Testimony of the Holy Quran

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Testimony of the Holy Quran Regarding the Advent of the Promised Messiah in the Latter Days

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Testimony of the Holy Quran Regarding the Advent of the Promised Messiah in the Latter Days (Shah a datul-Qur’ a n ‘al a nuz u lil-mas ih il-mau‘ u d f i a khiriz-zam a n) Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi as , Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Islam International Publications LTD.

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ISLAM INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS LTD Testimony of the Holy Quran Regarding the Advent of the Promised Messiah in the Latter Days ( Shah a datul-Qur’ a n ‘al a nuz u lil-mas ih il-mau‘ u d f i a khiriz-zam a n ) By Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi, peace be on him, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community First published in Urdu in Qadian, India, 1893 First English translation published in the UK, 2021 © Islam International Publications Ltd.Published by Islam International Publications Ltd.Unit 3, Bourne Mill Business Park, Guildford Road, Farnham, Surrey, UK.GU9 9PS For further information please visit www.alislam.org Cover design by: Usman Nasir Choudhary ISBN: 978-1-84880-570-5 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Contents About the Author...........................................................ix Foreword........................................................................xi Testimony of the Holy Quran The Promised Messiah..........................................3 First Issue: Reliability of a ha d i th regarding the advent of the Promised Messiah................................................4 Second Issue: Is there any mention concerning the Promised Messiah in the Noble Quran.....................21 Third Issue: Proof that this humble one is the same Promised Messiah who has been mentioned in Holy Quran and a ha d i th.........................................105 For the Attention of the Government................127 Postponement of the Jalsa of 27 December 1893..149 Qa si dah (Ode) by Rahmat Ali of Barnawa......161 Publisher’s Note.........................................................165 Biblical and Quranic Names.....................................169 Glossary.....................................................................171 Index..........................................................................175

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

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

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

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Foreword In Shah a datul Qur’ a n, Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as addresses a number of fundamental questions raised by a gentleman named Ata Muhammad concerning the advent of the Promised Messiah in Islam.Thes questions include: • If the Promised Messiah’s advent is prophesied only in the Hadith, are such a ha d i th reliable? • Does the Holy Quran speak of the Promised Messiah’s advent? • Assuming the prophecies are true, what proof is there that they were fulfilled in the person of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as ? In dealing with these questions, the author first clarifies the lofty status of the Hadith and emphasizes their importance as a funda - mental source of Islamic history, the life of the Holy Prophet s as , and knowledge regarding Islamic worship and commandments.He concludes: It is necessary to accept what is stated in the Hadith unless the Quran contradicts it in clear and explicit terms.

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xii With regard to the prophecies relating to the Promised Messiah, the author asserts that the strength and continuity of narration of the a ha d i th on this subject, as well as the multiplicity of Islamic books which record it, leave no doubt concerning their authenticity.Turning to the Holy Quran, the author demonstrates that sev - eral prophecies contained in its verses, regarding the Latter Days, have come to pass.It follows, then, that the intertwined prophe - cies concerning the Messiah should also be fulfilled.The very fact that the author is the only such claimant upon the fulfilment of the prophecies of the Latter Days, stands as a testimony to his truthfulness; moreover, he argues that he is sup - ported by Signs of God in the way all Prophets had been sup - ported before him.He invites Ata Muhammad to ask that a Sign be manifested about him.The latter, however, chose not to pursue this matter any further.A study of this book will be certainly beneficial to those who want to understand the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah according to the Holy Quran and Hadith.Al- Ha j Munir-ud-Din Shams Additional Wak i lut-Ta s n i f, London July 2021

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Facsimile of the original title page for Shah a datul-Qur’ a n printed in 1893.

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Translation of the original title page for Shah a datul-Qur’ a n.God be praised AND Thanked for the publication of this booklet Copies 700 Price six anna Regarding the Advent of the Promised Messiah in the Latter Days printed at the punjab press, sialkot; under the supervision of Munshi Ghulam Q a dir Fa sih

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Facsimile of the original Urdu Announcement page in Shah a datul-Qur’ a n

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Translation of the original Urdu Announcement page in Shah a datul-Qur’ a n Advertisement of books At present, of the books written by this humble one, the ones available are listed below Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part IV...................................Rs.4 Surmah Chashm-e- A ryah [ Guidance for the Aryas ]...Rs.2 Fat h- e- Islam [ Victory of Islam ].............................3 Annas Tau dih-e- Mar a m [ Elucidation of Objectives ].......4 Annas Iz a la-e-Auh a m [ The Removal of Misconceptions ].......Rs.3 A ’ i na-e-Kam a l a t-e-Isl a m [ The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam ].......................Rs.2 Tafs i r S u rah ٭ al-F a ti h ah ma‘a Qa s a’id bazub a n Arab i [ Commentary of Surah al-Fatihah, with Odes in Arabic ]...................................................................................6 Annas Tu h fa-e-Baghd a d bazub a n Arab i [ A Gift for Baghdad in Arabic ].............................3 Annas Barak a tud-Du‘ a ’ [ The Blessings of Prayer ]............4 Annas Postage additional Published by the humble one, Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian ٭ This commentary comes with prize of Rs.1,000 for those ulema who can produce its equal.

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1 ِۡ ی بِس ِۡ الل ِّٰ الرَّحٰۡن ِ الرَّح�ِ 2 ٰ ف َ اصْط�َ ف ْ ی ذ�ِ َّ لَم ُ عَل ٰ عِبَادِه ِ ال َّ ِ وَالس ّٰ الَْمْد ُ لِل The Promised Messiah A gentleman named ‘A ta Muhammad enquires of me through his letter, published in August 1893, as to what is the proof of my being the Promised Messiah and whether we are obliged and duty-bound to wait for any messiah.In this context, we must first bear in mind that the critic holds the belief that Hadrat ‘ I s a [ Jesus], peace be upon him, has indeed died, as is mentioned clearly in the Holy Quran.But he denies that someone bearing the name of ‘ I s a will appear in this ummah.He accepts that a ha d i th [pl.hadith] do, indeed, record this prophecy, but considers the reports of such a ha d i th to be unreliable.He argues that the a ha d i th were collected after a long period and most of them are a ha d [solitary traditions, not 1.In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.[Publisher] 2.Allah be praised, and blessings be on his chosen servants.[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 4 supported by others] therefore, they lack certainty.That is why he does not regard the prophecy about the Promised Messiah, which is confirmed by a ha d i th, as an established fact.In his view, prophecies based on a ha d i th alone are worthless and unfounded and, therefore, cannot qualify as substantial proof.So, it seems necessary that I answer his queries in keeping with his way of thinking.Let it be clear that in this matter there are three issues calling for investigation: First: Whether the prophecy regarding the advent of the Promised Messiah, which is recorded in the a ha d i th, is unreli - able because the accounts of a ha d i th are far from and entirely outside the level of certainty; Second: Whether or not this prophecy finds any mention in the Holy Quran; Third: If this prophecy is a proven fact, what proof, then, is there that it has been fulfilled in the person of my hum - ble self ? Let me begin with addressing the first of these three issues.Let it be clear that no one denies that the a ha d i th contain an explicit prophecy about the Promised Messiah.Rather, there is a consensus among almost all the Muslims that, as per a ha d i th, a person is sure to come who will be named ‘ I s a ibn Maryam [ Jesus Son of Mary].And this prophecy finds such repeated mention in the books of Hadith— Bukh a r i , Muslim , Tirmidh i , etc.—that it is enough to satisfy a fair-minded person and compels us to believe in their common theme that a Promised Messiah is to come.It is true that most such a ha d i th, taken individually, are no more

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 5 than a ha d, yet it cannot be denied that all the a ha d i th, assem - bled from various sources regarding this issue, when collectively examined, establish categorically and conclusively that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has certainly prophesied the advent of the Promised Messiah.Moreover, when we read the a ha d i th possessed by Ahl-e-Sunnat wal-Jam a ‘at , along with those a ha d i th on which other sects of Islam, such as Shias, rely, the strength of such a ha d i th having taw a tur [multiple nar - rators] is even more firmly established.Additionally, hundreds of books of the sufis also testify to this fact.And when we consult the literature of the People of the Book, that is, the Christians, we find this prophecy in their books as well.The verdict of Hadrat Mas ih as [ Jesus] in the Gospels regard - ing the descent of Ily a s [Elijah] from heaven demonstrates that such prophecies can never be taken literally.However, the prophecy about the advent of the Promised Messiah appears so extensively in every age that it would be gross ignorance to deny that it possesses taw a tur.I say truthfully that if all Islamic books in which this prophecy is recorded were to be collected in chronological order, their number would definitely run into the thousands.But it is difficult to make someone understand who is unfamiliar with the corpus of Islamic literature.In fact, such critics are unfortunately so ignorant that they simply do not understand how strongly and forcefully the veracity of a certain event is established.This critic simply heard from someone that most of the a ha - d i th are at the level of a ha d and he has immediately concluded that, with the exception of the Holy Quran, all other authorities in Islam are baseless and doubtful and are completely devoid of

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 6 certainty and conclusiveness.But in reality, this is a great mis - take, the first result of which is to destroy faith and religion.If it were true that with the exception of the Holy Quran all other documentary sources are a bundle of falsehood, imposture, deceit, conjectures, and imagination, then, perhaps only a little would be left of Islam; for all the details of our Faith have come down to us through the a ha d i th of the Holy Prophet s as.For example, the requirement of the formal Prayer—which we offer five times a day—is established by the Holy Quran, but nowhere does the Quran lay down that the morning Prayer comprises two oblig - atory rak‘ a t [units of Prayer] and two rak‘ a t of sunnah; D huhr [Prayer] comprises four rak‘ a t of far d and four and two rak‘ a t of sunnah; Maghrib [Prayer]comprises three rak‘ a t of far d ; and ‘Ish a ’ [Prayer] comprises four rak‘ a t.In the same way, we have to depend entirely upon a ha d i th to learn the details of zakat.Moreover, there are thousands of details relating to worship, dealings, covenants, and so on; they are so well known that writ - ing about them would be a waste of time and needless prolonga - tion.Besides, the primary and principal source of Islamic history is a ha d i th.If the reports contained in a ha d i th are not relied upon, then we should also not take it as certain that Hadrat Ab u Bakr, Hadrat ‘ Umar, Hadrat Uthm a n, and Hadrat ‘Al i , may Allah be pleased with them, were the Companions of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who became the Khulaf a ’ [successors] of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in this order and also died in this order.If the accounts related by a ha d i th are not trusted, there would be no reason to believe with certainty in the existence of these great personalities.It might be possible to infer that all these names are

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 7 fictitious and that there was no Ab u Bakr, no ‘Umar, no Uthm a n, and no Ali; for, according to our critic, Miy an Ata Muhammad, all these a ha d i th are a ha d and the Holy Quran nowhere mentions these names, so how can these a ha d i th be considered authentic in light of this principle.In the same way, shall we deny that the name of the father of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was ‘Abdullah, and his mother’s name was A minah; and the name of his grandfather was ‘Abdul Mu tt alib and one of his wives was named Khad i jah and another ‘ A’ ishah, and another H af s ah, may Allah be pleased with them; and that the name of his wet-nurse was H alimah; and that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, used to withdraw to the Cave of Hira for wor - ship; and that some of his Companions migrated to Abyssinia; and that for ten years after his advent, the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, resided in Makkah.Moreover, there were all those battles that the Noble Quran does not even mention.All these matters are established by a ha d i th alone.Can we deny the occurrence of all these events on the alleged basis that a ha d i th amount to nothing? Were that so, it would not be possible for the Muslims to relate any portion of the biography of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.It should be observed that the events of the life of our lord and master, the kind of life he led in Makkah before his advent, the year he called people to his Prophethood, the order in which people embraced Islam, how the disbelievers persecuted them in the ten years in Makkah, how and why battles began, and in which of them the blessed person of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 8 upon him, himself took part, and to which regions the rule of Islam had extended in the lifetime of his holy and honoured personage, and whether the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, addressed letters to the rulers of the time, inviting them to Islam, and if he did so, what was the result, and after the death of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, what were the victories achieved during the time of Hadrat Ab u Bakr S idd i q, and what difficulties came about, and in the time of Hadrat [‘Umar] F aru q which countries did Islam achieve conquests—all these matters are known only through a ha d i th and the statements of the Companions.Hence, if a ha - d i th amount to nothing, it would not just be difficult, but rather quite impossible, to learn of the events of that time, and in such a case the opponents of Islam would be free to invent whatever lies they like concerning the events of the life of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and of the lives of his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.We would thus provide to the enemies of Islam a great opportunity to make baseless attacks against Islam, and we would have to admit that all the events and incidents related in a ha d i th are baseless and imaginary, so much so that even the names of the Companions are not known with certainty.To suppose that we cannot derive any certain and conclusive truth from a ha d i th amounts to destroying a great portion of Islam with our own hands.The true and correct position is that it is necessary to accept what is stated in the a ha d i th unless the Quran contradicts it in clear and explicit terms.For, it is established that it is natural for man to tell the truth and that he resorts to falsehood under some compulsion, for falsehood is unnatural for him.Therefore,

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 9 doubting the conclusiveness and reliability of those a ha d i th that had—through becoming a consistent practice or collective belief—developed into a characteristic of different groups of Muslims, is really a type of insanity and madness.For instance, if anyone were to contend that the number of rak‘ a t the Muslims perform in the five daily prayers is a doubtful matter, inasmuch as there is no verse in the Holy Quran prescribing two rak‘ a t for the morning Prayer and two for Jumu‘ah, and two each for the two Eid prayers, and that most a ha d i th are a ha d and thus unreliable, would such a one be in the right? If such views were accepted about the a ha d i th, then the first thing to be lost would be prayer itself, for the Holy Quran has nowhere prescribed the method of offering prayers; rather, they are offered only on the basis of our reliance that the [relevant] a ha d i th are correct.Now, if an opponent raises the objection that the Holy Quran does not teach how to offer prayer and the way the Muslims have adopted for offering prayer is to be rejected because the a ha d i th are unreliable—and if we, too, adhere to the same principle, that the a ha d i th are worthless—how could we respond to this objec - tion, except to accept it? Indeed in such a case, Islam’s funeral prayer would also become utterly futile, because nowhere does the Holy Quran mention any prayer without prostration and bowing.Now ponder and see what is left of Islam if the a ha d i th are discarded.Besides, the very notion that the sayings of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, are considered authentic merely because of the supposed authenticity of the reports of one or two narrators is a matter resulting from a lack of reflection.The fact is that the a ha d i th constitute a branch of

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 10 the ta‘ a mul [continued practice] and were collected and com - piled after those practices became established.For example, the mu h addith i n [hadith scholars] observed that millions of people offer three rak‘ a t of far d in Maghrib, and two in Fajr, and always recite S u rah al-F a ti h ah in every rak‘at, and say a m i n either loudly or silently.Likewise, they observed them offering [supplications like] at-ta h iyy a t, dur u d, and many prayers in the last sitting posi - tion, and concluding their Prayer by offering sal a m to their right and left.Seeing this manner of worship, the mu h addith i n became eager and interested to verify this matter by tracing this method of prayer back to the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him and to confirm it through a ha d i th that are s a hih [authen - tic], and marf u ‘ and mutta s il [i.e.whose chains of narration reach up to the Holy Prophet s as and are uninterrupted].It is true that the mu h addith i n have not provided chains of a thousand or two thousand narrators for every single hadith.But would it be right to assume that it was the mu h addith i n who established prayer in the first place, and before them people did not offer prayer and were totally unaware of it, and that it was only after many centuries that people, relying on one or two a ha - d i th, began to offer prayer? Hence, I declare emphatically that it would be a grave misconception to believe that the manner and rak‘ a t of prayer were proven solely on the basis of a handful of a ha d i th that appear to be a ha d.If that were to be true, then, first of all, Islamic observances would suffer an irremediable set - back—which would be of grave concern for any Muslim with a sense of honour.But remember that only those people labour under such misconceptions who have never attentively studied Islamic chronicles, history, traditions, rites, and worship, and

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 11 who are unaware of how and with what process these matters were authenticated.Let it be clear that the continuous practice of people estab - lishes the certainty of these matters with utmost satisfaction.For example, let us suppose that there are only two or three such a ha - d i th which relate that the number of rak‘ a t in the Fajr Prayer is X and the rak‘ a t in the Maghrib prayer is Y, and it is granted that these a ha d i th are no more than a ha d.Now, did the people not offer the prayer prior to this research and investigation? Was it only after authenticating the a ha d i th and learning of their nar - rators that the daily prayers were initiated? Nay, millions of peo - ple offered prayer in the prescribed way.Let us assume that the study of the chain of narrators of a ha d i th had not even existed, even then the continuous practice would definitively and categor - ically have established that Islamic teachings regarding prayer has remained the same generation after generation, and century after century.The existence of uninterrupted chains of narrators culmi - nating with the Holy Prophet s as serves to reinforce the continuous practice.In light of this principle, it would be an egregious mis - take to pronounce most of the a ha d i th —which are corroborated and supported by the chain of continuous practice—as no better than a ha d.As a matter of fact, this is the egregious mistake that has drawn the followers of nature in this age far away from Islam.They imagine that all Islamic practices, ceremonies, worship, biographies, and histories—which cite a ha d i th as references— are established only on the basis of a few a ha d i th.But this is a clear error on their part.The ta‘ a mul [continuous practice] that our Holy Prophet s as established through his personal example had

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 12 become so common among millions of people that had there been no trace or mention of the compilers of a ha d i th, even then no harm would have come to it.Everyone has to admit that the Holy Teacher and Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had not so confined his teaching as to train only a few people in it and to leave all others unaware of it.Had that been so, Islam would have been so cor - rupted that it could not have been reformed through the efforts of any mu h addith etc.Granted that the Imams of Hadith com - piled thousands of a ha d i th relating to religious instruction, but the question is, what hadith is there that was not already being acted upon, and of which the world was wholly unaware, prior to their having written it down.If there is any teaching, or event, or doctrine, the foundation of which has been laid only by the Imams of Hadith on the basis of some report, and no sign of it is discoverable from continuous practice—of which millions of people are convinced—nor is it mentioned in the Holy Quran, then, without doubt, such a solitary report that became known a century or a century-and-a-half later, would be far removed from a level of certainty, and would deserve whatever condemnation might be directed at it.However, in reality, such a ha d i th have no great connection to the religion or history of Islam.If you study carefully, you will find that the Imams of Hadith have very sel - dom mentioned those a ha d i th for which no trace or mention is found in continuous practice.It is, therefore, absolutely wrong, as some ignorant ones imagine, that the world has learnt of hun - dreds of matters relating to the religion, even fasting and prayer services, only from the a ha d i th compiled by Imam Bukh a r i and Muslim and others.Were the Muslims without faith for a century

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 13 or a century-and-a-half ? Did they not offer the daily Prayers? Did they not pay zakat? Did they not perform the hajj? Were they unaware of all the matters pertaining to Islamic doctrines men - tioned in the a ha d i th? Certainly not! Never! The ignorance of any person who entertains such a thought is beyond belief.Islam was as verdant and thriving before the era of the Imams of Hadith—namely Bukh a r i , Muslim, etc.—as it was after their compilations; therefore, how unreasonable and unfair is it to believe dogmatically that Islam flourished only on the basis of what is known today as a ha d i th, which were compiled in the second century.It is a pity that not only opponents but also igno - rant Muslims labour under the misconception that the Muslims were made to believe in many matters pertaining to Islam after a long time through the reports of a ha d i th; and that they were utterly unaware about them before those compilations.On the contrary, the plain truth is that if the Imams of Hadith have done any favour to the people, it is only that they researched and investigated the chain of narrators to confirm the continu - ous practice that a world of people accepted since the beginning.They demonstrated that the beliefs and practices of the Muslims of their time were not innovations that were later intermixed with Islamic teachings; rather, they were the same practice and verbal teaching that the Holy Prophet s as imparted to his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.It is a pity that, by misconstruing this correct and factual matter, short-sighted people fell prey to an egregious error, due to which they have intensely looked down upon a ha d i th to this day.True, those a ha d i th that are outside the chain of oral tra - dition or practices, or which the Holy Quran does not verify,

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 14 cannot be considered completely authentic.But how can the authenticity of those a ha d i th that have always been sustained and preserved in the continuous practice of millions of people from the very beginning, be held in suspicion and doubt? The authenticity of such a ha d i th cannot be doubted at all, for the overwhelming majority put them into practice and were known from generation to generation and were clearly traceable to their original source.In fact, one cannot help but consider this continued practice to be amongst the most established truths.Moreover, the Imams of Hadith buttressed this continued prac - tice by establishing another practice, whereby they traced the chain of truthful and righteous narrators right up to the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.So, to criti - cize it now is the work of only those who totally lack the insight of faith and human rationality.After this preamble, let it also be clear that the prophecy regarding the advent of the Promised Messiah is not such as was recorded by the Imams of Hadith on the basis of only a few riw a y a t [reports].Rather, it has been established that the Muslims adopted this prophecy as part and parcel of their faith since the early days.In other words, there were as many testimonies to the validity of this prophecy as were the number of Muslims at that time, as right from the beginning they regarded the prophecy as part of their faith.If the Imams of Hadith, such as Imam Bukh a r i and others, discovered anything about this prophecy by their own effort, it is only that—when they found this prophecy widespread and oft-mentioned among millions of Muslims—they, according to

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 15 their practice, searched for and provided the traditional isn a d [chains of narrators] of this well-established saying and supported it with riw a y a t [reports] that were s a hih , marf u ‘, and mutta s il, and which are found abundantly in their books.Besides, there seems to be no plausible reason for why, if—God forbid—it were a fabrication, the Muslims had any need for it, why they came to a consensus about it, and what compelled them to fabri - cate all this? On the other hand, we also see that there are many such a ha d i th as contain the prophecy that in the Latter Days, the ulema of this ummah will resemble the Jews, and become devoid of integrity, fear of God, and inner purity, and at that time the religion of the cross will have gained ascendancy in the world and the authority and rule of the Christian religion will have spread nearly all over the world.The fact that all these prophecies have undoubtedly been fulfilled in this age proves the authenticity of these a ha d i th even more clearly.Indeed, in this age, these ‘ulema’ of ours have become like the Jews and the dominion and the rule of the Christians has spread in the world today in a manner without any precedent in history.Since one part of this prophecy has been fulfilled so clearly and manifestly, why should the authenticity of the other part be called into ques - tion.Every sane person agrees that even if a hadith is a h ad and has not been widely acknowledged but contains a prophecy that is fully or partly fulfilled at its appointed time, there remains no doubt about the authenticity of such a hadith.For example, the hadith recorded in S a hih al-Bukh a r i and S a hih al-Muslim that a fire will break out in the Hejaz is undoubtedly among the a ha d.But after the passing of nearly 600 years, this prophecy was

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 16 fulfilled clearly, and even the British admit it.This prophecy was fulfilled hundreds of years after the compilation and publication of the books in which it was recorded.Can we now declare such a ha d i th to be absolutely unacceptable on account of their being a ha d? It is extremely vile and abhorrent ignorance to entertain such a thought after the authenticity of such a ha d i th has been established so clearly.Think about the prophecy regarding the Promised Messiah in the same way.Its wording states—at places explicitly, and at other places implicitly—that the Promised Messiah will appear at a time when the rule and power of the Christians will have spread over the entire world and railway trains will be running.Moreover, most of the land will have come under cultivation, people will take keen interest in agriculture so much so that the oxen would become expensive, and there will be an abundance of canals in the world, and in terms of worldly life, it will be the time of peace.We now find that this prophecy has been fulfilled in our time, for the Christian empire has reached such a height as if all other regimes and states are non-existent before it, and we have witnessed with our own eyes the emergence of trains, canals and widespread agriculture.Think about it! Does not this prophecy contain such news regarding the unseen as transcends human power? Could any - one imagine the present decadent state of Islam at a time when the Islamic sword was striking the disbelievers like lightening? Can any human being possess such knowledge of the unseen as would predict a new form of transport which was previously

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 17 non-existent? Look around and reflect! Is this prophecy not one of those grand prophecies whose reality and fulfilment could be encompassed only by the knowledge of God Almighty, and which cannot be suspected to be the work of human artifice and poor designs of the creatures? Let it be clear that there is a whole series of such prophecies as are characterized by perfect order and exceptional eloquence and contain subtle and fine points, and matters related to the unseen and whose magnificence cannot be equalled by any human being at all.For instance, first, there are prophecies about the time of Islam’s progress in connection with which it was foretold that Chosroes will perish and there will be no Chosroes after him; and that Caesar will perish and there will be no Caesar after him.And Islam would thrive, flourish, and spread to every nation.It was further prophesied that in the Latter Days, most of the ulema of this ummah would resemble the Jews and become devoid of integrity and righteousness.False fatwas [edicts], evil designs, and machinations would be their religion, and they would be entrapped in worldly greed; and they would create a strong resemblance with the Jews, to the extent that even if a Jew had for - nicated with his mother, they would also follow suit.And in that age, Christian nations would spread throughout the world and subjugate other peoples, and the love for faith would cool down in the hearts.And the religion of Islam would be afflicted by con - tinuous and endless perils due to the spread of poisonous winds.Thereupon hardships will arise, and calamities will increase, and righteousness will continue to decrease in the hearts of Muslims, and it would be better for a person to live alone and be content

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 18 with the milk of goats rather than to have anything to do with a community of Muslims.He added that when you see such condi - tions come to pass, you must break away from all these sects and survive on the roots of a tree until you die.And then, in this connection, he foretold of the advent of the Promised Messiah and said that the Christian faith will be demolished at his hands, and said that he would break their cross.He did not say that he would destroy their sovereignty.This is an indication of the fact that the Promised Messiah’s king - dom will be spiritual and will have nothing to do with worldly governments.On the contrary, he will fight with the strength of his blessings and will come forward into the field with the weap - ons of his miracles, to the extent that he will break the lustre and grandeur of the cross, and will expose the veil of the cursed and unholy doctrines of Christianity.This will be so because his light will shine like a sword and fall upon the darkness of disbelief like lightning, so much so that the seekers of truth will realize that the Living God stands with Islam.All these prophecies—flowing like a river—are found in the a ha d i th.And they are so interconnected that the rejection of one necessitates the rejection of the other, and likewise, belief in one necessitates belief in the other.Who can then doubt such wide - spread, consistent, authentic, and coherent prophecies except the one who has crossed all limits of madness? Can any intelligent person consider even for a second that thousands of these prophecies consisting of such extraordinary matters are mere human fabrications? The truth is that well-es - tablished, systematic, and crucial facts simply cannot be denied,

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 19 because their denial necessarily leads to a great disruption and the changing of an entire world.Besides, these prophecies contain within them a magnificent Sign of their own truth in that whatsoever was recorded in them concerning worldly revolutions—all these things appearing to be impossible—has been fulfilled.Because right from the beginning of the 13th century, internal and external crises started to exacer - bate so much so that by the end of that century, the Islamic gran - deur and governance had, as it were, virtually come to an end.And such catastrophes struck the Muslims in their religion and worldly affairs as if their entire world had changed.In view of these calamities, when we look upon those prophecies—which Imam Bukh a r i and Imam Muslim had recorded nearly 1,100 years ago, at a time when the glory of Islam was at its zenith and the beauty of its internal state rivalled that of Y u suf [ Joseph] and the splendour of its external state put Iskandar R u m i [Alexander the Great] to shame—our passion for faith is excited and we cannot help crying as we recall the perfect and holy revelation of our Noble Prophet s as , as well as his majesty, glory, and holy influence.Holy is Allah! What a luminous light he was, upon whom it was disclosed 1,300 years ago, how, in the beginning, his ummah will thrive, and how in an extraordinary manner it will prosper, and how in the Latter Days it will suddenly decline, and then how the Christian people will dominate the entire world in a few cen - turies.Remember that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, made a prophecy—which is recorded in S a hih al-Muslim —concerning these times, with respect to the Promised

