a s az Maul a n a Muhammad Q a sim Nanotawi, p.85, Ma t bū‘ah Id a ratul-‘Az i z Gujranw a lah, Ma t ba‘ Suhail Printers, Bil a l Ganj, Lahore, T ab‘a Sowum, 2001) Now since every school of thought of the Muslim Ummah accepts the possibility of prophethood, what sense can one make of Maulaw i Sahib’s claim of a consensus? How pitiable is the con- dition of the people who accept Maulaw i Sahib’s baseless claim of consensus, while his leader’s beliefs are to the contrary! (Maulaw i Sahib should not have made any such statement.When one believes in someone and claims to be a follower of that person, one should at least accept his teachings and not contradict them).Furthermore, the writings of many Muslim divines prove

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 21 Maulaw i Sahib and his ilk to be liars.The divines proclaim that law-bearing prophethood is the only kind of prophethood that has been terminated.In other words, a Prophet independent of Muhammad’s s as Shariah can never appear in this world.But a Prophet who is a follower and subordinate to him s as can come and this is not objectionable.Many Muslim divines have made public their belief in such a possibility.Hadrat Imam ‘ Abdul Wahh a b Sha ‘ r a n i rta, Sheikh ‘Abdul Q a dir Kurdustan i rta, the famous Naqshband i saint Hadrat Mirza Mazharj a n Janan rta, Hadrat Syed ‘Abdul Kar i m Jilan i rta, Hadrat Sheikh B a l i Afand i rta, Hadrat Maul a na Jal a l-ud-D i n R u m i rta, and above all, Ummul Mu’min i n [Mother of the Faithful] Hadrat A’ishah Siddiqah ra, all held this belief.Hadrat A’ishah ra once said: ُ قُوْلُوْا خَاتَم النَّبِيّين وَل َ تَقُوْلُوْا ل َ نَبِي َّ بَعْدَه Call him (i.e.Muhammad s as ) the Seal of Prophets, but do not say that there will be no Prophet after him.( Ad-Durrul-Manth u r fit-Tafs i ri bil-Ma’th u r, Im a m Jalal- ud-D i n as-Suyū t i, vol.6, p.545, S u rah al-A h z a b , 33:41, D a ru I h y a ’it-Tur a th al-‘Arabiyy, Beirut, first ed., 2001.) Sheikhul-Imam, Hadrat Ibn-e-Qat i bah rta (died 267 AH), after quoting this saying of Hadrat A’ishah ra, writes: َ َنَّه ُ أَرَاد ِأ الل َُّ عَلَيْه ِ وَسَلَّم َ ل َ نَبِي َّ بَعْدِي ل ی َّ ْس َ هٰذَا مِن ْ قَوْلِهَا، نَاقِضًا لِقَوْل ِ النَّبِي ِّ صَل ی َ ل ل َ نَبِي َّ بَعْدِيْ، يَنْسَخ ُ مَا جِئْت ُ بِهِ.This does not contradict the saying of the Holy Prophet s as

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22 that ‘There will be no Prophet after me’, as he simply meant that there would be no Prophet who would abrogate his Shariah.( Kit a bu-Ta’w i li Mukhtalifil- H ad i th, Im a m Ibn- e-Qat i bah rta, p.236, Ma t ba‘ Kurdist a n al-‘Āmiyah, Egypt, 1326 AH) From the Indian sub-continent, the famous teacher of Hadith, Hadrat Muhammad Ta hir rta (died 986 AH, 1578 CE), explains Hadrat ‘ A ’ishah’s words as follows: َ ُنَافِی ْ ح: «ل َ نَبِی َّ بَعْدِيْ» لَِنَّہ ٗ اَرَاد َ ل ي َ ْضًا ل ي هٰذَا نَاظِر ٌ اِلٰی نُزُوْل ِ عِیْسٰی وَهٰذَا اَ َنْسَخ ُ شَرْعَہٗ.ي َّ نَبِي This is an indication that Prophet Jesus as is destined to appear in this world again, and his advent will not contra- dict the Holy Prophet’s hadith: ‘There will be no Prophet after me,’ because here the Holy Prophet s as means that there will be no Prophet after him who will abrogate his law.( Majma‘u Bi ha ril-Anw a r f i Ghar a ’ibit-Tanz i li wa La ta ’ifil-Akhb a ri Ma‘at-Takm i lah, Muhammad Ta hir as- S idd i qi vol.5, p.502, Maktabah D a rul-Īm a n al-Mad i- nah al-Munawwarah, third ed., 1994.) The hadith, ‘There will be no Prophet after me’ has also been explained by Hadrat Sh a h Wali yy ull a h rta Mu h addith Dehlav i , Hadrat Noshah Gunj rta (Imam and founder of Tar i qah Nosh a hiah), Khalifah Ha fi z Barkhudd a r rta and the renowned scholar of Ahl-e- H ad i th, Naw a b Muhammad Sidd i q Hasan

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 23 Khanrh.They all write that it simply means that there will be no law-bearing Prophet after the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.It is now quite clear that Maulaw i Sahib’s twisted belief, which he calls the consensus of the whole Ummah, is not the belief of the learned scholars and saints.Their writings are unequivocal about what they believed in.Maulaw i Sahib impudently tries to attrib- ute his twisted belief to them.Maulaw i Sahib! You try to build your argument using the book Shar h Fiqh Akbar by Hadrat Mull a Ali Qari rta, the renowned Imam of the Hanafi sect.But Hadrat Mull a Ali Qari rta himself explains this matter further in another one of his books.When the Holy Prophet’s s as son Ibr a h i m passed away, the Holy Prophet s as said: لَو ْ عَاش َ لَكَان َ صِدِّيْقًا نَبِيًّا.Had he [Ibr a h i m] lived he would have become a right- eous Prophet.( Sunan Ibn M a jah, Kit a bul-Jan a ’iz, B a bu M a J a ’a fi s - Sa l a ti ‘al a ibni Rasūlillah sas wa Dhikri Waf a tih i , H ad i th 1511) In his book Al-Mau du ‘ a t al-Kubr a , Hadrat Mull a ‘Al i Q a r i rta writes: ْ َكُن ي ْ َنْسَخ ُ مِلَّتَہ ٗ وَلَم ي ُ َاْتِی ْ نَبِی ٌّ بَعْدَہ ي َ ّٖن َ اِذ ِ الْمَعْنَی اَنَّہ ٗ ل ي ِ ُنَاقِض ُ قَوْلَہ ٗ خَاتَم َ النَّب ي َ ٖفَل مِّن ْ اُمَّتِہ The hadith [i.e.‘Had Ibr a h i m lived he would have become a righteous Prophet’] does not contradict the verse where Muhammad s as is described as the ‘Seal of Prophets’, as

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24 what this verse means is that no Prophet can ever come after him who 1) cancels the Holy Prophet’s Shariah or 2) is not from the Holy Prophet’s Ummah.( Al-Mau du ‘ a t al-Kubr a , Mull a ‘Al i al-Q a r i , p.192, Ma t bū‘ah Qad i m i Kutub Kh a nah, Ār a m B a gh, Karachi) Can Maulaw i Sahib now tell us whether or not Hadrat Mull a ‘Al i al-Q a r i rta believed that a subordinate Prophet could come into this world? It is false and misleading to allege that a person making a claim to prophethood after the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as is a k a fir [infidel].Such allegations have nothing to do with Islam.Maulaw i Sahib, please tell us: 1) Has or has not the Holy Prophet s as proph- esied the second coming of the Messiah? 2) Will the Messiah, whose advent you are awaiting, be a Prophet or not? 3) When the Messiah comes and calls himself a Prophet, will you respond by calling him a k a fir? Maulaw i Sahib, please do come to your senses.Use your intel- ligence and be mindful of seeking Allah’s forgiveness, for one day you will have to present yourself in His court.You have twisted your own beliefs just to oppose Ahmadiyyat.Take note of what Hadrat Mu h yudd i n Ibn ‘Arab i (died 638 AH, 1240 CE) said about the Messiah of our Ummah: ْع ٍ وَہُو َ نَبِی ٌّ بِل َ شَكٍّ.ي ِ ْر ِ تَشْر ي ْنَا حَكَمًا مِّن ْ غَ ي َنْزِل ُ فِ ي ُ ْہ ِ السَّلَم ي عِیْسٰی عَلَ Jesus as will be raised among us as arbitor, but he will not bear a new law, yet without doubt, he will be a Prophet.( Al-Fut uha tul-Makkiyyah, Mu h yudd i n Ibn ‘Arab i , vol.

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 25 1, p.662, D a ru I h y a ’it-Tur a thil-‘Arabiyyi, Beirut, first edition) Furthermore, Naw a b Muhammad Sidd i q H asan Kh a n writes: ُوْطِی.ي َمَا صَرَح َ بِہ ِ السُّ ک َفَر َ حَقًّا ک ٖ مَن ْ قَال َ بِسَلْب ِ نَبُوَّتِہ As has been explained by Imam Suyutirh, anyone who believes that the Messiah will lose his prophethood in his second advent is a k a fir.( A th a rul-Qiy a mati f i H ijajil- Kir a mah, Sayyid Muhammad S idd i q H asan Kh a n, p.431, Ma t ba‘ Shahjah a n, Bhopal) Maulaw i Sahib! You do not pay attention to the Holy Quran, you ignore the Hadith, you do not accept the verdict of the saints and scholars of the past, and we are sure that you will not agree with your own leader, Muft i Muhammad Sh a f i‘ , F ad il Deobandi.But as we believe that there will be some Deoband i s who honour their saints and learned divines, we present you with one of Muft i Sahib’s fatwas.He writes: Whosoever denies the prophethood of Jesus, may peace be on him is a k a fir, and the same law will apply in his second advent.It is compulsory to believe in him as a Messenger and Prophet.And when he comes as the Imam of this Ummah, obedience to him will be binding.In short, Jesus as will remain a Messenger and a Prophet in his second coming, and belief in his prophethood—which

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26 has been accepted for the past centuries—will continue.( Register Fat a w a Alif, p.49) A British Agent In his pamphlet, Maulaw i Sahib accuses Hadrat Mirza Sahib of being a British agent, planted and nurtured by the British.Maulaw i Sahib! There can only be two possibilities.Either you have not read Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s writings about his ances- tors, or you have read it and are deliberately concealing and twisting the facts.Leaving aside the details, suffice it to say that Ahmadiyyat began with the Promised Messiah as himself and not before.The people you mention in your pamphlet as hav- ing served the British had nothing to do with Ahmadiyyat.The Promised Messiah’s blood relatives belonged to the Ahl-e-Sunnat and were extremely hostile towards him and his mission.So in reality, the family who disowned him were the so-called ‘British agents’, not Hadrat Mirza Sahib.They had nothing to do with the Ahmadiyya Community and the Almighty made sure to distin- guish them from the Promised Messiah as and his community.He was informed by divine revelation: ‘The family of your forefathers has been severed from you and a new family will spring from you’.Maulaw i Sahib! So this was your attack on Ahmadiyyat, which sprang from your animosity towards us? Now let us take a look at the facts and determine who in reality were the British agents.We start by looking at your own sect.The editor of the mag- azine Tu f a n gathered some data about your sect and came to the conclusion:

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 27 The British very cunningly planted the Te h r i k-e-Najdi y at (the Ahl-e-Hadith refer to the Wahh a b i Movement as the Te h r i k-e-Najdiyat) in India and then nurtured it with his own hands.( Tu f a n, 7th November 1962) Dear readers! You can see how history furnishes evidence.The religious academy of the Deoband i group (Id a ra-e-Nadwa-tul- ‘Ulam a’ ) was founded by the British.The academy’s magazine an-Nadwah reports that on 28 November 1908, His Honour Lt.Governor Sir John Hugh Prescott, K.C.S.I.E., laid the foundation stone of Nadwatul-‘Ulam a’.( An-Nadwah, December 1908, p.1, 2, 4, vol.5, no.11) Further on the same page it is written that this famous reli- gious academy is indebted to an Englishman for its existence.( An-Nadwah, December 1908, p.1, 2, 4, vol.5, no.11) The reasons for establishing the academy, its motto and its charter are explained further: A necessary requirement of the ‘Ulam a’ here is that they should recognize the blessings and favours of the British Government and instruct the general population to be loyal to the government.( An-Nadwah, July 1908, p.1, vol.5, no.6) This is what should be known as a British agent.Planted by the British, it was carefully nurtured and when it grew strong it bore fruit in all seasons, and it always begged for more favours from its masters.As for Majlis-e-Ahr a r, an offshoot of the Deobandi sect, their

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28 most prominent leader, Maul a n a Z afar ‘Al i Kh a n, administrator of the Daily Zam i nd a r, Lahore, writes: Today, because of the Ahrar’s incorrect handling of the Masjid Shah i d Gunj crisis, they have become the target of criticism from other Muslims.However, the Ahrar are being shielded and protected by the British.High-ranking officials of the government have ordered that there should be no disturbance at the Ahrar’s gatherings.Does this not prove that Majlis-e-Ahrar is the government’s agent that has to be nurtured and protected from all kinds of dan- ger? ( Daily Zam i nd a r, 31st August 1935) This statement from Maul a n a Z afar ‘Al i is solid proof that this British agent (i.e.the Ahr a r) was nurtured and protected by the government of the time.But the case of the Ahmadiyya Community is exactly the opposite.No one can furnish any evidence whatsoever that the British rulers of India ever gave the Community a single cent or that the Ahmadis were ever given special protection; this is because the Ahmadiyya Community is a plant sown by the hand of God Almighty.It does not need any worldly authority for its survival.It is not indebted to any worldly power for money or other material objects.You, Maulaw i Sahib, supported as you are by worldly masters, should ponder carefully the words of Hadrat Mirza Sahib: The world does not acknowledge me; but the One who sent me knows me well.People, erroneously and

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 29 ill-fatedly, wish to destroy me.I am that plant which has been sown by the One and True Master with His own hand … O people! Understand that I am supported by the hand that will never break faith with me.If your men and your women, your old and your young, your weak and your strong, should gather together and pray for my destruction, then even though you may pray so hard that your noses rot away in prostrations and your hands become paralysed, He will still not heed your supplica- tions.He will not stop until His task is completed.So do not wrong yourselves.The faces of the honest and the dishonest are not the same.The Almighty does not leave anything without judgment.In the past, He always judged between His appointed servants and those who rejected them.In the same way, He will pass judgment on you, too.There are special seasons for the coming and departing of the Almighty’s appointed servants.So understand—I have not come out of season, nor will I depart out of sea- son.Do not fight the Almighty.It is not possible for you to destroy me.( D a mim ah T u h fah Gola r hwiyyah, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.17, pp.49–50) Villager and Farmer In his pamphlet, Maulaw i Sahib taunts the Promised Messiah as for being a villager and the son of a farmer.According to Maulaw i Sahib, being a villager and a farmer is something to be ashamed of.It seems that, in his fervour of animosity towards the Promised

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30 Messiah as, Maulaw i Sahib has lost all senses.Had he but taken a fleeting glance at the lives of the past Prophets (peace be on them all), his conscience would have informed him of the irrational- ity of his arguments, even though his poison pen might still have remained outside his control.Now, the Prophet Jesus as lived in a village called Nazareth and Joseph as, known as his father, was a carpenter.For a time, Jesus worked with Joseph in that profession.Maul a n a Sahib! In your opinion, working for a living is a way of ‘filling the belly of hell’.Yet Jesus as worked for a living while living in a village.But let us leave all other Prophets aside, and look only at the King of Prophets, Muhammad Mus t af a , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.May we ask Maulaw i Sahib to read any book on the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as ? He spent his childhood in a village.Along with other children of the village, he would take the goats for grazing.What a wonderful existence and what noble work this King of Prophets used to do! But in Maulaw i Sahib’s opinion, it is objectionable to live in a village and to have a father who earned a living.According to Maulaw i Sahib, anyone making a claim to prophethood while being a villager or having a father who earned a living is (God forbid) an impostor.Dear readers! Consider how Maulaw i Sahib is blinded by his prejudices against Hadrat Mirza Sahib, and how his blindness leads him to dishonesty.

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 31 Preacher of the Message of Islam Maulaw i Sahib writes: Mirza Sahib wears the mask of ‘Preacher of the message of Islam’.( Ilh a m i Girgit ) This statement reveals the malice that Maulaw i Sahib has for the Promised Messiah as.He uses this kind of language to conceal the truth.To prove that the Promised Messiah as was not only a preacher of Islam’s message, but also a very successful defender of Islam, we present three excerpts from various publications.Mirza Hairat Dehlavi, editor of the Curzon Gazette, writes: The services rendered by the late Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian in defending Islam from the attacks of the Aryas and Christians are indeed worthy of praise.He completely revolutionized the style of debate and laid the foundation for a new style of literature in India.As a Muslim and as a researcher, I acknowledge that great scholars of the Aryah faith and the highly qualified clergy of the Christians were unable to counter his arguments … Although he was a Punjabi, his pen was so powerful that today, not only in the Punjab but in the whole of India, there is none who can write with such force…His literature is unique and on reading his words one becomes enraptured.He faced death threats and hostile criticisms with bravery and single-mindedly carved himself a path to the highest

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32 pinnacles.( Curzon Gazette, 1st June 1908 cited in T a r i kh- e-Ahmadiyyat, vol.2, p.565–566) Maul a n a ‘Abul Kal a m A z a d writes: That man—that great man—whose pen was enchanting and speech was fascinating.That man who was the per- sonification of the wonders of intelligence, whose one look caused tumult and whose voice resurrected the dead.His fingers seemed to control the strings of revolution and his two fists were like electricity poles.That man who, for 30 years, was like an earthquake and tornado in the world of religion.He was like a bell tolling to awaken mankind from its slumbers … Yes, it is people such as he who rev- olutionize religion and intellect.They do not appear very often.Such pride of the human race appear very rarely in the world and when they do, they revolutionize the course of history.Mirza Sahib’s eminence in the religious world leaves the educated and enlightened Muslims (who may strongly disagree with his claims and beliefs) feeling as if they have now lost a great man.With his demise, we have lost the glorious defence of Islam that he produced from his person.We have to acknowledge that he proved him- self a victorious general of Islam against the battalions of the Christians and Aryas … His literature in defence of Islam needs no introduction from us.People are familiar with it and have appreciated it.Now that he has finished his task, let us admit the true value of his literature.We do not think that the Indian religious world is ever going

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 33 to see another man of this stature.( Wak i l, Amritsar, via T a r i kh-e-Ahmadiyyat, vol.2, p.560–562.) Finally, we present Maulaw i Sahib with an extract from the writings of the famous and well-respected scholar of the Indian sub-continent, Maul a n a N u r Muhammad Naqshband i (owner of A s a hh -ul-Ma ta b‘i); he refers to the Promised Messiah’s success in preaching the message of Islam and to his victories against the opponents of Islam.At about the same time the priest Lefroy arrived in India along with a large delegation of the Christian clergy.They were sworn to convert the population of the sub-conti- nent to Christianity.They not only collected large sums of money from the British for this purpose, but they also received promises of future financial assistance from the same source … They thought that the argument of Jesus as being physically alive in the heavens, while all other Prophets were dead and buried, was such a strong argu- ment in their favour that none would be able to resist it.But Maulaw i Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani stood up to defend Islam and told Lefroy and his fellow clergymen: ‘Jesus as died just like all the other Prophets.The Promised Messiah, or Jesus, is none other than myself.So if you are truthful, accept me.’ In this way Mirza Sahib made life impossible for Lefroy and his group.Using this method he defeated all the clergy from India to Europe.( D i b a chah Mu‘jiz-num a Kal an Qur’ a n Shar i f Mutarjam, p.30,

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34 Publisher Nūr Muhammad Proprietor Kar Kh a na Tijarat Kutub, Ar a m B a gh, Karachi) Here we would like to remind the reader that Maulana Noor Muhammad Naqshbandi was one of Maulaw i Sahib’s benefactors.He helped in the publication of Hadrat Shah Ashraf Ali Thanvi’s translation of the Holy Quran.In the foreword of this translation he pays tribute to the Promised Messiah as.Would that Maulaw i ‘Abul Bash i r and his cronies had the ability to become ‘preachers of the message of Islam’ like the Promised Messiah as! Maulaw i Sahib! Your leader and great scholar of the Ahrar, Chaudhry Af d al H aq, also clearly wished that other Muslim sects followed in the footsteps of this preacher.He writes: Before the Aryah Samaj came into existence, Islam was a lifeless body that had lost its sense of propagation.Among the many sects of Islam no group was willing to take up the duty of propagation of Islam.But here was one heart that was agitated at the insensibility of the Muslims and decided to do something about it.So he gathered a small group around him and decided to propagate Islam.He created such fervour in his community for this goal that it is not only an example for Muslims but for all commu- nities in the world wanting to preach their ideals.( Fitna- e-Irtid a d aur Siy a s i Qal a b a zi a n, Chaudhry Af d al H aq, p.46, Cooperative Steam Press, Lahore)

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 35 The Mirror to Manifest the Almighty Maulaw i Abul Bash i r ‘Irf a n i criticizes Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s claim that he is a reflecting glass in which one can witness Almighty Allah.The Promised Messiah as wrote: I am the reflecting glass in which to witness the Almighty.( Nuz u lul-Mas ih , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.18, p.462) Dear readers! Every moment of the Promised Messiah’s life was spent making this claim.دمہ دخا قلخب ہک رواں ہمشچ � ی � ا اتس دمحم امکل رحب ز رطقۂ �یک The flowing stream[of the Signs of the Almighty and the mir- acles] that I am presenting to the world are but a drop of the limitless oceans of the miracles of Muhammad s as.He further writes on the bounty of witnessing the Almighty through the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as : وہا وہں � ی م� اس ونر رپ دفا وہں اس اک یہ ی ےہ ہ �ی� ف�یصلہ ز ک�ی� ا وہں سب � �چ�ی� � ی م� وہ ےہ I am devoted to that light.I completely belong to him (i.e.Muhammad s as ); He is everything.I am nothing beside him; that settles the matter.

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36 ا بس مہ ےن اس ےس اپ�ی� ا اشدہ ےہ وت دخا�ی� ی ےہ ہ �ی� وہ سج ےن قح داھک�ی� ا وہ ہم اقل O Lord, you are my witness that I have attained everything through him.The one who showed me the Truth is this same mirror of Beauty.And: ؐ ِ دمحم اشن از رکنم اے َا اَل ِ دمحم ِ امن�ی�ان ونر از مہ O ye who deny the high status of Muhammad s as ; And ye who deny his shining spiritual light! ؐرکاتم رگہچ ےب انم و اشنں اتس دمحم املغن ز رگنب ا �ب�ی� Though it feels as if miracles are no more and you cannot feel the divine light; come and witness it in the servants of Muhammad s as.He repeats the same claim: If it is at all possible for you, present against me the mira- cles of any saint or any Prophet with the exception of my master, Muhammad s as.Do not present me with stories, but present me with witnesses of these miracles, as stories are plentiful.Take the Hindu mythology.Presenting such tales against a living miracle is like comparing a bottle of musk to a pile of stenchful rubbish.Be warned.The mira- cles and prophecies that I will present will remain, in both quantity and quality, unmatched.

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 37 … I am the mirror which reflects the Divine.Anyone who accepts me and comes to me will see the Almighty in a new light, which others narrate to you as in a story.( Nuz u lul-Mas ih , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.18, p.462–463) Hadrat Mirza Sahib was granted, through the grace of the Holy Prophet s as , outstanding signs of divine succour.The grace and glory really belongs to the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as and he is the real mirror of divine glory.With the grand manifestation of God upon him, the truth about the following verse was manifested: َو اَم َتْيَمَر ْذِا َتْيَمَر َو َّنِكٰل َهّٰللا ىٰمَر And you did not throw when you did throw, but it was Allah who threw.( S u rah al-Anf a l , 8:18) Similarly, when the brave companions of the Prophet Muhammad s as took the oath of death at his hand, Allah the Almighty says it was His hand at which they were taking the oath.So Allah’s purest reflection was given to the world in the person of the Holy Prophet s as.The same subject is alluded to in Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s Persian poetry: تس دخا روےئ ہ � �ی� ئ � آ ٰی مصطف سکعنم دروے امہں وخےئ دخ اتس My Lord and Master Muhammad Mu st af a s as is the reflecting glass in which you can see the attributes of the Almighty.So if you cannot see the Almighty, take a look at Muhammad s as.

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38 � ی �ب� ہب را او دخا دن�ی�دیتس رگ � ی� �یق� � ی � ا من رأنی قد رأی الحق If you have not seen God, then look at him; True are his words: ‘Whoever has seen me has seen H aqq [God].’ ( Durre Tham i n F a rs i , p.138, Publisher Muhammad Ahmad Academy, Lahore) The Promised Messiah as further states: And if you ask, ‘What are the divine attributes?’ I will say He is Gracious and Ever Merciful.And the Holy Prophet s as was granted these two divine attributes from the time when the creation of Adam was still at the stage between mud and water.He was a Prophet when Adam had not yet been created.Allah the Almighty is Divine Light and He chose to create another light.So He created Muhammad s as who is like a unique pearl.And He joined his two names— Muhammad and Ahmad—with His own.And he (i.e.Muhammad s as ) surpassed all other obedient followers of the Almighty.Thus, we find these two names glowing in the Quran and without a shadow of a doubt, our Prophet s as is the compound light of Moses as and Jesus as, just as they both are mirrors of the divine attributes of their Creator.So this situation demands that Muhammad s as be given a wondrous station in the spiritual world.That is why Allah bestowed the two names, Muhammad and Ahmad, upon him.And he was made the inheritor of glory and beauty.In this respect he is unique, for glory and beauty are divine

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 39 attributes.And he was the beloved and the lover.Since these two attributes are the attributes of the Lord of all the worlds, so Muhammad s as is the one who is praised most and Ahmad is the who praises the most.Thus Allah gave him a large share of His attributes of grace and mercy.And Allah saturated Muhammad’s s as person from these two fountains and so he became like a goblet full of divine elixir and like a chandelier of divine light.And like these two attributes, Allah showered him with furq a n (differen- tiation) and combined in him glory and beauty.And he is the essence of the Torah and the Bible.And the Almighty made him a perfect mirror to reflect the glory and beauty of Allah.And He made him a divine fountain from which the entire Ummah was given plenty.And this great teacher was to impart knowledge to mankind.So, some people drank deep from the fountain of Muhammad s as , which sprang from Allah’s Ra h m a niyyat (graciousness) and some drank deep from the fountain that sprang from the name Ahmad, which connotes Allah’s Ra hi miyyat (mercy).And this was a design that Allah decided upon from the begin- ning.This was the promise given to the world through the past Prophets, that the Holy Prophet’s name Ahmad will be manifested in its full glory through the Promised Messiah and not in anyone else.( I‘j a zul-Mas ih , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.18, p.118–121) Dear readers! From the above it is clear that Hadrat Mirza Sahib was ever mindful of the lofty station of the Chief of Prophets, Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

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40 Whatever spiritual station he himself achieved was only through love and obedience to the teachings of Muhammad s as.Now, before criticizing the Promised Messiah as, it would have been better if Maulaw i Sahib had considered the claims of other Muslim saints.Some in fact claimed to be more than a reflecting glass for the glory of Allah the Almighty.Hadrat B a yaz i d Bis ta m i announced: ٖ ْر ُ بِذَاتِہ ي ِ اَنَا الْوَاحِد ُ الْفَرْد ُ الْكَب I am the one and only, the greatest one, in my own being.( Al-Im a mus-Sarhind i : H ay a tuh u wa A‘m a luh u , Abul- H asan ‘Al i al- H asan an-Nadwi, p.22, D a rul-Ma’mūn lit- Tur a th, Beirut, 1995) Hadrat Syed ‘Abdul Q a dir Jilani rta claims: ِ هللا لَیْس َ فِي ْ جُبَّتِي ْ سِوَی Within my cloak there is nothing but Allah.( Makt u b a t, vol.1, Makt u b Number 272) Hadrat Sheikh Far i d-ud-D i n ‘A tta r rta makes the following claim: دخا نم م ی � دخا نم م ی � دخا نم وھا و ربک و ہ � ک�ی� از افرمغ I became God when I cleared my heart of malice, pride, and desires.( Faw a ’idi Far i diyyah Urdu, Musamma bihi Fuy uda ti

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 41 Far i diyyah, Faq i r Mu‘ i n i Sh a h Jam a l i , p.85, Maktabah Mu‘ i nul-Adab, Derah Gh a z i Kh a n) And it is written about Hadrat Man su r H all a j rta: The life of H all a j was taken for his ‘crime’ of uttering ‘…I am God’.By this claim he meant that he had joined Allah Almighty and that he had lost himself in Allah and that he had lost his personality completely and become a part of Allah.( Anw a rul-Auliy a ’, Sayyed Ra’ i s Ahmad Ja‘far i Nadw i , p.180, Published by Sheikh Ghulam ‘Al i & Sons, Kashmiri Baz a r, Lahore) Besides the above quoted few, there are many Muslim saints who not only claimed to be the mirror image of God, they went further and claimed to be God Himself.Their claims did not make them God but only pointed to their lofty status.Therefore, Maulaw i Sahib’s unfounded criticism of Hadrat Mirza Sahib is based on malice and enmity and is a complete falsehood.Imam Husain ra and Imam Mahdi as Maulaw i Sahib has further criticized a Persian verse written by Hadrat Mirza Sahib and another one of his essays.The Promised Messiah as writes: I say truly that there is one among you now who is greater than that H usain ra.( D a fi‘ul-Bal a ’i wa Mi‘y a ru Ahlil-I st if a ’,

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42 Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.18, p.233; Defence Against the Plague & A Criterion for the Elect of God , English ed.2015, p.22) And the Persian verse is: من آ رہ ز س�ی� اتس رکالبےئ رگ�ی�ب�امن در اتس � ی� حس� دص It is as if I am walking around in Karbala and thousands of Husains are hidden in my heart.( Nuz u lul-Mas ih , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.18, p.477) Dear readers! Here Maulaw i Sahib is being thoroughly dishonest.It is akin to someone reading the first half of verse 44 of S u rah an-Nis a ’ , ‘do not approach prayer’ and leave out the second half ‘while you are not in control of your senses.’ The Persian verse that Maulaw i Sahib presents for his critique is preceded by other verses that express love and devotion for Allah.Hadrat Mirza Sahib explains that he too is one of those annihilated by love for Allah the Almighty and that in this day and age he is the one who is being persecuted because of that love.Hadrat Mirza Sahib says: ددلار از ہک نخس ں آ ابوصخلص ارسار � ی � ر دادن دار ت اخص�ی� The qualities of my Beloved that arouse such passion in me are indeed mysterious.زہار ہن دو �یک ہن او ہتشک امشر ز ربون اور �یلان ت ق� ی� � ا Those smitten by these mysteries do not number in the ones or twos or even thousands.In fact they are countless.

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 43 وخباتس اتزہ ل ی � ت ق� زامےن رہ اتس دہش دم او روےئ اغزۂ In every age people sacrifice themselves for His sake.His face is adorned with the blood of the martyrs.ام تمسق وچوبد اعسدت � ی � ا ام ونتب د رس�ی� رہتف رہتف Since in this age this good fortune was destined for me, I gradually came to be the one sacrificed.And the next verse is the one quoted above, من آ رہ ز س�ی� اتس رکالبےئ دررگ�ی�ب�امن ؓ اتس � ی� حس� دص Hence the Promised Messiah as refers to the pain and agony suf- fered by Hadrat Imam H usain ra and pays tribute to his steadfast- ness and his sacrifices.The Promised Messiah as describes his own pain and suffering and likens it to the anguish of Hadrat Imam H usain ra.So here, both Karbala and Hadrat Imam H usain ra are used as metaphorical terms.In another place, Hadrat Mirza Sahib uses the word gareb a n (lit.collar or neck) as a metaphor for the heart: ےن آ رہ تسہ قشع وشرش رگ�ی�ب�اےن � ی � ا ز �ی� � � ےکب ات Inside me there is a passion for Allah, I do not know for how long this heart (gareb a n) will survive.Thus, in this verse gareb a n does not mean ‘collar’.It means a ‘heart’ totally immersed in the love of the devotees of God, such

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44 as Hadrat Imam Husain ra, who are willing to sacrifice themselves thousands upon thousands of times.Metaphors and allegories are to be found in the literature and poetry of all languages.For example, an Urdu poet says: ی ہ نسح وک اچدن وجاین وک ونکل ےتہک � Beauty is known as the moon and youth as the lotus.Hadrat Mirza Sahib has used the words gareb a n, Karbala and H usain as metaphors and similes.Allama Mull a Naui does the same in the following verse: رکالبےئ مقشع و بل ہنشت رسات اپےئ نم ؓ ہتشک در رہ وگہش رحصاےئ نم � ی� حس� دص I am the Karbala of love.From head to toe I am thirsty for the water of love And in the desert of my heart thousands of H usains are being slaughtered.Here too the similes of Karbala and Husain are used to indicate the great suffering, sacrifices, and steadfastness.These are meta- phorical expressions, not to show that he is superior to Hadrat Imam Husain ra.For heart, he uses the word ‘desert’.Now, to inter- pret these expressions literally or to criticizes the poet for using such expressions can only be the work of someone who has no appreciation of the language of poetry; or else he is so benighted that he would describe broad daylight as the pitch of dark.As for the excerpt from D a fi‘ul-Bal a ’ on which Maulaw i Sahib bases his criticism, Maulaw i Sahib is dishonest as he presents only half of what is written in the original.He not only fails to explain

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 45 the background, but he also takes one sentence out of context and mischievously uses it, ignoring the rest of the paragraph.If one were to read the whole paragraph, one would realise that Maulaw i Sahib is using this one sentence to exploit the people’s emotions.In the above excerpt, it is not the person of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad that is being discussed.It is the status of the Imam Mahdi that is being referred.Maulaw i Sahib’s elders believe that the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi would be a caliph of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as and would have the rank of a Prophet.Therefore, comparing the rank of a Caliph of the Holy Prophet s as and a Prophet of God with anyone else is invalid and amounts to creating mischief.The famous scholar of Ahl-e-Hadith, Naw a b Sidd i q Hasan Khan, gives the following quote from the writings of Hadrat Imam Muhammad Ibn Sir i n rta : َ ْر ٌ مِن ْ اَبِی ْ بَكْر ٍ و َّ عُمَر ي َ ْفَۃ ٌ خ ي ٰذِہ ِ الُْمَّۃِخَلِ ه ْ َكُوْن ُ فِی ي There will be a Caliph in this Ummah who will be greater than Abu-Bakr ra and Umar ra.( Ā th a rul-Qiy a mah f i H ijajil- Kir a mah , Naw a b Sidd i q H a s an Khan, p.386, Dar Matba‘ Shahjahan, Bhopal) This ideology is fully accepted by the Deobandis.As for the saints of the past, their understanding of the status of the Promised Mahdi is reflected in the following statement of Hadrat P i r a n-e-P i r rta: ٍ َّۃ ِ تَابِعًا لِمُحَمَّد ي َكُوْن ُ فِی الَْحْكَام ِ الشَّرْعِ ي ُ َجِیْء ُ فِی ْ اٰخِر ِ الزَّمَان ِ فَاِنَّہ ي اَلْمَھْدِی ُّ الَّذِی

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46 ُ ْن َ لَہ ي ِ َاء ِ تَابِع ي َاء ِ وَالَْوْلِ ي ْع ُ الَْنْبِ ي ِ ْقَۃ ِ تَكُوْن ُ جَم ي ِ ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص و َ فِی الْمَعَارِف ِ وَالْعُلُوْم ِ وَالْحَق ْہ ِ السَّلَمُ.ي کُلُّھُمْ...لَِن َّ بَاطِنَہ ُ بَاطِن ُ مُحَمَّد ٍ عَلَ The Imam Mahdi who will appear in the latter days will follow the Shariah of Muhammad s as.This means that in knowledge and in understanding, all the Prophets and saints will be subordinate to him… because spiritually he will be completely submissive to Muhammad s as.( Shar h u Fu sus il- H ikam , Sheikh ‘Abdur-Razz a q al-Q a sh a n i , p.35, al-Ma t ba‘atul-Maimaniyyah, Egypt) We believe that Hadrat Mirza Sahib is the same Imam Mahdi whose advent was foretold by the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.Therefore he holds the rank granted to him by the Holy Prophet s as , and which was further explained by saints of previous eras.Last of all, we inquire of Maulaw i Sahib: Did he not attempt to make this an emotional issue for the purpose of creating disor- der? Would he also please enlighten us as to: 1.Which verse of the Quran states that Imam Husain ra ranks higher than the Prophets? 2.Which hadith quotes the Holy Prophet s as as saying that Imam Husain ra is higher in rank than the Prophets? 3.Whether or not Imam Husain ra ranked himself higher than the Prophets? 4.Whether any of the Imams from Ahl-e-Bayt (i.e.the family of the Prophet Muhammad s as ) ever made such a claim on behalf of Hadrat Imam Husain ra?

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 47 Until Maulaw i Sahib furnishes us with answers to the above ques- tions, he has no right to raise this subject again.Perfect Intercessor Maulaw i Sahib has taken another excerpt from the book D a fi‘ul- Bal a ’ [Defence Against the Plague], in which the writer addresses the Christians.Maulaw i Sahib, in keeping with his dishonest atti- tude, uses this to attack the Promised Messiah as.He omits the part where the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as is mentioned, and presents a partial quote on page 17 of his pamphlet: In this day and age you have no intercessor other than this Messiah… ( D a fi‘ul-Bal a ’i wa Mi‘y a ru Ahlil-I st if a ’ , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.18, p.233; Defence Against the Plague & A Criterion for the Elect of God , English ed.2015, p.21) Esteemed readers! We will here present you with the full excerpt and you will then see that Hadrat Mirza Sahib believed the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as was the perfect intercessor or advocate and that his own advocacy was only a reflection or a shadow of the Holy Prophet’s s as advocacy.The Promised Messiah as addresses the Christian clergy and advises them to refrain from referring to Jesus as as their Creator and Sustainer.He says to them, ‘Follow me so that you may receive the blessings of the Holy Prophet’s s as intercession’.Here is a translation of his words: Understand with perfect certainty that in this day and

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48 age you have no intercessor other than this Messiah—the exception being the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—and this intercessor is in no way separated from the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; his intercession is, in fact, the very intercession of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.O Christian missionaries! Say not ْح ي نَا الْمَسِ ُّ رَب [Our Lord is the Messiah] and observe that among you now there is one who is greater than that Messiah [i.e.Jesus].And O Shiites, do not persist in saying that Husain is your sav- iour, because I say truly that there is one among you now who is greater than that Husain.If I say these things of my own accord, then I am a liar.But if I possess God’s testi- mony concerning it, then do not oppose God, lest you be considered in opposition to God.Now hasten towards me.I liken such a one who has- tens towards me at this time to the one who boards a ship at the verge of a violent storm.However, I foresee that he who does not accept me will be like the one who throws himself into a tempest without any provisions to save him- self.I am the true intercessor, and I am the shadow and zill [reflection] of the most venerated intercessor— Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a [the Chosen One], peace and bless- ings of Allah be upon him.The blind of this age did not accept him and treated him with deep contempt.( D a fi‘ul- Bal a ’i wa Mi‘y a ru Ahlil-I st if a ’, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.18, p.233; Defence Against the Plague & A Criterion for the Elect of God , English ed.2015, p.21-22)

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 49 From the above, the reader can see how dishonest Maulaw i Sahib has been.He has tried to create the impression that Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s intention was to push aside his Lord and Master, Muhammad s as , and appoint himself as the intercessor.Dear read- ers! Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a s as is the real, genuine, and perfect intercessor.He has the right of intersession before the Almighty and this is what Hadrat Mirza Sahib has explained here.The same subject is repeated in the following Urdu verse: ی ااترے ہ � ےن اہرے اپر اس ی م راہ وت ےلہپ ہ ےہ ی اجؤں اس ےک وارے سب اندخا � ی م All the previous Prophets became tired along the way, but he (i.e.Muhammad s as ) brought everyone across.May I sacrifice myself for him for he is the captain of the ship [of faith].He further explains that: It is necessary for an intercessor to hold such a deep rela- tionship with God, as if God has descended upon his heart.The human self of such a person becomes extinct and the divine glory of Allah is manifested in their every hair.Their soul melts and flows like water towards God until it reaches the most extreme point of divine nearness.Moreover, it is also necessary for an intercessor that his heart soars in sympathy towards the one for whom he desires to intercede, as if he were about to faint, and the intense agony that he feels is as severe as if the limbs were parting from his body and his senses were scattered.His sympathy should carry him to a stage which exceeds that

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50 of a father, a mother and any well-wisher.When these two conditions take root in a person, he becomes united on the one side with the station of divinity and becomes paired with the earthly station on the other.Then both these aspects shall be present within him in equal measure.That is to say, he shall be a perfect manifestation of divin- ity as well as a perfect manifestation of humanity, and shall thus occupy the place of an intermediary between both realms, as shown below: Referring to this very station of intercession, the Holy Quran alludes to the Holy Prophet in his grand position as intercessor in the following words: 1 ی ٰ ْن ِ أَو ْ أَدْن ی َ دَنَا فَتَدَلّٰی.فَكَان َ قَاب َ قَوس Meaning, the Messenger ascended towards God and approached Him as far as is possible for man, soaring through all the exalted stations of divine nearness, thereby attaining his full share of the divine realm.He then returned complete to mankind and attained to the highest pinnacle of servitude to God, thus acquiring the greatest 1.S u rah an- Najm , 53:9–10.Point of Intercession Earthly Station Heavenly Station

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 51 measure of the holy attributes of humanity, i.e.sympathy and love for mankind, which is known as earthly perfec- tion.Thus, he arrived at the pinnacle of perfection in the love of God on the one hand, and in the love of mankind on the other.Since he attained perfect nearness to God and then attained perfect nearness to mankind, due to his equal nearness to both, he became, as it were, a chord between two bows.Therefore, the conditions that are necessary for intercession were present in him.This is the reason that in His Word, God put forth testimony that he stood between mankind and God just as a common chord between two arches.[...] As the love of God and attaining a high station of near- ness to Him is a matter of which others cannot be cogni- zant, God Almighty manifested such actions of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, which established that he had truly given precedence to God over everything else.Every particle of the Holy Prophet, and his every vein and fibre was so permeated with the love and greatness of God that his own being served as a mir- ror to reflect in full the spectacle of God’s manifestations.All the signs of perfect love of God, which can possibly be fathomed, were present entirely in the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.( The Honour of Prophets, London: Islam International Publications, Ltd., 2018.pp.13–19) This was the intercession and intercessor towards whom Hadrat

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52 Mirza Sahib as called.If only the human race would love this per- fect interscessor and hold fast to him and thereby be freed of mis- eries and pain.Maulana! In a way, it is good that your criticisms have given us the opportunity to explain the real meaning of intercession.We do not expect that you will benefit from this exposition but may we hope that many others will.Ghulam Ahmad—The Perfect Reflection Hadrat Mirza Sahib writes: God sent the Promised Messiah from our ummah, and he is greater than the earlier Messiah in his excellence.God gave the name ‘Ghulam-e-Ahmad s as ’ [the Servant of Ahmad s as ] to this Messiah, in order to point out to the Christians that their Messiah who they deem to be ‘God’ cannot compare to even a lowly servant of Ahmad s as.1 ( D a fi‘ul-Bal a ’i wa Mi‘y a ru Ahlil-I st if a ’, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.18, p.233; Defence Against the Plague & A Criterion for the Elect of God , English ed.2015, p.22) He also states in an Urdu verse: 1.One of the names of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as as mentioned in the Holy Quran is ‘Ahmad’, and it is to him that reference is being made.[Publisher]

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 53 وھچڑو وک ذرک ےک ی رم� انب ؐ ےہ ِ ادمح الغم رتہب ےس اس Speak no more of Ibn Maryam [the son of Mary], Superior to him is Ghulam-e-Ahmad s as [the servant of Ahmad s as ] ( D a fi‘ul-Bal a ’i wa Mi‘y a ru Ahlil-I st if a ’ , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.18, p.233; Defence Against the Plague & A Criterion for the Elect of God , English ed.2015, p.36) Maulaw i Sahib objects to Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s claim of being superior to Jesus as.On page 23 of his pamphlet, Maulaw i Sahib reproduces an excerpt from Haqiqatul-Wahi , and as an objection gives it the title, ‘I am better than all the Prophets apart from Muhammad s as.’ The excerpt is as follows: The truth is that He has caused a river of miracles to flow and—with the sole exception of our Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—it is impossi- ble to find categorical evidence of so many miracles being shown by any of the past Prophets, may peace be upon them.For His part, God has incontrovertibly established the point.It is now up to the people to accept it or not.(Epilogue Haqiqatul-Wahi , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.22, p.574; Haqiqatul-Wahi , English ed.2018, p.720) Respected readers! According to Maulaw i Abul Bashir, these words represent the utmost in infidelity.Here we would like the