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 20 Messiah.He said, 2 , 1 الْقِلَص َ فَل َ يُسْعٰى عَلَيْهَا َّ لَيَتْرُكَن , meaning that, in the era of the Promised Messiah, the riding of camels will be aban - doned.Hence, no one will mount them and make them run.This alluded to the train, after the invention of which there would be no need for making the camels run.And the camel is mentioned because it was the principal means of transport in the Arab world, onto which they could load all their household items and ride, too.This [hadith] also applies to smaller [means of transport], which are automatically included in the larger one.In short, it signifies that at that time, certain means of transport shall appear that will supersede the camel.As you now see, with the invention of the railway train, they are now doing nearly everything that the camels performed previously.Hence, which prophecy could be more evident and obvious than this one? Moreover, the Holy Quran has also foretold about this age, as it says: 3 َو اَذِا ُراَشِعْلا ْتَلِّطُع Meaning that the Latter Days are those when the she-camel will be abandoned.This, too, is a clear reference to the railway train.Both the afore-mentioned hadith and this verse give the same news.Since 1.The present day edition of Musnad Ahmad bin H anbal has the same wording, whereas in S a hih Muslim, instead of َّ َن ك ُ َتْر ي َ وَل the word َّ َن ك َ وََلتُتْر is recorded.[Publisher] 2.S a hih al-Muslim, Kit a bul- I m a n, Ch.71, B a bu Nuz u li-‘ I s a bin Maryam [Publisher] 3.S u rah at-Takw i r, 81:5 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 21 there is an obvious reference to the Promised Messiah in this hadith, we must infer from it that this verse, too, speaks of the age of the Promised Messiah and implicitly refers to him.In spite of these clear testimonies that are shining bright like the sun, people still doubt these prophecies! Let fair-minded people decide for themselves if it is not stupidity to doubt such prophecies whose news of the unseen has visibly come true.I am certain that what I have written so far in light of the a ha d i th regarding the prophecy about the Promised Messiah will suffice to satisfy a person who does not wish to unjustly oppose the truth after having found it.I have not quoted here the exact words of the a ha d i th, nor have I summarized all of them, because these a ha d i th are so well known and widespread that even young village students are familiar with them.Had I recorded in this brief booklet all the a ha d i th that have been narrated about this matter, I may not have completed it even after having written 10 juzw’.1 But I appeal to the readers that they should carefully study S i hah Sittah [the Six Authentic Books of Hadith] in the original or their translations, so that they might know the abundance and emphasis with which such a ha d i th are to be found.The second point at issue was whether or not there is any mention concerning the Promised Messiah in the Noble Quran.Conclusive arguments render their verdict that such mention is most certainly present in the Quran.Undoubtedly, any per - son who ponders the following prophesies of the Noble Quran, which relate to the Latter Days of this ummat and are in this Holy 1.A juzw’ comprises sixteen pages.[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 22 Book—provided that he possesses understanding and a living heart in his chest—he will have no choice but to admit that the Noble Quran categorically and definitively contains news of such a Reformer whose name, in other words, must be the Promised Messiah, not something else.In order to understand this tiding, the following verses should first be viewed as a whole.For example, these verses: َّنِا ٖۤهِذٰه ۰۰ َوْۤيِتَّلا ْتَنَصْحَا اَهَجْرَف اَنْخَفَنَف اَهْيِف ْنِم اَنِحْوُّر َواَهٰنْلَعَج َوۤاَهَنْبا ًةَيٰا َنْيِمَلٰعْلِّل 1 ۰۰ َواْۤوُعَّطَقَت ْمُهَرْمَا ْمُهَنْيَب ٌّلُك اَنْيَلِا َنْوُعِجٰر ۰۰ َّواَنَا ْمُكُّبَر ِنْوُدُبْعاَف ْمُكُتَّمُا ًةَّمُا ًةَدِحاَّو َوَبَرَتْقا ُدْعَوْلا ُّقَحْلا اَذِاَف ۰۰ ىّٰۤتَح اَذِا ْتَحِتُف ُجْوُجْاَي َوُجْوُجْاَم َوْمُه ْنِّم ِّلُك ٍبَدَح َنْوُلِسْنَّي 2 ۰۰ َيِه ٌةَصِخاَش ُراَصْبَا َنْيِذَّلا اْوُرَفَك١ؕ اَنَلْيَوٰي ْدَق اَّنُك ْيِف ٍةَلْفَغ ْنِّم اَذٰه ْلَب اَّنُك َنْيِمِلٰظ Meaning that, God Almighty guided that woman to the right path who preserved her chastity from the non-ma h ram.So, God breathed into her of His Spirit and made her and her son a Sign for the world.And God said, ‘This ummah of yours is one ummah, and I am your Lord, so worship Me alone.But they split into many sects and divided up their ideologies, and became opposed among themselves; and in the end they will all return to Us.’ 3 ٭ And all these sects will remain in this state until Gog and Magog are let loose and they shall hasten forth from every height and when you see that Gog and Magog have become dominant in 1.S u rah al-Anbiy a ’, 21:92–94 [Publisher] 2.S u rah al-Anbiy a ’, 21:97–98 [Publisher] 3.٭ Note: Ezekiel, Chapter 38 and Chapter 39 verses 5–6; Rau d atu s - S af a Chapters 4, 5, and 6; and Tafs i r Ma‘ a lim.(Author)

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 23 the land, then understand that the promise of the spread of true religion has drawn nigh and that promise is: 1 َوُه ْۤيِذَّلا َلَسْرَا ٗهَلْوُسَر ىٰدُهْلاِب َوِنْيِد ِّقَحْلا ٗهَرِهْظُيِل ىَلَع ِنْيِّدلا ٖهِّلُك َوْوَل َهِرَك َنْوُكِرْشُمْلا He further says that at the time of the manifestation of that prom - ise, the eyes of disbelievers will stare fixedly and they will say, ‘Alas for us! We were indeed heedless of this; rather, we were wrongdo - ers!’ In other words, the truth will become manifest in an extraor - dinary manner and the disbelievers will realize that they were in the wrong.The purport of all these verses is that in the Latter Days many religions will spread in the world and there will be many sects.At that time, two Christian nations will emerge and gain every sin - gle type of height.When you see that the Christian religion and Christian empires have spread in the world, you should know that the time of the fulfilment of this promise is close at hand.At another place the Holy Quran says: َواَنْكَرَت ْمُهَضْعَب ٍذِٕىَمْوَي ُجْوُمَّي ْيِف ۰۰ اَذِاَف َءٓاَج ُدْعَو ْيِّبَر ٗهَلَعَج َءٓاَّكَد َوَناَك ُدْعَو ْيِّبَر اًّقَح 2 (Part Number 16) — ۰۰ ٍضْعَب َّوَخِفُن يِف ِرْوُّصلا ْمُهٰنْعَمَجَف اًعْمَج Meaning that, when the promise of God Almighty draws near, 1.He it is who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the Religion of truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all religions, even if those who associate partners with God hate it ( S u rah a s - S aff, 61:10).[Publisher] 2.S u rah al-Kahf, 18:99–100 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 24 then God Almighty will pulverize the wall, which is a defence against Gog and Magog.Indeed, the promise of God Almighty is true.And on that day—that is, during the era of the empire of Gog and Magog—We shall give respite to various sects to surge against one another.That is to say, every single sect will desire to make their religion and faith dominant over others.And just as a wave suppresses everything onto which it falls, so shall some of them fall on others to subdue them.None of them will spare any effort.Every single sect will endeavour to make their religion supe - rior.And while they are engaged in these conflicts, God Almighty shall blow the trumpet.Then shall We gather all sects upon one religion.1 ٭ The blowing of a trumpet here implies that in accord - ance with the practice of Allah, a reformer shall be raised by God Almighty with heavenly succour, and the spirit of life shall be breathed into his heart.And that life will be infused into others.Bear in mind that the word ‘trumpet’ always signifies grand revo - lutions.In other words, when God Almighty transforms His crea - tures from one state into another, the time of that transformation 1.٭ Footnote: Lest some ill-informed people think that since there is a mention of Hell after both these accounts in these verses, the whole episode refers to the Hereafter as the context apparently requires.Remember, however, that it is common Quranic style, supported by hundreds of instances, that a narrative about this world is interspersed with the mention of the Hereafter.Yet, each part of the narrative has its own hallmarks that distinguish it from the other.And this pattern is abundantly found in the Holy Quran.For example, consider the miracle of Shaqqul-Qamar, recorded in the Holy Quran, which was a Sign.But it is immediately followed by the mention of the Hereafter, which has led some ignorant people to disregard the context and assert that the incident of Shaqqul-Qamar did not take place, rather it would happen on the Day of Judgement.[Author]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 25 is described as nafkh-e- su r [blowing of the trumpet].And those blessed with visions also experience a physical manifestation of the ‘trumpet’ in their visions.These wonders belong to a realm whose secrets cannot be revealed to anyone in this world—except to those who have withdrawn themselves towards God.In short, the aforementioned verses establish clearly that in the Latter Days, the Christian religion and empire will be dom - inant in the world and many religious disputes will arise among various nations and each nation will want to suppress the other.At such a time, the trumpet will be blown and all peoples will be gathered under the banner of Islam.That is to say, in keeping with divine practice, a heavenly dispensation shall be established with the advent of a divine reformer.In fact, that very reformer is named the Promised Messiah.Since Christians are the source of the mischief and the main pur - pose of God Almighty was to destroy the glory of their cross, there - fore, the person who was to be sent to invite the Christians was named Masih and ‘ I s a , in view of the condition of the addressees.The second wisdom in this [to call him the Messiah] is that when the Christians deified Hadrat ‘ I s a , attributed fabrications of their own to him, hatched thousands of machinations, and exaggerated the status of Hadrat Mas ih out of all proportion, the honour of that Living, One, and Unique God required that one of His serv - ants from this very ummah be sent, in the name of Jesus, son of Mary, to show the miracle of His might so that it is established that to deify humans is sheer stupidity.He chooses whomsoever He pleases and can elevate the lowliest to the heavens.It should also be remembered here that when a reformer appears at a time of decadence, there is a diffusion of light from heaven.In other

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 26 words, with his advent, a light also descends upon the earth and upon eager hearts.It is at this time that people spontaneously turn to the ways of goodness and virtue according to their capabilities.And every heart applies itself to deliberation and contemplation, and due to unknown reasons every eager disposition is inspired to move to seek the truth.Thereby, there blows such a breeze as inclines the eager hearts towards the Hereafter and awakens dormant faculties and it seems as if a grand revolution is about to take place.When these signs are manifested, they testify that the reformer has come into the world.And these heavenly inspira - tions quicken the eager hearts in proportion to the lofty stature of the reformer.Every good-natured person awakens, though they do not know what awakens them.Every righteous person feels a change in themself, but cannot understand what has brought it about.In short, the hearts begin to stir, making the ignorant think that the awakening started by itself.But, in fact, these lights descend with the advent of a Prophet or a Mujaddid [Reformer].The Holy Quran and a ha d i th clearly establish this fact.Allah, the Lord of Glory, says: ۤاَّنِا ُهٰنْلَزْنَا ْيِف ِةَلْيَل ِرْدَقْلا ۰۰ َوۤاَم َكىٰرْدَا اَم ُةَلْيَل ِرْدَقْلا ۰۰ ُةَلْيَل ِرْدَقْلا ٌرْيَخ ْنِّم ِفْلَا ٍرْهَش ۰۰ 1 ُلَّزَنَت ُةَكِٕىٰٓلَمْلا َوُحْوُّرلا اَهْيِف ِنْذِاِب ْمِهِّبَر ْنِم ِّلُك ٍرْمَا ۰۰ ٌمٰلَس َيِه ىّٰتَح ِعَلْطَم ِرْجَفْلا ۰۰ Meaning that, We have revealed this Book and Prophet in the Night of Destiny.And what should make you know what the Night of Destiny is? The Night of Destiny is better than a 1.S u rah al-Qadr, 97:2–6 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 27 thousand months.Therein descend angels and the Holy Spirit, by the command of their Lord.It is the time of peace with regard to every matter till the rising of the dawn.Whereas, according to the prevailing doctrine of Muslims, the Night of Destiny is the name of a blessed night, yet that reality which God Almighty has revealed to me is that, in addition to the conventional meaning, the Night of Destiny is also the age when darkness spreads all over the world and there is darkness upon darkness everywhere.And that darkness itself requires that a light should descend from heaven.At that time, God Almighty causes His light-bearing angels and the Holy Spirit to descend to the earth in a manner that is consistent with their grandeur.The Holy Spirit then establishes a relationship with that Mujaddid and Reformer who, having been chosen and purified by God, is commissioned to invite people to the truth.The angels, too, grasp a relationship with all pious, righteous, and eager people and draw them towards virtue and place righteous abilities before them.Then peace and blessings spread in the world, and so it continues until faith reaches the perfection destined for it.It is noteworthy that God says clearly and categorically in this blessed s u rah that when a reformer comes from God, the angels that are responsible for awakening the hearts do certainly descend on the earth.As a consequence of their descent, an awakening and movement towards piety and the seeking of the right path takes place in the hearts.To think that this awakening and stirring happens by itself, without the advent of a reformer, goes against the holy Word of God Almighty and His eternal law of nature.Such objections issue from the mouths of only those who are utterly ignorant of

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 28 divine secrets and who follow only their own unfounded conjec - tures.Rather, these are distinctive signs of the advent of the heav - enly reformer and are like particles revolving around that sun.True, it is not for everyone to discover this truth.A worldly per - son with his obscure spiritual vision cannot discover this light; he deems religious verities and divine truths to be a laughable topic and divine insights appear to him as follies.The following are other verses wherein the signs of the Latter Days are told.That is, firstly, they foretell that intense worldly darkness will spread all around, and then they foretell the signs of the descent of heavenly light: ٍذِٕىَمْوَي اَذِا ِتَلِزْلُز ُضْرَاْلا اَهَلاَزْلِز ۰۰ َوِتَجَرْخَا ُضْرَاْلا اَهَلاَقْثَا ۰۰ َوَلاَق ُناَسْنِاْلا اَم اَهَل ۰۰ 1 ُثِّدَحُت اَهَراَبْخَا ۰۰ َّنَاِب َكَّبَر ىٰحْوَا اَهَل ۰۰ Meaning that the Latter Days shall come at a time when the earth, in a way proportionate to its size, is violently shaken.That is to say, the inhabitants of the earth will experience a major rev - olution and they will incline towards selfishness and worldly pur - suits.And then it is said that the earth will throw up its burdens; that is, the worldly sciences, worldly schemes, worldly cleverness, and worldly excellences, with which human nature is endowed, will altogether become manifest.Moreover, the earth on which people live will bring forth all its qualities, and many of its charac - teristics will be known through natural sciences and agriculture.Mines shall be dug, and land will be made fertile, causing agricul - ture to thrive.Also, machines of diverse types will be invented so 1.S u rah az-Zilz a l, 99:2–6 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 29 much so that man shall exclaim: What is this happening and how do these new and modern sciences, new arts, and new industries keep coming into being? Then will the earth, that is, the hearts of the people, effectively realize that ‘we do not bring about these innovations that are currently taking place;’ rather, they are the work of some kind of divine inspiration, because it is impossi - ble for man, through his own effort, to invent such wonderful sciences in abundance.Bear in mind that certain other verses of the Holy Quran, relating to the Hereafter, which have been included along with these verses, are actually in keeping with the same divine practice which has been mentioned earlier.But there is no doubt that the true and primary meaning of the verses is the one I have just pre - sented.And a very cogent and decisive argument vindicates this; as the verses, if taken literally, would necessarily entail great disor - der.That is to say, it is quite impossible and out of the question to interpret the verses to mean that at some point in time such dev - astating earthquakes would strike as would turn the earth upside down, and that, in spite of these earthquakes, people would con - tinue to inhabit the earth.The afore-mentioned verse states clearly that men will ask, ‘What is the matter with the earth?’ Now, if it were really true that the earth would be turned upside down by extremely severe earthquakes, where would man be to question the earth? He would have already been buried into nothingness with the first quake.Empirical sciences can in no way be disregarded.Therefore, to interpret the Holy Quran to mean something which is demon - strably false and inconsistent with available evidence will only lead to Islam being held up to ridicule and will afford the opponents an

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 30 opportunity to raise objections against it.Therefore, the true and correct meaning of this verse is the one I have just presented.It is obviously the Christians who have brought about these unprec - edented revolutions, mischiefs, and upheavals in our age which the world had never seen.This constitutes another argument to prove that the Christians are the last people who were destined to spread various mischiefs, and indeed they have worked diverse wonders in the world.It was written that the Antichrist would claim both Prophethood and Godhead, and so it came to pass through this people.Brazen and unwarranted interpolation into the books of the Prophets on the part of the Christian clerics is, in other words, tantamount to claiming Prophethood.They have so boldly inter - polated into them as if they themselves were the Prophets.They have twisted the words of the revealed books and written their commentaries to suit their purpose.Moreover, they have auda - ciously fabricated lies at every occasion, hiding what is present and displaying what is not present.They have so authoritatively altered the meaning of their religious books as if they received revelation and were Prophets themselves.Therefore, it has always been observed that they intention - ally opt for frivolous and false answers during debates and dis - cussions, as if they were inventing a new Gospel of their own.In the same way, their books, too, point towards some new ‘ I s a and new Gospel.They are not at all fearful when telling a lie.They have cunningly written millions of books in support of their false claim, giving the impression that they have seen Hadrat ‘ I s a seated on the throne of Godhead.As for their claim to Godhead, they have interfered excessively

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 31 in the works of God.They desire not to leave any secret of the earth and heaven undiscovered.Rather, they intend to take all of God Almighty’s works into their clenched fist, as well as His Godhead to the extent that, if possible, they want the rising and setting of the Sun under their own control; and for the rain to fall or not to fall subject to their will, and for nothing to remain impossible for them.What else constitutes a claim to being God? Indeed it is this, that it consists of interfering in the works and providence of God and the longing to somehow take His place.Those who raise objections about a ha d i th related to the Promised Messiah and dajj a l must also ponder at this point that if these prophecies were not from God Almighty and were man - ufactured by some mere mortal, it would have been impossible for them to be fulfilled so clearly and perfectly.Was it even in anyone’s fancy that in order to deify a man, the Christians would one day make such efforts and intrigues that in their philosophi - cal writings, Divinity would no longer remain an exclusive station for God? Look at how the distance between the ears of dajj a l’s don - key was described to be seventy َ بَاع [ b a ‘ ] 1 which is exactly how long most railway trains are.Then, as is recorded in the Quran and a ha d i th that camels would no longer be used for riding, so do we witness that the railways have superseded all these forms of transportation, and camels are used infrequently.Perhaps after sometime, even this need will not remain.Similarly, we are eye-witnesses that the scholars and philosophers of this nation 1.بَاع [ b a ‘ ] is a measure of distance equal to both arms spread out [Publisher].

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 32 have created such conflict in the matters of religion, the equal of which cannot to be found since Hadrat A dam.Thus there is no doubt that they have intruded not only upon Prophethood but also upon the Divinity.What can be a greater proof of the reliability of these a ha d i th than that their prophecies have been fulfilled.Moreover, the Noble Quran clearly points to this time of dajj a l [Antichrist] in these verses: 1 اَذِا ِتَلِزْلُز ُضْرَاْلا اَهَلاَزْلِز Anyone with the least bit of common sense can understand it.This verse indicates clearly the extent to which these people will make progress in physical sciences.Then, as a description of this age, when new arts and sciences will be developed in the world, certain inventions and machines have been described as illustrations.They are as follows.2 َوْتَقْلَا اَم اَهْيِف َوْتَّلَخَت ۰۰ َواَذِا ُضْرَاْلا ْتَّدُم Meaning that, when the earth would be spread—that is to say, it would be cleared—and population would swell.And what - ever lies in the earth, the earth will expel it out and will become empty.That is, all its qualities will become manifest, as has been explained above.1.When the earth is shaken with her violent shaking ( S u rah az-Zilz a l, 99:2).[Publisher] 2.S u rah al-Inshiq a q, 84:4–5 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 33 1 َو اَذِا ُراَشِعْلا ْتَلِّطُع That is, when the she-camel will become useless and will not be possess any significant value.The word عِشَار [ ‘Ish a r ] means a pregnant she-camel, which is highly prized among Arabs, and it is quite clear that this verse has nothing to do about the Day of Judgement.Judgement Day is not an occasion when a male camel will mate with a she-camel and result in a pregnancy.On the contrary, it points to the invention of railways.By using the word ‘pregnant’, a condition was set so that the context of this happening in this world should become clear and no doubt be left regarding its occurrence in the Hereafter.2 َو اَذِا ُفُحُّصلا ْتَرِشُن And when the books are disseminated and spread about.That is, the means for publishing books will become available.This refers to the abundance of printing presses and post offices in the Latter Days.3 َو اَذِا ُسْوُفُّنلا ْتَجِّوُز And when people are brought together.This refers to the relations between various nations and countries.It means that owing to the opening up of new routes, the availability of mailing services 1.S u rah at-Takw i r, 81:5 [Publisher] 2.S u rah at-Takw i r, 81:11 [Publisher] 3.S u rah at-Takw i r, 81:8 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 34 and the telegraph, mutual communication between people will increase.One nation will meet another and build far-reach - ing relationships and trade alliances, and friendly relationships between distant countries will be fostered.1 َو اَذِا ُشْوُحُوْلا ْتَرِشُح And when savages will be brought together with people.That is to say, savage nations will turn towards the civilized world and will develop humane values and decency.The lowly classes will be dignified with worldly ranks and prestige, and with the spread of material sciences and arts, there will remain no distinction between the nobles and the common people.Rather, the com - moners will prevail and they will hold the keys to wealth; and control of the governments will be in their hands.The substance of this verse is similar to a hadith, too.2 َو اَذِا ُراَحِبْلا ْتَرِّجُف And when the rivers will be split.Meaning that, canals will sprawl the land and agriculture will boom.3 َو اَذِا ُلاَبِجْلا ْتَفِسُن And when the mountains will be blown away, and in them tracks 1.S u rah at-Takw i r, 81:6 [Publisher] 2.S u rah al-Infi ta r, 82:4 [Publisher] 3.S u rah al-Mursal a t, 77:11 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 35 will be built for people travelling on foot or as passengers, or for trains to move about.In addition, signs of general darkness were described and it was said: 1 اَذِا ُسْمَّشلا ْتَرِّوُك When the Sun is wrapped up.Meaning that, the world will be engulfed in extreme darkness, ignorance, and sinfulness.2 َو اَذِا ُمْوُجُّنلا ْتَرَدَكْنا And when the stars will be obscured; meaning that, when reli - gious scholars will lose the light of sincerity.3 َو اَذِا ُبِكاَوَكْلا ْتَرَثَتْنا And when the stars will fall; meaning that, when divine scholars will pass away.For, it is impossible that people should continue to inhabit the earth while stars fall.Remember that the Gospel, too, contains a similar prophecy that the Promised Messiah will descend at a time when stars will have fallen, and the Sun and the Moon will lose their light.To take these prophecies literally is against rea - son.No wise person would ever suggest that when the sun literally loses its light and the stars fall to the earth—and yet the earth is 1.S u rah at-Takw i r, 81:2 [Publisher] 2.S u rah at-Takw i r, 81:3 [Publisher] 3.S u rah al-Infi ta r, 82:3 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 36 still populated with people as usual—that in this state of affairs, the Promised Messiah should come.Then it was said: 1 اَذِا ُءٓاَمَّسلا ْتَّقَشْنا When the heavens will be torn part.Similarly, also stated: 2 اَذِا ُءٓاَمَّسلا ْتَرَطَفْنا The Gospels, too, in the same way foretold the advent of the Promised Messiah.But these verses do not mean that the heavens will be literally torn apart and its capacities will weaken.On the contrary, what is meant is that just as something torn becomes useless, so will the heavens become unproductive.Divine grace will no longer descend from the heavens and the world will be filled with darkness and ignorance.Then, at another place it was said: 3 َو اَذِا ُلُسُّرلا ْتَتِّقُا And when the Messengers will be brought at the appointed time.This, in fact, is an indication of the advent of the Promised Messiah and the purpose is to state that he shall descend at the precise time of need.It must be remembered that in the Word of God, the term Rusul [Messengers] is also used for a single [Messenger] as 1.S u rah al-Inshiq a q, 84:2 [Publisher] 2.When the heaven is cleft asunder ( S u rah al-Infi ta r, 82:2).[Publisher] 3.S u rah al-Mursal a t, 77:12 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 37 well as for non-Messengers.I have explained repeatedly that many of the Quranic verses encompass multiple meanings.It is estab - lished from the a ha d i th that the Holy Quran has both apparent and hidden meanings.Therefore, if Messengers are to gather on the Day of Judgement as witnesses, we accept and testify to that meaning.But at this place, after describing the woeful signs of the Latter Days, when it is added at the end that the Messengers will be brought at the appointed time, the context is indicating that after darkness reaches its height, God will send a Messenger of His so that judgement may be rendered for various nations.Since it is established from the Holy Quran that darkness will issue forth from the Christians, the chosen one of God would come to preach to them and for their judgement.Therefore, it is for this connection that he has been named ‘ I s a, because he would be sent for the Christians just as ‘ I s a , peace be on him, was sent for them.And alif l a m [the definite article] in the verse points to a promise already made at another place, 1 َو اَذِا ُلُسُّرلا ْتَتِّقُا.Meaning that, the reformer whose advent was promised by the Noble Messenger s as himself will be sent during the period of Christian darkness.The Quranic verses that we have quoted thus far establish clearly that the Holy Quran certainly contains the prophecy that, in the Latter Days, the faith of the Christians will spread far and wide in the world.And they will plan for the religion of Islam to be wiped off the face of the earth and will leave no stone unturned in promoting their own faith.Then, God Almighty will turn His attention towards helping the religion of Islam and 1.S u rah al-Mursal a t, 77:12 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 38 will demonstrate, in such time of conflict, how He protects His religion and His Holy Word.Then, in keeping with His will and practice, a heavenly light shall descend and every fortunate person will be drawn towards it until all who hold righteousness dear to their hearts have gathered together under the banner of one faith.God Almighty has stated in clear words that the trumpet shall be blown at the time when the clamour of debates and controver - sies rises.It is then that righteous people will be gathered under the banner of one Faith.Moreover, He has also stated that the Messengers will be sent at the time of darkness.Now what more can clear up this matter than Allah, the Lord of Glory, stating that the first sign of the Latter Days will be the dominance of Gog and Magog, i.e.the influence of Russia and the British.The sec - ond sign will be the emergence of many sects.The third sign is that these sects will feud with one another and would fall upon one another like waves.The fourth sign will be the develop - ment of railways.The fifth sign will be the means for publish - ing books and newspapers, such as the press and the telegraph.The sixth sign will be the digging of canals.The seventh will be the increase in population and cultivation of the earth.The eighth sign will be the blowing away of the mountains.The ninth sign will be the progress of all modern sciences and arts.The tenth sign will be the spread of sinfulness and darkness and the disappearance of righteousness, purity, and the light of faith from the world.The eleventh sign will be the emergence of d a bbatul-ar d , that is, a surge in preachers who would be totally devoid of heav - enly light and who will be like earthly worms.Their works will side with Dajj a l [the Antichrist] whereas their words will side