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54 readers to understand that, once again, Maulaw i Sahib’s attitude is akin to attacking the beliefs and writings of the pious saints of old.We now present some excerpts from the writings of Muslim saints.In the light of the Quran and the Hadith, Hadrat Sayyed ‘Abdul Kar i m Jil a n i rta explains the status of the Imam Mahdi as follows: It refers to such a person who will acquire the station of Muhammad ( Muq a m-e-Muhammad i ) and who will be perfectly balanced in attaining excellence in all perfec- tion.( Ins a n-e-K a mil , Sayyed ‘Abdul Kar i m bin Ibrah i m J i l a n i , translated by Fadl Miran, p.401, printed at Naf i s Academy, Karachi, 1980) The renowned Shi‘ah scholar of the eleventh century, Allamah B a qir Majlisi, writes that Imam B a qir rta has said: ْلَ.فَھَا اَنَا ذَا ي ِ ْم َ وَاِسْمٰع ي ِ ه َنْظُر َ اِلٰی اِبْرَا ي ْ َا مَعْشَر َ الْخَلَئِقِ...اَل َ وَمَن ْ اَرَاد َ اَن ي ُ َقُوْل ي ُوشَعْ.ي َ ُوْشَع ْ فَھَا اَنَا ذَا مُوْسٰی و ي َ َّنْظُر َ اِلٰی مُوْسٰی و ي ْ ْل ُ اَل َ وَمَن ْ اَرَاد َ اَن ي ِ ْم ُ وَاِسمٰع ي ِ ه َ اِبْرَا َنْظُر َ اِلٰی عِیْسٰی وَشَمْعُوْن َ فَھَا اَنَا ذَا عِیْسٰی وَشَمْعُوْن َ اَل َ وَمَن ْ اَرَاد ي ْ ُ اَل َ وَمَن ْ اَرَاد َ اَن ْر ي ْہِمَا فَھَا اَنَا ذَا مُحَمَّد ٌ ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص وَّاَمِ ي ِ عَلَ هللا ُ ْن َ صَلَوَات ي ِ ْر ِ الْمُؤْمِن ي ِ َّنْظُر َ اِلٰی مُحَمَّد ٍ وَّاَم ي ْ اَن.م ل َ عليه الس ْن ي ِ الْمُؤْمِن [When the Imam Mahdi appears] he will announce to the world: O People! If you want to see Abraham and Ishmael then know for certain that I am Abraham and Ishmael.And if you want to see Moses and Joshua, then know that

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 55 I am Moses and Joshua.And if anyone wants to see Jesus and Simon, then know that I am Jesus and Simon.And if you want to see Muhammad and Am i rul-Mu’min i n [lit.‘Leader of the Faithful’, here referring to Hadrat Ali ra], peace and blessings of Allah be upon them, then know that I am Muhammad s as and Ali as.( Bi h arul-Anw a r, Muhammad B a qir al-Majlisi, vol.53, p.9, First Printing, Matba‘ al-Am i r a tu lit-Taba‘ah wan-Nashr wat-Tauzi‘, Beirut, 2008) Similarly, Hadrat Sh a h Wali yy ull a h writes: َزْعُم ُ الْعَامَّۃ ُ اَنَّہ ٗ اِذَا نَزَل َ فِی ي َ ْن َ ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص و ي ِّد ِ الْمُرْسَلِ ي َ ْہ ِ اَنْوَار ُ س ي َّنْعَكِس َ فِ ي ْ ٌ حُق َّ لَہ ٗ اَن ُو َ شَرْح ٌ لِلِْسْم ِ الْجَامِع ِ الْمُحَمَّدِی ِّ وَنُسْخَۃ ه ْ مَّۃِ.ك ََّ بَل ُْ َان َ وَاحِدًا مِّن َ ال ک ِ الَْرْض مَّۃِ.ُْ ْن َ اَحَد ٍ مِّن َ ال ي مُّنَسَّخَۃ ٌ مِّنْہ ُ فَشَتَّان َ بَیْنَہ ٗ وَبَ The Promised One, who is to appear in the future, has the right to reflect in his person the light of the Chief of Prophets, Muhammad s as.The average person believes that the Promised One will be just an ordinary follower of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.Not at all! In fact, he will be a full exposition of the name ‘Muhammad’ and he will be a true copy of the Holy Prophet’s light and virtues.Thus there is a difference between him and the common mem- bers of the Ummah.( Al-Khairul-Kath i r, Hadrat Sh a h Wali yy ull a h Mu h addith Dehlav i , translated by Maul a n a ‘ A bidur-Ra h m a n Sidd i q i p.236–237, Matba‘ Sa‘ i d i , Karachi)

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56 In the book Shar h u Fu sus il- H ikam, the following is written about the Imam Mahdi: ٍ مُحَمَّد ِّ َّۃ ِ تَابِعًا ل ي َكُوْن ُ فِی الَْحْكَام ِ الشَّرْعِ ي ُ َجِیْء ُفِي ْ اٰخِر ِ الزَّمَان ِ فَاِنَّہ ي ْ ِ اَلْمَھْدِی ُّ الَّذِی َاء ي ِ َاء ِ وَالَْوْل ي ِ ْع ُ الَْنْب ي ِ ْقَۃ ِ تَكُوْن ُ جَم ي ِ ْہ ِ وَسَلَّم َ وَفِی الْمَعَارِف ِ وَالْعُلُوْم ِ وَالْحَق ي ُ عَلَ هللا صَلَّی ْہ ِ السَّلَمُ.ي َرْنَاہ ُ لَِن َّ بَاطِنَہ ٗ بَاطِن ُ مُحَمَّد ٍ عَلَ ک َ ُنَاقِض ُ مَاذ ي َ ُلُّھُم ْ وَل ک ٗ ْن َ لَہ ي ِ تَابِع In the Latter Days the Imam Mahdi will appear.As far as the law of religion is concerned, he will follow the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.And as far as knowledge and wis- dom are concerned, all other Prophets and saints will be subordinate to him.This does not contradict the asser- tion we made above.In fact, the Imam Mahdi’s and the Holy Prophet’s s as heart will be one and the same.( Shar h u Fu sus il- H ikam, Sheikh ‘Abdur-Razz a q al-Q a sh a n i , p.35, al-Ma t ba‘atul-Maimaniyyah, Egypt) So this is how the saints of the past, in the light of the Quran and the Hadith, describe the status of the Imam Mahdi.And Maulaw i Sahib not only declares the claimant of this status a liar, he goes further and even mocks him.Maulaw i Sahib! Please note, the earth can change its course, mountains can move, but the prophecies of our lord and mas- ter, Muhammad s as , cannot be frustrated.Thus, the Imam Mahdi enjoys the lofty station described above as he is the true copy of Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a s as and his heart is the heart of Muhammad s as —truly beyond the reach of anyone’s imagination.

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 57 Mary ra and Jesus as Hadrat Mirza Sahib states: First God named me ‘Maryam’ in the book Bar a h i n- e-Ahmadiyya and then said that, having breathed into this ‘Maryam’ the spirit of truth, He named me ‘Isa.( Haqiqatul-Wahi , English translation, p.424; see also Haqiqatul-Wahi , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.22, p.350) Maulaw i Sahib finds this highly objectionable and, to lend cre- dence to his objections, he resorts to deception once again and fails to quote the complete paragraph.Esteemed readers! In the above quoted reference Hadrat Mirza Sahib further explains: This was as if ‘Isa was born from a Maryam-like state.So was I named the Ibn-e-Maryam [the Son of Mary] in the Word of God.The Holy Quran, too, has a clue in this con- text and it constitutes a prophecy about me; meaning that Allah the Almighty compares certain persons from among the Ummah to Maryam in the Holy Quran.( H aq i qatul- Wa hi , English translation, p.424; see also H aq i qatul- Wa hi , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.22, p.350).The above quoted paragraph makes it clear that Hadrat Mirza Sahib does not claim to be Mary, daughter of Imran, who lived more than 1,900 years ago in the town of Nazareth.In fact,

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58 Hadrat Mirza Sahib is pointing to a very profound subject of the Quran when he talks of the ‘Mary-like state’.He also makes it clear that the Quran uses the simile of Mary for certain persons of the Ummah.The Holy Quran describes this subject thus: َبَرَض ُهّٰللا اًلَثَم َنْيِذَّلِّل اوُرَفَك َتَاَرْما ٍحْوُن َّو َتَاَرْما ٍطْوُل١ؕ اَتَناَك َتْحَت ِنْيَدْبَع ْنِم اَنِداَبِع َو َبَرَض ُهّٰللا اًلَثَم َنْيِذَّلِّل اوُنَمٰا َتَاَرْما َنْوَعْرِف١ۘ ْذِا ْتَلاَق ِّبَر ِنْبا ْيِل َكَدْنِع اًتْيَب يِف ِةَّنَجْلا َوِنْيَحِلاَص اَمُهٰتَناَخَف ْمَلَف اَيِنْغُي اَمُهْنَع َنِم ِهّٰللا أًـْيَش َّو َلْيِق اَلُخْدا َراَّنلا َعَم َنْيِلِخّٰدلا۰۰۱۰ ٖهِبُتُك َو ْتَناَك َنِم َنْيِتِنٰقْلاَو َمَيْرَم َتَنْبا َنٰرْمِع ْۤيِتَّلا ْتَنَصْحَا اَهَجْرَف اَنْخَفَنَف ِهْيِف ْنِم اَنِحْوُّر َو ْتَقَّدَص ِتٰمِلَكِب اَهِّبَر َوْيِنِّجَن ْنِم َنْوَعْرِف َو ٖهِلَمَع َو ْيِنِّجَن َنِم ِمْوَقْلا َنْيِمِلّٰظلا۰۰۱۱ۙ Allah sets forth for those who disbelieve the example of the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot.They were under two righteous servants of Ours, but they acted unfaith- fully towards them.So they availed them naught against Allah and it was said to them, ‘Enter the fire, ye twain, along with those who enter.’ And Allah sets forth for those who believe the exam- ple of the wife of Pharaoh when she said, ‘My Lord! Build for me a house with You in the Garden; and deliver me from Pharaoh and his work, and deliver me from the wrongdoing people.’ And the example of Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her private parts—so We breathed into him of Our Spirit—and she fulfilled in her person the words of her Lord and His Books and was one of the obedient.( Sūrah at-Ta h r i m , 66:11–13)

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 59 In these verses Allah likens the believers to two women, i.e.the wife of Pharaoh and Mary, daughter of Imran.Now Maulaw i Sahib feels that being likened to Mary is highly offensive.If someone calls him Mary, he might hit him hard.So now only two options are open to him.Either he can be likened to the wife of Pharaoh, or to the two other women mentioned in the above verses, i.e.the wife of Lot and the wife of Noah.The choice is his.As for being likened to Mary, this is a divine mercy bestowed upon the true believers who reach a high station in the sight of Allah.They become worthy of fulfilling in their persons the Word of their Lord and His Books, and they become completely obe- dient to Him.This is the point where Nafkh-e-R uh (breathing in of the Holy Spirit) occurs, and it is here that Allah speaks directly to such persons, elevating them to the rank known as the rank of Jesus as.Many Muslim saints claim to have achieved this status.For example Hadrat Sheikh Mu‘ i n-ud-D i n Chisht i Ajmeri rta made the following well-known claim: ددبمم روح ادقلس ادنر ےنعم ےم ددم ٰی اثین دشم ع�یس م رگم نم ی � و � م�یگ � � نم The Holy Spirit is resplendent in my soul at all times.I say it not, but in truth, I am the second Jesus as.Similarly, Sh a h Niy a z Ahmad rta Dehlav i says: ی منم یم � ٰی رم ع�یس I am the Jesus who was born of Mary.( D i w a n-e-Niy a z, Beniyar Shah Ahmad p.54, Ma t ba‘ Agra Akhbar Agra Jam a diyyul-Awwal, 1348)

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60 So Maulaw i Sahib! You should consider your own position in the light of the above Quranic teachings before you mock and deride the devotees of Allah those who first acquired the rank of Mary and then of Jesus.House of Allah Hadrat Mirza Sahib writes: In revelations [vouchsafed to me] Allah has named me the ‘House of Allah’.Maulaw i Sahib objects that, along with other holy names and vir- tues, Hadrat Mirza Sahib has claimed to be the ‘House of Allah’.We have the following Hadith of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as : ْ َاء ِ مِن ي ِ ِ ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص قَال َ اِن َّ مَثَلِی ْ و َ مَثَل َ الَْنْب هللا َ ُ عَنْہ ُ اَن َّ رَسُوْل هللا َ ْرَۃ َ رَضِی ي َ ُر ه ْ ُ عَن ْ اَبِی َۃ ٍ فَجَعَل َ النَّاس ي ِ َمَثَل ِ رَجُل ٍ بَنَی بَیْتًافَاَحْسَنَہ ُ و َ اَجْمَلَہ ُ اِل َّ مَوْضِع َ لَبِنَۃ ٍ مِن ْ زَاو ک ْ ُ قَبْلِی ٰذِہ ِ اللَّبِنَۃ ُ قَال َ فَاَنَا اللَّبِنَۃ ُ و َ اَنَا خَاتَم ه ْ َل َّ وُضِعَت ه َ َقُوْلُوْن ي َ َعْجَبُوْن َ لَہ ُ و ي َ َطُوْفُوْن َ بِہ ِ و ي ْنَ.ي ِّ ي النَّبِ Hadrat Abu Hurairah ra narrates that the Holy Prophet s as said: ‘I and the Prophets before me can be likened to a man who built a beautiful palace, decorated and furnished it with great care, but in a corner left space for one brick.People would come to the palace and, looking at the cor- ner, wonder why the final brick had been omitted.’ The

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 61 Prophet of Allah said: ‘I am the missing brick.I am the Seal of Prophets.’ ( S a hih al-Bukh a ri, Kit a bul-A n biy a’ , ch.Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n, Hadith 3535) In this hadith, the Prophet s as of Allah likens himself to the most beautiful brick of the most beautiful palace.If Maulaw i Sahib believes that human beings cannot be likened to buildings, what does he have to say about the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as com- paring himself first to a most beautiful palace and then to the most beautiful brick of that palace.Before attacking Hadrat Mirza Sahib, Maulaw i Sahib should consider who in fact ends up bearing the brunt of his attacks.And if Maulaw i Sahib objects to Hadrat Mirza Sahib call- ing himself the ‘House of Allah’, this objection has already been refuted by our beloved Master, Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a s as.Here, he is telling us that the use of this simile is not only permis- sible but also shows the high spiritual status of the person con- cerned.Addressing Hadrat Ali ra, the Holy Prophet s as once said: ِ َا عَلِی ُّ اَنْت َ بِمَنْزِلَۃ ِ الْكَعْبَۃ ي ‘Al i , you are like the Ka‘bah.( Al-Firdous bi-Ma’th u ril-Kh- it a bi, Abu Shuj a ‘ Sh i rwai h bin Sha h rdar ad-Dailam i , vol.5, p.315, Hadith 8300, D a rul-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2010.)

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62 Hajr-e-Aswad [the Black Stone] [ H ajr-e-Aswad —the black stone of the Ka‘bah—is kissed by Muslims when they perform Hajj] Hadrat Mirza Sahib describes a vision of his: م ہک رجح اوسد منم ت م�یگف� � ی اپےئ نم یم وبس ی د و نم Someone kissed my feet and I said, ‘I am H ajr-e-Aswad [the Black Stone]’.(‘ Arba'in, No.4, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.17, p.445, footnote) Maulaw i Sahib objects that Hadrat Mirza Sahib has considered himself to be the H ajr-e-Aswad.Dear readers! Visions need to be interpreted.A vision is never taken in its literal sense.In the Holy Quran, Allah says: ْمَلَا َرَت َّنَا َهّٰللا ُدُجْسَي ٗهَل ْنَم يِف ِتٰوٰمَّسلا َو ْنَم يِف ِضْرَاْلا َو ُسْمَّشلا َو ُرَمَقْلا َو ُمْوُجُّنلا Have you seen that to Allah submits whosoever is in the heavens and whosoever is in the earth, and the sun and the moon and the stars … ( Sūrah al- H ajj , 22:19) And yet Joseph as describes his vision as following: ْيِّنِا ُتْيَاَر َدَحَا َرَشَع اًبَكْوَك َّو َسْمَّشلا َو َرَمَقْلا ْمُهُتْيَاَر ْيِل َنْيِدِجٰس

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 63 I saw in a dream eleven stars and the sun and the moon, I saw them making obeisance to me.( Sūrah Yūsuf, v12:5) Had there been a person like Maulaw i Abul Bashir at the time of Joseph as, one shudders to think what taunts he would have lev- elled at Joseph as.He may have accused him of making a claim of divinity! But this was a vision and it was fulfilled when the eleven brothers and parents of Joseph as were brought into his protection.Sūrah Yūsuf, verse 101 gives the complete details.Thus, visions have to be interpreted.And according to the renowned experts of interpretation of dreams and visions, H ajr-e-Aswad means a scholar, a jurist, and a person of great knowledge.This interpretation perfectly fits Hadrat Mirza Sahib.In pre- vious chapters we have already presented the opinions of Hadrat Maul a n a Abul-Kal a m A z a d, Mirz a Hairat Dehlav i and Ha fi z N u r Muhammad Naqshbandi Chisht i.Now we will quote the most vehement opponent of Hadrat Mirza Sahib, the famed leader of Ahl-e-Hadith Maulaw i Muhammad H usain Bat a lawi, who in a manner of speaking is an elder of Maulaw i Abul Bash i r.His tes- timony will prove that the vision means that Hadrat Mirza Sahib was a scholar without equal, a great jurist and a man of noble intellect and great wisdom.Here we quote Muhammad Husain Batalawi, who wrote after studying Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya : Here we briefly express our opinion of this book.Without exaggeration, this book in this age is such a work that the like of it has not been published in the entire history of Islam.We do not know what the future holds… And with his wealth, his writings, his life and eloquence of speech,

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64 the author of the book has proved so steadfast in the ser- vice of Islam that there are few among the Muslims who can be compared to him.If anyone thinks we are exagger- ating then let him show us one book which so effectively deals with the different opponents of Islam, particularly the A rya and Brahm Samaj.Point out even one or two champions of Islam who, in addition to defending Islam so zealously with their lives, wealth, pen, and eloquence of speech, have taken on the defence of this religion in this age and declared boldly in response to the opponents of Islam and deniers of the continuity of revelation: ‘Those who disbelieve in divine revelation should come and spend some time with me and witness and experience divine revelation’.And many non-Muslims actually did witness and experience divine revelations through him.( Ish a ‘atus-Sunnah, January–February 1884, p.169–170, vol.7, No.6, Ma t ba‘ Chashma-e-Nūr Amritsar) His Name Will be Ahmad Maulaw i Sahib has chosen an excerpt from the appendix to Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s book Tu h fah Golarhwiyyah for his criti- cisms.He points out that Hadrat Mirza Sahib claimed to be the Prophet mentioned in the Quranic prophecy , 1 ُ اسْمُه ٗۤ اَحْمَد i.e.his name will be Ahmad.The translation of the original passage is: 1.His name will be Ahmad ( S u rah a s - S aff, 61:7).

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 65 And as the verse 1 َو اًۢرِّشَبُم ٍلْوُسَرِب ْيِتْاَّي ْۢنِم يِدْعَب ۤٗهُمْسا ُدَمْحَا points to the fact that in the latter days there will be a manifestation of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as and he will be like one of his hands, and his name in the heavens will be Ahmad, and like the Messiah of yore he will spread religion in a beautiful manner.(Appendix, Tu h fah Golarhwiyyah, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.17, p.68–69) Esteemed readers, take note! The passage clearly states that the Quranic verse points to a manifestation of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as in the latter days.Hadrat Mirza Sahib does not claim that the verse mentions him directly, but states that it refers to him in his capacity of reflection and shadow of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.In Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s estimation, the verse is fulfilled in the person of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as , for he further writes: Our Prophet has two names.(1) One is Muhammad and this is the name given to him in the Torah.The Torah is a fiery law as can be seen from the verse: ۡن َ مَعَہ ٗۤ اَشِدَّآء ُ عَلَی الْكُفَّار ِ رُحَمَآء ُ بَیۡنَہُمْ...ذٰلِك َ مَثَلُہُم ْ فِی ي ِو َ الَّذ ؕ ِ هللا ُ مُحَمَّد ٌ رَّسُوۡل 2 التَّوْرٰىۃِ 1.And giving glad tidings of a Messenger who will come after me.His name will be Ahmad ( S u rah a s - S aff, 61:7).2.Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.And those who are with him are hard against the disbelievers, tender among themselves...This is their description in the Torah.( S u r a h al-Fath, 48:30)

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66 (2) The second name is Ahmad, and this name is found in the New Testament, which is the beneficent law as can be seen from the verse 1 ُ رًا بِرَسُول ٍ يَأْتِي مِن ْ بَعْدِي اسْمُه ُ أَحْمَد ِّ وَمُبَش.Our Prophet was the comprehensive personality which exuded both Jal a l (majesty) and Jam a l (beauty).( Arba'in, No.4, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.17, p.443) Maulaw i Sahib has certainly read the book Arba'in very care- fully and many of its sentences are the targets of his criticisms.He quotes them liberally in his pamphlet.Therefore, without a doubt, Maulaw i Sahib is deliberately trying to deceive the average Muslim and he wilfully conceals the truth.Mercy for the Universe Maulaw i Sahib raises objections against the revelation: َو ۤاَم َكٰنْلَسْرَا اَّلِا ًةَمْحَر َنْيِمَلٰعْلِّل We have sent you in order to show mercy for the universe.2 Now could Maulaw i Sahib please tell us: Will the Messiah and Mahd i whom he awaits be a blessing or a curse? To us it is plain 1.And giving glad tidings of a Messenger who will come after me.His name will be Ahmad ( S u rah a s - S aff, 61:7).2.Arba'in, no.3, p.23–29, Ru ha n i Khaza’in, vol.17, p.410–418 and Appendix To h fah Golarhviyyah, p.14–19, Ru ha n i Khaza’in, vol.17, p.59–65.

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 67 that anyone belonging to Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a , peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, regardless of whether he is given any rank or title, will be a mercy for the entire universe.He will be a blessing for the universe; for, anyone who is not a blessing for the universe cannot be a follower of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.Now, as for the possibility that a follower of the Holy Prophet s as be the recipient of divine verses specifically addressed to the Holy Prophet s as , let us remind Maulaw i Sahib that Maulaw i ‘Abdul Jabbar Ghaznavi explains this issue in his book Ithb a tul- Ilh a m wal Bai‘at.He wrote the book to refute those who criti- cized Hadrat Maulaw i ‘Abdull a h Ghaznaw i ’s claim to being the recipient of divine revelation and visions, especially revelations found in the Quran which are addressed to the Holy Prophet s as.Maulaw i ‘Abdul Jabb a r was one of the most vehement opponents of Ahmadiyyat and he is one of Maulaw i Abul Bash i r’s elders.He writes: If in revelation one receives a verse that specifically addresses the Holy Prophet s as , one should consider it addressed to oneself.Anyone who considers the dos and don’ts, the incentives and support contained therein as intended for himself, surely that person is worthy of approbation.If one is inspired with verses addressed to the Holy Prophet s as given below it can be said with certainty that such a person will be granted an open mind, God’s pleasure, and the gift of guidance in accordance with his rank:

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68 َمَا ک ْ ُ.فَاصْبِر هللا ُ ْكَھُم ي َكْفِ ي ْك َ رَبُّك َ فَتَرْضٰی.فَسَ ي ُعْطِ ي َ اَلَم ْ نَشْرَح ْ لَك َ صَدْرَكَ.و َ لَسَوْف ِّ َدْعُوْن َ رَبَّھُم ْ بِالْغَدَاۃ ِ و َ الْعَشِی ي َ ْن ي َ صَبَر َ اُولُو الْعَزْم ِ مِن َ الرُّسُلِ.وَاصْبِر ْ نَفْسَك َ مَع َ الَّذِ ْرِنَا و َ اتَّبَع ک ِ ك َ وَانْحَر…ْ و َ ل َ تُطِع ْ مَن ْ اَغَفَلْنَا قَلْبَہ ُ عَن ْ ذ ِّ لِرَب ِّ ْدُوْن َ وَجْھَہ…ُ فَصَل ي ِ ُر ي َوَاہ…ُ وَوَجَدَك َ ضَٓال ًّ فَھَدٰی … ه He will be considered as sharing in the Holy Prophet’s obedience to the commands and prohibitions.( Ithb a tul- Ilh a m wal Ba‘iati bi-Adillatil-Kit a bi was-Sunnah, Maulaw i ‘Abdul-Jabb a r Ghaznaw i , p.143) Maulaw i Sahib: 1.Please study the following examples of revelation as recorded in Hadrat Maulaw i ‘Abdullah Ghaznaw i ’s biography.َسِّرُك َ لِلْیُسْرٰی ي ُ سَن ( Saw a ni h ‘Umr i Maulaw i ‘Abdull a h Ghaznaw i al-Mar- hu m wa Majm u ‘ah Makt u b a t Maulaw i ‘Abdul-Jabb a r and Maulaw i Ghulam Rasūl, p.5, Ma t ba‘ al-Quran was-Sun- nah, Amritsar) This was revealed to him repeatedly.ٍ ْر ي ِ ِ مِن ْ وَّلِی ٍّ وَّل َ نَص هللا َ ُم ْ بَعْد َ الَّذِی ْ جَآءَك َ مِن َ الْعِلْم ِ مَا لَك َ مِن ه ْوَآءَ ه وَلَئِن ِ اتَّبَعْت َ اَ ( Saw a ni h ‘Umr i Maulaw i ‘Abdull a h Ghaznawi al-Mar- hu m wa Majm u ‘ah Makt u b a t Maulaw i ‘Abdul-Jabb a r and Maulaw i Ghul a m Rasūl, p.15, Ma t ba‘ al-Quran was-Sun- nah, Amritsar)

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 69 ْدُوْن َ وَجْھَہٗ...فَاِذَا ي ِ ُر ي ِّ َدْعُوْن َ رَبَّھُم ْ بِالْغَدَاۃ ِ و َ الْعَشِی ي َ ْن ي ٗو َ اصْبِر ْ نَفْسَك َ مَع َ الَّذِ َانَہ ي ْنَا بَ ي قَرَاْنَاہ ُ فَاتَّبِع ْ قُرْاٰنَہ ٗ ثُم َّ اِن َّ عَلَ ( Saw a ni h ‘Umr i Maulaw i ‘Abdull a h Ghaznaw i al-Mar- hu m wa Majm u ‘ah Makt u b a t Maulaw i ‘Abdul-Jabb a r and Maulaw i Ghulam Rasūl, p.35, Ma t ba‘ al-Quran was-Sun- nah, Amritsar) ْ َا...وَل َ تُطِع ْ مَن ي ٰوۃ ِ الدُّنْ ي ْرَۃ َ الْحَ ه َ ْك َ اِلٰی مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِہ ٖ اَزْوَاجًا مِّنْھُم ْ ز ي َ ْن ي ل َ تَمُدَّن َّ عَ َان َ اَمْرُہ ٗ فُرُطًا ک َ َوَاہ ُ و ه َ ْرِنَا و َ اتَّبَع ک ِ اَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَہ ٗ عَن ْ ذ ( Saw a ni h ‘Umr i Maulaw i ‘Abdull a h Ghaznawi al-Mar- hu m wa Majm u ‘ah Makt u b a t Maulaw i ‘Abdul-Jabb a r and Maulaw i Ghul a m Rasūl, p.35–35, Ma t ba‘ al-Quran was-Sunnah, Amritsar) ْك َ رَبُّك َ فَتَرْضٰی ي ُعْطِ ي َ وَلَسَوْف ( Saw a ni h ‘Umr i Maulaw i ‘Abdull a h Ghaznawi al-Mar- hu m wa Majm u ‘ah Makt u b a t Maulaw i ‘Abdul-Jabb a r and Maulaw i Ghul a m Rasūl, p.37, Ma t ba‘ al-Quran was-Sun- nah, Amritsar) ْمَلَا ْحَرْشَن َكَل َكَرْدَص ( Saw a ni h ‘Umr i Maulaw i ‘Abdull a h Ghaznawi al-Mar- hu m wa Majm u ‘ah Makt u b a t Maulaw i ‘Abdul-Jabb a r and Maulaw i Ghulam Rasūl, p.37, Ma t ba‘ al-Quran was-Sun- nah, Amritsar)

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70 2.Hadrat Khaw a jah M i r Dard recorded revelations he received in his book, ‘ Ilm-ul-Kit a b.More than two-dozen revelations consist of Quranic verses.One of these is: َوْرِذْنَا َكَتَرْیِشَع َنْیِبَرْقَاْلا ( ‘Ilm-ul-Kit a b, Khaw a jah M i r Dard, p.64, Ma t ba‘ al-An- sa r i , Delhi, 1308 AH) 3.The Quranic verse َ ۡن ي ِ لْعٰلَم ِّ ل ًةَمْحَر َوۤاَم َكٰنْلَسْرَا اَّلِا was revealed to Hadrat Sheikh Ni za m-ud-D i n Auliy a’ rta many times.Hadrat Makhd u m Gais u dar a z writes: Hadrat Sheikh used to say: In some months a young and handsome boy would appear by my bed and address me with the words: َ ۡن ي ِ لْعٰلَم ِّ وَمَا ۤ اَرْسَلْنٰك َ اِل َّ رَحْمَۃ ً ل I would bow my head in embarrassment and ask, ‘What are you say- ing? These words were specifically intended for the Holy Prophet.How can I be worthy of such address?’ ( Jaw a mi‘ul-Kalimi Malf uza t , Khaw a jah Bandah Naw a z Gaisudar a z rta, Murattabah Sayyed Muhammad Akbar Husaini, Translated by Professor Mu‘ i n-ud-D i n Dardai, p.226, Ma t bū‘ah Naf i s Academy, Karachi) Now all Muslims know that the above revelations are found in

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 71 verses of the Quran and that they are addressed specifically to the Holy Prophet s as.So Maulaw i Sahib what fatwas will you apply to your elders and especially to Hadrat Sheikh Ni za m-ud-D i n Auliy a’ ? Why not make him a target of your attack? But before opening this battle- front you should find out what is going on in your own backyard.And until you have done so you have no right to abuse the true and holy personages.Ask your leader Maulaw i Ashraf ‘Al i Th a nw i about his divine leader Ha j i Imd a dull a h Muh a jir Makk i.He will tell you quite openly that in his book, If ada tul-Yaumiyyah, volume 1, page 105, Ha j i Imd a dull a h declared himself to be a mercy for the entire universe.( Malf uza t H ak i mul Ummat Maul a n a Ashraf ‘Al i Th a nw i , vol.1, p.122, N a shir Id a rah Ta’l i f a t Ashrafiyyah, Multan, 1430 AH) And before you try to erase these words from the above-men- tioned book, consider the status of your elder, Syed ‘A ta’ ull a h Sh a h Bukh a r i.The people of Multan who belong to your sect regard him as a mercy for the entire universe.If you are not aware of this, ask the people of Madrasah Q a simul-‘Ul u m Mult a n.Muhammad M u s a , a teacher at the Madrasah, has written an elegy to Bukh a r i Sahib.This elegy was published in Tarjam a nul-Isl a m, Lahore, 15th September 1961.It contains the following verse: بسيط عطاء ً رحمة ً للعالمين ی نت من الرحيم عل ک و You were bestowed on this world by the Merciful God and you were a mercy for the whole world.( Haft R o zah Tarjum a nul-Isl a m, 15 September 1961 CE)

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72 So Maulaw i Irfani Sahib, unless you demolish these men you have no right to abuse the true and righteous people.Maulaw i Sahib! We know that an abundance of titles is a sign of honour.If a non-Ahrari were to count the titles of your leader, e.g.Am i r-e-Shari‘at [Leader of the Islamic law], ‘A ta ’ull a h [Gift from God], Sh a h [King], Bukh a r i , Mercy for the World, etc., and were then to call him a chameleon, what reply would you give? Seal of Prophets Maulaw i Abul Bash i r takes an excerpt for the writings of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and fraudulently entitles it, ‘I am the Seal of Prophets’.What Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad actually wrote was: I have repeatedly said before that in accordance with the verse َو َنْیِرَخٰا ْمُھْنِم اَّمَل اْوُقَحْلَی ْمِہِب , I am a reflection [ bur u z ] of the same Prophet, the Seal of Prophets [ Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n ].( A Misconception Removed, p.12; see also Aik Ghala t i k a Iz a lah, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.18, p.212) Respected readers! You have already seen the dishonest means that Maulaw i Sahib employs.Hadrat Mirza Sahib, neither in the above quotation nor in any other of his writings, has ever claimed to be the Seal of Prophets.Here, and wherever this subject comes up, he always describes himself as a reflection and shadow of the Holy Prophet s as.So whosoever makes such allegations, as Maulaw i Sahib has done, is indeed a liar.

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 73 Hadrat Mirza Sahib considered it a sin to claim equality with the Holy Prophet s as.According to him, anyone claiming equality had to be false.He always ranked himself as a follower and servant and slave of the Holy Prophet s as : The Messenger, Muhammad of Arabia, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him […] is truthful, and indeed the Chief of the truthful.He was vehemently rejected, but in the end, it was this very Messenger who was bestowed the crown of honour.I am one of his serv- ants and subordinates.( H aq i qatul-Wa hi, English transla- tion, p.348; see also Haqiqatul-Wahi , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.22, p.286) He also says: تحنن و ّ برحمة ی ال انظر الغلمان احقر انا سيدي يا O my Master! Turn to me with mercy and compassion.I am the most humble of your slaves.Moreover, he has said: I also believe that without following our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) it is not possible to reach even the lowest stage of the straight path, not to mention the impossibility of attaining the higher stages of progress along the paths of righteousness without follow- ing this Leader of Messengers.We cannot achieve any sta- tion of eminence or excellence and no rank of honour or

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74 nearness (to Allah) can be reached without following our Prophet s as.Whatever we have, we have as a subordinate to and shadow of him.I also believe that all the righteous and perfect people who had the honour of being the com- panions of the Holy Prophet s as , were able to reach higher spiritual levels.And the perfection of their spiritual status is such that our excellences, if we were to acquire them, would be a reflection of their excellences.There would still be certain partial excellences that we cannot achieve now in any way.( Iz a lah Auh a m, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in vol.3, p.170) Also: The wisdom and providence of God Almighty has bestowed this status in order to prove the excellence of the spiritual blessings of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that He took me to the station of Prophethood through the blessings of his (the Holy Prophet’s) grace.Therefore, I cannot be defined only as a Prophet.Rather, I am a Prophet in one respect and an ummat i [follower of the Holy Prophet s as ] in the other.My Prophethood is a reflection of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and not an inde- pendent Prophethood.This is why in the hadith as well as in the revelation vouchsafed to me, I have been named a Prophet, just as I have been named an ummat i , so that it might become known that every excellence has been bestowed on me through following the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and through

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 75 his medium.( H aq i qatul-Wa hi, English translation, p.184; see also H aq i qatul-Wa hi, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in vol.22, p.154, footnote) It is a grave injustice to object to Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s status as a shadow and reflection of the Seal of Prophets s as.It is akin to accusing the pious Muslims, whose beliefs are given below, of apostasy and infidelity.As an example, Sh a h Wali yy ull a h Mu h addith Dehlav i writes: َزْعُم ُ الْعَامَّۃ ُ اِنَّہ ٗ اِذَا نَزَل َ فِی ي َ ْن َ ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص و ي ِّد ِ الْمُرْسَلِ ي َ ْہ ِ اَنْوَار ُ س ي َّنْعَكِس َ فِ ي ْ ٌ حُق َّ لَہ ٗ اَن ُو َ شَرْح ٌ لِلِْسْم ِ الْجَامِع ِ الْمُحَمَّدِی ِّ و َ نُسْخَۃ ه ْ َان َ وَاحِدًا مِّن َ الُْمَّۃِ.ك ََّ بَل ک ِ ِالَْرْض مَّۃ ُْ ْن َ اَحَد ٍ مِّن َ ال ي َ مُنَسَّخَۃ ٌ مِّنْہ ُ فَشَتَّان َ بَیْنَہ ٗ و َ ب The future Mahdi has the right to be the reflection of the light of the Chief of Prophets.People generally believe that when the Promised One arrives in this world his sta- tus will be that of a common member of the Ummah.This is not the case.He will be an exposition of all attributes of Muhammad s as and a true copy of him.Hence there is a big difference between him and an ordinary follower.( Al-Khairul-Kath i r Hadrat Sh a h Wali yy ull a h Mu h addith Dehlav i , Tr.Maul a n a ‘ A bidur-Ra h m a n S idd i q i , p.236– 237, Ma t ba‘ Sa’ i di, Karachi) Sayyed ‘Abdul Kar i m J i l a n i rh, says the following about the Imam Mahdi: This refers to that person who will attain to the perfect

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76 adoption of the way of Muhammad s as.and who will main- tain perfect balance at the highest level of every excel- lence.* ( Ins a n-e-K a mil, Sayyed ‘Abdul Kar i m bin Ibr a h i m J i l a n i , Translated by Fa d l Miran, p.401, printed at Naf i s Academy, Karachi, 1980) Hadrat Khaw a jah Ghul a m Far i d rta says: The Holy Prophet is reflected in all Prophets from Adam S af iyy ull a h [the friend of Allah] to the Imam Mahdi.He was first reflected in Adam and then, one after the other, in the Prophethoods of great and noble men.He will continue to be reflected through the ages and will finally be reflected in the person of the Imam Mahdi.Hence all Prophets, Auliy a ’, and eminent saints from the time of Adam until the time of Imam Mahdi were manifestations of the spirit of Prophet Muhammad, may peace and bless- ings of Allah be upon him.( Maq a b i sul-Maj a lis Malf uza t Hadrat Khaw a jah Ghul a m Far i d rh Maul a n a Rukn-ud- D i n rh , Tarjumah al- Ha j Kaptan W ah id Bakhsh Siy a l, p.419, Ma t ba‘ al-Fai s al N a shir a n wa T a jir a n Kutub, Urdu Bazar, Lahore, 2005) Michael Maulaw i Sahib takes the following excerpt from one of Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s books:

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 77 In the books of some of the Prophets, I have been men- tioned metaphorically as an angel.In the book of Daniel, I am named Michael and in Hebrew the literal meaning of Michael is ‘like God’.( Arba'in, No.3, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.17, p.413, footnote) In his pamphlet, Maulaw i Sahib slanderously gives this excerpt the heading, ‘I am like God’, giving the impression that Hadrat Mirza Sahib claimed to be like God.Dear readers! Mirza Sahib never made any such claim.This calumny is Maulaw i Sahib’s own invention.This is not the only one; as you can see Maulaw i Sahib habitually tells lie after lie and does not tire of doing so.As far as the above excerpt is concerned, all Mirza Sahib has done is to quote the book of Prophet Daniel as.Similarly, Prophet Daniel as describes the Prophet of the latter days as ‘angel’ and ‘Michael’.(See chapter 12 of the Book of Daniel).Maulaw i Sahib is so full of malice that he does not stop to think that in attacking Hadrat Mirza Sahib he is actually attacking the Prophets of old who made these prophecies.As for describing a person as an angel or as God, the Quran and the Bible both use such similes.Prophet Joseph as has been described as a ‘noble angel’ in Sūrah Yūsuf, verse 32.And about our lord and master, Muhammad Mu st af a s as , in the Quran, Allah Almighty says: َو اَم َتْيَمَر ْذِا َتْيَمَر َو َّنِكٰل َهّٰللا ىٰمَر

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78 And you did not throw when you did throw, but it was Allah who threw.( Sūrah Al-Anf a l , v.18) And the oath of allegiance to the Prophet s as is called allegiance to Allah and the hand of the Prophet s as is said to be the hand of God.In the Bible, the advent of Muhammad Mu st af a s as is referred to as the coming of God Himself: Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them like- wise.But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 79 corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.(Matthew 21:33–44) This prophecy is about our Lord and Master Muhammad Mu st af a s as.Such parables are meant to show God’s succour, His Majesty and His Grandeur.But according to Maulaw i Sahib, this is highly objectionable and unlawful, and anyone who says so is a liar (God forbid).The Supreme Prophet Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a s as Maulaw i Sahib translates the following couplet, له خسف القمر المنير وان ّ لي أتنكر المشرقان القمران غسا which is from one of Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s Arabic poems, as follows: For him was shown the sign of lunar eclipse and for me of lunar and solar both.Would you still deny me? ( I‘j a z- e-Ahmad i , Appendix- Nuz u lul-Mas ih , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.19, p.183)

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80 Maulaw i Sahib also writes: Similarly, on page 40 and 67 of Tu h fah Golarhwiyyah it is written that the miracles of the Holy Prophet s as num- bered 3,000.And in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, part 5, p.56, he counts his own miracles as reaching one million.Maulaw i Sahib then gives these two excerpts the heading, ‘I am superior to the Holy Prophet s as.’ Maulaw i Sahib is so benighted that he cannot see whom he is attacking.In reality, he is criticizing a hadith of the Holy Prophet s as.All learned people know it was the Holy Prophet s as , not Hadrat Mirza Sahib, who made the prophecy of the eclipse of the sun and the moon in the month of Ramadan.They also know that the moon eclipsed at the time of the Holy Prophet s as.And Mirza Sahib mentions this to prove the truthfulness of the Holy Prophet s as.No Ahmadi scholar has ever used this proph- ecy to argue for Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s superiority over the Holy Prophet s as.But this Maulaw i Sahib is impudent and ignorant.In the past fourteen hundred years no one ever stated that the two eclipses prophesied for the Mahdi gave him any superiority over the Holy Prophet s as , who only witnessed one eclipse.If this is not a twisted mentality, then what is? He ostensibly attacks Hadrat Mirza Sahib, while he is attacking the religious principles which are authenticated by the Holy Prophet s as himself ! The prophecy about the sun and the moon eclipsing in the month of Ramadan had been widely accepted by scholars long before the birth of Hadrat Mirza Sahib.But since his advent, the prophecy is being sourced to Imam B a qir rta so as to deny Hadrat

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 81 Mirza Sahib’s claim in whose time the double eclipse took place in 1894.Although it is a separate issue, here we are arguing the point that the prophecy of the double eclipse was not concocted by Hadrat Mirza Sahib.Even if we do not accept that this prophecy was made by the Holy Prophet s as , it still can be traced back to Imam B a qir rta who passed away in 148 AH, 765 CE.Now, Imam B a qir rta was the grandson of Hadrat Imam H usain ra, and the son of Imam Zain-ul- Abid i n rta.Millions of Shiites accept him as their Im a m.Although his style of narration was not the unbroken chain common among other narrators (i.e.I heard it from Zaid, and Zaid heard it from Bakr, etc.), but he was brought up in the household of the Holy Prophet s as and he would state what he heard exactly as he heard it.For this reason, there was an authenticity to his sayings.He was brought up by extremely pious people and they would not fabri- cate anything about the Holy Prophet s as.Whether or not Maulaw i Sahib accepts this Hadith, millions of Shia Muslims accept it and a great many Sunni scholars accept it and respect it.Even a person as absurd as Maulaw i Sahib has to admit that this prophecy was not made by Hadrat Mirza Sahib.If anyone did indeed invent it, it must have been Imam Baqir rta.And if that is so, did he do it to prove the Imam Mahdi superior to the Holy Prophet s as ? Here we would like to point out that this hadith is recorded in D a r Qu t n i which Sunni scholars regard as a book of high rank.Also, we would like you to bear in mind that here, once again, Maulaw i Abul Bash i r Irfani has showed his dishonesty.Two verses after the one quoted above, Hadrat Mirza Sahib says