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 39 with Islam.That is, their deeds would be in service of Dajj a l— ugly and animal-like—yet their speech will be like that of humans.The twelfth sign will be the advent of the Promised Messiah, which is described metaphorically as nafkh-e- su r, [blowing of the trumpet] in the Holy Quran.In reality, this nafkh [blowing] is of two kinds: one is the inspiration that leads one astray and the other is the inspiration that guides one aright, as is referred to in the following verse: َو َخِفُن يِف ِرْوُّصلا َقِعَصَف ْنَم يِف ِتٰوٰمَّسلا َو ْنَم يِف ِضْرَاْلا اَّلِا ْنَم َءٓاَش ُهّٰللا١ؕ َّمُث َخِفُن ِهْيِف ىٰرْخُا 1 اَذِاَف ْمُه ٌماَيِق َنْوُرُظْنَّي These verses have two meanings: they are related to the Day of Judgement and also to this world.They are like the verse: 2 اْۤوُمَلْعِا َّنَا َهّٰللا ِيْحُي َضْرَاْلا َدْعَب اَهِتْوَم And the verse: 3 ْتَلاَسَف ٌۢةَيِدْوَا اَهِرَدَقِب 1.And the trumpet will be blown, and all who are in the heavens and all who are in the earth will fall down in a swoon, except those whom Allah will please to exempt.Then will it be blown a second time, and lo! they will be standing, awaiting ( S u rah az-Zumar, 39:69).[Publisher] 2.Know that Allah is now quickening the earth after its death ( S u rah al- H ad i d, 57:18).[Publisher] 3.So that valleys flow according to their measure ( S u rah ar-Ra‘d, 13:18).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 40 With regard to this world, these verses mean that the Latter Days shall consist of two periods.The first period will be of igno - rance, when heedlessness will overcomes everyone earthly and heavenly—i.e.every unfortunate and fortunate one—except those whom Allah saves.Thereafter, there will come a second period, of guidance, when people will suddenly arise and begin to see.That is, their negligence will vanish and their hearts will be filled with enlightenment.The unfortunate will become aware of their mis - fortune even though they might not come to believe.Apart from these, there are many other verses of the Holy Quran that speak of the Latter Days and of the advent of the Promised Messiah; but their blessed meanings are derived from profound insights.That is why a superficial-minded person can - not grasp them, nor can any naïve person comprehend these sub - tle points.One of those verses is the following: 1 ۤاَّنِا ۤاَنْلَسْرَا ْمُكْيَلِا اًلْوُسَراًدِهاَش ْمُكْيَلَع ۤاَمَك ۤاَنْلَسْرَا ىٰلِا َنْوَعْرِف اًلْوُسَر It is quite clear that the word َمَا ك [ kam a —meaning ‘just as’] indi - cates that our Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is the like of Moses.In the Torah, Deuteronomy, 2 too, the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is described as the like of Moses.Obviously, the resemblance referred to is a perfect resemblance, not imperfect.For, were it imperfect, 1.Verily, We have sent to you a Messenger, who is a witness over you, just as We sent a Messenger to Pharaoh ( S u rah al-Muzzammil, 73:16).[Publisher] 2.Deuteronomy, 18:18 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 41 there would remain no distinction for the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.This is because there are many Prophets who bore some resemblance with Moses in that they, too, raised the sword by the command of God, waged wars and emerged victorious in miraculous ways.But can any of these Prophets be the object of this prophecy? Not at all! In short, the Holy Prophet, may peace be on him, can be its specific object only if the resemblance is understood to be a perfect resemblance.And one of the greatest elements of this perfect resemblance is that after honouring Moses as as His Messenger, God Almighty, out of His many blessings and favours upon him, placed in his dispensation, a long series of spiritual and worldly successors.This period lasted for nearly 1,400 years and ended with Hadrat ‘ I s a , peace be upon him.During this time, hundreds of kings and recipients of revelation were born in the Mosaic dispensation.And God continued to help the followers of the law of Moses in wonderful ways, the amazing accounts of which were preserved in the pages of history.As Allah, the Lord of Glory, says: 1 ِ وَقَفَّيْنَا مِن ْۢ بَعْدِه ٖ �ب ِلرُّسُل َو ْدَقَل اَنْيَتٰا ىَسْوُم َبٰتِكْلا َّمُث اَنْيَّفَق ىٰۤلَع ْمِهِراَثٰا اَنِلُسُرِب َو اَنْيَّفَق ىَسْيِعِب ِنْبا َمَيْرَم َو ُهٰنْيَتٰا َلْيِجْنِاْلا١ۙ۬ َو اَنْلَعَج ْيِف ِبْوُلُق 2 َنْيِذَّلا ُهْوُعَبَّتا ًةَفْاَر َّو ًةَمْحَر Meaning that, We gave Moses a book and many Prophets came after him.After all of them, We sent Jesus, son of Mary, and We 1.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:88 [Publisher] 2.S u rah al- H ad i d, 57:28 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 42 gave him the Gospel.And We placed compassion and mercy in the hearts of those who accepted him.That is, they preached with meekness, modesty, and politeness, instead of the sword.This verse suggests that even though the Mosaic Law was awe-inspiring, and hundreds of thousands were killed in compli - ance with its injunctions, even nearly 400,000 infants were also slain, God Almighty willed that this dispensation should come to end in mercy, and He may create a people from among them who would guide human beings to the right path, not with the sword, but with their knowledge, moral character, and power of purification.Because resemblance in blessings is of utmost importance, and perfect resemblance can be established only if resemblance in blessings is also established; therefore, it so happened that Hadrat M u s a , peace be on him, was blessed with servants of his law for nearly 1,400 years, among whom were Prophets and recipients of revelation, and that dispensation ended with a Prophet who called towards the truth with compassion and humility, and not with the sword.Similarly, our Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was also blessed with the servants of Shariah who—according to the hadith, 1 ْل ي ِ َآء ِ بَنِي ْ إِسْرَآئ ي ِ َأَنْب ك ْ عُلَمَآء ُ أُمَّتِي —were Mulham i n and Mu h addath i n [i.e.recipients of revelation and divine converse].And just as Hadrat Mas ih , peace be upon him, who invited towards truth with com - passion and humility and not with the sword, was sent at the end of Mosaic dispensation, similarly, God sent the Promised 1.The scholars of my ummah are like the Prophets of Ban i Isr a’i l.[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 43 Messiah for this Shariah, so that he, too, should invite towards righteousness with only compassion, mercy, and heavenly light.And just as Hadrat Mas ih came around 1,400 years after Hadrat M u s a [Moses], peace be upon him, so has this Promised Messiah appeared at the beginning of the 14th century after Hijra.And thus, a perfect resemblance between the Muhammadan dispen - sation and the Mosaic dispensation was established.If it is said that in the Mosaic dispensation, Prophets came to promote the faith and Hadrat Mas ih , too, was a Prophet, the answer is that both Prophet and Mu h addath enjoy the same status of a Mursal [i.e.one who is sent by God].Just as God has named Prophets as Mursal i n [the commissioned ones], so has He named Mu h addath i n [recipients of divine converse] as Mursal i n.It is with the purpose of indicating this that the Holy Quran says: 1 َو اَنْيَّفَق ْۢنِم ٖهِدْعَب ِلُسُّرلاِب God did not say, ِ َاء ي َنْبِ ْأ ْنَا مِن ْ بَعْدِہ ٖ بِال َّي قَف [‘caused after him Prophets to fol - low in his footsteps’], which points to the fact that رُسُل [ Rusul ] here signifies Mursal i n, be they Prophets, Messengers, or Mu h addath i n.Since our Noble Master and Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n [the Seal of the Prophets] and no Prophet can come after the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, that is why, in the Islamic dispensation, Muhaddath i n have been appointed in place of Prophets.The following verses refers precisely to this: 1.And caused after him Messengers to follow in his footsteps ( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:88).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 44 1 َو ٌةَّلُث َنِّم َنْيِرِخٰاْلا ۰۰ ٌةَّلُث َنِّم َنْيِلَّوَاْلا۰۰ Since the word ٌ ثُلَّۃ [a large party] occurs equally in both verses, it is categorically established that the Mu h addath i n of this ummah are no less in terms of their number and the duration of succession than the Mursal i n of the Mosaic dispensation.In fact, another verse refers to this point too: َدَعَو ُهّٰللا َنْيِذَّلا اْوُنَمٰا ْمُكْنِم َو اوُلِمَع ِتٰحِلّٰصلا ْمُهَّنَفِلْخَتْسَيَل يِف ِضْرَاْلا اَمَك َفَلْخَتْسا َنْيِذَّلا ْنِم ْمِهِلْبَق١۪ َو َّنَنِّكَمُيَل ْمُهَل ُمُهَنْيِد يِذَّلا ىٰضَتْرا ْمُهَل َو ْمُهَّنَلِّدَبُيَل ْۢنِّم ِدْعَب ْمِهِفْوَخ اًنْمَا١ؕ 2 ْيِنَنْوُدُبْعَي۠ اَل َنْوُكِرْشُي ْيِب أًـْيَش Meaning that, God has promised those among you who believe and do good works, that He will surely make them successors in the earth, as He made successors from among those who were before them; that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them security and peace in exchange after their fear.They will worship Me alone, and they will not associate anything with Me.(Part Number 18, S u rah an-N u r ) Now ponder carefully over this verse.It, too, refers clearly to the above resemblance.And if the resemblance is not a perfect resemblance, then these verses become absurd, because in the Mosaic dispensation, the period of Khilafat [leadership by suc - cession] stretched for 1,400 years, and not just to 30 years.There 1.A large party from among the early ones; and a large party from among the later ones ( S u rah al-W a qi‘ah, 56:40–41).[Publisher] 2.S u rah an-N u r, 24:56 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 45 appeared hundreds of Khulaf a ’, both spiritual and worldly, not just four, and then it terminated forever.And to say that the word مِنْکُم [ minkum —from among you] sig - nifies that the Khulaf a ’ will be solely from among the Companions because they are the sole addressees of the word minkum, then such thinking would be a blatant mistake.Such words can only be uttered by a person who has never read the Holy Quran with reflection and has failed to understand its manner of expression.If it were true that the only intended addressees were those believers who were alive and present at the time [of its revelation], then such a view would render the interpretation of the entire Quran upside down.For example, there is another Quranic verse similar to the above-mentioned verse in which, according to the literal word - ing, the addressees are the believers of Hadrat M u s a who were alive in his lifetime.In fact, there are very strong indications from the context that they are in reality the addressees of the following verses: َلاَق ىٰسْوُم ِهِمْوَقِل َلاَق ُلِّتَقُنَس ْمُهَءٓاَنْبَا َو ٖيْحَتْسَن ْمُهَءٓاَسِن َو اَّنِا ْمُهَقْوَف َنْوُرِهٰق ۰۰ ۰۰ اْوُنْيِعَتْسا ِهّٰللاِب َو اْوُرِبْصا َّنِا َضْرَاْلا ِهّٰلِل اَهُثِرْوُي ْنَم ُءٓاَشَّي ْنِم ٖهِداَبِع َو ُةَبِقاَعْلا َنْيِقَّتُمْلِل َلاَق ىٰسَع ْمُكُّبَر ْنَا َكِلْهُّي ْمُكَّوُدَع َو اْۤوُلاَق اَنْيِذْوُا ْنِم ِلْبَق ْنَا اَنَيِتْاَت َو ْۢنِم ِدْعَب اَم اَنَتْئِج 1 Part Number 9, S u rah al-A‘r a f — ْمُكَفِلْخَتْسَي۠ يِف ِضْرَاْلا َرُظْنَيَف َفْيَك َنْوُلَمْعَت ۰۰ Meaning that Pharaoh said, ‘We will slay the sons of Ban i Isr a ’ i l and let their daughters live.And surely we are dominant over them.’ Then Moses said to his people, ‘Seek help from Allah and 1.S u rah al-A‘r a f, 7:128–130 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 46 be patient.Verily, the earth is Allah’s; He gives it as a heritage to whomsoever He pleases of His servants, and the good end is for the righteous.’ Then the people of Moses said to him, ‘We were persecuted before you and even after you came to us.’ He said, ‘Your Lord is about to destroy your enemy and make you succes - sors in the land, that He may then see how you act.’ Now, in these verses, those followers of Hadrat M u s a who were alive in his time are clearly and categorically the addressed people.They were the ones who had complained of the atroci - ties of Pharaoh and had said ‘we were persecuted before you came and then even after you had come.’ And it was they who were told that they should patiently bear these hardships, God would turn towards them with His mercy and destroy their enemy, and make them Khulaf a ’ in the land.But it is clear to historians, and those who study Jewish and Christian texts know very well, that although the enemy of this nation—that is, Pharaoh—perished in front of them, they themselves were not blessed with either worldly or spiritual Khilafat.Rather, most of them were destroyed because of their own disobedience.They succumbed to death after wandering in the bleak and barren wilderness for forty years.Then, after their death, there began such a long line of succession among their progeny that there arose among this nation many kings.And indeed divinely appointed Khulaf a ’ such as David and Solomon were born among these very people until finally this chain of Khulaf a ’ came to its culmination in the 14th century with Hadrat Mas ih.Thus, it is clear that addressing an existing people does not at all mean that address necessarily remain confined to the people of that time.On the contrary, it is indeed the case with Quranic idiom that

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 47 oftentimes it addresses one people, but its true addressees are another people who have either passed away or are yet to come.For example, in S u rah al-Baqarah, Allah, the Lord of Glory, addresses the Jews who were present at that time and says: ْۤيِنَبٰي َلْيِءٓاَرْسِا اْوُرُكْذا َيِتَمْعِن ْۤيِتَّلا ُتْمَعْنَا ْمُكْيَلَع َو اْوُفْوَا ْۤيِدْهَعِب ِفْوُا ْمُكِدْهَعِب َو َياَّيِا 1 ِنْوُبَهْراَف Meaning that, O children of Israel! Remember that favour which I bestowed upon you, and fulfil your covenant with Me, so that I too may fulfil My covenant with you, and fear Me alone.Now it is clear that the Jews of the time of the Holy Prophet were proof of ُ ْھِم ُ الذِّلَّۃ ي ضُرِبَت ْ عَلَ [having been smitten with abase - ment]; they were certainly not the recipients of any favour, and nor was this pledge taken from them that they would believe in Kh a tamul-Anbiy a ’ [the Seal of the Prophets].Then after this it was said: َو ْذِا ْمُكٰنْيَّجَن ْنِّم ِلٰا َنْوَعْرِف ْمُكَنْوُمْوُسَي۠ َءْٓوُس ِباَذَعْلا َنْوُحِّبَذُي ْمُكَءٓاَنْبَا َو َنْوُيْحَتْسَي ْمُكَءٓاَسِن َو ْذِا اَنْقَرَف ُمُكِب َرْحَبْلا ْمُكٰنْيَجْنَاَف۠ َو ۤاَنْقَرْغَا َلٰا َنْوَعْرِف َو َو ْيِف ْمُكِلٰذ ٌءٓاَلَب ْنِّم ْمُكِّبَّر ٌمْيِظَع ۰۰ 2 ْمُتْنَا َنْوُرُظْنَت ۰۰ Meaning that, And remember the time when We delivered you from Pharaoh’s people.They used to inflict upon you various types of suffering, slaying your sons and sparing your daughters; and in that there was a great trial for you from God Almighty.1.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:41 [Publisher] 2.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:50–51 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 48 And remember the time when We divided the sea just when you reached there, and then We saved you and drowned the people of Pharaoh, while you looked on.Now, it should be considered that from among these inci - dents, not even one was faced by the Jews who were present at the time of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.Neither were they afflicted with suffering at the hand of the Pharaoh, nor did anyone kill their sons, nor did they have to cross any sea.Then further ahead He says: َو ْذِا ْمُتْلُق ىٰسْوُمٰي ْنَل َنِمْؤُّن َكَل ىّٰتَح ىَرَن َهّٰللا ًةَرْهَج ُمُكْتَذَخَاَف ُةَقِعّٰصلا َوْمُتْنَا َنْوُرُظْنَت ۰۰ َو اَنْلَّلَظ ُمُكْيَلَع َماَمَغْلا َو اَنْلَزْنَا ُمُكْيَلَع َّنَمْلا َو َّمُث ْمُكٰنْثَعَب ْۢنِّم ِدْعَب ْمُكِتْوَم ْمُكَّلَعَل َنْوُرُكْشَت ۰۰ 1 ىٰوْلَّسلا.Meaning that, And remember the time when you said to Moses that We will not believe merely because of what you say until we ourselves see Allah with our own eyes.Thereupon thunderbolt fell upon you; and then you were given life, that you might be grateful.And We caused the clouds to be a shade over you and sent down mann and salw a [quails] for you.Now it is obvious that Moses as had died 2,000 years before the Jews who were addressed in the Holy Quran; and there was not a trace of them in the time of Moses as.How, then, could they have put such questions to Moses as ? Where did the thunderbolt fall upon them and where did they eat mann and salw a ? Were they present in the time of Moses as in some other bodily forms, 1.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:56–58 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 49 and then reappeared, by way of reincarnation, in the time of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him? And if this is not the case, then what can we say other than to make an interpretation that the people who are being addressed need not be the ones to whom the attributed incidents actually relate.It is an established characteristic of the Holy Quran and a ha - d i th that oftentimes some event is attributed to a person or a peo - ple, but actually that event relates to another person or another people.And under this heading is news of the coming of Jesus, son of Mary; because in some a ha d i th, the event of coming in the Latter Days has been attributed to Jesus while, in fact, he had already died.This incident is thus also attributed to Hadrat Mas ih in the same way that being delivered from the Pharaoh, the eating of mann and salw a, the falling of the thunderbolt, the crossing of the sea, the episode of 1 ْنَل َرِبْصَّن ىٰلَع ٍماَعَط ٍدِحاَّو [We will not remain content with one kind of food] were ascribed to those Jews who were present in the time of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, whereas these incidents happened to their earlier people, who had passed away hundreds of years before them.Thus if someone, while interpreting verses of the Holy Quran, does not ponder their rational side and deems it obliga - tory to adhere to the literal words, then at the very least it would be established from these verses that the doctrine of transmigra - tion is true.Otherwise, how was it possible that God should have attributed the act of an agent to someone else who has nothing 1.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:62 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 50 to do at all with the carrying out of that action, while He Himself says: 1 اَل ُرِزَت ٌةَرِزاَو َرْزِّو ىٰرْخُا Similarly, if the people of Moses as had disobeyed him and were struck by the thunderbolt, or they had worshipped the calf and were smitten by chastisement, then what did this other people, who were born 2,000 years later, have to do with these incidents? Generally speaking, from the time of Hadrat A dam as to this day, the earlier people are like ancestors to the later ones, but no one’s sin can be attributed to someone else.In addition, there is God Almighty’s saying in the Holy Quran that you disobeyed Moses as and you said that ‘we would not believe in God until we saw Him face-to-face’, and owing to this sin the thunderbolt struck you: Taken literally, how can we interpret all these statements except to say that, in fact, all the Jews who were alive in the time of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, were also alive in the time of Moses as ; and on them indeed had descended mann and salw a, and the thunderbolt had in fact struck them, and they were actually the ones for whose sake the Pharaoh was killed and, moreover, the same Jews were reincarnated in the time of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; and therefore, addressing them as such was justified.But the question is, why are such clear and simple meanings not accepted.Are they beyond the power of God Almighty? And 1.And no bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another ( S u rah Ban i Isr a ’ i l, 17:16).[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 51 why instead are those meanings accepted that fall under the cate - gory of far-fetched interpretations? Is God Almighty not power - ful enough to have brought the Jews of the time of Moses as back to life in the time of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, by way of reincarnation, just as our opponents believe that He will bring back Hadrat ‘ I s a , in his physical body from the heaven at some point in time after hundreds of years? When it is accepted on the basis of unfounded sayings that the soul of Hadrat ‘ I s a will return to the world, then why and on what basis should it not be accepted that the souls of all those Jews mentioned in the manifest and explicit Quranic text had returned to the world in the time of the Holy Prophet, peace and bless - ings of Allah be upon him, by way of reincarnation? Look, God Almighty clearly says: 1 َو ْذِا ْمُتْلُق ىٰسْوُمٰي ْنَل َنِمْؤُّن َكَل ىّٰتَح ىَرَن َهّٰللا ًةَرْهَج ُمُكْتَذَخَاَف ُةَقِعّٰصلا َو ْمُتْنَا َنْوُرُظْنَت Meaning that, remember the time when you, and not someone else, said that we will not believe in you just because you ask us until we see God face-to-face.Then a thunderstorm struck you while you were watching.There is another subtle point in this verse; namely, that God Almighty did not declare the Jews [in the time of the Holy Prophet s as ] as the successors of the past generation.Rather, He addressed them as if they themselves were the Jews of old.Thus, in this case, the Holy Quran has given the Jews in the time of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, the 1.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:56 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 52 exact same names of the earlier Ban i Isr a ’ i l.Therefore, since these people have been declared to be those very same people, it necessi - tates that they also have the same names.The reason is that names are for historical facts like organs are for the body from which they cannot be separated; and essential ‘organs’ [i.e.names] can - not be separated from their corresponding facts.Now consider well that, while addressing the Jews in the time of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, God Almighty said in clear and categorical terms that you indeed were the ones who committed such and such wicked deeds in the time of Moses as.Then how unjust and wrongful is it to sub - ject such a clear and explicit verse to various interpretations; but on the basis of a ha d i th alone, to bring Jesus as back to earth even though his death is clearly established from the Holy Quran.Dear friends! If it is indeed the way and practice of God Almighty that He brings people of the past back into the world, then the definitive text of the Holy Quran that repeatedly addresses the dead, and thus testifies to their lives, can never be legitimately ignored.But if, in this context, you fear that even though such meanings are not beyond the power of God Almighty, they nonetheless defy reason and, therefore, you incline towards such interpretations and meanings as are not contrary to reason, then the prophecy regarding the coming of Jesus must indeed be interpreted in the same way.Because if reason opposes the Jews of the past coming back to life in the blessed ministry of our Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, or if the returning of their souls by way of transmigration seems unrea - sonable, then why is it suggested that Hadrat Mas ih will return

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 53 to the world, despite the following verse giving a loud and clear testimony concerning his death: 1 اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت َتْنُك َتْنَا َبْيِقَّرلا ْمِهْيَلَع Is the return of the souls of the Jews to the world irrational and beyond the powers of God Almighty, and yet the return of Hadrat ‘ I s a to the earth in his physical body quite rational? Moreover, if on account of the impossibility of literal meanings, the clear and obvious statements of the Holy Quran are interpreted to mean something other than their apparent meanings, then why can we not interpret a ha d i th to mean something other than their appar - ent and literal meanings? Is the status of a ha d i th higher than that of the Holy Quran that we must always stick to their literal mean - ings, however irrational, yet subject the Holy Quran to various interpretations? To revert to the main subject, some people deny the general application of the verse: َدَعَو ُهّٰللا َنْيِذَّلا اْوُنَمٰا ْمُكْنِم َو اوُلِمَع ِتٰحِلّٰصلا ْمُهَّنَفِلْخَتْسَيَل يِف ِضْرَاْلا اَمَك َفَلْخَتْسا َنْيِذَّلا ْنِم 2 ْمِهِلْبَق They say that the word ْ مِنْکُم [ minkum —from among you] in the 1.[Jesus as said to God:] But since You caused me to die, You have been the Watcher over them ( S u rah al-M a ’idah, 5:118).[Publisher] 2.Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them ( S u rah an-N u r, 24:56).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 54 verse refers only to the Companions and that true Khilafat ended in their age, so that henceforth there would be no trace of Khilafat in Islam until the Day of Judgement; as if, like a short-lived dream, Khilafat lasted for only thirty years and, thereafter, Islam suffered an eternal doom.But may I ask: Can any righteous person believe that the blessings of the shariah of Moses as and his Khilafat con - tinued for 1,400 years without interruption, but the blessings of that Prophet s as —who has been declared to be ‘the Most Exalted Messenger’ and ‘the Best of all the Prophets’ and whose shariah will last till doomsday—were limited really only to his own time and God Almighty did not desire that examples of his blessings should be manifested through his spiritual Khulaf a ’ for a long time to come? I shudder at hearing such statements.It is a pity that such people, too, are indeed called Muslims who utter such blasphemous words, by way of complete insolence and cunning, that apparently the future holds no more Islamic blessings; rather, they have long since come to an end.Besides, it is strange logic to infer from the word minkum that since the Companions were the prime addressees, therefore, this Khilafat was limited to them.If the Holy Quran were interpreted in this way, it would amount to a bigger transgression than that of the Jews.Now let it be clear that the word minkum has occurred approximately eighty-two times in the Holy Quran and on all those occasions, except for two or three where a specific context has been given, the word minkum stands invariably for all the Muslims who will be born until doomsday.Now, by way of example, I write a few of those verses in which the word minkum is found:

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 55 1 ْنَمَف َناَك ْمُكْنِم اًضْيِرَّم ْوَا ىٰلَع ٍرَفَس ٌةَّدِعَف ْنِّم ٍماَّيَا َرَخُا ( 1 ) Meaning that, whoso among you is sick or is on a jour - ney should fast the same number of other days.Now think whether this injunction was exclusively for the Companions ra , or whether all other Muslims who will be born till doomsday are its addressees? Likewise, ponder over the following verses: 2 َكِلٰذ ُظَعْوُي ٖهِب ْنَم َناَك ْمُكْنِم ُنِمْؤُي ِهّٰللاِب َو ِمْوَيْلا ِرِخٰاْلا ( 2 ) Meaning that, this is an admonition for he among you who believes in Allah and the Last Day.3 َو َنْيِذَّلا َنْوَّفَوَتُي ْمُكْنِم َو َنْوُرَذَي اًجاَوْزَا ( 3 ) Meaning that, and those of you who die and leave wives behind.4 َو ْنُكَتْل ْمُكْنِّم ٌةَّمُا َنْوُعْدَّي ىَلِا ِرْيَخْلا َو َنْوُرُمْاَي ِفْوُرْعَمْلاِب َو َنْوَهْنَي ِنَع ِرَكْنُمْلا ( 4 ) Meaning that, there should be among you such people who should invite to goodness, enjoin equity, and forbid evil.5 ْيِّنَا ۤاَل ُعْيِضُا َلَمَع ٍلِماَع ْمُكْنِّم ْنِّم ٍرَكَذ ْوَا ىٰثْنُا ( 5 ) 1.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:185 [Publisher] 2.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:233 [Publisher] 3.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:235 [Publisher] 4.S u rah A l ‘Imr a n, 3:105 [Publisher] 5.S u rah A l ‘Imr a n, 3:196 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 56 I will allow not the work of any worker from among you, whether male or female, to be lost.1 اَل اْۤوُلُكْاَت ْمُكَلاَوْمَا ْمُكَنْيَب ِلِطاَبْلاِب ۤاَّلِا ْنَا َنْوُكَت ًةَراَجِت ْنَع ٍضاَرَت ْمُكْنِّم ( 6 ) Devour not your property among yourselves by unlawful means, except that you earn by trade with mutual consent.َو ْنِا ْمُتْنُك اًبُنُج اْوُرَّهَّطاَف َو ْنِا ْمُتْنُك ىٰۤضْرَّم ْوَا ىٰلَع ٍرَفَس ْوَا َءٓاَج ٌدَحَا ْمُكْنِّم َنِّم ِطِٕىٓاَغْلا ( 7 ) 2 ْوَا ُمُتْسَمٰل َءٓاَسِّنلا ْمَلَف اْوُدِجَت ًءٓاَم اْوُمَّمَيَتَف اًدْيِعَص اًبِّيَط Meaning that, if you are ill or on a journey, or come from the privy, or you have touched women, and you find not water, then in all these circumstances, betake yourselves to pure dust.3 اوُعْيِطَا َلْوُسَّرلا َو يِلوُا ِرْمَاْلا ْمُكْنِم ( 8 ) Meaning that, obey Allah, the Messenger, and your sovereigns.4 ْنَم َلِمَع ْمُكْنِم اًۢءْٓوُس ٍةَلاَهَجِب َّمُث َباَت ْۢنِم ٖهِدْعَب َو َحَلْصَا ٗهَّنَاَف ٌرْوُفَغ ٌمْيِحَّر ( 9 ) Meaning that, whichever person from among you com - mits any evil deed due to his ignorance, and then repents and becomes occupied with doing good deeds, then Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.1.S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:30 [Publisher] 2.S u rah al-M a ’idah, 5:7 [Publisher] 3.S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:60 [Publisher] 4.S u rah al-An‘ a m, 6:55 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 57 اَمَف ُءٓاَزَج ْنَم ُلَعْفَّي َكِلٰذ ْمُكْنِم اَّلِا ٌيْزِخ يِف ِةوٰيَحْلا اَيْنُّدلا َو َمْوَي ِةَمٰيِقْلا َنْوُّدَرُي ىٰۤلِا ( 10 ) 1 ِّدَشَا ِباَذَعْلا Meaning that, whichever person among you commits such a deed shall face disgrace in the present life; and on the Day of Judgement, there is for him a severe punishment.2 َو ْنِا ْمُكْنِم اَّلِا اَہُدِراَو ( 11 ) Meaning that, there is not one from among you who shall not come to hell.3 َو ْدَقَل اَنْمِلَع َنْيِمِدْقَتْسُمْلا ْمُكْنِم َو ْدَقَل اَنْمِلَع َنْيِرِخْاَتْسُمْلا ( 12 ) Meaning that, we do know those people from among you who will move ahead and those who will lag behind.Reflect over all these places where the word ْ مِنْکُم [ minkum —from among you] has been used for all the Muslims, regardless of whether they were alive at that time or will be born until dooms - day.Similarly, in all other instances, except for two or three places, the word has been used in a general sense.Seemingly, the Companions ra were indeed the direct addressees of all the injunctions, but unless there is a specific context, applying them exclusively to the Companions ra is not permissible.Otherwise, every sinner can argue that the Companions ra were the sole addressees of the injunctions regarding prayer, fasting, hajj, piety, cleanliness, and avoidance of sins, therefore, they are not 1.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:86 [Publisher] 2.S u rah Maryam, 19:72 [Publisher] 3.S u rah al- H ijr, 15:25 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 58 obligated to follow the injunctions concerning prayers, fasting, etc.And clearly, only a heretic, and not any God-fearing person, can utter such words.If someone were to think that the verse, 1 َدَعَو ُهّٰللا َنْيِذَّلا اْوُنَمٰا , has general application—that is, its true purpose was to apply to all people and not just a specific people—then why was the word ْ مِنْکُم [ minkum —from among you] added here? And what indeed was the need for this addition? It would have be enough to say this much that: رض كما أ وعد الل ّٰ الذين آمنوا وعملوا الصلحت ليستخلفنهم في ال استخلف الذين من قبلهم.[Allah has promised to those who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them].The answer to this question is that this promise was made against the backdrop of the believers and righteous people who had passed away before this ummah.In other words, this verse explains that God Almighty, before you, made those people Khulaf a ’ in the earth who were righteous and pious and whose faith was accompanied by righteous deeds.Therefore, O Muslims! God promises that from among you, too, He will make such peo - ple Khulaf a ’ as would possess these same qualities and whose faith would be accompanied by righteous deeds.Hence, the word min - kum is not added unnecessarily; rather, it is employed to refer to the righteous and pious people of Islam.The words ‘believers’ and ‘righteous’ apply equally to the believers and the righteous ones of the previous ummahs and of this ummah; thus, if there was no 1.Allah has promised to those who believe ( S u rah an-N u r, 24:56).[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 59 extra word to distinguish between them, the text would be poor, ambiguous, and far removed from eloquence.The word minkum also emphasizes the point that just as in the past, when only the righteous and pious were appointed Khulaf a ’, so, likewise from among you, only the righteous and pious people will be appointed Khulaf a ’.Now, the discerning eye can see that in keeping with the general idiom, the word minkum is not unnec - essary at all, and there is no repetition in the statement.Faith and righteous deeds did not begin only with this ummah; believers and righteous people had also lived before.How, then, without adding the word minkum, could a perfect distinction have been made? If the verse had just read, 1 ِ يْن َ آمَنُوْا وَعَمِلُوْا الصَّالِحٰت َّ وَعَد َ الل ُّٰ الذ [Allah has promised to those who believe and do good works] the identity of the righteous mentioned in the verse would have remained unclear as to whether they are from among this ummah or the previous ones.And if only the word ُْ مِنْک [ minkum —from among you] was there without being accompanied by يْن َ آمَنُوْا ِّ الذ ِ وَعَمِلُوْا الصَّالِحٰت [those who believe and do good works] it would have been taken to mean that even the sinful and wicked people could become Khulaf a ’, whereas the fact is that the rule of the sinful is only by way of trial and not by way of exaltation.Only right - eous believers and doers of good deeds are true Khulaf a ’ of God Almighty, whether spiritual or worldly.There is a misconception that, as generally understood, the last part of this verse, i.e.2 َو ْنَم َرَفَك َدْعَب َكِلٰذ َكِٕىٰٓلوُاَف ُمُه َنْوُقِسٰفْلا [then whoso 1.Without the word minkum, the hypothetical verse can be read as so: ‘Allah promised to those who believed and did good works.’ [Publisher] 2.S u rah an-N u r, 24:56 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 60 is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious ] is meaningless.This idea is so absurd that it is laughable.For, the clear and plain meaning of this verse is that Allah the Glorious, after giving glad tidings of the appearance of the Khulaf a ’, warns the rebels and the disobedient that after the appearance of Khulaf a ’ —who will appear from time to time—if someone rebelled and did not obey and pledge allegiance to them, he will be considered rebellious.How then is the [last part of the] verse meaningless? Clearly, this verse is in line with the following hadith of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: ْ َعْرِف ْ إِمَام َ زَمَانِہ ٖ فَقَد ي ْ مَن ْ لَم ِ ۃ يَّ ِ ْتَۃ َ الْجَاھِل ي مَات َ مِ ; [whosoever does not recognize the Imam of his age shall die the death of ignorance].Meaning that, Imams will appear in every age and those who do not recognize them, their death will resemble the death of the disbelievers.It is pointless for the critic to present the following verse and to conclude that here the word ْ مِنْکُم [ minkum —from among you] is meant exclusively for those who were present at that time: َلاَق ُهّٰللا ْيِّنِا اَهُلِّزَنُم ْمُكْيَلَع ْنَمَف ْرُفْكَّي ُدْعَب ْمُكْنِم ْۤيِّنِاَف ٗهُبِّذَعُا اًباَذَع ۤاَّل ۤٗهُبِّذَعُا اًدَحَا َنِّم 1 َنْيِمَلٰعْلا As I have already pointed out it is a common way of expression in the Holy Quran, and is used very frequently in it, that its address is general and its commandments are meant for the whole of the ummah, and are not exclusive to the Companions ra.Of course, 1.Allah said, ‘Surely, I will send it down to you, but whosoever from among you disbelieves afterwards—I will surely punish them with a punishment wherewith I will not punish any other of the peoples’ ( S u rah al-M a ’idah, 5:116).[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 61 there are places where there is a clear context indicating that the address is specific.Such places are exceptions.Accordingly, in the above-mentioned verse, a particular group of the apostles asked for a meal and they alone were addressed.So this evidence is enough that only that group was addressed that asked the question.But to say that there are numerous such examples in the Holy Quran is a complete lie and deception.The word minkum has been used around eighty-two times in the Holy Quran and there are nearly 600 examples of address in other forms, but all the addresses in which commandments are given have a general application.If the Quranic commandments were meant exclusively for the Companions ra , the Holy Quran would have become redun - dant upon their death.In fact, the verse at issue, which is about Khilafat, really resembles the following verse: 1 ُمُهَل ىٰرْشُبْلا يِف ِةوٰيَحْلا اَيْنُّدلا Were these glad tidings exclusively for the Companions ra , or might someone else, too, partake of them? The critic insists that whosoever departs from the ‘true interpretation,’ i.e.makes a broad application of the Quranic commandments meant for their direct addressees, must support his departure with some categorical argument.This proves that the critic is not only totally unaware of the style of the Holy Quran, but also that of all Divine Books.The trouble is that hasty people are quite ready to object before thoroughly investigating the matter.Had the critic 1.For them are glad tidings in the present life ( S u rah Y u nus, 10:65).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 62 wished to investigate with honest intent, he should have pon - dered over all the places where apparently only the Companion are addressed.And then he should have studied as to what was the most frequent, probable, and unqualified usage of the Holy Quran.Because the true meaning would be determined clearly in light of the most standard usage and—unless there is a qualifying context—deviation from them would be impermissible.Let it be clear that the Holy Quran’s basic style of address is general.This is why 600 commandments of the Holy Quran are considered to be applicable to everyone, and not limited only to the Companions.So, if someone departs from this basic style of the Holy Quran and thinks that a particular commandment is limited to the Companions, to the exclusion of others, the bur - den of proof is on that person.For example, Allah, the Lord of Glory, apparently addresses the Companions alone in the Holy Quran, saying: 1.Worship God alone; 2.Seek His help with perseverance and prayer; 3.Eat only of pure things; 4.Do not create any kind of disorder; 5.Give zakat and 6.Offer Prayer; 7.Take the station of Abraham as a place of prayer; 8.Vie with each other in good deeds; 9.Remember Me, I will remember you; 10.Be grateful to Me; 11.Pray to Me;

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 63 12.Do not regard those who are martyred in the way of God as dead; 13.Do not give the name of disbeliever and faithless to the one who conveys greetings of peace to you; 14.Eat of the pure things from the earth; 15.Do not follow Satan; 16.Fasting has been prescribed for you; 17.But whoso among you is sick or on journey shall fast the same number of other days; 18.Do not devour each other’s wealth unjustly; 19.Be righteous so that you may prosper; 20.Fight in the cause of God against those who fight against you; 21.But do not exceed the limit; 22.And do not transgress as God loves not the transgressors; 23.Spend in the way of God; 24.Cast not yourself into ruin with your own hands; 25.Do good to others because Allah loves those who do good to others; 26.Complete the hajj and umrah for the sake of Allah; 27.Furnish yourself with provisions because there is a benefit in it that you will not have to beg others; this means that begging is a disgrace and one should make plans to avoid it; 28.Enter Islam and peace; 29.Marry not idolatrous women until they believe; 30.And O believing women! Marry not idolaters until they believe;

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 64 31.And send something ahead for yourselves; 32.Make not God a target for your oaths; 33.Do not detain women to make them suffer; 34.And those of you who die, their widows must not marry for four months and ten days; 35.If you divorce women, then send them away in a becoming manner; 36.If you are in a state of fear, then say your prayer on foot or riding; 37.If you give alms openly, it is, generally speaking, beneficial as people may emulate your good deeds; but if you give in secret and to the poor, it is better for you; 38.When you lend someone some money, write it down; and 39.Fear God with regard to paying your debts and do not leave any sum unpaid; 40.And have witnesses when you sell or buy something; 41.And if you be on a journey, and you find not a scribe, then let there be a pledge with possession; 42.And hold fast, all together, to the rope of Allah and be not divided; 43.And let there be among you a body of men who should invite to goodness, enjoin equity, and forbid evil; 44.Rush towards the forgiveness of Allah; 45.If someone’s wife dies, he shall have half of that which she leaves, if she has no child; 46.But if she has a child, then he shall have a fourth of that which she leaves, after the payment of any bequests.

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 65 I have written these commandments by way of example.Even a person with a modicum of reason can realize that, although appar - ently only the Companions ra are addressed, in fact, all Muslims, and not just the Companions ra , are obligated to act upon these injunctions.In short, the true and real Quranic style that gener - ally characterizes the Holy Quran is that its real addressees are all the Muslims who will be born until doomsday, even though, apparently, only the Companions of the Holy Prophet s as are being addressed.Hence, if someone claims that this promise or warn - ing was limited to the Companions ra , he deviates from the com - mon Quranic expression.Until he substantiates his claim with conclusive proof, he will be considered a mul h id [atheist] for taking such a stance.Was the Holy Quran revealed only for the Companions ra ? If the promises, warnings, and all the command - ments of the Holy Quran were restricted to the Companions ra , then those born afterwards would have nothing to do with the Holy Quran.ِ نَعُوْذ ُ بِالل ِّٰ مِن ْ ھٰذِہ ِ الْخُرَافَات [We seek refuge with Allah from such absurdities].To allege that, according to a hadith, Khilafat will last only thirty years is inexplicable.The Holy Quran says, 1 ۰۰ َو ٌةَّلُث َنِّم َنْيِرِخٰاْلا ۰۰ ٌةَّلُث َنِّم َنْيِلَّوَاْلا Therefore, how absurd is it to present any hadith against it and to interpret the hadith to mean what is obviously contrary to the Holy Quran? If the account of a ha d i th is to be relied upon, then 1.A large party from among the early Muslims, and a large party from the later ones ( S u rah al-W a qi‘ah, 56:40–41).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 66 those a ha d i th that are much more authentic and trustworthy than this hadith should be accepted first; e.g.those a ha d i th of S a hih al-Bukh a r i foretelling the appearance of Khulaf a ’ in the Latter Days, especially that khal i fah about whom it is recorded in S a hih al-Bukh a r i that, for him, a voice will descend from heaven: ٰذا ھ ّ ْفَۃ ُ الل ِّٰ الْمَھْدِي ي ِ خَل [This is God’s Khalifah, the Guided One].Now con - sider the status and credibility of this hadith—which is recorded in the most authentic of books after the Book of Allah.On the other hand, the hadith that has been presented by the critic has been criticized by the ulema on many grounds and its authenticity has been questioned.Has this critic not pondered over the proph - ecies regarding the appearance of certain Khulaf a ’ in the Latter Days that ‘a ha rith 1 will come; the Mahdi will appear; a heavenly khal i fah will come.Are they recorded in the books of a ha d i th or in some other book? It is established from a ha d i th that there are three periods [after the Holy Prophet s as ]: first, the period of the Rightly Guided Khilafat; then, a period of great chaos when tyrant kings would rule.Then there would be the final period, which would resemble the period of Prophethood, so much so that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said that the first and last period of my ummah bear great resemblance to each other; these two periods are like a rain filled with such goodness and blessings that no one knows whether the first part is more blessed or the latter.1.Lit.‘a cultivator of land’, or ‘one who gathers’.A title for the Latter Days Messenger.[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 67 Let it also be clear that Allah, the Lord of Glory, says in the Holy Quran: 1 اَّنِا ُنْحَن اَنْلَّزَن َرْكِّذلا َو اَّنِا ٗهَل َنْوُظِفٰحَل Meaning that, it is We who have sent down this Book and most surely We will safeguard this revelation.This verse contains the proclamation that this Word is ever - lasting, and there will always appear such people who shall revive its teachings and deliver its benefits to the people.And if it is asked, what is the benefit of the continued existence of the Holy Quran—and its true safeguarding, too, rests upon the existence of this benefit—then another verse makes it clear: َوُه ْيِذَّلا َثَعَب يِف َنّٖيِّمُاْلا اًلْوُسَر ْمُهْنِّم اْوُلْتَي ْمِهْيَلَع ٖهِتٰيٰا َو ْمِهْيِّكَزُي َو ُمُهُمِّلَعُي َبٰتِكْلا َو 2 َةَمْكِحْلا The gist of this verse is that the Holy Quran has two great pur - poses, for the achieving of which the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, came: The first is the wisdom of the Holy Quran; that is to say, its insights and fine points; and the second is the effect of the Holy Quran, which purifies the souls.The safeguarding of the Quran does not merely mean that its text should be preserved, for the Jews and Christians also 1.S u rah al- H ijr, 15:10 [Publisher] 2.He it is who has raised among the unlettered people a Messenger from among themselves who recites unto them His Signs, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and wisdom, although they had been, be - fore, in manifest misguidance ( S u rah al-Jumu‘ah, 62:3).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 68 performed this function in the early ages with respect to their scriptures, so much so that even the dots contained in the Torah were calculated.Rather, the safeguarding of the Holy Quran means both the safeguarding of the text and the safeguarding of the benefits and effects of the Quran.And, in accord with divine practice, this can be done only if from time to time deputies of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, appear who should enjoy all the bounties of Messengership by way of zill [reflection], and who should be bestowed all the blessings that are bestowed upon the Prophets.This magnificent purpose is indi - cated in the verse: َدَعَو ُهّٰللا َنْيِذَّلا اْوُنَمٰا ْمُكْنِم َو اوُلِمَع ِتٰحِلّٰصلا ْمُهَّنَفِلْخَتْسَيَل يِف ِضْرَاْلا اَمَك َفَلْخَتْسا َنْيِذَّلا ْنِم ْمِهِلْبَق َو َّنَنِّكَمُيَل ْمُهَل ُمُهَنْيِد يِذَّلا ىٰضَتْرا ْمُهَل َو ْمُهَّنَلِّدَبُيَل ْۢنِّم ِدْعَب ْمِهِفْوَخ اًنْمَا١ؕ 1 ْيِنَنْوُدُبْعَي۠ اَل َنْوُكِرْشُي ْيِب أًـْيَش١ؕ َو ْنَم َرَفَك َدْعَب َكِلٰذ َكِٕىٰٓلوُاَف ُمُه َنْوُقِسٰفْلا In fact, this verse serves to elaborate the meanings of the other verse: 2 اَّنِا ُنْحَن اَنْلَّزَن َرْكِّذلا َو اَّنِا ٗهَل َنْوُظِفٰحَل 1.Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them; and that He will surely give them in exchange security and peace after their fear: They will worship Me, and they will not associate anything with Me.Then whoso is ungrateful after that, they will be the rebellious ( S u rah an-N u r, 24:56).[Publisher] 2.Verily, We Ourself have sent down this Exhortation, and most surely We will be its Guardian ( S u rah al- H ijr, 15:10).[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 69 It answers the question as to how and by what means the Holy Quran will be safeguarded.In this regard, God Almighty says that He will continue sending Khulaf a ’ of this Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, from time to time.And the word khal i fah has been chosen to imply that they will be successors to the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and will partake of his blessings, as occurred in earlier times.They will spread the Faith and establish peace after fear; that is, they will appear at such times as when Islam will be rife with schisms.And whosoever defies them after their coming will be depraved and rebellious.This is the answer to the ignorant one who asks: Is it obligatory for us to believe in the Auliy a ’? Allah the Exalted says, indeed, it is obligatory, and those who oppose them and die while opposing them are the rebellious.In this context, the critic has also written that God Almighty has said: 1 َمْوَيْلَا ُتْلَمْكَا ْمُكَل ْمُكَنْيِد َو ُتْمَمْتَا ْمُكْيَلَع ْيِتَمْعِن Then, the critic asserts that since the Religion has been perfected, and the favours have been completed, therefore, no Mujaddid or Prophet is now needed.Sadly, the critic has raised an objec - tion against the Holy Quran itself by such thinking, inasmuch as the Holy Quran has promised the appointment of Khulaf a ’ from the ummah, as has been mentioned earlier, and has said that through them the Religion will be strengthened, doubts will be put to rest and, following after a state of fear, security will be 1.This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My fa - vour upon you ( S u rah al-M a ’idah, 5:4).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 70 restored.Thus, if nothing is permissible after the perfection of the Religion, then, according to the statement of this critic, the thirty years of Khilafat [after the Holy Prophet s as ] would also be rendered unnecessary, as the Religion had been perfected and nothing more was needed.In fact, it is out of place for the uninformed critic to cite the verse: 1 َمْوَيْلَا ُتْلَمْكَا ْمُكَل ْمُكَنْيِد When do we allege that a Mujaddid or Mu h addath subtracts any - thing from the Faith or adds anything to it? Rather, our position is that when, after the lapse of time, the dust of faulty thinking covers the holy teaching of the Faith and the pure countenance of truth becomes hidden, then Mujaddid i n, Mu h addath i n, and spiritual Khulaf a ’ appear to reveal the true and beautiful counte - nance of the Faith.We do not know whence our hopeless critic has learnt that Mujaddid i n and spiritual Khulaf a ’ arrive with the purpose of changing or abrogating the Faith.No, they do not come to abrogate the Faith, but to display the light and brilliance of the Faith.The critic’s position that there is no such need reveals that he does not have much regard for the Faith.He has never reflected on what Islam is, what its progress signifies, how and in what manner its real progress can be achieved, and who can be considered a true Muslim.That is why the critic considers it enough that—the Holy 1.This day have I perfected your religion for you ( S u rah al-M a ’idah, 5:4).[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 71 Quran being available, and there being a plethora of ulema—the hearts of most people are drawn automatically to Islam and no Mujaddid is needed.It is a pity, however, that he does not appre - ciate the fact that Mujaddid i n and spiritual Khulaf a ’ are needed in this ummah in the same way that, from ancient times, the need for Prophets kept presenting itself.It cannot be denied that Hadrat M u s a [Moses], peace be on him, was a Prophet and a Messenger, and that the Torah was a complete code for the Children of Israel.And just as the Holy Quran contains the verse, 1 َمْوَيْلَا ُتْلَمْكَا ْمُكَل so does the Torah contain verses to the effect that the Children of Israel have been given a perfect and glorious Book, the name of which is the Torah.The Holy Quran also describes the Torah as such.Yet, after the Torah, hundreds of Prophets appeared among the Children of Israel.They brought no new Book and their purpose was to draw people who had departed from the teachings of the Torah back to it, and to purify the hearts of those who had been afflicted with doubts, atheism, and a lack of faith.Allah, the Lord of Glory, Himself affirms it in the Holy Quran: 2 َو ْدَقَل اَنْيَتٰا ىَسْوُم َبٰتِكْلا َو اَنْيَّفَق ْۢنِم ٖهِدْعَب ِلُسُّرلاِب Meaning that, We bestowed the Torah upon Moses and after that Book, We sent many Messengers in its support and to testify to its truth.1.This day have I perfected your religion for you ( S u rah al-M a ’idah, 5:4).[Publisher] 2.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:88 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 72 Similarly, Allah says in another place: 1 َّمُث اَنْلَسْرَا اَنَلُسُر اَرْتَت Meaning that, then, We sent Our Messengers one after the other.All these verses show that it is the way of Allah that after send - ing down His Book, He definitely sends Prophets in support of it.Accordingly, in support of the Torah, sometimes as many as 400 Prophets were sent at one and the same time, to which the Bible testifies to this day.The underlying reason for sending so many Messengers is that God Almighty has warned emphatically that whoever denies His true Book shall endure in hell as punishment, as He says: The reason for sending so many Messengers is that God Almighty has warned emphatically that whoever denies His true Book shall abide in hell is the punishment for the denial, as He says: 2 َو َنْيِذَّلا اْوُرَفَك َواْوُبَّذَك ۤاَنِتٰيٰاِب َكِٕىٰٓلوُا ُبٰحْصَا ِراَّنلا١ۚ ْمُه اَهْيِف َنْوُدِلٰخ Meaning that, those who disbelieved and rejected Our Signs are condemned to the Fire and shall abide therein forever.Thus, according to the Divine Book, the punishment for rejection is very severe; but on the other hand, the issue of Prophethood and divine revelation is also very subtle.Indeed God Almighty is Himself so Transcendent that it is impossible 1.S u rah al-Mu’min u n , 23:45 [Publisher] 2.S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:40 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 73 to achieve His true and holy cognition—let alone the compre - hension of Prophets and Divine Books—unless divine light illu - minates the human eye.Therefore, the ra h m a niyyat [gracious - ness] of God demanded that His blind and unseeing creatures should be helped greatly.And that the disbelievers should not be committed to the everlasting torment of hell on account of the denial of such doctrines after sending a Messenger and a Book once, even though after the passage of a long time, the later gen - erations could not understand them to be any more than pious and commendable statements.In fact, it should be clear and evident to a rational person: How can God, who is Ra h m a n [Gracious] and Ra hi m [Merciful], prescribe so great a punishment as condemnation to everlasting hell for peoples of different nations who have heard of the Quran and the Messenger after many centuries, and who, not being pro - ficient in Arabic, cannot understand the excellences of the Holy Quran.Nor can the conscience of any human being accept that a person may be condemned without being provided convincing arguments that the Holy Quran is the Word of God.That is why God Almighty has promised to continue to appoint Khulaf a ’ so that, being invested with the light of Prophethood by way of zill, they may demonstrate the excellences of the Holy Quran and its holy blessings to the people, thus making them accountable.It should also be remembered that in every age such a conclu - sive argument assumes different forms, and that the Mujaddid of the time is equipped with the faculties, capacities, and qualities suited to reform the mischief of that time.Thus, God Almighty will continue to do so as long as He wills, so that reform and virtue may continue to flourish.And these statements are not

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 74 unsubstantiated; in fact, an unbroken series of precedents testi - fies to them.And apart from the Prophets, Messengers, and Mu h addath i n who appeared at different times in different countries, if one were to examine only those Prophets, Messengers, and Mu h addath i n who appeared among the Children of Israel, it would be discov - ered that during the 1,400 years between Moses and Jesus, thou - sands of Prophets and Mu h addath i n appeared and diligently occupied themselves in the service of the Torah.The Holy Quran and the Bible both testify to this.Those Prophets brought no new book and taught no new faith.They served only the Torah.They appeared whenever atheism, disbelief, misconduct, and hard-heartedness became prevalent among the Children of Israel.A rational person ought to consider that although the Law of Moses was limited in its scope and was not meant for the whole of mankind, nor was it to last forever, God Almighty nevertheless took care to send thousands of Prophets for the revival of that law, and they exhibited such Signs as enabled the Children of Israel to behold God afresh.How, then, can it be that Muslims—who have been designated as the best of people, and are attached to the Best of the Messengers, peace and bless - ings of Allah be upon him—be accounted so unfortunate that God Almighty looked upon them with mercy for only thirty years, and after showing them heavenly light during that period, turned His Face away from them? Centuries passed after the departure of the Holy Prophet, and thousands of disorders arose, and great earthquakes were felt, and diverse forms of corruption spread, and a whole world mounted attacks against Islam, and all its blessings and miracles were denied and declared unacceptable.

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 75 And yet, God Almighty never looked upon the Muslims nor had mercy on them, nor did He consider that the Muslims were also weak human beings and, like the Children of Israel, their plants also were in need of heavenly water.Could the Beneficent God, who sent the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to remove all corruption forever, turn away from the Muslims like this? Can we imagine that God Almighty was so merciful towards previous peoples and—having revealed the Torah—sent thousands of Prophets and Mu h addath i n in sup - port of the Torah and for the repeated revival of the hearts of the Children of Israel, but that the Muslims were subject to His wrath and, therefore, after the revelation of the Holy Quran, He forgot them and left their religious scholars forever to their per - sonal judgement and innovations? Concerning Hadrat M u s a , God said clearly: اًلُسُر َنْيِرِّشَبُّم َو َنْيِرِذْنُم اَّلَئِل َنْوُكَي ِساَّنلِل ىَلَع ِهّٰللا ٌۢةَّجُح َدْعَب َو َمَّلَك ُهّٰللا ىٰسْوُم اًمْيِلْكَت ۰۰ 1 ِلُسُّرلا١ؕ َو َناَك ُهّٰللا اًزْيِزَع اًمْيِكَح ۰۰ Meaning that, God spoke to Hadrat M u s a and sent Messengers bearing glad tidings as well as warnings to help him and to testify to his truth, so that people may not have any excuse after that, and, having witnessed a series of Prophets, should believe in the Torah with all their heart.Moreover, He says: 2 َو اًلُسُر ْدَق ْمُهٰنْصَصَق َكْيَلَع ْنِم ُلْبَق َو اًلُسُر ْمَّل ْمُهْصُصْقَن َكْيَلَع 1.S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:165–166 [Publisher] 2.S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:165 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 76 Meaning that, We sent many Messengers before you, some of whom We have mentioned to you and some We have not mentioned.Could it be that He did not make any such arrangement for the Muslims and withheld from them the mercy and grace He had bestowed upon the people of Hadrat M u s a ? It is obvious that, with the passage of time, previous miracles and wonders became mere tales.Succeeding generations, finding themselves bereft of all such wonders, begin to entertain doubts about miracles and extraordinary happenings.Having the exam - ple of thousands of Prophets of Israel before them, the Muslims would be disheartened and, considering themselves unfortunate, would either envy the Children of Israel or would consider the history of Israel, too, to be a chain of imaginary tales.It is futile to assert that, as there have been thousands of Prophets and many miracles have been shown in the past, the Muslims were in no need of extraordinary events and wonders and blessings, and that is why God Almighty held back everything of that kind from the Muslims.Those who have no regard for the Faith make this kind of assertion.Man is very weak and remains in need of his faith being strengthened.In this respect, no help can be derived from self-conceived arguments.It is necessary to realize afresh that God exists.However, false belief, which is not effective in restraining a person from misconduct, may continue to exist as a matter of inherited stories or traditions.It should also be remembered here that the perfection of faith does not dispense with the need for safeguarding it.For example, a person builds a house, sets all its rooms in order, and fulfils all the requirements relating to its structure; but after a long time,

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 77 dust settles on it, and because of rains and dust storms, its beauty is concealed.It would be the height of folly to stop a person who inherits this house from undertaking its cleaning and whitewash because the house was completed long ago.It is a pity that people who make such critiques do not reflect that the completion of a structure is one thing and its periodic cleaning is quite another.It should be remembered that Reformers do not add anything to or subtract anything from the Faith.They restore to the hearts that which had been lost.And it is disobedience of a divine command to assert that it is not necessary to believe in Mujaddid i n, because God Almighty has directed: 1 َو ْنَم َرَفَك َدْعَب َكِلٰذ َكِٕىٰٓلوُاَف ُمُه َنْوُقِسٰفْلا Meaning that, whoever rejects the Khulaf a ’ who will be sent thereafter is indeed from amongst the sinners.I will now summarize this subject as follows.The arguments that have been presented below prove that it was necessary that after the death of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, Reformers should have appeared among the Muslims at times of disorder and trials.They would be entrusted with one of the functions of the Prophets; namely, that they would call to the true Faith and remove all innovations that have been intermingled with it.Being equipped with the heavenly light, they would exhibit the truth of the Faith from every point 1.S u rah an-N u r, 24:56 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 78 of view and invite people to truth, love, and piety by the force of their example.The arguments for this are: First— Reason affirms that matters relating to God and the Hereafter are very subtle and conceptual, namely, one has to believe in matters of the unseen and beyond the realm of rational - ization.No one has ever seen God Almighty or observed Heaven and Hell, or met the angels.Moreover, divine commandments are opposed to the desires of the ego and restrain from that in which the ego delights.Therefore, reason dictates that it is not only appropriate, rather it is essential, that either the Prophets of God, who bring the law and the Book and possess spiritual power, should live long and continue to bless their followers in each century with their company, and should train them under their own graceful supervision and convey to them the blessing, light, and spiritual insights that they had provided in the early part of their ministry; or, if that should not be possible, then their spiritual heirs, who are equipped with their high quali - ties and can set forth the verities and insights comprised in the Divine Book, under the guidance of revelation, and can illustrate in practice that which is related to the past and can lead a seeker after truth to certainty, must continue to appear in times of trou - ble and trials so that those afflicted with doubt and forgetfulness should not be deprived of the true grace of the Prophets.It is obvious that when the time of a Prophet comes to an end, and those who have witnessed his blessings also pass away, their experiences become tales in the eyes of the people of the next generation.The moral qualities of the Prophet, his worship, his steadfastness, his devotion, divine support, extraordinary