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82 ٗ اصله يخالف ان لظل انّي و فما فيه في وجهي يلوح و يزهر How can the shadow differ from the real thing? The light that shines in him also glows in me.The Promised Messiah as also says: The miracles of our Holy Prophet, may peace and bless- ings of Allah be upon him, continue to manifest them- selves even through today and will continue being man- ifested until the Day of Resurrection.Indeed, all things that are manifested in my support, are, in fact, miracles of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.( H aq i qatul-Wa hi, English translation, p.582; see also Haqiqatul-Wahi Appendix, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.22, p.469) Lastly, we would like to point out that the above excerpt decisively states Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s claims.The writer and publisher of Ilh a m i Girgit are trying to conceal this truth from the ordinary man.If they were to put the real facts before the public their crit- icisms would become null and void.Manifestation of God Maulaw i Abul Bash i r Irfani attacks another of the Promised Messiah’s writings.After chopping and distorting the original, he presents the following words in his pamphlet: ‘My coming is the

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 83 time for the manifestation of Allah’s perfect majesty.(He then goes onto say) it is through a human being that His Majesty shall be manifested’.The correct excerpt is as follows: Prophet D a ni a l [Daniel] is also on record having said that my advent is the time of the manifestation of the full gran- deur of God and in my time is the final battle between angels and satans.God will show such Signs in this time as He has never shown and, as it were, God Himself shall descend upon the earth.As He says: 1 ْلَه َنْوُرُظْنَي ۤاَّلِا ْنَا ُمُهَيِتْاَّي ُهّٰللا ْيِف ٍلَلُظ َنِّم ِماَمَغْلا Meaning that, on that day your God shall come among the clouds.In other words, God will display His grandeur and show His countenance through a human manifesta- tion.( H aq i qatul-Wa hi, English translation, p.189; see also Haqiqatul-Wahi , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.22, p.158) Dear readers! Which of Maulaw i Sahib’s lies should we quote and which of his cruelties should we mention? He takes a few written words, chops and distorts them out of context, and from there he launches his unjust attacks on Hadrat Mirza Sahib.Now at the start of the above quoted paragraph, Hadrat Mirza Sahib clearly cites the Prophet Daniel as.Yet Maulaw i Sahib deliberately does 1.S u rah al- Baqarah , 2:211

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84 not mention Prophet Daniel as.Similarly, he fails to mention the divine verse that explains this subject.As for being a manifestation of God, Hadrat Adam as is described by God in similar terms.The same holds true for all the other Prophets.Whenever people move away from God and His attributes, Allah the Almighty sends His vicegerent to the world.This vicegerent then becomes the vehicle through which the attributes of God are gloriously manifested.It is this glory that is known as the manifestation of His attributes.And the person through whom His attributes become known is called a manifestation of God.This is why our lord and master, Muhammad Mu st af a s as , was the perfect manifestation of the Almighty.Through him, the world witnessed the loftiest, the highest, and the most perfect manifestation of the attributes of Allah.It was through him that God sent the following message to mankind: 1 ِ صِبْغَۃً هللا َ ِ ۚ وَمَن ْ اَحْسَن ُ مِن هللا َ صِبْغَۃ Meaning that: every human being should try to imbibe the attributes of Allah because to Allah belongs the most beneficent attributes.Maulaw i Sahib! You may feel this message is not for you; but please realise that it is addressed to every believer.And the more Allah enables a person to imbibe His attributes, the more that per- son becomes a vehicle through which those attributes are made apparent.So, whoever learns from the beloved of the Almighty, the perfect manifestation of His divine attributes, i.e.Hadrat 1.S u rah al- Baqarah , 2:139

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 85 Muhammad Mu st af a s as , to imbibe the divine attributes becomes, to some extent, a manifestation of God.That is why the saints of old not only claimed to be manifestations of God, and even went further to say: ُّ اَنَا الْحَق i.e.I am the Truth.We have already quoted one such example previously so there is no point in discussing this further.Suffice to say that Maulaw i Abul Bashir Irfani does not have any understanding of these paths of cognition; so how can he understand the divine spirituality? How can he comprehend that when a devotee travels along the path of love and devotion to Allah, he sometimes reaches a point where he starts to say: ُّ اَنَا الْحَق [I am the Truth], م نم دخا ی � م نم دخا ی � نم دخا [I am God, I am God, I am God], ِ هللا لَیْس َ فِي ْ جُبَّـتِي ْ سِوَی [Inside my garments there is nothing but Allah].Since Maulaw i Sahib is knowledgeable only in the art of deception and of concealing the truth, we do not expect him to understand these sublime matters.But he should, at least, learn from history what type of people issued edicts of apostacy, and persecuted these godly persons even to the point of death.Like Offspring Maulaw i Sahib quotes two of Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s revelations: انت مني بمزلة ِ ولدي دي ل انت مني بمنزلة او Meaning that: You are to me at the station of a son; you are to me at the station of my offspring.

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86 He then slanders the Promised Messiah as by adding the words اسمع ولدي and claiming that this too was one of the Promised Messiah’s revelations.Maulaw i Abul Bash i r records all three together under the title, ‘I am the Son of God’.This leaves the reader with the impression that (God forbid) Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed to be the son of God.Dear readers! There is no revelation of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s in the words اسمع ولدي.There is a revelation worded اسمع وارى which means: ‘I hear and I see.’ It was written incorrectly by scriber’s error.The word وَاَرى [ wa ar a ] was misprinted as ْ وَلَدِي [ walad i ].Hence the revelation اسمع وارى was erroneously recorded as اسمع ولدي.It is extreme dishonesty on the part of Maulaw i Sahib that not only did he fail to cancel the superfluous line between the Alif and the Ra, but he went further and altered the vowels of the revela- tion.ُ اَسْمَع [ Asma‘u ] became ْ اِسْمَع [ Isma‘ ] and ْ وَاَرَی [ Wa-ar a ] became ْ وَلَدِي [ Walad i ].He then based his objections on this misquotation.As far as the other two revelations are concerned, it is worth noting that there is a world of difference between ْ بِمَنْزِلَۃ ِ وَلَدِي [at the station of a son] and ْ وَلَدِي [my son].God has no sons; but if He were to say, ‘I love you as a father loves his son’, this would not be a new figure of speech.The Bible is full of such phrases.In fact, all the Prophets are referred to as God’s sons in the Bible.Will Maulaw i Sahib then come to the conclusion that God had sons before the time of the Holy Prophet s as but ceased to have them once the Quran had been revealed? The Holy Quran states: ْمَل ْدِلَي١ۙ۬ َو ْمَل ْدَلْوُي , i.e.God never had any sons.He neither begot nor was He begotten.This is what Hadrat

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 87 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and the Ahmadiyya Community stand by, as do all other Muslims.Divine books prove that God uses the word ‘son’ as a term of endearment.In a divine context it always means, ‘I love you more than you love your sons’.Hadrat Sh a h Wali yy ull a h Mu h addith Dehlav i writes: دشہ ابدش ہچ بجع رک ارگ ظفل اانب اجبےئ وبحمابں ذ What cause is there for wonder if God refers to someone as His son instead of beloved.? ( Al-Fauzul-Kab i r Ma‘a Fat’ h il Khab i ri f i Us u lit-Tafs i r, Sh a h Wali yy ull a h Dehlav i , p.7, Ma t ba‘ Alimi, Lahore) Maulaw i Sahib does not seem to have come across any similar sort of verse in the Quran.One wonders about the manner in which he studies the Quran that clearly states: اوُرُكْذاَف َهّٰللا ْمُكِرْكِذَك ْمُكَءٓاَبٰا ْوَا َّدَشَا اًرْكِذ Celebrate the praises of Allah as you celebrated the praises of your fathers, or even more than that.(Sūrah Al-Baqarah, v.201) How does Maulaw i Sahib interpret this verse? The Maulaw i ’s is lacking entirely in understanding of these matters.But let us quote one who did understand these matters.One of the great saints of Islam, Hadrat Maulana Rumi rta, understood these matters well and has thrown light on them in many of his writings.He says:

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88 ر ز ِس�ْ چ � �دای � حق� اول�ی� ا اافطل Meaning that: the auliy a ’ are the sons of God, in a sym- bolic manner.( Kulliy a ti Mathnaw i Maul a n a Jal a l-ud- D i n Muhammad Balkh i R u m i , Daftar Siwom, p.213, Intisharati Kit a bchi, Tehran, 1375 AH) But the one who possessed the greatest knowledge of the Divine was Hadrat Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).He was the one who cared most for the Oneness of God.Alas, Maulaw i Sahib is so blind that he neither saw the above quoted Quranic verse, nor did he ever read the following words of the Holy Prophet s as : ِ عِيَالِه ی الل َِّ مَن ْ أَحْسَن َ إِلَ ی َ اَلْخَلْق ُ عِيَال ُ الل َِّ فَأَحَب ُّ الْخَلْق ِ إِل The creation of God is His family, i.e.His offspring.Whosoever is kind towards Allah’s family becomes most dear to Him.( Mishk a tul-Ma sa b ih Kit a bul-Adab, Ch.‘Ash-Shafqatu war-Ra h mah’, vol.2, p.217, Hadith 4998, D a rul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003) Sadly, this is not even a matter of lack of insight.The Maulaw i Sahib’s deliberately discards and distorts the truth.So how does Hadrat Mirza Sahib interpret the revelation that is so mocked by Maulaw i Sahib and by which he accuses Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of claiming to be the son of God? Who can object to his own interpretation of the revelation, an

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 89 interpretation that he explained to others, except such a one who is tainted in nature? He says: It must be remembered that God Almighty has no sons.He has no associate and no son; nor does anyone have the right to claim to be God or the son of God.However, this phrase is used here by way of allegorical and metaphorical expression.As for instance in the Holy Quran, God has said: ُدَي ِهّٰللا َقْوَف ْمِهْيِدْيَا The hand of Allah is over their hands.( S u rah al-Fat h , 48:11) And has, thus, described His own hand as the hand of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in the words: Allah’s hand was above their hands.He has also used the expression: 1 ْلُق َيِداَبِعٰي Say, ‘O you my servants’ instead of ِهّٰللا َ ْلُق یٰعِبَاد [Say, ‘O serv - ants of Allah’], and as He also said: اوُرُكْذاَف َهّٰللا ْمُكِرْكِذَك ْمُكَءٓاَبٰا 1.S u rah az-Zumar, 39:54

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90 ‘Celebrate the praises of Allah as you celebrate the praises of your fathers’ [ S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:201].It is, therefore, necessary to study these words of God with full concentration and care.Believe in them as allegori- cal and do not try to probe into their deeper meanings— leave that to God.Hold fast to the truth that God does not take to Himself a son; yet, there are many allegories to be found in His word.Beware, therefore, of construing literally that which is allegorical, for that would be ruin- ous.There is a clear revelation concerning me set out in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya : له في القرآن ک قل انما انا بشر مثلكم يوحي الي ّ انما الٰهكم الٰه واحد و الخير Tell them: I am but a human being like yourselves.It is revealed to me that your God is One God and that all good is contained in the Quran.( D a fi‘ul-Bal a ’i wa Mi‘y a ru Ahlil-I st if a ’, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.18, p.233; Defence Against the Plague & A Criterion for the Elect of God , English ed.2015, p.14-15) It is sheer dishonesty on the part of the maulaw i s to attribute shirk (the associating of partners with God) to Hadrat Mirza Sahib while this piece of writing exists.Another of Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s great writings settles such disputes in the following manner: Those who lose themselves in God are called the chil- dren of God.However, this does not mean that they are

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 91 literally God’s sons.It would be sheer blasphemy to say so; for, God is Holy and has no sons.But they have been called ‘children of God’ only as a figure of speech since, like an innocent child, they keep on remembering God with utmost zeal.Indicating the same spiritual station, the Holy Quran says: 1 اوُرُكْذاَف َهّٰللا ْمُكِرْكِذَك ْمُكَءٓاَبٰا ْوَا َّدَشَا اًرْكِذ Meaning that, remember God with such love and heart- felt compassion as a child remembers its father.This is why God has been addressed as Ab or Pit a [meaning ‘father’] in the scriptures of every people.Figuratively speaking, God has a resemblance to a mother also and just as a mother rears her child in the womb, so are the beloveds of God nourished in the lap of the Divine’s love.They are granted a holy body out of a filthy origin.This is why the Auliy a ’ [friends of Allah] are called ‘children of God’ by the mys- tics.It is only a figure of speech.Otherwise, God has no children, and [in terms of the Quranic verse,] God: 2 ْمَل ْدِلَي١ۙ۬ َو ْمَل ْدَلْوُي ( Haqiqatul-Wahi Appendix, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.22, p.582, H aq i qatul-Wa hi, English ed.2018, p.729) 1.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:201 [Publisher] 2.He begets not, nor is He begotten ( S u rah al-Ikhl as , 112:4).[Publisher]

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92 Water of Faith Dear readers! Maulaw i Abul Bashir quotes Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s revelation: ٍ ُم ْ مِن ْ فَشَل ه َ أَنْت َ مِن ْ مَّائِنَا و This means, ‘You are from our water, while others are from fashal’.( Arba'in, No.2, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.17, p.385) Maulaw i Sahib then gives it the title, ‘I am from God’s seed’.He further states that: 1.In the Arabic lexicon, ماء (water) means seed.The Quran states: َقَلَخ َنِم ِءٓاَمْلا اًرَشَب ۡ الَّذِی َوُہ Allah is the one who has created mankind from water.2.The Holy Quran also states: ؕ ِ ۡن ِ الصُّلْب ِ و َ التَّرَآئِب ي َّخْرُج ُ مِن ۡۢ بَ ي ٍ َنۡظُر ِ الِْنۡسَان ُ مِم َّ خُلِق َ خُلِق َ مِن ۡ مَّآء ٍ دَافِق ي فَلْ So man should ponder over his creation.He was created from the water that spurts from the back of the male and the breast of the female.1 There are many verses of the Holy Quran that indicate that ‘water’ means ‘seed’.This is also well explained in the 1.S u rah a t - Ta riq, 86:6–8

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 93 commentaries.If by ‘water’, Mirza Sahib means the water of righteousness or purity, then it will have to be said that he has no knowledge of the Arabic lexicon.It would seem as though Mirza Sahib is referring to himself as the seed of God.( Ilh a m i Girgit ) Dear readers! The correct interpretation of divine revelation is the one given by the recipient of that revelation.Accordingly, we find that Hadrat Mirza Sahib explains this revelation thus: In the words, ‘You are from my water while others are from fashal,’ water means the water of faith, the water of stead- fastness, the water of piety, the water of fidelity, the water of truth and the water of divine love which is received from the Almighty.Fashal means cowardice that comes from Satan.Every dishonesty and evil doing has its roots in cowardice.When a person loses the strength of stead- fastness, he bows towards sin.So fashal is from Satan and righteous beliefs and virtuous deeds are divine water that comes from the Almighty.(Appendix Anj a m-e- A tham, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.11, p.56, footnote) Instead of accepting this sensible and truthful explanation, Maulaw i Sahib mocks divine revelation and shamelessly makes evident his own filthy mind.Maulaw i Sahib! Exalting yourself as a scholar of the Arabic lexicon, you have made the claim that ‘water’ means only ‘seed’.This claim makes a mockery of your title of ‘Allamah and the honours degree in Arabic.Before we discuss the word ماء (water)

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94 further, would you care to translate the following verses of the Quran in keeping with your own Arabic lexicon and your own principles of translation? Before you attempt to do so, please have your academic degrees on hand.The verses in question are: ْمَلَف اْوُدِجَت ًءٓاَم اْوُمَّمَيَتَف اًدْيِعَص اًبِّيَط And when you find no water, then betake yourself to pure dust.(Sūrah an-Nis a’ , v.44) َو ىٰۤداَن ُبٰحْصَا ِراَّنلا َبٰحْصَا ِةَّنَجْلا ْنَا اْوُضْيِفَا اَنْيَلَع َنِم ِءٓاَمْلا And the inmates of the Fire will call out to the inmates of Heaven, ‘Pour on us some water …’ (Sūrah al-A‘r a f, v.51) َّو َناَك ٗهُشْرَع ىَلَع ِءٓاَمْلا ْمُكَوُلْبَيِل ْمُكُّيَا ُنَسْحَا اًلَمَع And His throne rests on water, that He might prove you to show which of you is best in conduct.( Sūrah H u d, v.8) َو اَنْلَّزَن َنِم ِءٓاَمَّسلا ًءٓاَم اًكَرٰبُّم اَنْتَبْۢنَاَف ٖهِب ٍتّٰنَج And we send down from the sky water that is full of bless- ings, and we produce therewith gardens … ( Sūrah Q a f, v.10) ُمُتْيَءَرَفَا َءٓاَمْلا ْيِذَّلا َنْوُبَرْشَت

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 95 Do you see the water that you drink? ( Sūrah al-W a qiah, v.69) Maulaw i Sahib! You reject the meaning given by Hadrat Mirza Sahib—a sound and pure meaning.We do not know which lexi- con you consulted before you made your nonsensical claim.But you did not even stop to think that the Holy Quran supports Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s translation.The Holy Quran demolishes the false and filthy-minded people and their arguments.ٌقِهاَز َوُہ ْلَب ُفِذْقَن ِّقَحْلاِب ىَلَع ِلِطاَبْلا ٗهُغَمْدَيَف اَذِاَف We hurl the truth at falsehood and it breaks its head, and lo, it perishes.( Sūrah al-Anbiy a ’, v.19) Maulaw i Sahib! Read the following verse with some modesty: ْمُكِبْوُلُق َو َتِّبَثُي ِهِب َماَدْقَاْلاَو ُلِّزَنُي ْمُكْيَلَع َنِّم ِءٓاَمَّسلا ًءٓاَم ْمُكَرِّهَطُيِّل۠ ٖهِب َو َبِهْذُي ْمُكْنَع َزْجِر ِنٰطْيَّشلا َو َطِبْرَيِل ىٰلَع And He sent down water upon you from the clouds, that thereby He might purify you, and remove from you the filth of Satan, and that He might strengthen your hearts and make your steps firm therewith.(Sūrah al-Anf a l, v.12) Now tell us the meaning of ماء (water) in this verse.Is it any differ- ent to the one given by Hadrat Mirza Sahib in Anj a m-e- A tham? The verse says that the divine water, which descends from heaven, causes its recipients to be purified and become steadfast.It gives

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96 them courage and purity of heart and saves them from satanic filth and cowardice.Is this not exactly the same as the explanation given by Hadrat Mirza Sahib? Dear readers! Please note that in the Holy Quran where the physical and material creation of human beings is mentioned the word ‘water’ does indeed mean ‘seed’ or ‘sperm’.There are only four such verses in the Quran.There are 59 other verses where the word ‘water’ has been used and in those places it either refers to ordinary water or spiritual water, which is known as the water of the Almighty upon which His throne sits and which purifies the hearts.Whenever this type of water is mentioned, it is with refer- ence to divine revelation or the Word of God and interpretation of the divine attributes.The pure hearts that receive this water are given faith, steadfastness, truth and the love of the Almighty.Only a foul-mouthed person could think of translating these 59 verses according to the perverted concept of Maulaw i Sahib.We would also like to remind the readers that according to the Holy Quran even when the word ‘water’ is used in reference to human beings, it certainly does not carry the meaning that Maulaw i Sahib’s lexicon seems to have.For example, study the fol- lowing verse: ْلُق ْمُتْيَءَرَا ْنِا َحَبْصَا ْمُكُؤٓاَم اًرْوَغ ْنَمَف ْمُكْيِتْاَّي ٍءٓاَمِب ٍنْيِعَّم Say, ‘Tell me, if all your water were to disappear in the earth, who then will bring you clear flowing water?’ ( Sūrah al-Mulk, v.31) Maulaw i Sahib! We challenge you to find one verse (other than

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 97 the four which refer to the creation of the human race) where ماء means ‘sperm’.And if you cannot find any then fear the curse that is the destiny of all liars.We also claim that whenever the word ماء is used in reference to the Almighty, but is translated as ‘sperm’, the translator is filthy minded, impudent, and foul-mouthed.No right-minded person could even contemplate such impudence.Master of the Garden Maulaw i Sahib quotes the following revelation of the Promised Messiah: ِ َ نَزَل َ مِن َ السَّمَاء هللا َّ َأَن ک ِ ْم ٍ مَظْھَر ِ الْحَق ِ وَالْعَلَء ي اِنَّا نُبَشِّرُك َ بِغُلَم ٍ حَلِ We give you good tidings of a gentle son, who will be a manifestation of truth and exaltation as if Allah had descended from heaven.( Anj a m-e- A tham, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.11, p.62) Maulaw i Sahib gives this revelation the title, ‘I am the father of God’.He further argues: If Mirza Sahib’s son is to be called God, then Mirza Sahib must be the father of God.( Ilh a m i Girgit , p.62) Dear readers! As for Maulaw i Sahib’s slanderous title, one can only say, ‘May the curse of Allah be upon the liar’.Hadrat Mirza Sahib has in none of his books ever made the claims that Maulaw i

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98 Sahib attributes to him.Maulaw i Sahib can never substantiate his accusations, as a calumny can never become the truth.Maulaw i Sahib’s criticism of the revelation is answered in the words of the revelation itself.The word ا ی وگ� means ‘as if ’.The son mentioned in the revelation will be a means of exhibiting God’s attributes.The Arabic word َّ كََن is generally used to refer to mean a ‘manifestation’ of something—not the original itself.So Maulaw i Sahib’s accusa- tion that the son mentioned in the prophecy would be God is a mere fabrication and an attempt to deceive the ordinary man.It is a vain exercise in futility.Dear readers! The style of the revelation is common enough in the scriptures.If Maulaw i Sahib is not aware of this we can enlighten him here.In the Bible the advent of our lord and master, Muhammad s as , is described as the coming of the Almighty.And he said, the Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.(Deuteronomy, 33:2–3) And in the New Testament, the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as is referred to as the Master of the Garden Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country.And when

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 99 the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it.And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them like- wise.But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.(Matthew 21:33–44) And the same subject is taken up in the Quran: َو اَم َتْيَمَر ْذِا َتْيَمَر َو َّنِكٰل َهّٰللا ىٰمَر

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100 And you threw not when you did throw, but it was Allah who threw.( Sūrah al-Anf a l, v.18) And: َّنِا َنْيِذَّلا َكَنْوُعِياَبُي اَمَّنِا َنْوُعِياَبُي َهّٰللا ُدَي ِهّٰللا َقْوَف ْمِهْيِدْيَا Verily those who swear allegiance to you indeed swear allegiance to Allah.The hand of Allah is over their hands.( Sūrah al-Fat h , 48:11) These verses describe the being of the Holy Prophet as God and his hand as the hand of God.Maulaw i Sahib! Following the example you set, one could declare Hadrat ‘Abdullah to be the father of God and Hadrat A mina the mother of God.What opinion would you form about a person making such declarations? Would you not think of him as shameless, impudent and contemptible? Please come to your senses.Use your intelligence.We have reminded you repeatedly that the most ignorant person is the one who, in his ardour to slay his enemies, ends up killing his loved ones.Maul a n a ! We have fully explained to you that when God allows His devotees to become a means for the manifestation of His Majesty, they are immersed in the attributes of God.so that the world can witness the Signs of God Almighty through them.You unfortunately are totally incognizant of this path.No wonder that you stumble again and again.Is it clear!