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 79 events, and miracles which testified to his Prophethood and the truth of his claim become fictions in the estimation of subse - quent generations.Therefore, the freshness of the faith and the eagerness of obedience that are the characteristics of those who are favoured with the company of the Prophet are not found in those who come after them.It is clear that in the centuries that followed, no example can be found of the kind of fortitude of faith shown by the Companions of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the utmost sincerity with which they sacrificed their wealth, lives, and honour in the cause of Islam.Indeed it is not found even in the second century itself, that is to say, among the T a bi‘ i n.1 What was the reason for this? It was certainly because the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, had beheld the countenance of that true one, whose being the lover for Allah was so spontaneously testified to even by the disbelieving Quraish.These people, observing his daily supplications, his loving prostrations, his condition of complete obedience, the bright signs of perfect love and devotion on his countenance, and witnessing divine light raining down upon his face, were compelled to say that: ٖ عَشِق َ مَُمَّد ٌ عَل ٰ ر َبّہ Meaning that, Muhammad s as is passionately in love with his Lord.Moreover, the Companions observed not only that devotion, love, and sincerity, but matching this love—which surged up in the heart of our lord and master Muhammad, peace and blessings 1.The T a bi‘ i n are the generation of Muslims who met or saw the bless - ed Companions ra of the Holy Prophet s as but not the Prophet s as himself.[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 80 of Allah be on him, like a raging ocean—they also observed God Almighty’s love for him, in the form of extraordinary support and help.Thus they realized that God exists, and their hearts testified aloud that God is with this man.They saw divine won - ders to such an extent and witnessed heavenly Signs to such a degree that they were left with no doubt whatsoever that there does, indeed, exist a Supreme Being whose name is God, who controls everything and for whom nothing is impossible.That is indeed why they exhibited such deeds of devotion and sincerity and made such sacrifices as are not possible for anyone to per - form until all doubts and suspicions have been removed.They saw with their own eyes that the pleasure of that Holy Being lies only in embracing Islam and adopting the obedience of His Noble Messenger s as with heart and soul.After this absolute cer - tainty, the kind of obedience that they exhibited and the feats they performed and the manner in which they laid down their lives at the feet of their holy guide, were matters that were not possible for anyone who had not witnessed the blossoming spec - tacle that the Companions witnessed.Such high qualities cannot be developed without these means, and salvation cannot be truly achieved without witnessing such excellences.It is, therefore, necessary that God the Benevolent, who has invited everyone to salvation, should make a similar arrangement in every century so that His creatures should not fail in any age to attain the stages of absolute certainty.To say that the Holy Quran and the a ha d i th alone suffice us, and we do not need the company of the righteous, is itself opposed to the teachings of the Holy Quran, as Allah, the Lord of Glory, says:

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 81 1 َو اْوُنْوُك َعَم َنْيِقِدّٰصلا The truthful are those who have recognized the truth through their spiritual insight and are wholeheartedly devoted to it.This high grade of spiritual insight cannot be achieved unless heavenly guidance conveys a seeker to the highest stage of abso - lute certainty.In this sense, the truly righteous are the Prophets, the Messengers, the Mu h addath i n, and the perfect and con - summate Auliy a ’ upon whom heavenly light descended and who beheld God Almighty with the sight of certainty in this very world.The verse that we have just quoted indicates that the world is never left without the truthful, as the perpetual commandment 2 َو اْوُنْوُك َعَم َنْيِقِدّٰصلا necessitates the presence of the truthful at all times.Besides, observation indicates clearly that those people who spend their lives without any care for keeping the company of the righteous are certainly not able to cleanse themselves of their physical passions through their learning and skills.Indeed, they fail to attain even that minimum status in Islam that generates the certainty of belief in the existence of God.They surely do not have the same certainty about God Almighty that they have about their wealth, which is locked in their boxes, or about the houses that they own.They are afraid of consuming arsenic because they know for certain that it is a fatal poison, but they are not afraid of the poison of sin, though they read in the Holy Quran every day: 1.And be with the truthful ( S u rah at-Taubah, 9:119).[Publisher] 2.S u rah at-Taubah, 9:119 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 82 1 ٗهَّنِا ْنَم ِتْاَّي ٗهَّبَر اًمِرْجُم َّنِاَف ٗهَل َمَّنَهَج١ؕ اَل ُتْوُمَي اَهْيِف َو اَل ىٰيْحَي Thus the truth is that the person who does not recognize God Almighty can also not recognize the Holy Quran.Of course, it is also true that the Holy Quran has been revealed for guidance, but the guidance of the Quran is bound up with the being of that person upon whom the Quran was revealed or that person whom Allah appoints as his deputy.Had the Quran been sufficient by itself, God Almighty had the power to have the Quran inscribed through natural means on the leaves of trees or have it descend from heaven written out fully; but God Almighty did not do so.In fact, He did not send the Quran into the world until the teacher of the Quran had been sent.Open the Noble Quran and see how many verses there are where the Holy Quran addresses this subject: 2 ُمُهُمِّلَعُي َبٰتِكْلا َو َةَمْكِحْلا Meaning, that Noble Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, teaches the Quran and Quranic wisdom to the people.And then at one place it further states: 3 اَل ۤٗهُّسَمَي اَّلِا َنْوُرَّهَطُمْلا۠ 1.Verily, he who comes to his Lord a sinner—for him is Hell; he shall neither die therein nor live ( S u rah Ta H a , 20:75).[Publisher] 2.S u rah al-Jumu‘ah, 62:3 [Publisher] 3.S u rah al-W a qi‘ah, 56:80 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 83 Meaning that, the verities and deep insights of the Quran are revealed only to those who have been purified.These verses prove clearly that in order to understand the Quran such a teacher is needed whom God Almighty has purified with His own Hand.Had there not been the need for a teacher to learn the Quran, there would not have been any such need in the beginning of this period either.It is futile to assert that a teacher was needed in the begin - ning for the resolution of the difficult parts of the Quran, but once those difficulties had been resolved, there is no need for a teacher now.The answer to this is that even matters that have been resolved are in need of further resolution after a time.Apart from this, the Muslim ummah also faces new difficulties in every age; and while it is indeed true that the Quran comprises all knowl - edge, it is not necessary that all its knowledge should have been disclosed in one period alone.On the contrary, as various types of difficulties are faced, so are those types of Quranic knowledge revealed.In accord with the difficulties faced in every age, spiritual teachers, who are the heirs of the Messengers and are invested with their qualities by way of zill, are sent to resolve those diffi - culties.And the Mujaddid whose functions have a strong resem - blance with the official activities of a specific Messenger, bears the name of that Messenger in the estimation of Allah.The need for new teachers arises also because some portions of the teaching of the Holy Quran need to be set out by example and cannot be confined to mere verbal explanation.The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who was the first teacher and the true heir of this throne, made his Companions ra

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 84 understand these fine points by his own living example.For exam - ple, God Almighty stating that I am the Knower of the unseen and that I am the One who responds to those who call upon Me, and am All-Powerful, and the One who accepts prayers, and leads seekers to the true light, and sends down revelation upon My sin - cere servants, and causes My spirit to descend upon whomsoever of My servants as I wish—these are all matters that can never be understood until the teacher demonstrates them as an exemplar himself.Thus it is clear that those who are scholars only in name, who are themselves blind, cannot make the people understand these teachings.On the contrary, they constantly create doubts in the minds of their disciples concerning the greatness of Islam and say that all these matters relate not to the future but have been left behind and can no longer be experienced.It is understood from such statements of theirs as if Islam is no longer a living faith and that there is now absolutely no way to attain to its true teachings.It is obvious, however, that if it is the will of God Almighty to make His creatures always drink water from the spring of the Holy Quran, He would without doubt have made provisions for it in accordance with His eternal practice.Had the teachings of the Holy Quran been limited to the same extent to which the teaching of an experienced and fine-thinking philosopher is limited, and did not comprise the heavenly teaching that can be demonstrated only by practice, then, God forbid, the revelation of the Quran was unnecessary.But I know that if one were to reflect even for a moment upon this issue—as to the distinction between the teaching of the Prophets and the teaching of the philosophers, assuming the soundness of both teachings—the only distinction

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 85 that would be discovered is that a great portion of the teaching of the Prophets is beyond the reach of human intellect and can be understood and appreciated only through practical demonstra - tion, and can be imbued into the hearts only by those who have experienced them personally.For example, matters such as how the angels take a soul; how they take it to the heavens; how one is taken to account in the grave; what is the nature of Paradise, Hell, and the bridge of S ir at ; the fact that four angels are holding up the throne of Allah and that on the Day of Resurrection it will be eight; and the way God sends revelation to His servants and how He blesses them with divine visions—all these are spiritual phenomena that cannot be grasped through mere talk.This being the case, I say again that if Allah, the Lord of Glory, has so willed that this portion of the teaching of His Book should not be confined to the early ages, then without doubt He must have arranged also for the teachers of that portion to be availa - ble at all times, since the portion of the teaching which relates to personal experience can certainly not be comprehended except through teachers who have experienced it.The people stumble at minor and insignificant issues.Therefore if, after the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, such teachers did not come in Islam, who possessed the light of Prophethood by way of zill, it would appear that God Almighty deliberately allowed the Quran to become useless, since those who understood the Holy Quran truly and correctly were taken away from the world at a very early stage.But this would be contrary to His promise, as He says:

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 86 1 اَّنِا ُنْحَن اَنْلَّزَن َرْكِّذلا َو اَّنِا ٗهَل َنْوُظِفٰحَل Meaning that, it is We who have sent down the Quran and We shall continue to safeguard it.Now, I am unable to understand—supposing that there remain none from among those who understand the Holy Quran, and those who believe in it with certainty based on personal experi - ence have all passed into oblivion—how has the Quran been safe - guarded? Does safeguarding it mean that the Quran, beautifully inscribed, would be preserved forever locked in boxes like certain treasures—buried safely under the earth, but of no use to anyone? Can anyone imagine that this is the intent of God Almighty by this verse? If this indeed is the intent, then such safeguarding is no excellence at all.Rather, such a claim is laughable and men - tioning such safeguarding would invite ridicule from the enemies.Because when the actual purpose is not achieved, then what ben - efit can there be from mere verbal safeguarding.It is possible that some copy of the Gospel or the Torah may similarly be found preserved in some pit.Moreover, thousands of books are found in the world, which are understood to be the composition of some author without any alteration.So what excellence is there in such safeguarding and what benefit can it bestow upon the ummah.It is true that the safeguarding of the text of the Holy Quran is greater than that of all other books in the world and is mirac - ulous, but we certainly cannot imagine that the Being of God Almighty, who always has spiritual objectives in sight, desired the 1.S u rah al- H ijr, 15:10 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 87 safeguarding of just the literal wording of the Holy Quran.The very word ذِكْر [ Dhikr —remembrance] 1 indicates clearly that the Holy Quran will be preserved forever as a remembrance, and its true dh a kirs [those who engage in remembrance] will always be present.Another verse confirms this: 2 ْلَب َوُه ٌۢتٰيٰا ٌتٰنِّيَب ْيِف ِرْوُدُص َنْيِذَّلا اوُتْوُا َمْلِعْلا Meaning that, the Holy Quran is composed of clear Signs in the bosoms of those who have been bestowed knowledge.This verse clearly means that the believers have been bestowed knowledge of the Holy Quran and the ability to act upon it.As the Quran is preserved in the bosoms of the believers, the verse, 3 اَّنِا ُنْحَن اَنْلَّزَن َرْكِّذلا َو اَّنِا ٗهَل َنْوُظِفٰحَل cannot have any meaning other than that it will not be obliterated from their bosoms the way the Torah and the Gospels were obliterated from the bosoms of the Jews and Christians; and that although the Torah and the Gospels remained in their hands and safe boxes, they vanished from their hearts.That is to say, their hearts did not remain steadfast upon them and they failed to establish and preserve the Torah and the Gospels in their hearts.In short, this verse proclaims loudly that no part of the teaching of the Holy Quran will go to ruin and 1.The Holy Quran is called adh-Dhikr in the above-mentioned verse, S u rah al- H ijr, 15:10.[Publisher] 2.S u rah al-‘Ankab u t, 29:50 [Publisher] 3.Verily, We Ourself have sent down this Exhortation, and most surely We will be its Guardian ( S u rah al- H ijr, 15:10).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 88 waste, and that just as it was implanted firmly in the hearts from day one, even so will it continue uninterrupted until doomsday.Second— Just as reason demands that, for the teachings and understanding of Divine Books to endure, it is necessary and appropriate that recipients of revelation and persons equipped with spiritual knowledge, akin to the Prophets, should continue to appear from time to time—similarly, when we study the Quran and reflect upon it deeply, we see that it pronounces loudly and clearly that the perpetual availability of spiritual teachers is part of the divine design.Observe that Allah, the Lord of Glory, has said: 1 Part Number 13 — َو اَّمَا اَم ُعَفْنَي َساَّنلا ُثُكْمَيَف يِف ِضْرَاْلا Meaning, that which benefits people endures in the earth.Obviously the greatest benefactors of mankind are the Prophets, who strengthen people’s faith and benefit the seekers after truth through miracles, prophecies, verities, insights and examples of their own righteousness.It is also obvious that they do not remain upon the earth for a long time, and they leave this mortal realm after a short existence; yet, the purport of this verse cannot contradict this reality.Therefore, with reference to the Prophets, the meaning of the verse would be as follows: the Prophets continue their beneficence by way of reflection; and God Almighty, at the time of every need, raises some servant of His to be their likeness and example by way of zill [reflection], who—taking on his same colour—becomes the means for their 1.S u rah ar-Ra‘d, 13:18 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 89 lasting [spiritual] life.It is in order to preserve this reflective con - tinuation that God Almighty has taught His servants to pray: 1 َطاَرِص َنْيِذَّلا َتْمَعْنَا ْمِهْيَلَع ۰۰ اَنِدْهِا َطاَرِّصلا َمْيِقَتْسُمْلا Meaning that, O Allah, guide us along that straight path, which is the path of those servants upon whom You have bestowed Your favours.And it is clear that the bounty that was bestowed upon the Prophets—which we are enjoined to seek in this prayer—does not consist of dirhams and dinars.Rather, it embodies divine light, blessings, love, certainty, miracles, heavenly support, acceptance, perfectly complete bounties of cognizance, revelation, and visions.God Almighty enjoined this ummah to pray for this bounty after He had also willed to bestow it.Thus, this verse, too, establishes clearly that God Almighty declares this ummah as the heir to all the Prophets by way of zill, so that the Prophets always remain in the world by way of zill and the world may never become devoid of their presence.Not only has Allah taught this prayer, but He has also promised in a verse to bestow it, and that verse is: 2 َو َنْيِذَّلا اْوُدَهاَج اَنْيِف ْمُهَّنَيِدْهَنَل اَنَلُبُس Meaning that, those people who will strive in Our path—which is the straight path—We will surely guide them along Our ways.It 1.S u rah al-F a ti h ah, 1:6–7 [Publisher] 2.S u rah al-‘Ankab u t, 29:70 [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 90 is clear that the paths of God Almighty are indeed those that have been disclosed to the Prophets.Then there are certain other verses that prove that it is indeed the will of the Benevolent God that spiritual teachers, who are the heirs of the Prophets, should always continue to appear.And these verses are: َدَعَو ُهّٰللا َنْيِذَّلا اْوُنَمٰا ْمُكْنِم َو اوُلِمَع ِتٰحِلّٰصلا ْمُهَّنَفِلْخَتْسَيَل يِف ِضْرَاْلا اَمَك َفَلْخَتْسا َنْيِذَّلا ْنِم 1 ْمِهِلْبَق َو اَل ُلاَزَي َنْيِذَّلا اْوُرَفَك ْمُهُبْيِصُت اَمِب اْوُعَنَص ٌةَعِراَق ْوَا ُّلُحَت اًبْيِرَق ْنِّم ْمِهِراَد ىّٰتَح َيِتْاَي ُدْعَو 2 Part Number 13 — ِهّٰللا١ؕ َّنِا َهّٰللا اَل ُفِلْخُي َداَعْيِمْلا 3 َو اَم اَّنُك َنْيِبِّذَعُم ىّٰتَح َثَعْبَن اًلْوُسَر Meaning that, O believers from among the Muhammadan ummah, God Almighty has promised to you that He will also make you successors in the earth, as He made successors among those who were before you.And physical or spiritual calamities shall continue to befall the disbelievers or descend close to their dwellings until the divine promise is fulfilled.Surely Allah does not act contrary to His promise.And We send not punishment till after We have raised a Messenger.If someone deeply and carefully reflects upon these verses, how can I say that he will not come to understand that God Almighty 1.S u rah an-N u r, 24:56 [Publisher] 2.S u rah ar-Ra‘d, 13:32 [Publisher] 3.S u rah Ban i Isr a ’ i l, 17:16 [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 91 has clearly promised an everlasting Khilafat to this ummah.If this Khilafat were not to remain forever, what was the point of describ - ing it as resembling the Khulaf a ’ of the Mosaic dispensation.If the period of the Rightly Guided Khilafat lasted for only thirty years, and then ended forever, then it follows necessarily that God Almighty had never intended to keep the doors of bless - ings open eternally for this ummah, because the death of a spiritual dispensation necessitates the death of the Faith itself.And such a religion can certainly not be considered to be a living religion whose followers themselves concede that their religion has been dead for 1,300 years and God Almighty did not intend at all for its followers to inherit that light of true life which the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, possessed in his bosom.It is a pity that those who adhere to this idea do not ponder carefully over the word ‘Khalifah’ —which is understood through [the term] istikhl a f [succession]—because Khalifah means ‘a suc - cessor’; and the successor to a Messenger in its true sense can only be the one who possesses the excellences of a Messenger by way of zill [reflection].That is why the Holy Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, did not want the word Khulaf a ’ applied to tyrants, because the Khalifah is in reality a zill of the Messenger.And since no human being is immortal, God Almighty so willed that Messengers, who are the best and most honoured of all men, should live by way of zill until the Day of Judgement.That is indeed why God Almighty initiated Khilafat, so that the world may never be deprived of the blessings of Messengership in any age.Thus, the person who believes that Khilafat lasted for only thirty years, disregards, in his ignorance, the raison d’être for Khilafat.Such a one does not know that God Almighty never

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 92 intended that—after the death of the Holy Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—the blessings of Messengership should endure for only thirty years in the mantle of the Khulaf a ’, and then He would not care even if the world came to complete ruin.In fact, in the early days, the Khulaf a ’ were needed only to spread the majesty of Islam and not for any other purpose because the light and excellences of Messengership were fresh and bloom - ing and thousands of miracles had recently come down like rain.Had God so willed, it would not have been contrary to His prac - tice and law if, instead of the four Khulaf a ’, He would have pro - longed the life of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, by thirty years.After the passing of thirty years, the age of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would have been be ninety-three years.And this estimate does not exceed the recorded ages of that time, nor is it contrary to the observable law of nature concerning human life expectancy.Will sane reason entertain the vile notion about God Almighty that He cared for this ummah for only thirty years and then left it in ignorance forever and did not wish to show it the light that He has always shown to the ummahs of earlier Prophets through the mirror of Khilafat? Certainly not.Moreover, the following verse is categorical witness over the succession of imams: 1 َو ْدَقَل اَنْبَتَك يِف ِرْوُبَّزلا ْۢنِم ِدْعَب ِرْكِّذلا َّنَا َضْرَاْلا اَهُثِرَي َيِداَبِع َنْوُحِلّٰصلا 1.And already have We written in the Psalms of David, after the exhorta - tion, that My righteous servants shall inherit the land ( S u rah al-Anbiy a ’, 21:106).[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 93 This is because it is clearly declaring that Islamic Khilafat is eter - nal, for the word َرِثُھَا ي [ yarithuh a —shall inherit it] requires perma - nency.The reason is that if the last turn belongs to the sinners, then surely they, and not the righteous, would be considered heirs of the earth.For he who comes last is deemed to be the heir to everyone.Another thing to ponder is that God Almighty made it clear by way of analogy that He would continue to raise Khulaf a ’ in this ummah just as He had raised them after Moses.We need to see what God Almighty did after the death of Moses.Did He send Khulaf a ’ for only thirty years, or did He extend their period to 1,400 years? Moreover, in view of the fact that God Almighty bestowed the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with much greater grace than Moses, as He Himself has said, 1 َو َناَك ُلْضَف ِهّٰللا َكْيَلَع اًمْيِظَع And similarly, with regard to this ummah, He said, 2 ْمُتْنُك َرْيَخ ٍةَّمُا ْتَجِرْخُا ِساَّنلِل How could it be possible that in the Mosaic dispensation the period of Khilafat extended to 1,400 years, but in this dispen - sation it came to an end after just thirty years? Moreover, if this 1.And great is Allah’s grace on you ( S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:114).[Publisher] 2.You are the best people raised for the good of mankind ( S u rah A l ‘Imr a n, 3:111).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 94 ummah is devoid of the blessings of Khilafat for all times to come, then what is the meaning of the above-mentioned verse: ْتَجِرْخُا ِساَّنلِل [raised for the good of mankind].Can someone explain it? There is a famous saying: ‘One who himself is lost, how can he lead the way?’ Were this ummah destined to be kept blind forever and were this Faith meant to remain dead, then why was it said that you are the best of people and you have been raised for the welfare and guidance of others? Can a blind one lead the blind? Therefore, O people who call yourselves Muslims! Do con - sider for God’s sake that what this verse means is that spiritual life and inner sight will indeed remain present in you till doomsday, and the followers of other religions will receive light from you.And this spiritual life and inner sight, which has the ability to call the followers of other faiths to the truth, is what is called Khilafat in other words.Why, then, do you say that Khilafat came to an end after just thirty years? قُوااللَّٰ.َّ قُوااللَّٰ.ات َّ قُواللَّٰ.ات َّ ات [Fear Allah! Fear Allah! Fear Allah!] Now remember that while there are many verses in the Holy Quran that give glad tidings of permanent Khilafat in this ummah, and the a ha d i th on this subject are also in abundance, what has been written above should suffice for those who accept the estab - lished truths as a great treasure.And there can be no greater ill will against Islam than to consider it a dead religion whose blessings are limited to the first century alone.Can the Book that opens the door to eternal blessings teach such despondency that the blessings and Khilafat will not appear any more and every thing has been left behind.Prophets cannot come in this ummah; if Khulaf a ’ Nab i [ Successor Prophets ] , too, fail to appear from time

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 95 to time to manifest the marvels of spiritual life, then the spiritual - ity in Islam would come to an end.How then would such a religion compare with the glory and majesty of the Mosaic dispensation in which thousands of spiritual Khulaf a ’ continued to appear for 1,400 years? It is a pity that our critics do not reflect at all that Islam would thus be rendered very inferior in its spirituality and, God forbid, the Prophet, whom we follow, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would not prove to be any great Prophet, and the Holy Quran, too, would not prove to be a Book that is powerful in bestowing enlightenment.Moreover, it would be a vain, meaningless, and unsubstantiated claim that this ummah is the best of all the peoples and affords spiritual benefits to others for all times; or that the Holy Quran is most perfect and complete in its merits and effects as compared to other Divine Books, and that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is most perfect and complete in his purifying powers and morals.Another great flaw that would ensue is that such Quranic teachings that aim at making man like the Prophets in their spiritual light and excellences would be con - sidered abrogated for good.Because if this ummah were devoid of the ability to exhibit in itself the spiritual excellences of Khilafat, then a teaching that calls upon it to attain to this station would be rendered futile.In fact, the very question—is Islam now forever a dead reli - gion, in which such people are not born whose marvels are counted as miracles and whose divine inspiration can be counted as revelation—makes one shudder, let alone that a Muslim should hold such a belief.May God guide those who are prisoners of such heretical notions.

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 96 Now that it has been proved from the Holy Quran that a lasting Khilafat in this blessed ummah has been established in the same way as, and bearing likeness to, the dispensation of Hadrat M u s a , the only semantic difference remaining is that, in the past, Prophets used to appear in support of the Mosaic reli - gion 1 , whereas now it is Mu h addath i n who come [in support of Islam].In the light of this proof, it is incumbent to accept the following as a necessary conclusion: Just as in the latter days of the Mosaic dispensation, a Prophet whose name was ‘ I s a appeared at a time when the moral condition of the Jews had deteriorated completely; and they were far removed from true piety, honesty, empathy, unity, and true fear of God; and the whole of their knowledge and thinking was limited to mere ora - tory and rhetoric; moreover, they had become weak and humili - ated in their worldly status, likewise, similar to that Prophet and bearing a likeness to him in this age, a Mu h addath must appear in this ummah when this ummah, too, becomes corrupt, just as the Jews had become corrupt in the time of Hadrat ‘ I s a , peace be upon him.When we observe closely and analyse with a discerning eyes, it becomes clear and manifest that the age when the like of Hadrat Mas ih , peace be upon him, was to come in this ummah, because of the perfect resemblance between the Khulaf a ’ of the Mosaic and Muhammadan dispensations, is this very age of ours.This is so because the interval between Hadrat M u s a and Hadrat 1.The original states d i n-e- ‘ I sw i [religion of Jesus] instead of d i n-e-M u sa - w i [religion of Moses].This appears to be a scribal error, so it has been rendered as ‘the Mosaic religion’ in the translation.[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 97 Mas ih was about 1,400 years and now, too, it is the fourteenth century after our Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.And the ummah of Hadrat M u s a had become so corrupt by its fourteenth century that piety and honesty had disappeared completely, and Jewish scholars were engaged in unnecessary controversies and vain disputes.Disobedience and depravity had spread among them, and their worldly status had also fallen considerably.The same is the condition of the [Muslim] ummah in this age.The current state of affairs we see today clearly bear witness that this ummah and its ulema have, in fact, followed in the footsteps of the Jews who lived in the time of Hadrat Mas ih , peace be upon him.Not only do they resemble the Jews in becoming devoid of honesty, piety, spirituality, and the capac - ity to recognize the truth, but in their worldly decline, too, their condition has become the same as it was in that age.Just as the Roman emperors had destroyed the Jewish states, exemplifying the verse, 1 ْتَبِرُض ُمِهْيَلَع ُةَّلِّذلا َو ُةَنَكْسَمْلا The Jews, finding themselves weak and helpless, were awaiting a Messiah who would come as a king and fight the Romans with the sword, as was promised at the end of the Torah, in the same way, the Muslims of today, mostly and overwhelmingly, can be seen in a state of decline.If there are any Muslim states left, they are so weak - ened by internal discord, corruption of the ministers and officials, 1.And they were smitten with abasement and destitution ( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:62).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 98 and laziness, indolence, ignorance, cluelessness, depravity, and lux - ury of the kings, that they also seem to be on the verge of collapse.These people were also waiting, like the Jews, for the Promised Messiah to descend in glory, like that of kings, to support them.Now, let the eyes that can see, and the hearts that can be just, and the minds that can reflect, ponder over this point and weigh and consider whether the two circumstances are equal or not.Set aside even the prophecies for a while, and just examine it ration - ally as a research scholar and see whether or not the resemblance between the Muslims of today and the Jews of the time of Hadrat Mas ih is the same as one shoe resembling the other.Carefully read the Gospels and reflect whether or not what Hadrat Mas ih , peace be upon him, spoke of regarding the rabbis and jurists of the Jews, and how he exposed their dishonesty, can be found in the Muslim clerics of the present time.Is it not true that like the Jewish jurists, our ulema, too, are engaged day and night in frivolous disputes and are completely devoid of spirituality? They are busy branding others as disbeliev - ers while they themselves do not know what Islam is.They preach things that they themselves do not practice.They adopt the pro - fession of preaching and travel far and wide to earn a livelihood.They make superficial pronouncements lacking any authority to please the people and make unlawful earnings.And in their deceit, deception, and treachery they are no less than the Jews.The same is the case with worldly people who, in order to acquire material gains, regard every kind of dishonesty and falsehood to be as lawful as mother’s milk.As for those who are known as nobles and are holding on to their impoverished states, they are spoiled by licentiousness.Many of them consume

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 99 alcohol like water and have no aversion to adultery.Fear of God Almighty does not come even close to them during any part of the day or night.Now study the history of the Jews and see how closely today’s Muslims bear resemblance to the Jews of the time of Hadrat Mas ih in respect of their worldly and spiritual deterioration.There was a prophecy with respect to the Jews in the Torah that they would not lose their domination until Shiloh comes.1 Here, ‘Shiloh’ meant Hadrat Mas ih, which is exactly what came to pass when the Roman Empire invaded various states of the Jews shortly before the birth of Hadrat Mas ih.And the Jews, like the Muslims of this age, had become weak because of their mutual discord, constant quarrelling, indolence, and ignorance, and their inner state itself was indicating their misfortune; there - fore, shortly before the appearance of Hadrat Mas ih , the Jews surrendered to the Roman Empire.And because of the resem - blance [between the two dispensations], it was necessary that a Shiloh also appear in this ummah who would come at the time of spiritual and worldly decline.In fact, the Noble Quran has made a similar prophecy about the present age of Muslims which resembles the age of Hadrat Mas ih , with respect to the time interval [between respective Prophets], and other features.It says: 1.Shiloh is a figure mentioned in Genesis 49:10 as part of the benediction given by Jacob to his son Judah: The sceptre will not depart from Judah [...] until Shiloh comes.’ [Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 100 1 ْنِم ِّلُك ٍبَدَح َنْوُلِسْنَّي That is, hastening towards Islam from every side, and creating dis - order in its land, and occupying its cities and turning its honoured ones into lowly ones.This verse means that the Christians, who will be the party of Gog and Magog, will advance upon Islamic countries from every height and overcome and dominate them to the point that the Islamic empire shall remain in name only—as is the case today.See the resemblance of events, how the adversity of Islam and the period of decline of the Muslims in both worldly and spiritual affairs has come to correspond with that period of the Jews in which Hadrat Mas ih lived.Moreover, note how the Quranic prophecy about the weakness of Islamic empire and the domi - nance of its opponents coincides with the prophecy of the Torah about the decline of the Israelite state.Granted, in regards to the coming of Mujaddid i n, the proph - ecy of the Torah and the prophecy of the Quran differ in appar - ent language.Per the Torah, it will be at the time of the breaking of Israelite power, the waning of their authority, and the decline of their kingdom, when Shiloh will appear.The Quran, however, gives the glad tiding of nafkh-e- su r [the blowing of the trum - pet] at the time of the decline of Islamic power and the rising of waves of conflict, which signifies the deception of Christian priests.Nafkh-e- su r does not mean doomsday, because more than 100 years have already passed since the beginning of the tides of 1.They shall hasten forth from every height ( S u rah al-Anbiy a ’, 21:97).[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 101 Christian mischief and yet doomsday has not arrived.Instead, what is meant is that a Mahdi and Mujaddid will be sent and a trumpet of guidance shall be blown and the spirit of life will again be breathed into the spiritually dead.This is because nafkh- e- su r is not limited to the life and death of the physical body; rather, spiritual life and death always come about through nafkh- e- su r as well.And just as nafkh-e- su r is used in the Quran to sig - nify the advent of a Mujaddid who will break the dominance of Christianity, similarly, ‘waves of conflict’ is used to signify the same deception that has been referred to as the promised Dajj a l [antichrist] in a ha d i th.God Almighty has not mentioned the words ‘Promised Dajj a l’ and ‘Promised Messiah’ in the Holy Quran in the same way as they have been mentioned in a ha d i th.R ather, He has men - tioned the machinations of Christians in place of Dajj a l.The verse, 1 ْنِّم ِّلُك ٍبَدَح َنْوُلِسْنَّي also indicates the same.Similarly, the Holy Quran does not use the term ‘Promised Messiah’ when mentioning the coming of a Mujaddid; however, nafkh-e- su r [the blowing of the trumpet] indicates the same and makes known that the Promised Messiah will not appear with material and worldly weapons.Instead, his progress and rise will be due to heavenly proclamations.He will draw people to the truth with the power of wise words and heavenly Signs.This is because he will appear at the time of intellectual disputes, and not at a time of fighting with the sword.The real truth is that God sends Prophets and Mujaddid i n 1.They shall hasten forth from every height ( S u rah al-Anbiy a ’, 21:97).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 102 according to the nature of every mischief.For example, in the time of Hadrat ‘ I s a , peace be upon him, all power had been taken away from the Jews and nothing remained in their hands besides deception, fraud, and rhetoric.And because of their own mis - conduct and missteps they themselves became subjugated by the Roman Empire.And the Romans, with regard to their annexa - tion, were not at fault in the least.The same account is given in the Holy Quran regarding the time of the Promised Messiah.For example, the Muslims of India are in such a wretched con - dition that if a reformer appears among them, they cannot even oppose him with the sword because they do not have any swords.The British have seized the throne of Delhi just as the Roman Empire took away the throne of the Jews, essentially due to the depravity and incompetence of their kings.The British are not to be blamed for this annexation, such that swords be raised against them.In fact, the saying of ازامتس ہک ربامتس [whatever we suffer is the result of our own deeds] fits perfectly in this situa - tion.This is why the Mujaddid of this century came in the image of Hadrat Mas ih, and due to this strong resemblance, was called the Promised Messiah.And this title is not an undue embellish - ment; rather, its appropriateness for the current state of affairs demanded the use of this title.Remember that at one place in the Holy Quran, the word Rusul [Messengers] too points to the Promised Messiah.But the question is why was he not referred to in the Holy Quran by the same title with which he was referred to in a ha d i th.The answer is so that readers may not be deceived into thinking that the Promised Messiah mentioned [in the Quran] is actually Hadrat ‘ I s a , peace be upon him, to whom the Gospel was revealed, or

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 103 that ‘Dajj a l’ refers to some specific mischief-maker.Therefore, God Almighty removed all such doubts in the Glorious Quran.He has done so, first, by clearly and categorically informing of the death of Hadrat ‘ I s a , peace be upon him, as is apparent from the following verse, 1 اَّمَلَف ْيِنَتْيَّفَوَت َتْنُك َتْنَا َبْيِقَّرلا ْمِهْيَلَع Moreover, He declared our Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to be Kh a tamul-Anbiy a ’ [the Seal of the Prophets], as in the following verse: 2 َو ْنِكٰل َلْوُسَّر ِهّٰللا َو َمَتاَخ َنّٖيِبَّنلا Moreover, by mentioning many acts of disobedience by the Jews at various places [in the Holy Quran], He pointed out repeatedly that the later state of ordinary Muslims and their ulema would be the same.And then He also said that in the Latter Days, the dom - ination will be that of Christians, and many kinds of conflicts will spread from their hands.And waves of conflict will rise from all directions and they will race down from every height.That is, they will demonstrate their power, domination, and ascendancy in every way.They will also dominate in material strength and dominion, against which all the other governments and states will 1.But since You did cause me to die, You have been the Watcher over them ( S u rah al-M a ’idah, 5:118).[Publisher] 2.But he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets ( S u rah al-A h z a b , 33:41).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 104 be powerless.They will also enjoy supremacy in the sciences and the arts such that they will invent new branches of each.And they will create new and amazing industries.They will also be domi - nant in policy making, management, and good administration.Their resolve for worldly enterprises and their pursuit will be high and they will also excel all others and will be exceptional in their labour and efforts for spreading their faith.In the same way, they will excel all other nations in their living standards, trade, and advanced agriculture, and indeed in everything else.This is what is meant by: 1 ْنِّم ِّلُك ٍبَدَح َنْوُلِسْنَّي For, حَدَب [ h adab ] means elevated ground and نَسْل [ nasl ] means to excel and run ahead.That is, they will excel all other nations in everything that can be considered prestigious and high.This is the chief sign of the people of Latter Days who are named Gog and Magog.And this is also the sign of the mischievous group of Christian clerics who are called the promised Dajj a l [Antichrist].Since h adab means elevated ground, it indicates that they will achieve all earthly heights, but will be deprived of spiritual heights.This point establishes that these nations of Gog and Magog are known as such because of their national supremacy.And also among this nation are those people who have taken their efforts in spreading misguidance to the extreme and who came to be called the Great Dajj a l.And God Almighty has said that at the height 1.They shall hasten forth from every height ( S u rah al-Anbiy a ’, 21:97).[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 105 of misguidance, the trumpet will be blown and people of all faiths will be assembled together.And after these verses, the mention of Hell is a separate statement as per the characteristic style of the Holy Quran, because it is a common practice of the Holy Quran that on occasions where a matter related to this world is being discussed, mention of the Hereafter is added to it because of some similarity.Those who ponder over the Holy Quran are not una - ware of this recurring pattern.The third point at issue was what proof is there that the Promised Messiah who has been mentioned at various places in Holy Quran and a ha d i th is this humble one? In my view, in writ - ing out the arguments for this point, there is no need to be ver - bose.I have proved in this book that a person from among this ummah must come in the name of Mas ih , peace be upon him.It is necessary for three reasons: The first is that the complete and perfect resemblance between our Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and Hadrat M u s a [Moses], peace be upon him, implied by the following verse, 1 ۤاَمَك ۤاَنْلَسْرَا ىٰلِا َنْوَعْرِف اًلْوُسَر demands it.The reason is that the verse, 2 ۤاَّنِا ۤاَنْلَسْرَا ْمُكْيَلِا اًلْوُسَر١ۙ۬ اًدِهاَش ْمُكْيَلَع ۤاَمَك ۤاَنْلَسْرَا ىٰلِا َنْوَعْرِف اًلْوُسَر 1.Even as We sent a Messenger to Pharaoh ( S u rah al-Muzzammil, 73:16).[Publisher] 2.Verily, We have sent to you a Messenger, who is a witness over you, even as We sent a Messenger to Pharaoh ( S u rah al-Muzzammil, 73: 16).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 106 clearly states that just as Hadrat M u s a as was a witness over the good and evil deeds of his ummah, so is our Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, a witness.But Hadrat M u s a ’s as being a permanent witness was not possible except through khil a fat; i.e.God Almighty established a series of Khulaf a ’ for 1,400 years to fulfil this purpose.They were, in fact, servants of the Torah and appeared in support of the shariah of Hadrat M u s a as so that God Almighty may perfectly fulfil the purpose of Hadrat M u s a as being a witness through them and they should be able to bear witness before God Almighty about all Children of Israel on the Day of Judgement.Similarly, Allah the Lord of Glory has made the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, a witness over the whole Muslim ummah and has said, 1 ۤاَّنِا ۤاَنْلَسْرَا ْمُكْيَلِا اًلْوُسَر١ۙ۬ اًدِهاَش ْمُكْيَلَع and said, 2 َو اَنْئِج َكِب ىٰلَع ِءٓاَلُؤٰۤه اًدْيِهَش But it is clear that on the face of it, the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, remained for only twenty-three years in his ummah.Then the question as to how he can be a witness over his ummah forever, has only one answer, and that is 1.Verily, We have sent to you a Messenger, who is a witness over you ( S u rah al-Muzzammil, 73:16) [Publisher] 2.And shall bring thee as a witness against these! ( S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:42) [Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 107 through khil a fat.Meaning that, like Hadrat M u s a , peace be upon him, God has appointed for the Holy Prophet, peace and bless - ings of Allah be upon him, Khulaf a ’ until the Day of Judgement and their testimony is considered to be the same as the testimony of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.And in this way, the meaning of the verse, 1 ۤاَّنِا ۤاَنْلَسْرَا ْمُكْيَلِا اًلْوُسَر١ۙ۬ اًدِهاَش ْمُكْيَلَع is proven correct in every aspect.Therefore, the belief in perma - nent witness, which is demonstrated firmly by the Quran and is agreed upon by all Muslims, can be proven rationally and factu - ally only when permanence of khil a fat is accepted.And this point proves my stance.Ponder over this point! The second reason is that the complete and perfect resem - blance of the Khilafat of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to the Mosaic Khilafat necessitates the coming of the Promised Messiah, as is understandable from the following verse, َدَعَو ُهّٰللا َنْيِذَّلا اْوُنَمٰا ْمُكْنِم َو اوُلِمَع ِتٰحِلّٰصلا ْمُهَّنَفِلْخَتْسَيَل يِف ِضْرَاْلا اَمَك َفَلْخَتْسا َنْيِذَّلا ْنِم 2 ْمِهِلْبَق 1.Verily, We have sent to you a Messenger, who is a witness over you ( S u rah al-Muzzammil, 73:16).[Publisher] 2.Allah has promised to those among you who believe and do good works that He will surely make them Successors in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were before them ( S u rah an-N u r, 24:56).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 108 It clearly tells that it is essential that a Mujaddid in the name of Hadrat Mas ih [ Jesus] will appear in the 14th century.This is because the Muhammadan Khilafat and the Mosaic Khilafat can be considered to have complete and perfect resemblance only if their first age and last age have mutual resemblance of the high - est level.And the resemblance in the latter age was to be on two accounts: first, the decline in the ummah’s condition, weakening of worldly power, and a shift in their integrity, honesty, and piety; and second, the appearance of a Mujaddid in that particular age, who would come with the name ‘Promised Messiah’, and would restore the condition of the faith.As for the first Sign, our Muslim brothers not only accept it, but are also witnessing with their own eyes the deterioration of Muslims and the ascendancy of a foreign nation that thinks of their religion as contemptible and inferior.It is just as the Byzantines, after having overpowered the Jews, thought of the Jews as contemptible and inferior in the time of Hadrat Mas ih.They are also witnessing that the spiritual condi - tion of the Muslim ulema and the ordinary people is nothing less than that of the Jews; rather, it appears ten times worse! When we read the verses in the very first part of the Holy Quran about the Jewish rabbis— ‘that you admonish others to practice virtue and goodness while you forget yourselves; that you find no fault in mistreating your brothers; and that you indulge in various kinds of greed, immorality, depravity, evil machinations, and deceptions for worldly gains’—the heart speaks out that all these verses are fully applying to most of our maulaw i s.While our brothers have themselves accepted the fulfilment of one of the two inseparable Signs in this age, then turning away from other Signs is just like saying, the Sun has risen, but the day

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 109 has not yet dawned! In any case, a wise and just man cannot help accepting that deliberation upon the Quranic verses proves that the Muhammadan Khilafat must bear complete resemblance with the Mosaic Khilafat, as is clear from the word َمَا ك [ kam a —just as].If these two dispensations resemble each other completely, then in the Latter Days, a time close to doomsday, a Khalifah like Hadrat ‘ I s a should appear to complete the argument through spiritual teachings and blessings, and not with the sword.And since Hadrat Mas ih appeared 1,400 years after Hadrat M u s a , it also has to be accepted that the Promised Messiah must appear in this age because God does not go against His promises.It should now be seen how many people have claimed to be the Promised Messiah in this age.Suppose, for example, that ten peo - ple from among the Muslims claim to be the Promised Messiah in this age, then one of them is definitely truthful and will be the Promised Messiah because the Signs declared by God call for the appearance of a true one.Now consider that out of the 200 million Muslims living in the lands of Syria, Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, India, etc.in these times which according to the Signs given the Holy Quran and Hadith is the age of the Promised Messiah, only one person has claimed to be the Promised Messiah.Rejecting this claimant who has appeared at his appointed time, therefore, amounts to the rejection of the prophecy itself.The coming of the Promised Messiah at the head of the four - teenth century is established in the a ha d i th, the Holy Quran, and the visions of Auliy a ’ with such proof that there is no need to write about it.A righteous one shivers at the rejection of a claim made at its proper time and place.Therefore, the first argument for the truthfulness of this humble one is that the time when this

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 110 claim was made is the very time that was specified for the appear - ance of the Promised Messiah by the Chief of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, the Noble Quran, and the visions of the Auliy a ’.Our Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was declared the Prophet of the Latter Days and 1,300 years have passed since the appearance of the Prophet of Latter Days.Now ponder over the hadith in which the seven steps of the pulpit seen in a dream were interpreted to mean the 7,000 years of this world.Think carefully whether or not, according to that hadith, this is the age for the appearance of the Promised Messiah.Moreover, ponder over the hadith, ِ ْن ي َات ُ بَعْد َ الْمِأَتَ ي ْٓ ال [the Signs will appear after 200 years] from which the ulema have inferred that the grand Signs of doomsday will start appearing in the thirteenth century [after Hijra].If the Signs here stand for minor Signs, then the con - dition of ِ ْن ي َ بَعْد َ الْمِأَت [after 200 years] makes no sense.The appearance of our Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is itself one of the Signs of doomsday.It would, therefore, be contradic - tory, if this hadith is interpreted to mean that the grand Signs will begin after 200 years, because no sign appeared after 200 years.That is why the ulema have interpreted 200 years to mean 200 years after the first 1,000 years, meaning 1,200 years.The ulema are justified in this interpretation because, without a doubt, many great conflicts have appeared in the thirteenth century and the deception of Dajj a l has spread like a storm in this very century.And the spectacle of 1 ْنِّم ِّلُك ٍبَدَح َنْوُلِسْنَّي was also witnessed in this 1.They shall hasten forth from every height ( S u rah al-Anbiy a ’, 21:97).[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 111 very century as hundreds of Islamic states were ruined and the Christians attained great dominance.The third point at issue is that if, indeed, a Promised Messiah was to come in this ummah, then what is the proof of my humble self being the same Messiah? I have just furnished some contextual arguments with regard to this, so there is no need to repeat them.But if the questioner seeks some specific proofs, then he should wait patiently so that God Himself may furnish some proof in support of His servant.The truth of the matter is that rational or textual arguments alone cannot fully substantiate such claims; it is also necessary that heavenly support should establish the blessings of the claimant.And this has been the divine practice vis-à-vis the Prophets, peace be upon them, from ancient times.For example, prophecies were made about our chief and lord, the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in ear - lier books well in advance; furthermore, the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, appeared in an age which itself demanded the appearance of a great Prophet.However, despite all these things, in order to prove the truth of His true Prophet, God Almighty did not deem earlier prophecies to be suf - ficient, nor did He regard the other contextual arguments to be complete.Rather, He sent down many heavenly Signs to testify to the Immaculate Prophet, so much so that the truthfulness of that Noble Prophet was fully established and the light of his truth shone like the Sun.Likewise, it should be understood that if my humble one is from God Almighty, and is true in his claims, God Almighty will demonstrate my truth with His special succour.And through His special Signs, He will enlighten the world that I am from Him

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 112 and not by my own designs.In the event that I am proven to be true in my claim through heavenly Signs, there can remain no rea - son for denial, for it is heavenly Signs that have proven many a great Prophethood and Messengership and the divine origin of the Scriptures.Why, then, can the likeness of Messiah not be proven through them? In short, God will establish my truthful - ness the way He has been establishing the truthfulness of His true servants.Consider how many difficulties the Jews faced in accepting the Prophethood of Hadrat Mas ih , peace be upon him.It was recorded in the earlier Scriptures that ‘ I s a would come as a king, but the Messiah was born poor and destitute.It was written in the earlier Scriptures that with his advent, the Jews would regain power, and the Jews believed that he would wage war against the Roman Empire and re-establish the kingdom of Israel.But the actual events turned out otherwise, and the Jews suffered an even worse plight and debasement.Moreover, it was written in the earlier Scriptures that the Messiah would not come until Prophet Ily a s [Elijah] returned to the world.Hence, the Jews awaited Ily a s’ descent from heaven, but Elias did not descend.Nevertheless, Hadrat ‘ I s a , peace be upon him, laid claim to being the Promised Messiah and also pro - claimed that it was Prophet Ya h y a [ John the Baptist] who had come as Elias.But the Jews did not take a liking to this interpre - tation.Instead, they kept on waiting for the descent of Elias, just as the Muslims today are waiting for the descent of Hadrat ‘ I s a.But despite all these hurdles—which were severe indeed—God Almighty did not let His true Prophet remain unrecognised, and established his truth through many Signs.This necessarily led to

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 113 the conclusion that, ultimately, it was the Promised Messiah who had to be accepted as true.So, O dear ones! Know for certain that there is only one way in the eternal law of God Almighty to establish the veracity of the truthful.It is that he should prove, with heavenly Signs, that God Almighty is with him and that he is accepted of God.Now, ponder that my claim of being the Promised Messiah is not greater than the claims of Hadrat M u s a and Hadrat ‘ I s a.Think again as to how these great Prophets were accepted in the world: through heavenly blessings and support, or some other means? Consider, therefore, that there is no alteration or change in God Almighty’s eternal practices.If I am not from God and am only an impostor and pretender, then my end will not be good and God will destroy me in ignominy and will make me the target of curses and taunts until the end of time.For, there is no graver sin than claiming to have been sent by God while in reality one has not been divinely appointed, and to claim to have been blessed with divine converse, saying, ‘His Word descends upon my heart and flows upon my tongue’, while God has never spoken to him nor have His words ever descended upon his heart nor flowed upon his tongue.َا ي نْ ُّ الْد ى ِ الل ِّٰ وَھُم ْ ف ى َ َفْتَرُوْن َ عَل ي َ ْن ي ِ ذ َّ ْن َ ال ي ِ الْکَاذِب ى َ أَل َ لَعْنَۃ ُ الل ِّٰ عَل َ ْن ي ِ خِرَۃ ِ مِن َ الْمَخْذُوْل ْآ وَال [Beware the curse of Allah is on the liars who lie about God.They are left defeated both in this world and the Hereafter].If, however, this humble one is from God, and He has sent me, and the words that are revealed to me are from Him, then I will never be wasted nor will I be destroyed.Rather, God will destroy him who confronts me and tries to obstruct my mission.I am sur - prised that people take exception to my use of the term ‘Promised

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 114 Messiah’ and demand proof for it.Reason does not exclude the possibility that someone should come in the manner of the Messiah in this ummah, which is in the likeness of the Mosaic dispensation.The philosophers, too, endorse the fact that the life of human beings is cyclical.Likewise, it has also been established through divine practice and the laws of nature that some people are born in the image of others; the likes of the righteous are born as well as those of the wicked.Of course, the proof of one’s being commissioned by God should be demanded.Such proof encom - passes all other proofs.Think about it.When our Holy Prophet, peace and bless - ings of Allah be upon him, proclaimed that he was the like of M u s a and a Messenger of God Almighty, those to whom his Prophethood had been established did not doubt his also being the like of M u s a.Just as they believed in the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, so did they believe in his likeness.Hence, the proof of one’s being com - missioned by God and a true recipient of revelation is the root of all proofs.For example, no one demands of a Prophet to give proof for each and every sentence of the book revealed to him; for, with the substantiation of his Prophethood, all such matters are proven automatically.Dear ones! It is not the case that God wants to establish a novel law for me.Ponder over the eternal law of God Almighty and raise your questions accordingly.Moreover, to this date—11 Rab i ‘ul-Awwal 1311 ah , corre - sponding to 22 September 1893 ce and 8 Asauj 1950, the day of Friday—more than 3, 000 Signs have been shown at the hand of this humble one, which hundreds of people have witnessed.In fact, thousands of Hindus, Christians, and followers of other

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 115 opposing religions are witnesses to the fulfilment of some of my prophecies.If you conduct the relevant research, you will find that there are certain Signs that have been witnessed by hundreds of thousands of the opponents of Islam.Even now, those people are alive who witnessed numerous Signs that transcend human pow - ers.Moreover, there are hundreds of such people who were told in advance about the acceptance of prayers, which they later wit - nessed being fulfilled just as it had been foretold.There are nearly 16,000 people in India, England, Germany, France, Russia, and Rome—from among the pundits, Jewish jurists, Zoroastrian high priests, Christian clergies, clerics, and bishops—to whom I sent registered letters claiming that Islam is in fact the only true religion in the world, that all other religions have deviated from their divine origin and truth, and that if any of the opponents were in doubt about it, they should come for - ward to contest with me and stay one year with me so that they may witness the Signs of Islam at my hands.I told them that if I am proven wrong, they may take a penalty from me at the rate of 200 rupees per month for the year.Otherwise, I ask them only to embrace Islam and nothing else.If they so wish, they can have the money deposited in a bank for their satisfaction.But no one came forward.A wise person should consider that if my humble self did not have such perfect certainty in God Almighty’s help as can be attained only after repeated observation and personal expe - riences, how would it be possible for me to single-handedly confront all the opponents of Islam, namely, those who were the prominent figures of the opposing religions and leaders of their nations in the world.It is evident that a mere mortal can

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 116 never possess the strength to challenge the whole world on his own.So what was it, if not my perfect certainty and personal experiences that gave this humble one the courage to embark on this challenge? And it was not just done orally, but nearly 2,000 rupees were spent on printing leaflets, which were published in English and Urdu, and in dispatching them throughout India and the countries of Europe by registered post.But no one dared to confront me in a contest.Indeed, it was a Sign in itself that the opponents were awestruck.You can confirm this by asking any of the present-day priests whether or not he has received a registered letter inviting him to Islam.So, think about it.Can reason suggest that someone who relies only on lying, falsehood, and fabrication can spend thousands of rupees solely on publishing leaflets and dispatching them, and offer a hefty sum to the opponents as prize money in case of their victory.Has anyone, to date, ever read about such an impostor in books, or heard of one or seen one? If so, pray furnish a precedent.Dear friends! Know well that unless God is with someone, he can never demonstrate such steadfastness, valour, and financial generosity.Has anyone ever seen or heard of a present-day maulaw i who wrote a letter even to a British Assistant Commissioner, inviting him towards Islam? For my part, not just this but I have also sent announcements and letters—whose receipts are still available—to the English Parliament in London, the Crown Prince of the respected Queen [of England], and Prince Bismarck [of Germany], inviting them to Islam.Published nearly ten years ago, these announcements also recorded that this humble one resembles the Messiah, son

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 117 of Mary, in his excellences.For anyone who reflects, this is yet another argument in support of my truth.For, if my claim of being the like of the Messiah were only a human enterprise and not based on revelation from God Almighty, then it could not have been possible for me to continuously publish revelations in favour of the claim of being the Promised Messiah for ten, rather twelve, years before making that claim.Every one can understand that as a general rule, man does not possess the foresight to plan so well in advance as to lay the foundation for a work or claim that is to transpire after twelve years.And it is wonder upon wonder that God should give respite to such an ‘unjust impos - tor’ for as long as twelve years to date—while the impostor is so intrepid as to plan to make a certain claim after twelve years and lay the foundation for his claim twelve years in advance by claiming to indeed be the like of the Messiah.And he does not do so casually, but rather, he calls himself the like of the Messiah on the basis of his revelations and declares a resemblance in their excellences, and deems himself to be a part of his being.And he does not stop there; rather, twelve years before claiming to be the Promised Messiah, he openly and emphatically publishes in his book (that is, in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya ) that God Almighty has named him ‘ I s a and has promised to cause him to die a natural death and then raise him to Himself and acquit him of all the allegations of the disbelievers and cause his followers to be dom - inant over his adversaries until doomsday.God not only gives him respite, but also helps him with Signs based on revelation and gives him a community, while He himself says in the Noble Quran: I do not help the impostor and he is soon destroyed

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 118 and his community is dispersed.Indeed, He said to the Chief of the Messengers that if he had fabricated even an iota, his jugular vein would have been slit.If it is not true that God very quickly punishes the liar who seeks to deceive people by falsely claiming to be a Prophet, then in such a case, God forbid, the inference regarding the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—that if, God forbid, the Holy Prophet s as were an impostor, God would cer - tainly have punished him—cannot hold true either.Now, despite such a long respite and hundreds of Signs and occasions of divine support, while my opponents offered thousands of prayers for chastisement to befall me and despite their crying supplications in their mub a halah [prayer duel] that punishment may overtake me, ultimately they achieved nothing except humiliation and disgrace.Allah the Most Glorious knows that I did not desire divine chastisement for any of my opponents in any mub a ha - lah.I did not even pray for the death of ‘Abdul H aqq Ghaznav i , who initiated a mub a halah with me in Amritsar; nevertheless, he wailed and cried to a great extent.My purpose with regard to the mub a halah was and still is that heavenly Signs may be demon - strated publicly in support of this humble one.And it will suffice to disgrace and humiliate my opponent in a mub a halah that God should grant me victory on each and every occasion.In short, all these are Signs of my truth, but only for him who reflects.It is a pity that I am repeatedly asked what is the proof of my being the Promised Messiah.Such people do not understand as to what was the proof of Hadrat ‘ I s a as being the promised one and of our Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, being the promised Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n [Seal of the Prophets].