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 101 Children of Allah Now let us take a look at Maulaw i Sahib’s raillery.He writes: Mirza Sahib has written: 1.I have a secret relationship with the Almighty that can- not be described in words.( Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part V, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.21, p.81) 2.Q a di Y a r Muhammad, Pleader, has described this rela- tionship in tract number 3, page 12 of ‘Isl a m i Qurb a ni’.Quoting Mirza , he says ‘the Promised Messiah as once nar- rated that in a vision he felt as though he was a woman and that God came to him as a man.For people of understand- ing, this hint is enough.’ 3.B a b u Il a h i Bakhsh wishes to see your menstruation or come to know of some other filth or defilement, but God, on the other hand, will shower His bounties upon you, which shall be perpetual.You do not have menstruation, but you do have a child—a child who is at the status of the children of God.( Haqiqatul-Wahi , Appendix , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.21, p.581) The above three quotations are enough to show that Mirza Sahib’s secret relationship with the Almighty is that of man and wife.He disclosed this secret to one of his cho- sen followers and this devoted follower had it published

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102 to propagate Mirza Sahib’s religion.Also, by saying that his uncleanliness gave way to a child and that the child was born of Mirza Sahib proves that he regarded himself as the wife of God.Qadi Sahib himself says that a hint is sufficient for a person of understanding.( Ilh a m i Girgit ) Maulaw i Sahib has himself exposed his shamelessness and base- ness.Even the lowest of the low could not think as he does.We will now refute each of his criticisms one by one.As usual, the first reference is taken out of context.Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s original statement is: The other reason is that just as the angels objected to Adam being made the Vicegerent, and God Almighty rejected their objection saying, ‘You do not know the cir- cumstances and condition of Adam as I know them’, the same stands true of me.In the earlier parts of Bar a h i n-e- Ahmadiyya , there is a revelation to the effect that people will raise objection regarding me just as they had objected with regard to Hadrat Adam, may peace be upon him.Allah the Exalted says: ل او مجنون ه ٰذا الذی بعث اللّٰ.جا ه زوًا أ ه ل تخذونك اِ ي وان Meaning that, people will mock you and ask, ‘Is this the one whom God has raised? He is either a fool or a madman.’ In reply to them God says in these parts of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya :

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 103.علمھا الخلق ي ل ٍ انت َ منّی بمنزلۃ Meaning: ‘Your status with Me is that which the world knows nothing of.’ These words are similar to those the Holy Quran records with regard to Adam: 1 َلاَق ْۤيِّنِا ُمَلْعَا اَم اَل َنْوُمَلْعَت [‘He answered, “I know what you know not”’] ( Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya , Part 5, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.21, p.80–81; Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, English ed., published 2018, p.139).Esteemed readers! Please note that the above excerpt explains the revelation تعلمون.ل قال اني اعلم ما [meaning: I know what you know not].It describes the loving relationship that exists between God and His servant.It is a spiritual relationship of a very high order.The case of one who does not have a private relationship with God is cause for concern.A secret and hidden relationship with God provides beauty to a believer’s worship (of God) and is a reflection of his nearness to God.This has been explained by our Prophet Muhammad s as in the following words: ُ ِّإِن َّ أَغْبَط َ النَّاس ِ عِنْدِي ْ عَبْد ٌ مُؤْمِن ٌ خَفِيف ُ الْحَاذ ِ ذُو ْ حَظ ٍّ مِن ْ صَلَةٍ، أَطَاع َ رَبَّه وَأَحْسَن َ عِبَادَتَه ُ فِي السِّر Without a doubt I like that believer the most who has the 1.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:31 [Publisher]

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104 least wealth and has a greater share in prayers and is obedi- ent to his God and prays secretly to the best of his abilities.( Musnad Ahmad bin H anbal, vol.7, p.404–405, Hadith Ab i Am a mah al-Bahiliyy, Hadith 22550, ‘ A lamul-Kutub, Beirut, 1998) This is the private and secret relationship that Hadrat Mirza Sahib is explaining.And God Almighty affirms this in the words: َاَعْلَم ُ مَا ل َ تَعْلَمُوۡن i.e.I know this secret relationship, while you know not.Anyone who has a secret relationship with God is dear to our beloved Prophet and God’s beloved servant, Muhammad s as.How dare this foul mouthed and base Maulaw i revile such a person? Maulaw i Sahib has copied part of a tract written by a crazy man called Qa d i Y a r Mu h ammad.His use of this tract exposes the filth of his own mind.Since Maulaw i Sahib seems to be well versed in lust and filthy affairs it is hardly surprising that such venom spills from his pen.We request that if at any time his mind should turn to clean and pure thoughts he should open the Holy Quran and study the verse: َلَّثَمَتَف اَهَل اًرَشَب اًّيِوَس And he appeared to her in the form of a perfect man.( Sūrah Maryam, v.18) Maulaw i Sahib should think hard and give up his impudence.We should be grateful to the Almighty that low-minded people like Maulaw i Sahib did not exist at the time that this verse was

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 105 revealed.Had such people existed they would have declared Mary to be the wife of an angel and along with Mary they would have made the angel a target of their ridicule.People of Mary’s time were audacious towards her, but at least they had the decency to spare the Almighty and His angels from their base attacks.So, for you Maulaw i Sahib, we can only repeat the words of our Holy Prophet Muhammad s as : اذا لم تستحي فاصنع ما شئت.If you have no shame then do whatever you will.Maulaw i Sahib! You and falsehood are hand in glove.You always use falsehood to advance your arguments and to demolish the truth.After all, your elders have advised you: To uphold the truth, it is acceptable to lie.( Fat a w a Rash i diyyah, Maul a n a Muft i Rash i d Ahmad Gangoh i , p.557, D a rul-Ish a ‘at, Urdu Bazar, Karachi) The Maulaw i reproduces a portion of an explanation given by Hadrat Mirza Sahib about one of his revelations.The words of the revelation are: نعامات المتواترة ل يريدون ان يروا طمثك و هللا يريد ان يريك انعامه.ا.Had Maulaw i Sahib not been such a mean and low-minded per- son he would have reproduced the entire explanation that is the essence of the teachings of saints and suf i s.Hadrat Mirza Sahib wrote: B a b u Il a h i Bakhsh wishes to see your menstruation or

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106 come to know of some other filth or defilement, but God, on the other hand, will shower His bounties upon you, which shall be perpetual.You do not have menstruation, but you do have a child—a child who is at the status of the children of God.In other words, menstruation is something impure, but a child’s body grows out of it.Similarly, when man surrenders to God then all the filth and defilement, which is part and parcel of human nature, is transformed into a spiritual body.This menstruation becomes the cause of human progress.This is the basis for the saying of the mystics: ‘Had there been no sin, human beings could have made no spiritual progress.’ The same was the cause of Adam’s progress.This is why every Prophet, keeping in view the hidden shortcomings, kept invoking istighf a r [seeking forgiveness], and the same fear has always been the cause of all kinds of progress.God says: 1 َّنِا َهّٰللا ُّبِحُي َنْيِباَّوَّتلا َو ُّبِحُي َنْيِرِّهَطَتُمْلا Thus, every son of man inherently contains the impurity of menstruation within him, but that very menstruation pre- pares the body of a pure and clean child for the one who sincerely turns to God.This is why those who lose them- selves in God are called the children of God.However, this does not mean that they are literally God’s sons.It 1.Allah loves those who turn to Him and loves those who keep them- selves clean ( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:223).[Publisher]

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 107 would be sheer blasphemy to say so; for, God is Holy and has no sons.( Haqiqatul-Wahi , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.22, p.581–582; English ed.2018, p.728) Maulaw i Sahib! We realise that you are helpless as you are inca- pable of comprehending such issues.Many Suf i s, saints and dev- otees of Allah have recounted similar experiences.When a devo- tee seeking nearness to Allah and sets out on the journey towards Him, there comes a time when he feels as though he has become a woman.We quote here from Syed ‘Abdul Q a dir Jilani rta: تكشف البرقع و القناع..عن و جهك ل The burq a and the veil shall not be lifted… from your face.( Fut uh ul Gha’ib, Shar h Fars i , ‘Abdul- H aq Dehlav i , p.119, Article 26, Ma t ba‘ Muhammad i , Lahore) Explaining this, ‘Abdul-Haq Mu h addith Dehlav i wrote: ربعق و انقع ہک از ابلس اسنءتس ااشرتست آبہکن رمد ات وہظر امکل و ز ع�ب�ی� ت � در د �ی�ا�ی� � ق رباہن وتح�ی� د مکح زانن وارد و دوعے رمدایگن از وے درتس � ی حق� ت � The burqa and the veil are female modes of dress.This indicates that until man is perfected he is like a woman, and while he is still like a woman it is not right that he should make a claim to manliness.( Fut uh ul Gha’ib, Shar h Fars i , ‘Abdul- H aq Dehlavi, p.119, Article 26, Ma t ba‘ Muhammad i , Lahore)

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108 We have previously explained that in Sūrah at-Ta h r i m of the Holy Quran, believers are likened to the wife of Pharaoh and Mary.At this stage the seeker is like a woman.He then progresses further and acquires the Mary-like state, or he acquires the attributes of Mary.Then when the Almighty wills He breathes the spirit into him and a new person is born.In the language of mystics this is called ‘spiritual birth’.The famous sufi, the leader of them all, Hadrat Sheikh as-Saharward i rta explained this phenomenon as follows: The disciple becomes immersed in his spiritual leader in the same way that a son is part of his father.The disciple is the spiritual son of his leader.Jesus as said that anyone who is not born twice would not enter the kingdom of God Almighty.Natural physical birth creates a link between man and this world while spiritual birth creates a link with the spiritual world.This is what is meant by this verse: َ َرْض ِ وَلِيَكُوْن َ مِن َ الْمُوْقِنِيْن ْأ َذٰلِك َ نُرِي ْ إِبْرَاهِيْم َ مَلَكُوْت َ السَّمَاوَات ِ وَال ک وَ … Pure and perfect belief comes after the second birth and with this birth man becomes a worthy successor of the Prophet.A person who is not a successor of the Prophet is not yet born, regardless of how clever and wise he may be.( ‘Aw a riful Ma‘ a rif, Shah a b-ud-D i n Ab u H afs Umar ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abdull a h as-Saharward i rta, vol.1, p.45) This spiritual birth is the birth of the children of Allah.The same

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 109 theory has been described by Maulana R u m in his Mathnawi the following words: ز ِس� چ � �دای � حق� اَول�ی� ا اافطل O my dear child, listen! The saints are the children of God.( Kulliyy a t Mathnaw i , Maul a n a Jalal-ud-D i n Muhammad Balkhi Rumi, vol.3, p.213, Intish a r a t Kit a bchi, Tehran, 1375 AH) Maulaw i Sahib! Who is deserving of opprobrium—the people known as the children of God or the ones who mock and deride them? Hadrat Mirza Sahib is one of the children of God, but you are the one who reviles him.To which group of people do you belong? Maulaw i Sahib! We would like to remind you of a Hadith narrated by Dailm i.He quotes Hadrat Salman Farsi who in turn quotes the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as : ُ ْض ُ الرَّجُل ِ و َ الِْسْتِغْفَار ُ طَھَارَتُہ ي َ اَلْكِذْب ُ ح Falsehood is the menstruation of men.It is purified by istighf a r (seeking the forgiveness of Allah).( Al-Firdausu bi-Ma’th u ril Kut u b Ab u Shuj a ‘ ad-Dailam i , vol.3, p.315, Hadith 4953, D a rul-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1986) B a bu Ilahi Bakhsh could not prove any falsehood in Hadrat Mirza Sahib; he failed miserably in his devious schemes.But Maulaw i Sahib, your pamphlet and our rebuttal prove time and time again

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110 that you are a liar and that you are the one who is impure and unclean.We advise you to refrain from your fabrications and falsehoods and to seek forgiveness of Allah, because that is the only way of cleansing yourself.And we are only obliged to pass on the message of Allah.Be and So it Became Maulana Sahib has come up with a new form of distor- tion and deception.He copies the following revelation from H aq i qat-ul-Wa hi : ُ َكُوْن ي َُن ْ ف ک ُ اِنَّمَا اَمْرُك َ اِذَا اَرَدْت َّ شَیْئًا اَن ْ تَقُوْل َ لَہ He translates it as following: (O Mirza)! Whatever you intend, is immediately fulfilled by your command.( H aq i qat-ul-Wa hi : Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.22, p.108) As a deception Maulaw i Sahib inserted the words ‘O Mirza’ into the revelation and gave it the slanderous title, ‘I possess the attrib- ute of Kun ’.1 Esteemed readers! Mirza Sahib never claimed to possess the attribute of Kun.Maulaw i Sahib falsely accuses him of making 1.In the Holy Quran the phrase ‘ kun fa yak u n ’ is found.This means that God says ‘Be’ and the thing is created.To possess the attribute of ‘ Kun ’ means that one can command something to come into existence from nothing.[Publisher]

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 111 such a claim.And to fortify his deception he inserted the words ‘O Mirza’ in parenthesis at the beginning of the revelation.Why does Maulaw i Sahib fabricate such stories to try to prove his self-coined belief about Mirza Sahib? Was truth ever born of falsehood? Esteemed readers! It is quite common to find a co-mingling of personal pronouns in the scriptures.In other words, a sentence may start with one personal pronoun but then suddenly switch to another.The following Quranic verses are presented as examples: 1.Sūrah F a ti h ah starts in the third person but soon switches to the first and second person with the words, ‘You alone do we worship’.No one has the right to misinterpret these words.2.َو ْيِذَّلا َلَّزَن َنِم ِءٓاَمَّسلا ًۢءٓاَم ٍرَدَقِب١ۚ اَنْرَشْنَاَف ٖهِب ًةَدْلَب اًتْيَّم١ۚ َكِلٰذَك َنْوُجَرْخُت And Who sends down water from the sky in proper meas- ure, and We thereby quicken a dead land—even so will you be raised.( Sūrah az-Zukhruf, 43:12) 3.ْۤيِذَّلا َلَزْنَا َنِم ِءٓاَمَّسلا ًءٓاَم١ۚ اَنْجَرْخَاَف ٖهِب َتاَبَن ِّلُك ٍءْيَش َوُہ َو And it is He who sends down water from the cloud; and We bring forth therewith every kind of growth.( Sūrah al-An‘ a m, 6:100) 4.َو ُهّٰللا ْۤيِذَّلا َلَسْرَا َحٰيِّرلا ُرْيِثُتَف اًباَحَس ُهٰنْقُسَف ىٰلِا ٍدَلَب ٍتِّيَّم اَنْيَيْحَاَف ِهِب َضْرَاْلا َدْعَب اَهِتْوَم And Allah it is who sends the winds which raise the clouds; then do We drive them to a lifeless tract of land,

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112 and quicken the earth thereby after its death.( Sūrah F at ir, 35:10) This shows that different personal pronouns can be used in the same sentence and this should not be objected to.In fact, it brings out the beauty of the divine Word.However, the revelation that Maulaw i Sahib refers to does not have any mixed pronouns.Rather, it is clearly a prayer to God by Hadrat Mirza Sahib.The revelation and a few preceding sentences are presented here: رض بما رحبت.رب اني ل ضاقت ا.آ �ی وں وک ڑکپ ےک ر � ی ب اے ازیل ادبی دخا � انما ی.ہ ےس دور اج ڑپے � ن � ث ف�ی� زدنیگ ےک مغلوب فانتصر.فسحقهم تسحيقا.ن فيكون ک ئا ان تقول له ی امرك اذا اردت ش O Eternal and Everlasting God! Come to my aid.The earth has become strait for me despite its expanse.O my Lord! I am overcome, so take my revenge from the oppo- nents and crush them into bits, because they have drawn far away from the fashion of life.When You determine a matter, it happens immediately with Your command.( H aq i qatul-Wa hi, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.22, p.107–108; English ed.2018, p.125) Now, other than the Eternal and Everlasting God is anyone else addressed here? Are the words, ‘O Mirza’ anywhere to be found? Does he claim to possess the attribute of Kun? If not, then Maulaw i Sahib is certainly a fraudster and a slanderer.

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 113 I have the Power to Bestow Life and Death Maulaw i Sahib has copied the following passage from Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s book Khutbah Ilh a miyyah: ِ َاء ِ مِن َ الرَّب ِّ الْفَعَّال ي ْ ْت ُ صِفَۃ َ الِْفْنَاء ِ و َ الِْح ي و َ اُعْطِ I have been granted the power to cause death and bring about life.This power was given to me by God.( Khu t bah Ilh a miyyah, p.55–56, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.16) Maulaw i Sahib then gave this passage the title ‘I have the power to bestow life and death’.Maulaw i Sahib, here, again, you resort to deception.You leave the impression that the title that you have written is from Hadrat Mirza Sahib.As a matter of fact, he never claimed that he was the bestower of life and death.He did say that God had given him a share in the attribute of bringing on life and death.Why does Maulaw i Sahib object to Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s being granted a share of the power to bring about life and death? He believes that Jesus as revived the dead.In fact, he is so blind in this belief that he denies our Prophet Muhammad s as this same ability, in spite of the fact that God clearly declares in the Quran: اَهُّيَاٰۤي َنْيِذَّلا اوُنَمٰا اْوُبْيِجَتْسا ِهّٰلِل َو ِلْوُسَّرلِل اَذِا ْمُكاَعَد اَمِل ْمُكْيِيْحُي O ye who believe! Respond to Allah and the Messenger when he calls you that he may give you life.

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114 ( Sūrah al-Anf a l, 8:25) Here, the power of giving life is so splendidly manifested in the person of Muhammad s as , the best of the life-givers, that it is as if God has given him a share in His powers.Maulana! You accept that Jesus as possessed this attribute, yet you deny it in the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as The message conveyed in the above verse is that all people--before and after Muhammad--who had the power to bring about life and death had this power in the spiritual sense, not in a physical sense.They did not send living people into the graves, nor did they bring out the dead out of the graves.Our lord and master, Chief of the Life-Givers, Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a s as was the ultimate manifestation of God’s attribute of life and death.The weapons and tools that God gave the Holy Prophet s as in this regard are clear Signs: َكِلْهَيِّل ْنَم َكَلَه ْۢنَع ٍةَنِّيَب َّو ىٰيْحَي ْنَم َّيَح ْۢنَع ٍةَنِّيَب …so that he who had already perished through a clear Sign might perish and he who had already come to life through a clear Sign might live.( Sūrah al-Anf a l, 8:43) Hence, accepting the clear Signs given to Prophet Muhammad s as is like drinking the elixir of life at his hands and, in doing so, one becomes the inheritor of everlasting life.And he who rejects these clear Signs--his lips have touched the goblet of death and he has descended into the darkness of destruction.Who can say that Hadrat Abu Bakr, Hadrat Umar, Hadrat Uthman, Hadrat Ali, Hadrat Talhah, Hadrat Zubair, and Hadrat Bilal (may Allah be

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 115 pleased with them all) who believed in the Holy Prophet s as , are not alive today? And who can say that their lives are not ever-last- ing? And, in contrast, who can say that the Chiefs of the Quraish, the possessors of pomp and splendour, the powerful and mighty, who rejected these clear Signs, were truly alive even though they had physical life? So these are the weapons of life and death given to the Chief of Prophets s as and his slaves are also recipients of the same.Mirza Sahib was one such slave.Maulaw i Sahib! We fear that even when you understand the truth you will still reject it.So let us step into your shoes for a while.You and your followers proudly proclaim that Prophet Jesus as revived the dead.You also believe that the same Jesus will one day return to this earth.So the Messiah whom you await has the power of bringing about life and death.You also cannot reject that our Lord and Master, Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a s as , said the following about the Messiah: فَل َ يَحِل ُّ لِكَافر ٍ يَجِد ُ مِن ْ رِيْح ِ نَفَسِه ِ إِل َّ مَاتَ.The Messiah will destroy all the k a firs within his reach.( Mishk a tul-Ma sa b ih vol.2, p.296, Kit a bul-Fitan, ch.al-‘Al a m a ti Baina Yadas-S a ‘ati wa Dhikr-id-Dajj al , Hadith 5475, D a rul-Kutubil-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2002) So not only do you accept that the Messiah has the power to bring about life and death, but it is also part of your fundamental beliefs.So to what are you objecting? Maulana Sahib! The power that Hadrat Mirza Sahib claimed to possess was:

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116 دُعَائِي ْ دَوَاء ٌ مُجَرَّبٌ.اُرِي ْ قَوْمًا جَلَلً.وقَوْمًا اٰخَرِيْن َ جَمَالً.وَبِيَدِي ْ حَرْبَة ٌ اُبِيْدُبِهَا عَادَات ِ الظُّلْم ِ وَالذُّنُوْبِ.وَفِي الُْخْرٰى شُرْبَة ٌ اُعِيْدُبِهَا حَيَاة َ الْقُلُوْبِ.فَاْس ٌ لِلِْفْنَاءِ.وَاَنْفَاس ٌ لِلِْحْيَاءِ.My prayer is a tried and tested remedy.To one nation I dis- play my glory and majesty, and to another my beauty.In one hand, I carry weapons for destroying sin and iniquity.In my other hand, I carry a sweet syrup with which I revive souls; a hatchet to destroy and a breath of life to revive.( Khu t bah Ilh a miyyah, p.61–62, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.16) Similar claims can be found in the books of Muslim saints.The saints acquired such attributes through the Prophet Muhammad s as.For example, Hadrat Syed ‘Abdul Q a dir Jilani rta says: َ مَغْرِبًا و ِ شَرْقًا هللا َ ُ بِلَد ٍمَلَكْت و َ اِن ْ شِئْت ُ اَفْنَیْت ُ الَْنَام َ بِلَحْظَت In the East and in the West, everywhere I am master of God’s dominion.Should I desire, I could destroy God’s creation in the twinkling of an eye.( Bahjatul-Isr a r wa Ma‘dinul-Anw a r, ‘Al i ibn Yūsufash- Shatn u fi, p.343, Publisher al-Munazimmatul-Magh- ribiyyah lit-Tarbiyyah wath-thaq a fah wal-‘Ul u mi Fes Morocco, 2013) Maulaw i Sahib! Now we return the fabricated title to you and ask whether or not Hadrat Syed ‘Abdul Q a dir Jil a n i rta was the giver of life and death? He claims that he is able to give life to anyone he

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 117 wants.He also claims that he has the ability to destroy the whole creation.Maulaw i Sahib, because of their devotion to the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as the saints had the power of giving spiritual life and death.Before ending this discussion, we would like to ask you the following question.Maulana Mahmud-ul-Hasan, the true suc- cessor to Maulaw i Rash i d Ahmad Gangoh i , Kh a tamul-Auliy a’ , and Kh a tamul-Mu h addith i n, has the following to say about his master: ا ی رمدوں وک زدنہ ک ی ا ، زدنوں وک رمےن ہن د� ی زری انب رم� � ی ھ� �یک یح�ایئ وک د � � م اس He brought the dead to life, he kept the living from death; Take a look at these miraculous powers, O Son of Mary.( Marthiyyah Bar Waf a t Rash i d Ahmad Gangoh i , Maul a n a Ma h m u dul- H asan, p.23, Kutub Kh a nah Rahimiyyah Deoband) If he revived the spiritually dead then your objection against Hadrat Mirza Sahib has no foundation.There is positive proof that you are not only a liar but a mischief-maker as well.If Maulana Rashid Ahmad Gangoh i revived the physically dead, dug them out of their graves and sent them to their homes, then please pro- vide us a list of the names of such people.If you are unable to pro- duce a list, then accuse Maulana Mahm u d-ul- H asan of whatever crime you wish.This is your own affair; we will not interfere.