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 119 Was it not simply that God Almighty established their truth with numerous Signs? The Jews, though, did not accept Hadrat Mas ih as and to this day, they deny that he was the Promised Messiah.But he was proved to be from God through his mira - cles and Signs.1 ٭ 1.٭ Footnote: A man by the name of Hid a yatull a h has published a pam - phlet in which he has accused me of denying the miracles of Hadrat Mas i h as.As part of his assertion, he concludes from some statements in my book Iz a lah Auh a m that from the very start I am, God-forbid, a denier of the miracles of Hadrat Mas ih , peace be upon him.Let it be clear that such people are mistaken in their views and understanding.I do not deny the miracles of Hadrat Mas ih , peace be on him; there is no doubt that he did perform some miracles; however, a study of the Gospel raises certain doubts about them—for instance, the story of the [healing] pool and his own repeated affirmation that he was not a worker of miracles.But we are not concerned with the Gospel; at any rate, the Holy Quran states that he had been granted some Signs.It is, however, a mistake on the part of our unthinking ulema that they at - tribute certain qualities to him; for instance, that he used to fashion, like the Creator of the universe, the frame of a bird and made it alive by breathing into it so that it flew away; that he revived the dead with the touch of his hand so that they began to walk about; and that he pos - sessed knowledge of the unseen; and that to this day he did not suffer death, but rather, he is present in Heaven in his physical body.If all that is attributed to him were true, then there would be no doubt about his being the creator of the world, knower of the unseen, and reviver of the dead.If, on these premises, a Christian were to argue in favour of his divinity—i.e.on the basis that the existence of the qualities of a thing is proof of the existence of the thing itself—then what answer would the Muslims give to such a claim.It would be an interpolation of the Word of God to assert that these miracles occurred as a result of prayer.For, the Holy Quran does not mention any prayer in connection with the flight of something that was fashioned in the shape of a bird and was breathed into, nor does it state that such a shape became alive in

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 120 The most essential demand [put to a claimant] is for proof of his being true and from God, and proof of being the like of some - one is then established as a necessary consequence.The fact is that all prevailing circumstances testify that the Mujaddid of this cen - tury should be the Promised Messiah, because all the Signs that the Holy Book of God ordained with regard to the time of the Promised Messiah have come to pass in this age.Do you not see that the Christian empire is devouring all the dominions of the reality.It is impermissible to add something to the Word of God from oneself.This was the kind of alteration on account of which the Jews were cursed.Ma‘ a limut-Tanz i l and several other commentaries state only that those shapes flew for a short while and then fell back to earth in the form of clay.As such, we can conclude only that in reality they were indeed just figures made out of clay.And just as toys made of clay ‘fly’ about by human contrivance, so did they, under the spiritual in - fluence of a Prophet, ‘fly’.Otherwise, an affirmation of true creation on his part amounts to a grave mischief and an association of partners with God.The true purport is [manifesting] a miracle, and the flight of a lifeless thing, despite its being lifeless, is a grand miracle.That being said, if the words ًّا ي َ َکُوْن ُ ح ي فَ [ fa-yak u nu h ayyan —and it became alive] are found in any qir’at [recitation] of this verse of the Holy Quran, or there is historical proof that those shapes truly became alive and that they also laid eggs and that many birds from their parentage are in existence today, then proof of this should be furnished.Allah the Exalted states in the Quran that even if the whole world joined together to create a gnat, it would not be able to do so, because in such a case it would be - come God’s partner in creation.It would be equally false to allege that God Almighty had Himself given him permission to create.There is no contradiction in the Word of God: He does not bestow such permission upon anyone.Allah the Exalted did not bestow upon the Chief of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, permission to create even a fly.Then how could the son of Mary receive such permis - sion? Fear God Almighty, and do not seek to convert metaphor into physical reality.(Author)

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 121 world? They have acquired every kind of ascendancy, and repre - sent the fulfilment of: 1 ْنِّم ِّلُك ٍبَدَح َنْوُلِسْنَّي and Islam has reached such a deteriorated state, both in religious and worldly matters, as was the case with the Jews in the time of Hadrat Mas ih , peace be upon him.Furthermore, Mas ih came at a time when it was absolutely inappropriate to raise the sword for religion—the reason being that the Jews had themselves lost their state on account of their own depravity, and as the Roman Empire was not to blame for taking their country, they could not be fought with the sword.The situation these days is identical: the Muslim kings lost their states because of their indulgence in intemperance and worthless pleasures.In fact, they even lost all aptitude to run the state.That is why God Almighty gave their country to the British, who did not persecute anyone after tak - ing the country.They did not stop anyone from offering prayers and fasting, nor did they stop anyone from going for Hajj.Rather, they guaranteed freedom and peace for everyone.Then, despite their being benevolent, how could the Gracious and Merciful God allow for an edict calling for them to be put to the sword.Was the physical sword His only means to spread the Religion— did He not possess a spiritual sword? Moreover, the sword cannot be relied upon to spread the Faith in this era.The British did not force anyone to embrace their religion at the point of a sword, so 1.They shall hasten forth from every height ( S u rah al-Anbiy a ’, 21:97).[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 122 that the sword should be met with the sword.In fact, people have perished because of modern philosophy, new naturalism, and the evil thoughts spread by the priests.The proper response to this is to furnish proof of the divine origin of Islam—not to put people to the sword.That is why God Almighty, finding Muslims in the same condition [as the Jews], sent them a Reformer resembling Hadrat Mas ih without sword or spear, and gave him only heavenly weapons to eliminate the deception of the Antichrist.As the numerical value 1 of the letters of the hadith 2 َ عِنْد َ مَنَارَۃ ِ دِمَشْق ى ٰ ْس ي عِ [‘ I s a (will descend) near the min - aret of Damascus] is 1,400, so the Promised Messiah came in the beginning of the 14th century.And as the numerical value of the verse, 3 َنْيِرَخٰا ْمُهْنِم اَّمَل اْوُقَحْلَي ْمِهِب is 1,275, accordingly, the [advent of the] Promised Messiah was prepared at that time for the reformation of the people.The Promised Messiah appeared precisely in accordance with the Quranic glad tiding that the trumpet will be blown when the mischief of Christians runs rampant.Receiving revelations, many men of God gave news of his advent prior to its occurrence.Some of them even told his name thirty-two years prior to his arrival 1.Arabic Abjad [numerology] assigns set numerical values to every Arabic letter.[Publisher] 2.S a hih al-Muslim, Kit a bul-Fitan b a bu Dhikrid-Dajj a l [Publisher] 3.And from among others from among them who have not yet joined them ( S u rah al-Jumu‘ah, 62:4).[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 123 and proclaimed that he, in fact, would be the Promised Messiah and that the original ‘ I s a had passed away.Moreover, many blessed with divine visions declared the 14th century to be the time of the coming of the Promised Messiah and recorded their revelations in this regard.After all this, what more proof can there be with regard to such matters, in which some room must be left for belief in the unseen.In addition to this, some other grand Signs are expected to appear at the hands of this humble one.For example, the proph - ecy about Munshi Abdullah Atham of Amritsar is to be fulfilled in fifteen months; the stipulated time thereof has started from 5 June 1893.The prophecy about Pandit Lekhram of Peshawar is another one, which was made in 1893 and is to be fulfilled within a period of six years.Yet another prophecy is about the death of the son- in-law of Mirza Ahmad Baig of Hoshiarpur, a resident of Patti, District Lahore, and eleven months remain from today’s date, which is 21 September 1893, for its fulfilment.All these matters— which are absolutely beyond human power—are proof enough for recognizing the truthful from the liar.For, life and death are both the exclusive preserve of God.And until God Almighty completely accepts someone, He does not destroy his opponent because of his prayers, especially at a time when he claims to be from God and presents this miracle of his as proof of his truth.Hence, prophecies are no ordinary matter, nor a matter that humans can manipulate.Rather, they are the exclusive prerogative of the Glorious God.If one is a seeker after truth, let him wait for the stipulated time of these prophecies.These three prophe - cies together encompass the three chief nations of India and the Punjab.That is, the first is related to the Muslims, the second to

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 124 the Hindus, and the third to the Christians.The prophecy relat - ing to Muslims is a grand prophecy, since it comprises the fol - lowing elements: (1) that Mirza Ahmad Baig of Hoshiarpur will die within the stipulated time of three years; (2) that his son-in- law—the husband of his eldest daughter—will then die in two- and-a-half years; (3) that Mirza Ahmad Baig will not die until the marriage day of his eldest daughter; (4) that his daughter will not die before she marries and becomes a widow and remarries; (5) that this humble one, too, will not die until all these events come to pass; (6) that his daughter will be married to this humble one.Obviously, a mere mortal cannot have control over all these elements.If even now all these arguments fail to satisfy Miy an Ata Muhammad, the easy way to decide is that, having read this treatise carefully, he should inform me through a published announcement about his dissatisfaction with regard to these mat - ters, and that he still considers them to be lies and wishes that a Sign be manifested with regard to him.Then, God willing, I will pray about him and I believe firmly that God will not let me suffer defeat against any opponent because I am from Him and have come to renew His Religion by His command.But he should publicly allow me, through an announcement, to publish any rev - elation that I receive about him.I am surprised that the Muslims are distressed at the appear - ance of a Mujaddid instead of being happy, and they dislike that God Almighty has commissioned a person to complete the argu - ment in favour of His Religion.I have come to realize that the spiritual condition of most Muslims of the present age has dete - riorated extremely and the poison of modern philosophy has

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 125 completely uprooted their faith.Although their tongues indeed profess Islam, their hearts have deviated far from it.In their esti - mation, God’s Word and His manifestations are laughable.Miy an Ata Muhammad suffers from the same condition.I remember when Mr.Abdullah Atham was informed at Amritsar of the prophecy regarding his death, Miy an Ata Muhammad vis - ited me at my place and narrated a story to me about a doctor who predicted his death within a specified time.The specified period passed without incident, after which he went to the doctor and greeted him.The doctor asked him who he was.He replied that he was the very same Ata Muhammad whose death he had foretold.What he actually wanted to intimate through this story was that all these matters are mere fabrications and futile.But Miy an Ata Muhammad must remember that his narrating the story about the doctor proves only that he is completely bereft of heavenly light.Undoubtedly, there exists One Being who is called God and who shows heavenly Signs in support of His true Religion, not just in a specific age but whenever the need arises and, thus, rein - vigorates the faith of people.The story of the doctor serves only to betray the state of his belief in God.I consider it appropriate to finish this treatise here.ۡرُ.ي ِ وَنِعۡم َ النَّص ى ٰ ِرًا وَبَاطِنًا ھُو َ مَوۡلَنَا نِعۡم َ الۡمَوۡل ھ ِِّٰ اَوَّل ً وَاٰخِرًا وَظَا لل ُ فَالْحَمْد [All Praise belongs to Allah, in the beginning and in the end, openly and secretly.He is our Master, an Excellent Master, and an Excellent Helper.] T h e au t hor, The humble one, Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian 22 September 1893; from Qadian on Friday

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For the Attention of the Government This humble one states clearly and concisely that the British gov - ernment has bestowed favours upon this family since the time of my late, revered father, Mirza Ghulam Murta da , till today.Therefore, gratitude to this esteemed government has made a home in my very veins and sinews, without any constraint.Those services, which he wholeheartedly rendered as a well-wisher of this government can never be separated from the life history of my late father.As permitted by his means and resources, he always served the government in its various circumstances and needs with such sincerity and loyalty as can never be displayed unless one is truly and honestly, from the bottom of one’s heart, a well- wisher of someone.During the disturbances of 1857—when the unruly people wreaked havoc in the country by rebelling against their beneficent government—at that time, my honourable father

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 128 provided the government with fifty horses which he purchased out of his own pocket, and he also arranged fifty horsemen for them.On another occasion, he served the government by provid - ing fourteen horsemen.On account of such devoted services he was well respected by all in this government.Hence, as a mark of respect, he was given a chair in the court of the respected Governor General, and British officials of all ranks would greet him with great respect and affection.He sent my brother to fight some battles simply by way of service to the government, and attained the government’s appreciation in every manner.Having enjoyed a good name and reputation throughout his life, he departed this transient world.After his death, Mirza Ghulam Q a dir, the elder brother of this humble one, also followed in the footsteps of his deceased father and with his heart and soul occupied himself with sincerely serving the government for as long as he lived.Then he too passed away from this transient abode.I am hopeful that many a British official are still alive who saw my father, and wit - nessed his sincere services, with their own eyes.One from among them is Mr.Griffin, who has also written a book about the chiefs of the Punjab, and in it he has mentioned my father, too, in most respectful terms.Now my condition is such that after the death of my afore - mentioned dear ones and elders, God Almighty has turned my heart away from worldly matters and I desired that my dealing with God Almighty may be by way of perfect sincerity, loyalty, and love.So He filled my heart with His own love, but not because of any effort on my part but out of His grace.I then desired that so far as it is possible for me, I should advance in divine cognizance and love and should discover truthfully as to who God is and how

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 129 His pleasure can be attained.I therefore purified my heart of every prejudice and sought with an eye cleansed of every impurity, and implored God Almighty for His help.Then it was disclosed to me, and God Almighty bestowed insight upon me through His holy revelation, that God is that Being who is Perfect in all His attributes, and that since eternity He continues in the one and same mode and one and same man - ner.He neither comes into being spontaneously nor is he subject to birth or death.And none who is created and subject to death, has such a relationship with Him, other than that of servitude, that it may be said that such a one is a partner in His divinity.In fact harbouring such a thought is worse than even the rejection of His Being, worse than all human evil deeds, and an evil thought of a most extreme degree.It is indeed true that amongst His exalted servants those who are named Prophets and Messengers possess the highest ranks.They are without doubt the beloveds of God Almighty, accepted by Him and extremely highly respected.They are completely lost in Him alone and have become His very image; and the majesty of God Almighty is manifested through them.And God resides in them and they reside in God.But despite all this, we cannot really consider any from among them to be God or His son.Indeed, in this dispute, the Muslims are in the right and the Christians in the wrong.It does not appear, however, that in this age this error will continue to exist among the Christians.The British people are such as God wishes to draw day by day towards ascendancy, pros - perity, reasoning, and wisdom.They are also making progress in truth, piety, and justice day by day.And it is as if they are the

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 130 very fountainhead of modern and ancient knowledge.This is why there is the strong hope that God Almighty will also bestow this wealth upon them as well.In fact, in my opinion, God has already endowed their hearts with it in a very subtle way.Anyhow, when, for our physical and worldly matters, God Almighty has established a government for us from among these people, and we have witnessed such favours of this government that it is not easy to adequately render thanks for, hence, I assure my esteemed government that I am loyal to, and the well-wisher of this government in exactly the same way that my revered elders were.What do I possess in my hands besides prayer; so I pray that God Almighty may safeguard this government from every evil and put its enemy to flight in disgrace.God Almighty has made it obligatory for us to be thankful to the beneficent government just as we are under obligation to be thankful to Him.Thus, if I do not render thanks to this beneficent government, or nurse some evil intent, it would be as if I had also not rendered thanks to God Almighty.For, being thankful to God Almighty and to a kind government—which God Almighty may have bestowed upon His servants as a blessing—are in reality one and the same thing, and are closely related to each other.Discarding one would certainly entail doing away with the other.Some imprudent and ignorant people ask whether or not it is lawful to engage in jihad against this government.It should be borne in mind that this question of theirs is extremely absurd, for how can jihad be waged against the one to whom we are duty-bound and strictly obligated to render thanks for its favours.I tell you most truly that only a wicked and depraved one speaks ill of his benefactor.Hence, my faith, which I make

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 131 clear again and again, is that Islam consists of two parts: first, that we should obey God Almighty, and secondly, that we obey the kingdom that has established peace and given us shelter under its protection against the atrocities of the tyrants; and that kingdom is the British Government.It is true that we have religious differences with the European peoples and we do not at all like to ascribe those things to God Almighty that they have attributed to Him; nevertheless, these religious matters have nothing to do with the relationship between the government and its subjects.God Almighty clearly teaches us to remain thankful and obedient to the sovereign under whose protection we live in peace.Thus, if we rebel against the British Government, it would be tantamount to rebellion against Islam, God, and His Messenger.Under such circumstances, who would be more dishonest than us because we deviated from the law and the shariah of God Almighty.There is no denying the fact that there are many among the Muslims whose religious prejudice has overpowered their sense of justice and equity, so much so, that in their ignorance, they are awaiting such a bloodthirsty Mahdi as would redden the earth with the blood of his opponents.And not only this, they also think that Hadrat Mas ih , peace be upon him, would also descend from the heavens for this very same purpose; namely, to create a river of blood from any Jews and Christians left alive by the Mahdi.But these notions of some Muslims—such as Sheikh Muhammad Husain Batalawi and his followers—are absolutely wrong and in clear contradiction with the Book of Allah.These fools are bloodthirsty and are totally devoid of any love or sympathy for Allah’s creation.But my true and real belief—for

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 132 which my opponents declare me to be a kafir—is that no one will come in the name of the Mahdi, whereas the Promised Messiah has indeed come; however, no sword shall be wielded [by him], and through peace, and with truth and by love, the world will turn towards Tau hi d [the Oneness of God].The time draws near, rather it is nigh, when no one on earth shall worship Ram Chandra nor Krishna nor Hadrat Mas ih , peace be upon him.The true worshippers will incline towards their True God.And remember, under whichever sovereign’s reign we may live in peace, keeping a watchful eye on discharging the rights due to him, actually amounts to fulfilling the rights of God Himself.Moreover, when we obey such a ruler with sincerity of heart, it is as if we are engaged in worship.Can it be the teaching of Islam to ill-treat our benefactor, to set ablaze the one who provides us shelter in a cool shade, and to pelt with stones the one who gives us food? From among men, who could be more wicked than the one who even contemplates doing harm to his benefactor? The purpose of all this preamble is so that the government may remember that I am truly grateful to it from the bottom of my heart and that I am fully engaged in doing everything benefi - cial for it that lies within my capabilities.I have heard that because of some differences that he has with me, on certain matters of reli - gious details, a person named Maulawi Abu Saeed Muhammad Husain, a resident of Batala, District Gurdaspur, reports out of bitter enmity, utter injustice, and viciousness, completely baseless matters to the government in order to cast doubts on my loyalty.He wishes to misrepresent and conceal beneath lies and fabrica - tions the relationship of sincerity and goodwill that my family has with the government.He, out of sheer enmity and personal

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 133 jealousy, alleges emphatically that, God forbid, this humble one is not a true well-wisher of the government.This foolish one does not appreciate at all the fact that wicked intrigues and unfounded accusations do not possess any power with which the truth is nat - urally invested.A single manifestation of the power of truth can smash into pieces a whole mountain of fabrications.Moreover, the foul odour of perversity and dishonesty that is characteristic of fabrications cannot remain hidden from the God-given sense of smell of the officials.All these falsehoods were of such a nature that they could have been brought before a court of law for compensation for slanderous loss of repute, to put an end to such wickedness; however, I considered it, for the time being, an appropriate action to simply inform the esteemed government of this person’s fabrications.And it is hoped that with only a minor investigation, the judicious government will be able to assess, analyse, and get to the bottom of his accusations.It is necessary to counter such a mischievous person so that no wicked person dare indulge in such provocative activities in the future.Our wise and just government is not unaware of the fact that it should be incumbent upon anyone who conveys to the gov - ernment definitive information about any matter, and manifests his conclusive opinion about it, must first also have thoroughly researched this matter.Now this just government, if it so wishes, can take the trouble—for the sake of a family of well-wishers upon whom it has bestowed certificates of appreciation of a high order—to call to account this lying informant for conveying to the government unfounded matters about me through his maga - zine, Ish a ‘atus-Sunnah.He should be asked to provide the arguments and reasons

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 134 on the basis of which he has accused me of sedition against the British government.Failing to tender satisfactory proof in this regard, he should be punished as per the law for the sake of expe - diency and for the reassurance of a truly faithful family.Though such outbursts are also found in the writings of my opponents from other religions, such as Padre Imad-ud-Din, but due to their ignorance, religious zeal, and incurable prejudice, they are help - less to some extent.And for these reasons they cannot bring them - selves to speak the truth.But this Shaikh Batalawi has indeed exceeded the limits.I call upon this just government to compare his writings about me published in Ish a ‘atus-Sunnah in 1892, 1893 CE, with those published in 1884, so that it comes to know that he is a hypocrite and concealer of the truth and a two-faced man.We know that this intelligent, wise, fair and well-informed govern - ment cannot be taken in by such cunning intrigues, and that this far-sighted government can perceive things well in advance and believes such biased reports to be the result of petty and shameful jealousy; however, the government does not receive divine reve - lation, and it is possible that the concerted efforts of some mis - chievous ones may deceive [this government] as any human can be deceived.That is why it was essential for me to write something in this regard.Now, I quote some excerpts from his review of Bar a h i n-e- Ahmadiyya, published in the 1884 issue of Ish a ‘atus-Sunnah, number 6, volume VII, for the government’s perusal so that the wise government may see for itself what he previously wrote about me and what he writes now.The excerpt is as follows:

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 135 Rebuttal of Political Criticism There are very few among my contemporaries who know the life and thoughts of the author of Bar a h i n-e- Ahmadiyya as well as I do.The writer has the same domi - cile as me; moreover, from a young age (when we used to study Qu t b i and Shar h Mull a ) he was my schoolmate and since those days, we have been meeting and corresponding on a regular basis.Hence, my saying that I am well aware of his character and thinking cannot be regarded as an exaggeration.The author has never given a thought to opposing the British government.Not only him, but there is no one in his entire family who entertains such a thought.On the contrary, his revered father, Mirza Ghulam Murtaza, proved himself by practical actions to be a devoted, loyal well-wisher to the government in the very midst of the tur - moil ( the mutiny of 1857 ce ).During that mutiny, when wicked mischief-makers attacked Trimmu Gh a t near Gurdaspur, his revered father—though not a major land - lord or chief—arranged for fifty horses along with their riders, equipment, and fittings—out of his own pocket and sent them under the command of his beloved son, the late Mirza Ghulam Q a dir, to assist the government.The government thanked him for this service and he was also awarded some prize.Apart from these services, the late Mirza Sahib (father of the author) always enjoyed favours and kindnesses of

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 136 the government and was honourably offered a chair in the court of the governor.The high officials of the district and qismat 1 (i.e.the deputy commissioner and the com - missioner), wrote him letters of appreciation from time to time—some of which lie in front of me at this moment.These letters clearly demonstrate that they were written with a heartfelt fervour and can only be written to an exceptional well-wisher and a truly faithful person.During most of their tours, the commissioner and the deputy commissioner, out of courtesy, love, and affection, would visit him at his place.On his death, the respected com - missioner, the financial commissioner, and the honoura - ble lieutenant governor wrote letters of condolence and promised to extend care and beneficence to this family in the future.On account of this family prestige as well as an age-old well-wisher, the respected financial commissioner has recently made a special recommendation for Mirza Sultan Ahmad (the son of the author) to be appointed as a tehs i ld a r [revenue sub-collector] and its implementation report has already been issued from the district headquar - ters.In short, this family has always remained loyal to this government and has been the recipient of its favours since of old.In order to substantiate these facts and events, three letters of correspondence from among the ones I have before me are appended here in the footnote, so that, realizing the esteem and prestige this family enjoys with 1.During the time of the Promised Messiah as , a qismat was an administra - tive unit comprised of two or more districts of a province.[Publisher]

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 137 the British government, the jealous ones who are heedless of the consequences of their deeds should refrain from their ill intentions and evil designs; and so that the general Muslim populous may not be deceived into thinking ill of this book and its author, and so he may not be a source of anxiety for them.1 1.Translation of Certificate of J.M.Wilson To Mirza Ghulam Murtaza Khan Chief of Qadian.I have perused your application reminding me of your and your family’s past services and rights.I am well aware that since the introduction of the British Govt.you & your family have cer - tainly remained devoted faithful & steady subjects & that your rights are really worthy of regard.In every respect you may rest assured and satisfied that the British Govt.will never forget your family’s rights & services which will receive due consideration when a favorable opportunity offers itself.You must continue to be faithful and devoted subjects as in it lies the satisfaction of the Govt.and your welfare.11-6-1849 Lahore

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 138 The writer of this book (Mirza Ghulam Ahmad), spe - cially on account of his scholarly stature and monastic Translation of Mr.Robert Cast’s Certificate To Mirza Ghulam Murtaza Khan Chief of Qadian As you rendered great help in enlisting sowars & supplying horses to Govt.in the mutiny of 1857 and maintained loyalty since its beginning up to date and thereby gained the favour of Govt, a khilat worth Rs.200/ is presented to you in recognition of good services and as a reward for your loyalty.Moreover in accordance with the wishes of chief Commissioner as conveyed in his no.576.d/.10 th August 58 this parwana is addressed to you as a token of satisfaction of Govt.for your fidelity and repute.Translation of Sir Robert Egerton Financial Commr’s Mursala d/ 29, June 1876 My dear friend Ghulam Qadir, I have perused your letter of the 2 nd instant & deeply regret the death of your father Mirza Ghulam Murtaza who was a great well wisher and faithful chief of Govt.In consideration of your family services, I will esteem you with the same respect as that bestowed on your loyal father.I will keep in mind the restoration and welfare of your family when a favourable opportunity occurs.