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118 Holy is my Lord, the High Maulaw i Sahib finds the following revelation of Hadrat Mirza Sahib to be objectionable: ی ٰ علـ ل ا ی انت اسم Esteemed readers! The Arabic word Ism means name and attrib- ute.Hadrat Mirza Sahib was a human being; a human being can be named and talked about.But he cannot be called ‘name’ or ‘attribute’.Hence a word must be implied, but not stated explic- itly.In the Arabic language, it is quite common for a word to be implied from the context.Here, that word must be ‘manifestation’ which should come between َ اَنْت and ْ اِسْمِی.Hadrat Mirza Sahib translated this revelation as: You are a manifestation of My Highest Names.That is, You will always prevail.( Tiry a qul-Qul u b, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.15, p.315) This revelation describes the subject of the Quranic verse: َبَتَك ُهّٰللا َّنَبِلْغَاَل اَنَا َو ْيِلُسُر Allah has decreed: Most surely I will prevail, I and My Messengers.( Sūrah al-Muj a dalah, 58:22) So every Prophet is a manifestation of God’s highest names.The readers may please note that: To conceal the translation given by

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 119 Hadrat Mirza Sahib is totally disrespectful to the readers, and attributing his own manufactured translation to Hadrat Mirza Sahib is a grave dishonesty.House of Salvation Maulaw i Abul Bash i r Irfani finds the following writing of Hadrat Mirza Sahib objectionable: Observe that God Almighty has described my revelations, my teachings, and Bai‘at to me as Noah’s Ark; they are a pivot for the salvation of all mankind.Those who have eyes should see and those who have ears should listen.( Arba'in, No.4, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.17, p.435, footnote) Dear readers, we reproduce the full text below: As my teachings contain commands, prohibitions and a revival of the essential laws of Shar i ’ah, God has termed my teachings and revelations as fulk (Ark).One of the rev- elations is: و اصنع الفلك باعيننا و وحينا ان الذين يبايعونك انما يبايعون هللا يد هللا فوق ايديهم i.e.Prepare this teaching and spiritual reju- venation under Our supervision and according to Our revelation.Those who take the oath of allegiance to you are in fact swearing allegiance to Allah the Almighty.It is the Almighty’s hand that is upon their hands.Observe that God Almighty has decided that my revelation, my teachings and my Ba’iat are, like Noah’s Ark, the pivot for

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120 salvation for all mankind.Those who have eyes should see and those who have ears should listen.( ‘Arba'in, No.4, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.17, p.435, footnote) In the above extract, Hadrat Mirza Sahib makes it very clear that his teachings are nothing but the rejuvenation of the Shar i ’ah.It is this Shar i ’ah of Muhammad s as that is the salvation for the human race.Hadrat Mirza Sahib also states: Now under heaven there is only one Prophet and only one Book.Meaning that, Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a [the Chosen One], may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who is higher and more exalted than all Prophets, is the most perfect and complete of Messengers, is Kh a tamul-Anbiy a ’ [the Seal of the Prophets] and Khairul-War a [the Best of Men], by following whom God Almighty is found, the veils of darkness are lifted, and the signs of true salvation are witnessed in this very life; and [the Book is] the Holy Quran, which comprises true and perfect guidance and effectiveness, through which divine knowledge and understanding are obtained and the heart is cleansed of human impurities; and, being delivered from ignorance, heedlessness and doubts, a per- son arrives at the stage of h aqqul-yaq i n [true certainty].( Barah i n-e-Ahmadiyya , Part IV, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.1, p.557–558, Sub-Footnote Number 3; English ed.2016, p.355)

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 121 One of the main purposes in the advent of the Promised Mahdi was to re-establish the Ummah on the Shariah given to the Prophet Muhammad s as and to remind the people of what they had forgotten.In fact, he was to be the greatest Mujaddid of the Shariah.So why is the Maulaw i so critical when Hadrat Mirza Sahib presents the true Shariah and announces that mankind will be delivered from sin and weakness by following it? Maulaw i Sahib! Would you kindly explain what misery and what calamity did the Muslim Ummah beg the Almighty to deliver them from? Those who felt the anguish of the Muslim Ummah rendered this heartfelt cry: ادمح اک زامہن ےس اٹم اجات ےہ انم ن ی د� رہق ےہ اے می رے اهلل! � ی وہات ک ی ا ےہ اظرہ وہےت ی ہ ن سک ےئل دہمئ ربقح � دخا� ی ا ک ی ا ےہ ی ی ےک ارت ےن م ع�یس ر ی د� The religion of Ahmad is being obliterated from this earth, This is a cruel fate my Allah! What is happening? Why is the true Mahdi not appearing? delay in the second advent of Jesus? ( Al- H aqqu s - S a rih f i Ithb a ti H ay a til-Mas ih , Maulaw i Bash i r Ahmad Sahsaw a ni, p.133, Ma t ba‘ An sa r i , Delhi, 1309 AH) Maulaw i Abul-Khair Naw a b N u rul- H asan Kh a n, at the start of the 14th century of Hijrah, was waiting so restlessly for someone to either deliver the Ummah from a vortex or to throw them into the midst of one.He wrote:

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122 The Mahdi was to appear in the 13th century of Hijrah.The whole of the 13th century passed but he did not come.At the time of writing we are already into the sixth month of the 14th century.Perhaps Allah the Majestic will have mercy and, through His grace and justice, grant that in the next four to six years the Mahdi will appear.( Iqtir a bus S a ‘ati, Naww a b Nūrul H assan Kh a n, p.221, Ma t ba‘ Muf i d Alam, 1301 AH) Maulana Sahib! Perhaps you do not realise that the writer of the above extract was one of your leaders.Now let us take a look at the Shiites.How do they express their restlessness at having waited so long for the advent? They have firm faith that he will indeed come as that is what the Leader of the Truthful, Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a , had promised.Here we quote the Shia scholar Mr.Athar Fid a Bukh a ri: مہ ی ہ اب ااظتنر رکےت وہے کھت ےگ � ی ئ وارآ� ی د� ی ڈےنلھاگلےہاس� رےرظتنماامم ی ی م ئ ابآیھباج� ی ئ زعادارآ� ی ہ دمتےسرظتنم� This waiting has left us tired, The sun is about to set, Please come, my awaited Im a m, We have been waiting for you for so long.( Ma‘ a riful-Isl a m, Sahibuz-Zam a n Number, p.36, Athar Fida Bukh a ri)

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 123 Maulana Sahib! These are but a few examples that we present in the hope that you will learn the error of your ways.ی �یاد وہ دن ہکبج ےتہک ےھت � ی بس اراکن ِ د� ِؑ قح اب دلج وہ اگ آاکشر دہمئ وموعد وکن اھت سج یک اّنمت � ی ہن یھت اک وجش ےس وکن اھت سج وک ہن اھت اس آےن واےل ےس �پ یار Remember the days when all religious leaders used to say, ‘The Promised Mahd i is going to appear soon’, There was not one who did not wish for his arrival with antic- ipation and excitement, There was not one who did not profess love for the one they were waiting for.There was a time when those who loved the religion of Muhammad s as anxiously awaited for the one who would deliver them from their misery.But now when the unlearned ones are pre- sented with the unadulterated teachings of Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a s as , so that they may achieve salvation, they call it false and objectionable.They not only deny it themselves, but also actively dissuade simple and straightforward Muslims from accepting it.Maulaw i Sahib! We deem it essential to draw your attention to the following claim of Hadrat Mirza Sahib: I have been sent only to convey the message to Allah’s cre- ation that from among all of the world’s existing religions, the only religion that is true and acceptable in the sight of God Almighty is the one brought by the Holy Quran, and the door to enter the abode of salvation is ٌ ُ مُحَمَّد هللا َّ ل َ اِلٰہ َ اِل

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124 1 ِ هللا ُ رَّسُوْل and no other.( H ujjatul-Isl a m, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.6, p.52 –53; A Conclusive Argument in Favour of Islam, 2016, ed.p.26) He also stated: I have firm faith that he who follows me, with truth and patience, will not be destroyed.Rather, he will partake of the life, which shall suffer no death.( Malf uza t, vol.2, p.377) Maulaw i Sahib! Hadrat Mirza Sahib has repeatedly explained in his writings that the real and true salvation can only be achieved by believing that, ‘There is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad sas is His Messenger’.The true saviour is the Crown of all Humanity, Seal of Prophets, Muhammad s as.But tell us, does the following claim of Maulana Rash i d Ahmad Gangoh i leave any room for the leadership of Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a s as ? Hear ye! Truth is that which is uttered by the tongue of Rash i d Ahmad and I say on oath that I am nothing.But in this age deliverance and guidance can only be had by following me.( Tadhkiratur-Rash i d, Muhammad ‘ A shiq Il a h i Mir a dhi, vol.2, p.17, Id a rah Isl a miyat, Lahore, 1986) 1.There is none worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.[Publisher]

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 125 I am the God of the Time Maulaw i Abul Bash i r made a vision of Hadrat Mirza Sahib the target of his fraudulent accusations.In so doing, he slanders Hadrat Mirza Sahib twice.In the first instance, he records the vision in some detail.In the second, he records just one part of it.The titles that Maulaw i Sahib gives to the vision are: ‘I am God’, ‘I am the Creator’.The vision to which Maulaw i Sahib gave this false title is as follows [the parts that he omitted are shown in ‘…’ and his inser- tions are shown inside ‘[ ]’: In a vision I saw that I am God, and I believe that I am the same … [Then he says] And His divinity raged within me …[Then he says] My own dwelling disintegrated and the dwelling of the Lord of all the worlds came into view.And, with great force, the divinity took control of me … [Then he says] And while in this state I say, ‘We desire a new order, a new heaven and a new earth’.So I first create the heaven and earth in an abstract form, but it had no order and no classification.Then in accordance with the divine will I organise and classify it.And I see that I am master of His creation.Then I created the heaven and the earth in its physical form and said: انا زينا السماء الدنيا بمصابيح..I then said: ‘Now we will create man from dust’.After that my condition changed.I moved from vision into revela- tion and my tongue uttered the words, اردت ان استخلف فخلقت نسان في احسن تقويم.ل اٰدم.انا خلقنا ا These are revelations about

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126 myself vouchsafed to me by Allah the Almighty.( Kit a bul- Bariyyah, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.13, p.103–105) Esteemed readers! To strengthen his dishonest case, Maulaw i Sahib has liberally chopped this vision.He completely omits those words that indicate Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s absorption into, yet sep- arate existence from, God.For example, he omits the sentences: The spirit of Allah the Almighty encompassed me com- pletely.He took hold of my physical body and hid me within His Being.My Lord took hold of me so powerfully that I became absorbed into His Being.Allah employed all my faculties in His service and He held me with such immense power that a greater power cannot exist.Maulaw i Sahib very cunningly removed these sentences because they prove that Hadrat Mirza Sahib did not claim to be God.Rather, they show that, in a state of vision, God’s splendour descended upon him.There is nothing objectionable in this.Maulaw i Sahib resorts to deception and gives the impression that it was Hadrat Mirza Sahib who entitled the vision, ‘I am God, I am the Creator’, when in fact it was Maulaw i Sahib who manufac- tured these titles.As far as the question of God and Godhead is concerned, we have already listed the claims to divinity made by Hadrat

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 127 Sayyed ‘Abdul Q a dir J i l a n i , Hadrat Sheikh Far i d-ud-D i n ‘Att a r and Hadrat Man su r H all a j (may Allah have mercy on them all).There is no need to compile a long list of similar claims made by other saints.We understand that when pious and holy people are absorbed in and completely encompassed by God, they do utter such proclamations.We also know how little is the worth of peo- ple who oppose, reject and hurt these holy men.But Maulaw i Sahib, while understanding these issues well, still does not refrain from his viscous attacks.Therefore, we can present a few more examples from the writings of the saints of Islam.Hadrat Abul H asan Khirq a ni rta declares:.یھب دخاےئ وتق وہں � ی م� I am…also the God of the time.( Tadhkiratul-Auliy a ’, Far i d-ud-D i n ‘Att a r, p.418, Abul- H asan Kharq a n i rh , Mumtaz Academy, Lahore) Hadrat B a yaz i d Bis ta m i rh : سُبْحَانِی ْ مَا اَعْظَم ُ شَاْنِی ْ.I am holy with glory and greatness.And: ل َ اِلٰہ َ اِل َّ اَنَا فَاعْبُدُوْنِیْ.There is none worthy of worship other than myself.So

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128 worship me.( Faw a ’id Far i diyyah, Urdu translation, Musamm a bihi Fuy uda t Far i diyyah, Faq i r Mu‘ i n i Sh a h Jam a l i , p.73, Maktabah Mu‘ i nil-Adab, Dera Gh a z i Kh a n) Hadrat H usain bin Man su r rta was asked, ‘Do you claim to be a messenger?’ He replied, ‘Alas, you underestimate my status.I claim to be God and you give me only the rank of messenger!’ ( Faw a ’id Far i diyyah, Urdu translation, Musamm a bihi Fuy uda t Far i diyyah, Faq i r Mu‘ i n i Sh a h Jam a l i , p.76, Maktabah Mu‘ i nil Adab, Dera Gh a z i Kh a n) In the matter of the creation of a new heaven and a new earth, Maulaw i Sahib displays extreme dishonesty.Hadrat Mirza Sahib gave his interpretation of the vision; the most that Maulaw i Sahib has the right to do is to disagree and criticize that interpretation.But to ignore Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s own interpretation, while crit- icizing the recipient and to reduce the vision to a physical matter, is certainly not justice.Hadrat Mirza Sahib interpreted the vision as follows: ٍ تَائِيْدَات ٍ سَمَاوِيَّة ٍ و َ أَرْضِيَّة ی ٰ أَن َّ هٰذَا الْخَلْق َ الَّذِي ْ رَأَيْتُه ُ إِشَارَة ٌ اِل The creation of the heaven and the earth that I saw in a dream points towards the fact that heavenly and earthly support is with me.( A ’ i nah Kam a l a t-e-Isl a m, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.5, p.566) Then he writes: I have been sent only to convey the message to Allah’s

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 129 creation that from among all of the world’s existing reli- gions, the only religion that is true and acceptable in the sight of God Almighty is the one brought by the Holy Quran, and the door to enter the abode of salvation is God has decreed to create a new heaven and a new earth.What is this new heaven? And what is this new earth? A new earth means those pure hearts that God is preparing with His own hand, which will be manifested by Him and through whom God will be manifested.A new heaven means those signs which are being shown by His com- mand at the hand of His servant.( Kashti-e-N u h, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.19, p.7) A the time of the advent of every great reformer a new heaven and a new earth is created spiritually.( H aq i qatul- Wa hi , Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.22, footnote p.102; English ed.2018, p.121) When Hadrat Mirza Sahib himself has interpreted this vision so unambiguously, does it not prove that those who accuse him of making claims to be God and the Creator, are not only liars but also mischief-makers? The True Islamic Beliefs With undisguised arrogance, Maulaw i Abul Bashir states that Hadrat Mirza Sahib’s beliefs and teachings are false.He goes on to

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130 say, ‘He invented false tenets which have caused so much damage that we seek protection of Allah the Protector.Honoured readers! The tenets and teachings put forward by Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad are as follows: The essence of our religion is: ِ هللا ُ ُ مُحَمَّد ٌ رَّسُوْل هللا َّ ل َ اِلٰہ َ اِل i.e.there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad s as is His Messenger.We adhere to this belief in this life and hope that, with the grace and blessings of Allah, we will depart from this world with the same belief, that Hadrat Muhammad Mu st af a s as is our Lord and Master and the Seal of Prophets and the Best of Prophets.Faith was per- fected at his hand.And the favour of Allah has reached the highest stage of perfection; and by following this path the progeny of Adam can reach God Almighty.( Iz a lah-e- Auh a m, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.3, p.169–170) Now according to Maulaw i Sahib this religion and these beliefs are false.وبد دخبا تخس اکرفم ی رگ رفك ا� If this be kufr, then by God I am the greatest k a fir.In accordance with the summary given in Da‘watul-Am i r (Anw ar ul-‘Ul u m vol.17, p.332–337) by Hadrat Khalifatul Masih II ra, a summary of our beliefs is the following: 1.We believe that God Almighty is ever-living and ever-present.

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 131 To believe in Him is to believe the greatest truth, rather than in conjectures.2.We affirm that Allah Almighty is One; He has no partner either in this earth or in the heavens.All else is creation and thereby dependent on Him for succour and protection.He has no son, no daughter, no father, no mother, no wife and no brother or sister.He is the One and Only, there is none like unto Him, He is Unique.3.We firmly believe that Allah is Holy in His Person; He is free from all defects and He comprehends all virtues.There is no weakness that can be found in Him and there is no virtue that cannot be attributed to Him.He is Omnipotent; His power has no bounds.His knowledge is limitless; He has complete knowledge of everything but there is none who can compre- hend Him or His attributes.He is First and Last.He is appar- ent and He is concealed.He is the Creator of the whole uni- verse and Master of all creation.His authority has never been challenged and never will be challenged.He is Living; He will never die.He is constant and He will never decline.All His works are done through His purpose, not through compul- sion.He rules the universe today as He has always done.None of His powers will ever decline or be suspended.He will for- ever display His power.4.We affirm that angels are also God’s creation and in accord- ance with the verse َنْوُلَعْفَي اَم َنْوُرَمْؤُي ( an-Na h l 16:51) they do that which they are commanded.And Allah Almighty’s wisdom has created them to perform certain duties; they actually exist and are not just metaphors.They are just as much in need of Allah’s support as humans are as Allah is not dependent on

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132 them for proclaiming His Omnipotence.Had He wished, He could have fulfilled His purpose without them.But in His infinite wisdom He decided to create the angels and they were created.It is with the light of the sun that the human eye can see.It is with food that the human stomach is filled.But God does not need the sun or light to fulfil His purpose.Similarly, although He uses angels for the expression of His will, He is not dependent on them.5.We believe that Allah communicates with His servants.He makes manifest to them His will.This discourse descends in specific words; man cannot interfere with its course, nor can he choose its meaning nor can he select its words.The Almighty determines the words and their meanings and this is the real food of the soul.This is what makes the spirit live and it cre- ates a bond between the Almighty and His servant.And this discourse is without comparison, both in its strength and in its majesty.No human being is capable of creating anything like it.It is a treasure of knowledge.It is like a mine the deeper one digs the more priceless become the gems one discovers.But unlike worldly mines, this treasure of gems is never-ending.This discourse is like an ocean with ambergris floating on the surface and priceless pearls covering the bottom.So when you view the surface you enjoy the fragrance of the ambergris, and when you dive into the ocean you discover a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.The discourse can be of many different kinds.Sometimes it consists of orders and commands, at other times of exhortation and advice.Sometimes it is used to impart knowledge of the unseen, while at other times it opens the doors of spiritual knowledge.At times the Almighty may use

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 133 the discourse to show His pleasure, at other times to admon- ish His servant.He may use the discourse to please the heart of His servant by telling him of His love or He may use it to chide His servant and to remind him of his duty towards the Almighty.Occasionally the Almighty uses this communion to explain to His servant the deep secrets of morality and virtue and at other times He may explain some hidden weakness.In short, we believe that the Almighty communicates with His servants in a manner that varies according to the prevailing conditions and the nature of the person addressed.And of all communication that Allah has had with humans, the Holy Quran is the most excellent, the most perfect, and the most supreme.The law that it contains and the guidance that it affords are eternal.No other divine word can ever abolish it.6.Similarly, we have firm faith that whenever the world becomes dark with iniquity, when people are steeped in sinfulness, and when it becomes difficult to be rid of the Satanic grip without heavenly help, Allah the Exalted through His perfect grace and infinite mercy chooses from amongst His pious servants one to lead the world out of its misery.He says in Sūrah F at ir that: َو ْنِا ْنِّم ٍةَّمُا اَّلِا اَلَخ اَهْيِف ٌرْيِذَن There is no nation to which a Prophet was not sent.( S u rah F at ir, 35:25) These men of God guide the people.Through the Prophets and Warners, God informs the world of His will.Those

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134 who reject God’s chosen ones are destroyed and those who accept them enjoy the love of the Almighty.They are blessed and Allah’s mercy and compassion encompass them.Those who come after them accept them as their leaders.Such people are chosen to succeed both in this life and in the Hereafter.We also affirm that the chosen ones, who led their people out of the darkness of evil into the light of virtue, were appointed at different times and places.The leader of them all was our Lord and Master Muhammad Mu st af a s as , the one upon whom the Almighty bestowed the honour of being the Leader of the Children of Adam.He was the one appointed for all mankind.And Allah gave him com- plete knowledge and helped him with such awe inspir- ing splendour and majesty that even mighty kings would tremble at the mention of his name.It was for his sake that Allah made the entire earth a mosque.On every inch of the earth his followers made prostrations to the One and Only God.This world came to know justice and peace after it had been filled with iniquity and transgression.We believe that had all the Prophets of old been alive during the life of our Lord and Master, they would have had no choice but to follow him as Allah says: ْمُكَعَم َّنُنِمْؤُتَل ٖهِب َو ٗهَّنُرُصْنَتَلَو ْذِا َذَخَا ُهّٰللا َقاَثْيِم َنّٖيِبَّنلا ۤاَمَل ْمُكُتْيَتٰا ْنِّم ٍبٰتِك َّو ٍةَمْكِح َّمُث ْمُكَءٓاَج ٌلْوُسَر ٌقِّدَصُّم اَمِّل And remember the time when Allah took a covenant from the people through the Prophets, saying: ‘Whatever I give

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 135 you of the Book and Wisdom and then there comes to you a Messenger fulfilling that which is with you, you shall believe in him and help him.’ ( Sūrah A l ‘Imr a n, 3:82).And our Prophet has himself said: ی اتباع ل حيين لما وسعهما ا ی ٰ س ی و ع ی ٰ ان موس ک لو Had Moses and Jesus been alive they would have no choice but to follow me.7.We also have firm faith that Allah listens to the supplications of His people and removes their troubles and difficulties.He is the Living God and people can feel His living at all times and in all ages.He is not like the person who uses a ladder when digging a well; but when the well is complete he breaks the ladder because he feels that it is of no more use to him.He can be likened to a brilliant light without which it would be pitch dark.Or you can compare Him to a soul without which there would be nothing but death.Separate Him from His serv- ants and they are like corpses.He has not lost interest in His creation.No! He always cares for His people; He takes note of their humility and servitude and should they forget Him, He reminds them of His Being.Through His Messengers, He makes it known to them that َ َسْتَجِيْبُوْا لِي ْ و َ لْيُؤْمِنُوْا بِي ْ لَعَلَّهُم ْ يَرْشُدُوْن ی ْ ي ْ قَرِيْب ٌ اُجِيْب ُ دَعْوَة َ الدَّاع ِ اِذَا دَعَان١ِ ۙ فَل ِّ اِن I am near.I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he prays to Me.So they should hearken to Me and believe in

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136 Me, that they may follow the right way.( Sūrah al-Baqarah, 2:187).8.We firmly believe that Allah Almighty, from time to time, sets into motion His special divine decree that manifests His Majesty and Absolute Power.This is not what is known as the laws of nature.Allah is not restricted by the physical laws of nature.The Almighty has other laws besides the laws of nature and He employs them to help His devotees and to destroy their opponents.Had there been no such laws, how would it have been possible for Moses as to succeed against the mighty and powerful Pharaoh and his legions? Again, if there was no divine decree, how was our Lord and Master, Muhammad Mu st af a s as , saved when the whole of Arabia was bent on destroying him and his religion? Time and time again Allah caused him to prevail against his enemies and protected him from their attacks.The person forced to flee the place of his birth returned victorious to the same town accompanied by ten thousand holy persons.Can anyone show us in the laws of nature an instance where a weaker power has destroyed a stronger power? No! As a rule the greater power always destroys the weaker power.9.We affirm that mankind will be raised to a new life after death.They will be called to account for this life.Those who did good deeds will be rewarded and those who defied the divine will shall be punished.There is no way that this can be averted.The body of humans can be eaten by maggots or the wild animals of the jungle or maybe by vultures; his bones can be burnt and the ashes thrown to the wind, but he will still be raised a second time and made to account for his actions.The Almighty does

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 137 not need the first body of man to resurrect him.The truth of the matter is that He can resurrect from the smallest atom of the present human body or from a minuscule part of the soul.For although the body is transformed to dust, some atoms do survive and the soul that resides within the human body can- not be destroyed without the command of the Almighty.10.We also believe that those who deny His existence and are pitched against His religion (unless He decides to forgive them as a special act of mercy) will be kept in a place called Hell.There they will suffer the burning fire and the extreme cold.This will be done not just to punish them but to reform them as well.They will be unable to do anything but to cry out in pain until such a time comes when Allah will envelop them in His mercy as stated in a hadith: س فيها احد و ی جهنم زمان ل ی يأتي عل نسيم الصباتحرك ابوابها ( Tafs i r-e-Ma‘ a lim-at-Tanz i l ) 11.We also firmly believe that those who believe in Allah, His Prophets, His angels and His scriptures, who obey His com- mandments and are humble, who tread this earth with humil- ity, and even if they be of high rank they behave meekly, and though they may be rich they choose to live like the poor, who spend their lives serving God’s creatures, who sacrifice their own comfort to give respite to others, who avoid transgression, tyranny and treachery, who strive to achieve high morals and reject villainous behaviour--these people will reside in a place called Heaven.There they will have repose and tranquillity; they will not know any hardship or sorrow; they will enjoy the pleasure and bounties of the Almighty; they will be near to Allah and they will become like mirrors which reflect His attributes.They will be free of all base desires and their wishes

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138 shall become the will of the Almighty.And having acquired eternal life they will have the attributes of the Almighty reflected in them.( Da‘watul-Am i r, Anw a rul-‘Ul u m vol.17, p.332–337).These are our beliefs.All the saints and scholars of Islam have professed the same beliefs in accordance with the Holy Quran, Sunnah, and the Hadith.These are the beliefs that Muslims are required to have and that Hadrat Mirza Sahib has instructed us to have.And these are the self same beliefs that, according the Maulaw i Abul Bashir, are false! The Qualities of Truth In his pamphlet, Maulaw i Abul Bash i r includes a list of those who falsely claimed to be a Prophet or Mahd i.With complete disre- gard for the Quranic injunction ِ وَل َ تَلْبِسُوا الْحَق َّ بِالْبَاطِل (Do not con- ceal truth with falsehood), he includes the name of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on that list.Maulaw i Sahib attempts to prove that the Hadith about the thirty impostors applies to Hadrat Mirza Sahib.Dear readers! You have already seen that all claims and criti- cisms of Maulaw i Abul Bash i r’s are dishonest.This attack of his, so full of deception and fraud, actually rebounds on him and proves that he is a liar.Rather than enter into a prolonged argu- ment, we turn instead towards the invitation issued by Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the one appointed by Allah for this age, and ask: Are these the properties of falsehood? In contrast, when

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 139 the so-called truthful people reject this invitation, does this not prove their dishonesty? And the one who enjoys the support and succour of Allah, is he not the one who should be accepted, even though he is accused of being a liar? And what of the one who, in appearance, may be truthful but is unaided by Allah and is not even in His sight? Hadrat Mirza Sahib says: ر ی ولوگھچکذن� ؤ ال ی ےہوکیئاکذباہجںم وہیئ وہں ابر ابر ی ی د� ئ سج یک ات� ی ب می رے � Is there any impostor in this world who enjoys the repeated support of Allah as I do? Also: The world does not recognize me.But the One Who sent me knows me well.These people are mistaken and unfor- tunate to desire my destruction.I am that tree which was planted by the True Master… O people! Understand with certainty, I am accompa- nied by that Hand which will be faithful to the end.Even if your men and women, your young and old, your chil- dren and adults all pray for my destruction, and even if you prostrations leave your noses bruised and your heads tired, still God will not hear your prayers.And He will not stop until He has completed His works.And even if not one human stands with me, God’s angels will be with me.And if you suppress evidence then soon stones will give

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140 evidence in my favour.So do not be cruel to yourselves.The dishonest and the honest are visibly different.God does not leave any issue undecided.I curse that life which is filled with dishonesty and deception, and in which fear- ing the created one ignores the Creator.It is not possible that I be indolent towards that service which the Powerful God has assigned me and for which He created me, even if the sun, on the one side and the earth on the other, together try to crush (this work).What is a human? A mere insect.What is man? Just a piece of flesh.So how can I ignore the commands of the Living and Self-Subsisting God for the sake of an insect or a piece of flesh? God has always decided between His appointed ones and the liars.Similarly, He will decide between us today.There is a time for the coming of God’s appointed ones and a time for their departure.So under- stand with certainty, my coming was not untimely and my departure will not be untimely.Do not fight against God; it is not possible for you to destroy me.( Tu h fah Gola rh viyyah, Appendix, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.17, p.49 –50) And: For the sake of Allah, I tell the Ulema and their support- ers that it is impolite to use foul and abusive language.If such is your disposition, then so be it.But if you believe that I am an impostor, you are at liberty to gather in mosques and, collectively and severally, pray against me

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 141 and passionately wish for my destruction.Then, if I am an impostor your prayers will certainly be accepted.And you always do pray.But remember, even if you pray so hard that your tongues become wounded, and you cry so much in your prostrations that your noses become bruised, and your tears destroy all your eyelashes and your sockets become hollow, and even if your anguish should eventually affect your brain and lead to epilepsy or melancholia, even then your prayers will not be answered.This is because I am from God Almighty.No one dies on this earth unless it is decreed in the heavens.My soul has the same truth that was given to Abraham as.I have the same relationship with the Almighty as Abraham as had.Apart from my God, no one knows my secret.My opponents are destroying them- selves in futility.I am not the kind of plant that can be uprooted.O God, have mercy on this Ummah.Ameen.( Arba'in No.4, Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.17, p.471–473) We are only obliged to pass on the message.In the end we say, All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.

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

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

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 145 ص s – strongly articulated s.ض d – similar to the English th in this.ط t – strongly articulated palatal t.ظ z – strongly articulated z.ع ‘ – a strong guttural, the pronunciation of which must be learnt by the ear.غ gh – a sound 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 ).

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146 The consonants not included in the above list have the same phonetic value as in the principal languages of Europe.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, Mahdi, jihad, Ramadan, and ummah.The Royal Asiatic Society’s rules of trans- literation for names of persons, places, and other terms, are not followed throughout the book as many of the names contain non-Arabic characters and carry a local transliteration and pro- nunciation style.

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Glossary A ha d i th plural of H ad i th A m i n A term which literally means, ‘so let it be’ and is used at the end of a supplication to pray that God may accept it.It is similar in mean- ing to ‘amen’.Auliy a’ Plural of Wal i Dajj a l An Arabic word literally meaning the ‘great deceiver’.In Is- lamic terminology Dajj a l refers to those satanic forces which would be unleashed in the Latter Days to oppose the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi as.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 righteous- ness and piety.The literal mean- ing is: His/Her Holiness, Worship, Eminence, etc.It is also used for God in the superlative sense.Holy Prophet sas A title used exclu- sively for the Founder of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad sas.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 sas over a period of twen- ty-three years.Imam Mahdi A title meaning ‘Guided Leader’, given to the Reformer of the Latter Days prophesied by the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.

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148 Jam a ‘at Jam a ‘at means ‘community’.Although the word Jama‘ a t itself may refer to any community, in this book, Jam a ‘at specifically re- fers to the Ahmadiyyah Muslim Ja- m a ‘at.K a fir infidels; see also kufr.Khalifah Caliph is derived from the Arabic word Khalifah, which means ‘successor’.Khulaf a ’ is the plural of Khalifah.In many di- vine revelations someone com- missioned by God Almighty is referred to as His Khalifah.In Is- lamic 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.Khalifatul Masih see Khalifah.Kufr Disbelief.Describes any belief or act that is so contrary to Islamic teachings that it can cause its doer to fall outside the pale of Islam.Of- ten used by Muslims in the con- text of opining on the beliefs or ac- tions of their co-religionists.Madinah The ancient Arabian city to which the Holy Prophet s as em- igrated from Makkah.Home to al-Masjid an-Nabawi and the tomb of the Holy Prophet, the second holiest site in Islam.Maulaw i A Muslim religious cleric.Mahdi Literally means ‘Guided One’.see Imam Mahdi.Mu h addath A recipient of divine revelation.Muhammad s as Founder of Islam.see Holy Prophet s as.Mujaddid Reformer.Holy person- ages within Islam who appeared in every century.Shirk The act of associating partners with God S u rah A chapter of the Holy Quran.Wal i Literally, ‘friend’.In the ter- minology of Islamic mysticism, it refers to a very pious person or a friend of Allah.The singular form is wal i [friend] or waliyyull a h [friend of Allah], the plural form is auliy a ’ull a h which is sometimes abbreviated as auliy a ’.

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Index ‘Abdul Jabb a r Ghaznav i 67 ‘Abdull « a »h Ghaznaw « i » 68 Abul Bash i r Irf a n i 1 Abul « H »asan « a »t ‘Abdul « H »ayy on Khatem-e-nubuwwat 17 Abul-Kal a m A z a d 63 Abul-Kal a m A z a d obituary of Promised Messiah by 32 Abul-Khair Naw a b N u r-ul- Hassan Khan 121 Adam described as manifestation of God 83 Ahmad second name of Holy Prophet Muhammad 65 Ahmadiyya Community divine origin of, 28 not British agents 28 Ahrar British agents 27 , 28 , 34 Ali likened to the Ka‘abah 61 Allah attributes of, 130 attributes of Light, 38 not restricted by laws of nature 135 reflection of, through Holy Prophet 37 Allama B « a »qir Majlisi On the status of Imam Mahdi 54 Al-Sheikh Bali Afandi 21 Angel Promised Messiah mentioned as, in book of Daniel 76 Prophet Joseph described as, 77 Angels 131 « A »ryas Promised Messiah’s defense of Islam against, 31 Ashraf Ali Thanwi 71 Attributes of God manifestation of 100 Bar « a »h « i »n-e-A « h »madiyya praise of, 63 B a yaz « « i »d Bis « t » a m « i » 127 Believers likened to Mary in Holy Quran Chapter 66 107 Bible advent of Prophet Muhammad referred to as coming of God 77

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150 on calling Prophets as God’s sons 86 prophecy about the advent of Muhammad 98 Birth spiritual, 108 Brick Prophet Muhammad likens himself to beautiful, 60 British founded Deobandi group 27 planted Wahabi movement 27 British agent accusation against Promised Messiah 26 Christians advice to, 47 Promised Messiah’s advice to, 47 Promised Messiah’s defense of Islam against, 31 Consensus validity of, 14 Daniel book of, regarding latter day Prophet 77 , 83 D « a »r Qu « t »n « i » hadith about eclipse in 81 Death life after, 136 Deobandi group founded by the British 27 Divines on continuity of prophethood 21 Divinity claims made by saints about 126 Earth vision regarding creation of new, 128 Eclipse sign of, 80 Family of Promised Messiah 26 Fashal meaning of, 93 Faw « a »’id Far « i »diyya 127 God accusation regarding son of, 85 attributes of, 130 attributes of, displayed through people , 100 holy people absorbed and encompassed by, 126 manifestation of, 83 prophets are manifestation of names of, 118 sent Promised Messiah 28 splendour of, descended upon Promised Messiah 126 support for Promised Messiah 139 woman in relation to journey towards, 106 Hadith about Ibrahim son of Prophet Muhammad 23 Hafiz N u r Muhammad Naqsh- band i Chisht i 63 Haji ‘Imd a d Ull a h 71 « H »ajr-e-Aswad interpretation of seeing, in vision 63

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 151 Heaven concept of, 137 vision regarding creation of new, 128 Hell concept of, 136 Holy Prophet Muhammad Allah’s reflection through, 37 eclipse of moon at time of, 80 granted attributes of Allah 38 Imam Mahdi will be a follower of, 56 most venerated intercessor 48 Promised Messiah as a reflec- tion and shadow of, 65 Promised Messiah ranked himself as a servant of, 72 the perfect intercessor 47 Ibr« a » h « i »m Holy Prophet’s son, demise of 23 status of the son of Prophet Muhammad 23 If « a »« d »« a » tul-Yaumiyya 71 Ilh « a »m « i » Girgit claims made in, 1 ‘Ilm-ul-Kit « a »b revelations recorded in the words of Holy Quran in.69 Imam B « a »qir 80 Imam Husain 81 Imam Mahdi reflection of Prophet Muham- mad 75 status of, 44 , 54 status of, compared to other prophets 56 Intercessor Holy Prophet was the perfect, 47 Islam accusation that Promised Mes- siah was simply a preacher of, 31 Promised Messiah as defender of, 31 Jesus Allah named Promised Mes- siah, 57 belief in his power of bringing life and death 114 profession of, 30 Promised Messiah’s advice regarding, 47 Joseph described as noble angel 77 vision of, 62 Ka‘bah Hadrat Ali likened to, 61 K « a » fir false allegation that any claiming prophethood after Muhammad is, 24 Life after death 136 Holy Prophet Muhammad’s power of giving, 113 Mahdi hadith about coming of, 15 Mahm u d-ul-Hassan 116 Makhd u m Gaisudar a z 70 Mans u r Hall a j 40 , 126 Mary believers likened to in Surah At-Ta h r i m 107

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152 visionary experience of an angel 104 Mercy for the universe 66 Messiah second coming of, prophesied by Holy Prophetsa 24 Metaphor Promised Messiah’s use of, 43 Miracles of Holy Prophet will go on appearing till the end of time 81 of Promised Messiah 53 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, « H » a « d »rat claims of, 2 lineage and personal status of, 2 on essence of religion 129 Mirz a Hairat Dehlav i 31 Mirza Mazharj « a »n J a nan 21 Mo h yudd i n Ibn Arab i 16 , 24 Mu h ammad, Holy Prophet advent referred as coming of God, 77 elixir of life 114 leader of Prophets 133 light conversation with a child 3 likens himself to beautiful brick of beautiful palace 60 mention in Bible 98 names of, found in Quran 7 no law-bearing prophethood after, 16 on relationship between God and believer 103 perfect manifestation of God 84 power of giving life 113 praise by Promised Messiah 119 praise for, by Promised Mes- siah, 6 profession of, 30 reflected in all prophets 76 shariah of,-- the salvation for the human race.119 status of, in eyes of Promised Messiah, 35 two names of, 65 Muhammad H ussain Bat a law i 63 Muhammad Ibn Sir i n on the status of Imam Mahdi 45 Muhammad Q a sim Nanotaw i 19 Muhammad Sh a f i 25 Muhammad Sidd i q H assan 22 , 25 Mullah ‘Al i Q a r i 23 Muslims awaiting the Promised Messi- ah 120 Nafkh-e-R « u »h 59 Nature laws of, 135 N u r Muhammad Naqshband i 34 Pharaoh wife of, mentioned in Quran 58 Prayer concept of acceptance of, 135

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 153 of the Promised Messiah.115 Preacher accusation that Promised Mes- siah was, of Islam 31 Promised Messiah accusation that, was simply a preacher of Islam 31 addressed as the House of Allah 60 advice to Christians 47 Allah named, Mary and Jesus 56 as a reflection and shadow of Prophet Muhammad, 65 awaited by Muslim Ummah 121 beliefs of, 130 claim that he is reflecting glass for witnessing the Almighty 34 defense of Islam against Aryas and Christians, 31 eclipse of sun and moon at time of, 80 hadith about coming of, 15 mentioned as angel in book of Davidas 76 mention of Imam Hussainra 43 on subject of sons of God 88 on the status of Holy Prophet 72 power of the prayer of, 115 praise for Prophet Muham- mad 119 revelation regarding water 91 sent by God 28 splendour of God descended upon, 126 status of Muhammad in eyes of, 35 teachings of, 119 truth of, 138 use of metaphors 43 vision regarding creation of new heaven and earth, 128 will be a follower of Holy Prophet 55 Prophecy about Prophet Muhammad in Bible 78 eclipse of sun and moon 80 Prophet coming of subordinate, 16 sending of, to people 133 prophethood after Muhammad 24 law bearing, has been termi- nated 21 Prophets manifestation of God’s names 118 Quran Mary in, 107 names of Prophet Muhammad found in, 7 perfect guidance 120 states that God has no sons 86 talks of Mary-like state 57 use of personal pronouns in, 110 verses regarding water 92 Reflection Promised Messiah as, of Holy Prophet Muhammad 65

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154 Relatives of Promised Messiah 26 Religion Promised Messiah on essence of, 129 Remembrance of God similarity to remembering father 91 Revelation follower of Muhammad receiving, 67 Rumi 87 Saints acquired attributes through Prophet Muhammad 115 claims to divinity made by, 126 claim to be more than a reflecting glass of glory of Allah 39 on coming of prophet 16 Sayyed ‘Abdul Q a dir Jil a n i 126 Seal of Prophets Promised Messiah a reflection of, 72 Shadow Promised Messiah as, of Holy Prophet Muhammad 65 Sh a h Ni a z Ahmad Delhv i 59 Sh « a »h Wal « i »yyull « a »h Mu « h » addith Delhv « i » 5 , 22 , 55 , 75 , 86 , 87 on the termination of law-bearing prophethood 17 Shara « h » Fiqh Akbar 23 Shariah the salvation for the human race in, of Muhammad 119 Sheikh Farid-ud-Din Attar 126 Sheikh Muin-ud-Din Chishti Ajmeri 59 Shiah accept hadith about eclipse 81 advice to, 48 Imam Baqir of, on propheth- ood 16 waiting for Imam Mahdi 121 Siddiq Hassan Khan, Nawab 45 Son of God accusation regarding, 85 Sunni accept hadith about eclipse 81 Syed ‘Abdul Kar i m Jil a n i 21 Teachings of Promised Messiah 119 Titles bestowed upon Holy Prophet 13 held by Holy Prophet 3 multiplicity of, 3 , 6 Ummah Promised Messiah to re-estab- lish, 120 Verses addressed to Muhammad being recieved by a follower 67

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Response to the booklet entitled Ilh a m i Girgit 155 Vicegerent of God, sent when people move away from God 83 Villager accusation that Promised Messiah was, 29 Visions interpretation of, 62 Wahabi Movement as British agents 27 Water use of the word in revelation 91 Wife of Pharoh mentioned in Quran 58 Woman in relation to journey towards God 106 Zafar ‘Ali Khan 28 Zain-ul-‘Abid i n 81

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