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 139 demeanour has never engaged in any such activity.To the contrary, however much well-intentioned support to a government is suitable for scholars and monks to the extent of their capabilities, he has never refrained from providing it.The sword of scholars is their pen and the weapon of the monks is prayer.The writer has never refrained from using these weapons in well-intentioned support of this government.As he has expounded many times in his writings, 1 ٭ he has also clearly written in this 1.٭ The following is the original text of the author taken from Part 3 and Part 4 of the said book, and presented here in abridged form.In the opening page of Part 3 he says: The matters which are required of the Muslims for their own betterment—through their own effort and resolve—will become clear upon reflection and deliberation without need of further statements or explanations.However, of these there is one matter which needs to be mentioned, on which the favour and consid - eration of the British government depends, and that is to clearly impress upon the mind of the Government that the Muslims of India are its loyal subjects.This is because of some ignorant Englishmen, in particular Dr.Hunter, who is currently the President of the Education Commission, and has strongly advo - cated in one of his well-known writings that Muslims, at heart, are not well-wishers of the Government, for they consider it an obligation to wage jihad against the British.Anyone who stud - ies Islamic Shariah impartially will be convinced, on the basis of proofs, that this view of the doctor is absolutely baseless and con - trary to the facts.Sadly, however, the deplorable actions of some uncivilized people, and those who are uncouth and foolish [from among the Muslims] support this view.Perhaps the illusion of

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 140 book for the publication of which he is occupied day in the doctor has been reinforced by his incidental observations of such occurrences, as some ignorant people do occasionally per - petrate such actions.However, it cannot remain hidden from the view of a research scholar that such people are far and away from being steadfast in the religion of Islam and they are no more Muslims than McLain was a Christian.Obviously, these are their personal actions that are in no way sanctioned by the Shariah.On the other hand, there are thousands of Muslims who have always been well-wishers of, and devoted to, the British government and continue to be so.In the disturbances of 1857, with the exception of illiterate and wicked people, no decent and well-behaved Muslim, who was educated and well-mannered, took part in these disturbances at all.Rather, in the Punjab even less-privileged Muslims aided the British government beyond their means.As a gesture of goodwill and sincerity, my late father too, in spite of his limited resources, bought fifty horses and presented them, along with fifty strong and well-trained sepoys, to the Government as assistance and thus demonstrated himself to be a well-wisher beyond his strait - ened circumstances.As for those Muslims who were more privi - leged they rendered even greater and more remarkable services.After this digression, I return to my original subject.Though good examples of sincerity and loyalty of Muslims have been observed, yet, unfortunately for the Muslims, the doctor chose to ignore all these demonstrations of loyalty on the part of the Muslims, and did not give the slightest consideration to these faithful services in drawing his conclusions.Hence, it has become incumbent upon our fellow Muslims to take the initiative to express their loyalty to the Government before it can be misled by erroneous views.The fact is that a clear injunction of the Islamic Shariah, on which all Muslims agree, strictly forbids the raising of the sword against a government under whose protection Muslims lead

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 141 and day out—that the British government is a bounty free and peaceful lives, and to which they are indebted for many favours and whose blessed rule actually facilitates the spread of piety and guidance.It would therefore be a great pity if the Muslim ulema failed to widely publicize this issue with unani - mous agreement, thereby allowing uninformed people to make verbal and written attacks which portray their religion as weak and cause undue damage in their worldly affairs.In the opinion of this humble one, the best course of action would be for the Islamic societies of Lahore, Calcutta, Bombay, etc., to choose some renowned maulaw i s, with a well-established reputation for their nobility, knowledge, piety, and righteousness, who will in turn invite learned men from far and wide with some - what of a standing in their local region, to prepare scholarly dis - sertations clearly prohibiting jihad against the beneficent British government, which is the protector and benefactor of Indian Muslims, citing the dictates of Islamic Law in support of their edicts; then send them, duly bearing their seal, to the aforemen - tioned team of ulema selected for this task.When all such decla - rations have been received, the collection, which may be named Makt u b a t-e-‘Ulam a ’-e-Hind [Letters from the Ulema of India], could be printed, with due regard for accuracy, at a quality press.Ten to twenty copies may then be forwarded to the Government, and the rest distributed in different areas of the Punjab and India, especially in the areas of the Frontier.It is true that some sympathetic Muslims have written in ref - utation of Dr.Hunter’s thoughts, but the refutation by a handful of Muslims cannot be a substitute for a refutation by the whole community, which will be so strong and powerful that all the doc - tor’s writings will cease to have any effect and, at the same time, ignorant Muslims will be educated about the true and pure teach - ings of their religion.The British government will also be well-in - formed that the Muslims are pure-hearted and well-wishing

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 142 among the bounties of God.This is a magnificent mercy.citizens.Moreover, this book will also serve to admonish and reform the ignorant people of the mountainous region.In the end, I also consider it incumbent upon myself to express that even though the whole of India ought to regard the British government as a blessing of God Almighty in view of the favours upon its subjects through its governance and peace-fostering wisdom—and they should be grateful to Allah for it as they are grateful for His other blessings—the people of the Punjab, in particular, would be very ungrateful if they did not regard this Government, which is a great sign of Allah’s mercy upon them, as a great blessing.They must not forget their pitiful state before the arrival of this Government, and the peace and security that they now enjoy.This Government is indeed a heavenly blessing for them, for, with its coming, all their woes were removed and all aggression and injustice were brought to an end.It removed all barriers from their path, and granted them freedom, so that today there is nothing to prevent us from performing righteous deeds, or to interfere with our peaceful existence.In fact, God the Benevolent and the Merciful has sent this Government for Muslims as a rain of mercy, due to which the tree of Islam has once again begun to flourish in the Province of the Punjab.In reality, proclaiming the benefits of this Government amounts to professing the favours of God.So evident and well-proven is the freedom enjoyed by the people of this Empire that persecuted Muslims from some other countries gladly migrate to its dominion.In my view, there is no other country today where, under its benign protection, an admonition can be made openly for the ref - ormation of the Muslims and for the eradication of various inno - vations that have taken root in their religion, or where it is possi - ble for Muslim ulema to find opportunities to zealously promote

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 143 This government is a divine command of a heavenly their faith, to undertake thorough research using the best of their reason and insight, and to publish literature in favour of the firm religion of Islam in order to conclusively establish its superiority over its opponents.It is this Empire whose equitable support has provided the ulema, after a long time—indeed, as it were, after centuries—the opportunity to fearlessly inform the ignorant people about the pollution of innovations, evils of idolatry and mischief of creature-worship, and to clearly guide them to the right path of their beloved Prophet.Can it be lawful to bear ill- will towards a government under whose shelter all Muslims live in peace and freedom and are able to practice their faith to the full extent and are engaged in its propagation more freely than in any other country.Not at all, it is never ever justified.Nor can a pious and religious person entertain such evil thoughts.I declare truly that this is the only government in the world under whose protection many services to Islam are done that are entirely impossible in other lands.Visit a Shia country and you will find that they become furious when they hear the preaching of Sunnis; and in countries ruled by Sunnis, Shias fear to express their views.Likewise, the muqallid i n are unable to protest in the territories of the muwa hh id i n and the muwa hh id i n are unable to protest in the territories of the muqallid i n, so much so that even if they see an innovation in religion with their own eyes, they are unable to speak out against it.After all, this is the only govern - ment under whose protection each and every sect is free to express its beliefs with peace and comfort.This is something which is of great benefit to the righteous; for how can truth spread in a land where there is no freedom of expression and no tolerance for admonition.Only such a country is suitable for spreading the truth where the righteous can preach freely.It should also be borne in mind that the objective behind

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 144 religious jihad was to establish freedom and to eliminate oppression.Religious jihad was waged against only those coun - tries wherein the lives of preachers were threatened when they preached, where it was absolutely impossible to convey the mes - sage peaceably, and where anyone who adopted the true path could not escape the oppression of his people.But the British government is not only free of these faults, it is also most help - ful and supportive in the progress of Islam.It is incumbent upon Muslims to appreciate this favour of God and utilize it to strive for their religious progress.* * The referenced text appears in the 2016 English translation of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part III, p.8–12, and also Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.1, p.138–142, published in 2019.[Publisher] In addition to that, he writes in the beginning of Part 4: Recently, some Muslims objected to the article that I included in Part III [of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya ] wherein I wrote about the gratitude we [Muslims] owe to the British government.Some people have also written letters to me about it—and some have used harsh and hard words—questioning why I preferred the British government over other governments.It is apparent, how - ever, that the superiority a government enjoys on account of its decency and good governance cannot be concealed.A virtue remains a virtue in its own right, irrespective of the government in which it is found.اخل لْحِکْمَۃ ُ ضَالَّۃ ُ الْمُؤْمِنِ.َ ا [ A word of wisdom is the lost property of the believer; he takes it wherever he finds it ].One should also bear in mind that it is certainly not the teach - ing of Islam for Muslims—who enjoy the favours of a govern - ment whilst living under its rule, and who earn the livelihood

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 145 that God has ordained for them under the shadow of its protec - tion in peace and comfort, and who are nurtured by its consistent favours—that they should sting it like a scorpion and utter not a word of gratitude for its magnanimity and kindness.What our Benevolent God has taught us through His Beloved Prophet is that we should recompense good with even greater good and express gratitude to our benefactor.Whenever we get the opportunity, we are enjoined to reach out to such a govern - ment with heartfelt sincerity and utmost sympathy, and to will - ingly obey it in all that is good and obligatory.Hence, whatever gratitude my humble self expressed for the British government in the article included in Part III was not merely on the basis of my own opinion; rather, I was obliged to express this gratitude in view of the lofty directives that were before me as stipulated by the Holy Quran and a ha d i th [sayings] of the Holy Prophet s as.Some of our ignorant [Muslim] brothers—on account of their short-sightedness and inherent stinginess—have mistaken their extreme view of theirs to be a part of Islam.اے افجشىك ہن ذعرتس رطقى اشعق رہزہ دبانم ىنك دنچ وكن انىم را O cruel one, making excuses is not the way of true lovers; Without cause, how can you be so derogatory towards those who are known to be righteous? ( Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya )** ** The referenced text appears in the 2016 English translation of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part IV, p.6–7, and also Ru ha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.1, p.316, published in 2019.[Publisher]

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 146 blessing for the Muslims.The Gracious God has sent this government as a shower of mercy.Fighting and waging jihad against such a government is absolutely prohibited.It is definitely not a principle of Islam that the Muslims living under a government, enjoying its favours, and lead - ing their lives peacefully and comfortably under its protec - tion, and being brought up under its continuous favours, should inflict a painful sting on it like a scorpion.He has many times prayed for this government.The following is his latest prayer published in a leaflet printed at Riaz-e- Hind Press, Amritsar.He intends to publish 20,000 cop - ies of it in India and England.‘The British whose decent, civilized and kind govern - ment, by obliging us through their favours and friendly relations, has inspired us to pray with heartfelt fervour for their well-being and comfort so that their fair faces, good looking as they are in this world, may be lit with divine light in the hereafter as well.خِرَۃِ.ْآ َا وَال ي ْ الدُّن ی ِ ف نَسْئَل ُ الل َّٰ تَعَال َ خ�َی َْھ ُْ � الخ...َْنِك ي ِد ِْ ف � ًْا ی�َِث ك ا ًّ ِّدْھ ُْ �ب ُِوْح ٍ مِّنْك َ وَاجْعَل ْ لَّـهُم ْ حَظ ي اھْدِھ ِْ وَاَ َّ اللّٰھُم [Hence, we ask God for their well-being in this world as well as in the hereafter.O God! Guide them and help them with a spirit from Yourself and apportion them a great portion of Your faith…] Despite all this, accusing such a person of nursing enmity against the British government and to cast doubt about his book such that it incites against the government: if not the height of dishonesty and an evil intrigue, then what is it? The well-wishers of this empire and the follow - ers of Islam must not pay heed to the absurd talk of these

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 147 jealous people and must not think ill of the author or his book.As for the government, we are already satisfied that it will certainly not pay attention to such talk about the author.Rather, it will admonish him who reports such things to the government for misreporting on his part.Printed at Punjab Press Sialkot

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Postponement of the Jalsa of 27 December 1893 ce I have to write with regret that I was confronted by such circum - stances that made me inclined to postpone the Jalsa [convention] this time.And since some people will wonder as to what has caused this Jalsa to be deferred, some reasons are written hereun - der in brief.First— the desire and true purpose of the Jalsa was that the members of our Community, through repeated meetings [with me], should somehow achieve such a change in themselves that their hearts become fully inclined towards the hereafter, and the fear of God should develop within them; and that they should become for others an example of piety, righteousness, virtue, for - bearance, tenderness of heart, mutual love, and brotherhood; and they should develop in themselves humility, hospitality, and integrity, and embrace with zeal the carrying out of religious cam - paigns.But such an effect was not observed after the first Jalsa.Rather, even during the days of the Jalsa there were certain com - plaints that some people were rude and misbehaved with others for their own comfort; in other words, the gathering put them in a

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 150 trial.Moreover, I find that after the Jalsa, no noteworthy, positive, and righteous change has been observed in some members of this Community.I have experienced this because many people have off and on stayed with me ever since the Jalsa; that is, some arrive while oth - ers leave.At times, the number of guests reaches the hundreds, and at others, there are fewer guests.But sometimes, in this gathering, due to the lack of accommodation and other required facilities for the stay of guests, exchanges of harsh words—out of selfish - ness and strained relations—are heard among some guests, just like those travelling by the rail quarrel with one another due to a lack of room.And if some poor fellow comes running, carrying his bag with him, while the train is about to pull out, [those sit - ting in the train] close the door and push him away, saying, ‘There is no room for you’—while room can be made for him, but they demonstrate hard-heartedness.Despite having bought the ticket, the poor fellow runs about here and there carrying his bag with him, but no one takes pity on him.At last, railway employees for - cibly have room made for him.Similarly, this Jalsa, too, seems to be a cause of corrupting certain moral qualities.Hence, holding this Jalsa does not seem expedient unless all the required facil - ities for the stay of guests are made available and unless God, through His special grace, generates tenderness, sympathy, and a spirit of serving others and bearing hardships in the hearts of our Community members.It is my heartfelt wish that the new converts should travel to see me only for the sake of God, keep company with me, and return having brought about a change in themselves, for there is no telling when one is going to die.There are benefits for the

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 151 converts in seeing me.But he alone actually sees me who seeks faith with patience and seeks just faith alone.Hence, the arrival of such pure-intentioned people is always blessed and [these bless - ings are] not dependent on any particular Jalsa.Rather, they can speak with me at other times of their own convenience.This Jalsa is indeed not like other worldly fairs that must regularly be held even if there is no need.Holding this Jalsa is conditional upon right intention and beneficent results.There is no benefit in hold - ing it without achieving these goals, and every effort in this regard would be pointless.It would be a futile exercise unless experience established and testified that this Jalsa has achieved some particu - lar religious objectives and unless it is demonstrated that it has influenced the morals and conduct of people in certain positive ways.Otherwise, holding this Jalsa despite knowing that it does not bear good results is tantamount to sin, deviation from the right path, and an abominable innovation.I do not at all wish to gather together my followers like the p i rs of the present day only to show off worldly majesty.The ultimate cause towards which I strive is the reformation of people.Yet, if an arrangement or plan does not result in reformation, but leads only to mischief, then from among all people, I am its bitterest enemy.My brother-in-faith, Respected Hadrat Maulaw i N u r-ud- D i n, may Allah keep him safe, has time and again told me that most members of our Community have not yet attained any dis - tinct capability in goodness, modesty, piety, righteousness, and mutual love for the sake of God.I fully agree with the opinion of Respected Maulaw i Sahib.I have learnt that some members, despite having entered the Community, and taking bai‘at [the oath of allegiance] with my humble self, and repenting earnestly,

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 152 are still so hard-hearted that they treat the poor from among the Community like wolves and do not greet them with salutation of as-sal a mu ‘alaik [peace be on you] in good spirit, out of con - ceit, much less behave courteously and sympathetically towards them.Some of them I see to be so mean and self-centred that they start quarrelling over petty issues out of selfishness, and engage in scuffles and attack each other over minor issues.At times, mat - ters become so bad as to reach the point that they start abusing each other and they develop rancour in their hearts.They argue selfishly over petty issues like eating and drinking.Of course, there are certainly more than 200 pious and upright people in our Community as well, whom God has blessed and who weep when admonished and give preference to the hereafter, and exhortation affects their hearts in wonderful ways.But for now I am speaking only about those with perverted hearts and I exclaim, wonder - ing: O God, what is happening and who are these people around me? Why are their hearts ever inclined towards selfish desires and why does one brother cause trouble for another and seeks to assert superiority over him? I say most truly that a person’s faith can cer - tainly not be sound until one prefers the comfort of his brother over that of his own as far as possible.If a brother of mine sleeps on the floor in front of me, despite being weak and ill, whereas I, being hale and healthy, take posses - sion of the bed so that he may not sit on it, then how pitiable is my condition.And how sorrowful would be my condition if I were not to get up and give the bed to him by way of love and compas - sion, preferring the floor for myself.If my brother were to be ill and suffering from some pain, then how pitiable would my con - dition be if in such a situation I would be sleeping comfortably

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 153 and would not try my best to bring him relief and comfort.And if some brother-in-faith of mine speaks harshly to me out of haugh - tiness, how pitiful would it be if I, too, wilfully and knowingly, respond to him harshly.I should, on the contrary, patiently bear what he says and earnestly supplicate for him in my daily prayers, crying and weeping, for he is my brother and is spiritually ill.If my brother is naive, or not very learned, or makes a mistake out of naivety, I should not ridicule him or hastily frown at him in anger, or tell others of his shortcomings out of ill intention.All these are ways to destruction and no one can become a true believer unless he is tender-hearted and until he considers himself to be the most lowly in comparison with all others and unless all his haughtiness is far removed.Being a servant of the people is a mark of those destined to lead.And speaking to the poor in a kind man - ner while bowing humbly is the characteristic of those accepted by God.And responding to mischief with beneficence is the sign of good fortune.And suppressing anger and tolerating harsh words are acts of extreme courage.But I observe that these qualities are not found in some of the members of my Community.Rather, some are so ill-mannered that if a brother is stubbornly sitting on his bed, the latter seeks to forcibly remove him from it, and if the former refuses to be moved, the latter turns the bed upside down and throws him to the ground.1 ٭ Then the former, too, does not hold back and starts 1.٭ This is only meant as advice for my dear Community from me.There is no other purpose.No one else is permitted to name someone and de - scribe his character.Doing so will result in that person taking the path of sin and discord.(Author)

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 154 hurling filthy abuse at him, giving full vent to his rage.Such is the state of affairs that I observe in this gathering.At this, my heart aches and burns and this wish spontaneously develops in my heart that it would be better if I were to live among the savage beasts instead of among these sons of Adam.So with what hope for joy should I gather together people for the Jalsa? This is not some show from among the other worldly spectacles.Till now, I know that I am all alone except for a small group of friends numbering slightly more than 200, upon whom there is a special Grace of God.The foremost among them is my bosom friend and beloved companion, Maulaw i H ak i m N u r-ud-D i n, and a few other friends who I know love me only for the sake of Allah Almighty, and look reverentially upon my sayings and exhortations, and strive for the hereafter.Hence, God willing, they are with me in both worlds and I am with them.But how can I consider those to be with me whose hearts are not with me; who do not recognize Him whom I have recognized and do not instil His Majesty in their hearts, and do not think that He watches them while they indulge in ridicule and depravity, and never realize that they are consuming a poison which will certainly result in their death—in fact, they are such as do not wish at all to give up the ways of Satan.Remember well that the one who does not wish to tread upon my path is not of me, and is false in his claim.He does not want to embrace my faith; rather, he prefers his own creed.He is as far from me as the west is from the east.He mistakenly considers me to be with him.I have repeatedly exhorted you to purify your eyes; and make them see spiritually, too, just as they can see physically.The faculty to see physically is found in animals as well, but man can be described as sighted only when he possesses spiritual sight, that is, when he

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 155 inclines towards virtue after having acquired the ability to distin - guish between virtue and sin.Hence, you should seek for your eyes not only the sight which animals also possess, but also true sight.Cast out from your hearts worldly idols because the world is opposed to faith.Soon you shall die and see that only those attain salvation who were free of, and disgusted by worldly pursuits and had pure hearts.I have become tired saying these things again and again, that if these are the state of your affairs, then what exactly is the difference between you and the others? But these hearts are so constituted that they pay no heed and I do not expect these eyes to gain sight except if God so wills.I am indeed disgusted with such people both in this world and in the hereafter.If I had been alone in some jungle it would have been better than the company of such people who do not see the grandeur of the commandments of God Almighty and do not tremble before His majesty and honour.If a person just verbally declares that he is a Muslim without possessing real virtue—or if a hungry one were simply to utter the word ‘bread’ with his tongue—of what use would that be? By these methods, neither would the first attain salvation nor the second fill his stomach.Does God Almighty not see the hearts? Does the profound sight of the All-Knowing and All-Wise not reach the deepest recesses of man’s constitution? Hence, O foolish ones, understand well! And O heedless ones, consider carefully that without true purity—of faith and of morals and of deeds—there can be no freedom in any way.And one who, despite remaining impure in every way still considers himself a Muslim, does not deceive God Almighty, but deceives only himself.And what do I have to do with those who do not wholeheartedly endeavour to follow religious injunctions, and do

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 156 not earnestly place their necks under the holy yoke of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and do not adopt righteousness, and do not yearn to renounce evil habits in disgust, nor discard the company of those who ridicule, nor discard impure thoughts, nor inculcate in themselves humanity, civility, patience, and tenderness? On the contrary, they ill treat the poor, push away the helpless, walk arrogantly in the streets, sit haughtily on chairs and consider themselves to be great, while in fact no one is great except the one who considers himself lowly.Blessed are those who consider themselves most humble and lowly, speak modestly, respect the poor and needy, and treat the helpless with honour, and never ridicule them out of mischief and arrogance.They remember their Gracious Lord and walk with humility on the earth.So I say repeatedly that such are the people for whom salvation has been made ready.One who is not free from the hell of mischief, arrogance, self-conceit, haughtiness, worship of the world, greed, and depravity in this very world will most certainly not be free from them in the hereafter.What should I do and from whence should I produce such words that should affect the hearts of this group of people.O my God! Bestow upon me such words and reveal to me such discourses that should illumi - nate these hearts with light and remove their poison with their remedial qualities! My entire being throbs with this deep longing that at some point that day should come when I will see in my Community many such people who have in fact forsaken false - hood and have made a sincere pledge with their Lord that they will safeguard themselves against every kind of evil, and will abso - lutely distance themselves from arrogance, which is the root of all mischief, and will remain fearful of their Lord.But, as of yet,

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 157 apart from a few select people, I do not see such countenances.Yes, they offer their five daily prayers, but they do not know what prayer is.Unless the heart bows down in prostration, it is vain to expect that physical prostration will avail them anything.Just as the blood and meat of sacrificed animals do not reach God, but only righteousness does, similarly, physical bowing and prostra - tion amount to nothing unless the heart, too, bows, prostrates, and performs qiy a m [standing position in prayer].The qiy a m of the heart is to be established upon the divine injunctions, and the bowing connotes bowing towards Him, and prostration means forsaking one’s self for His sake.A hundred pities, nay, a thousand pities that I do not at all see any effect of these things in them.Nevertheless, I supplicate—and I shall go on supplicating as long as I live—and my prayer indeed is that God Almighty may purify the hearts of this Community of mine, may He turn their hearts to Himself by extending the hand of His mercy, and remove all mischief and rancour from their hearts, and bestow upon them true, mutual love.I firmly believe that this prayer will certainly be accepted at some time and God will not let my prayers go to waste.And yes, I also pray that if someone from among my Community is, in God’s knowledge and will, eternally wicked, and is not des - tined ever to attain true purity and righteousness, then O God Almighty, alienate him from me also, as he has turned away from You, and bring in his place someone else who is tender-hearted and whose soul earnestly seeks You.My condition at present is that I fear the one who takes the bai‘at with me just as one fears a lion, because I do not want that one should be related to me despite remaining a worm of the earth.Hence, the above-stated reason is one of the causes for the postponement of the Jalsa.

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 158 Secondly, as of now, our arrangements [for accommodation and food] are extremely inadequate and there are only a few sin - cere and devoted helpers.Moreover, the publication of many books has not yet materialized due to a lack of sincere ones.In such circumstances, neither my sincere friends nor I have the means to organize such a grand Jalsa that is attended by hundreds of guests, both noble and ordinary, who stay for days.Also, the poor guests coming from far-off regions have to be provided with traveling expenditures as happened in the last Jalsa.Additionally, proper provision of food along with attendant amenities, such as beds, for hundreds of people, and building enough accommoda - tions for their stay that lasts for days is not possible as yet.It is obvious that thousands of rupees are required to finance all these arrangements.It would be a great sin if these arrangements were made by taking out a loan.This would mean disregarding the day-to-day indispensable religious needs, and burdening oneself unnecessarily by taking loans for such expenditures as no one even remembers afterwards.Even though the convention has not been held this year, the guests have still been coming in droves.Since last year, the number of daily guests has exceeded thirty or forty, and at times even 100, most of whom are poor and needy, from far-off regions who also have to be provided with traveling expenditures when they depart; this is a daily practice.Respected Maulaw i H ak i m N u r-ud-D i n has been devot - edly supervising this matter.Many a time he gave, from his own pocket, travelling stipends to those coming from remote places.Some were even given about thirty or forty rupees each; giving two to four rupees is routine.In addition to these expenditures and his previous financial support, he has recently spent about

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 159 300 to 400 rupees on various needs of the guests out of personal magnanimity and graciousness.Moreover, he has committed to bearing most of the expenses for the publication of the books, because books are continually being published—though due to certain essential expenditures, our own printing press has yet to be set up.Nevertheless, Respected Maulaw i Sahib is engaged devot - edly, heart and soul, in these services.Some other friends, too, are serving as per their capacity and means.But for how long can so many expenditures be borne within a rather meagre income? Hence, for these reasons, I consider it appropriate to postpone the Jalsa this year.Let us see how God Almighty unfolds His Will in the future.For His Will overrides the decisions of weak mortals.I do not know what is about to transpire, whether the divine Will is in line with what I have written, or whether there is some other decree of providence of which I am not yet aware.ِ ہللا ى َ وَأُفَوِّض ُ أَمْرِي ْ إِل ْرُ.ي ِ ص َّ وَنِعْم َ الن ى َ ْہ ِ ھُو َ مَوْلَنَا نِعْم َ الْمَوْل ي ل ُ عَلَ َّ ك وَأَتَوَ [I entrust my matter to Allah and in Him do I put my trust.He is our Master, He is an Excellent Master and an Excellent Helper.] The humble one, Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian

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Q a sI dah [Ode] In praise of our Master and Spiritual Guide, the Promised Messiah, may Allah guard him against all harm by: The humble servant, Rahmat Ali of Barnawa ِ ملع وگرہ اکن وت ذات ای ِ ملع وجرہ اہبىئ وت داین O the one who is the mine of the pearls of knowledge! Only you know the value of the jewels of knowledge.جنگ رب جنگ ِ وت دل ملع از ِ ملع ٔ در اشکدہ اخہم ز و Your heart has become a brimful treasure of knowledge, And your pen has opened the door of knowledge.رپور روح ذبات ت مس� عل ِ ملع رپور روح آدمی وت While knowledge nourishes the soul, You have come to nourish the spirit of knowledge! ٔ راز رپدہ اشکىئ انہف وت ِ ملع ربنع یم م� ش � رشن وت You have unveiled secrets, And spread the fragrance of knowledge.

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 162 آاس رمدم وت ن ی� � ش � ن � د�ی�دہ در ِ ملع رسور و ن ی� � ش � ن � دصر ای The seeing eye finds you the comforter of people are the light of the lamp of the Faith of Ahmad, O chief of knowledge, who is seated on a high station! ادمح ن ی� � ِ د ِ رچاغ ونر وت ِ ملع ربنم و انمر عمش وت You are the light of the lamp of the Faith of Ahmad, And you are the light of the minaret and the rostrum of knowledge.ٔ اربو ہ ن �ج�ی� ہ ن �ج�ی� وت ز یم�ان � ا ِ ملع دربل ٔ روىئ اغزہ وت O you who is the crown of the head! Because of you, faith has become charming; You are the beauty of the face of knowledge.منھم ف ی آخر� رہظم وت ِ ملع ِ آرخ رحف اوّل وت You are the manifestation of ْ ْن َ مِنْھُم ي ِ آخَر [ and there are some others of that group ] ; And you are the first and the last word of knowledge.ٰ ومندن ِ �ہ�ُدی رہ ت ُس� ت � رب ِ ملع رربہ وچ ىئ وت ارموز Only you could show the right path, Because today you alone are the guide to knowledge.نک رب انز الکہ وت اونکن ِ ملع رس ن ی� � ِ زم اتج ای Wear now the turban of superiority! O you who is the decorated crown of knowledge!

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H A D R AT M IR Z A GHU L A M AH M AD A S 163 ٰ ی ِ ع�یس ِ وافت ربخ دادی ِ ملع دبرتف اہنن وبد وک You have given us the news of the death of ‘ I s a [Jesus], Which was previously concealed in the book of knowledge.رکدی اتزہ ہک امبن رفدنخہ ِ ملع دررب ابلس �دہ ن � ج ز�ی� May you always be happy, for you have fulfilled [the promise], O one clad in the beautiful raiment of knowledge! ِ زامہن اعمل ہک ودعہ آن ِ ملع ِ داور ز امب رکدتس The promise which was made by the sage of the all the times [i.e.Holy Prophet s as ], That he received from the Arbiter of knowledge [God]; وموعد اشنن رتخ ہب م ن �ی� ج � ِ ملع اصبرئ رما ت �یس� ن � وگ I discern on your blessed face the signs of the Promised One, Though I am not well versed in academic arguments.ین ٔی زام اہد و دہمی وت ِ ملع ر � ج یم� �پ� وخش ٰ و ی ع�یس وت You are the Mahdi [Guided One] and guide of the age, You are ‘ I s a and the cherished emissary of knowledge.داجل ولگی یئپ دتس در ِ ملع رجنخ �ی�دہ ش س ک وت داری Your hand is on the throat of Dajj a l [the Antichrist]; In your hand is drawn the dagger of knowledge.وصرت اعاملن روہمہ رب ِ ملع اربک اجحب داردن The worldly scholars have their faces covered, With the great veil of ‘knowledge’.

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T E S T I MON Y OF T HE HOLY Q U R AN 164 تسہ ازل ت دہا�ی� ہک آرنا ِ ملع رب اشکن اشکن آردن You are drawing towards guidance those, For whom guidance had been ordained since eternity.رتمح ِ مشچ ز رظنے ربنم ِ ملع رظنم �یک ن � وت روےئ ای Bless me with your glance of mercy O you whose face is a beautiful spectacle of knowledge! رہ در اتفدہ و بل ہنشت نم ِ ملع وکرث آب اسیق وت I am thirsty and have stumbled in my way, While you are distributing the water of the Kauthar—the heavenly spring—of knowledge! ی غ � ی در� ِ نم ز نکم وت ِہلل ِ ملع ونمر ِ ہم ز ی ونر Do not, for God’s sake, hold back, From me the light of the bright moon of knowledge.

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

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166 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 ‘alaih/‘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 l a 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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Publisher’s Note 167 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.Long vowels by: a for __ ٰ ___ or آ (like a in father ).i for ی __ ِ ___ or __ ٖ ___ (like ee in deep ).u for و __ ُ ___ (like oo in root ).Other vowels by: ai for ی __ َ ___ (like i in site ).au for و __ َ ___ (resembling ou in sound ).The consonants not included in the above list have the same pho - netic 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 the English language, e.g.Islam, Quran, Mahdi,

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168 jihad, Ramadan, and ummah.The Royal Asiatic Society’s rules of transliteration for names of persons, places, and other terms, are not followed throughout the book as many of the names contain non-Arabic characters and carry a local transliteration and pro - nunciation style.Acknowledgements Shakil Ahmad Nasir translated this book from Urdu into English, and Zulfiqar Bhawarna and Saeed-ur-Rahman made important contributions in its revision.The English Translation Section, USA of Additional Wak a lat-e-Ta s n i f reviewed and finalized the translation.Al- Ha j Munawar Ahmed Saeed, Naveed Malik, Sardar Anees Ahmad, Jaleel Akbar, Waseem Sayed, Abdul Wahab Mirza, and Hassan Khan provided valuable services.May Allah the Exalted reward all of them abundantly.

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Biblical and Quranic Names N a m e s o f P r o p h e t s Adam A dam David D a w u d Abraham Ibr a h i m Son of Mary Ibn-e-Maryam Elijah Ily a s Jesus ‘I s a Messiah Mas ih Muhammad Muhammad Moses M u s a John the Baptist Ya h y a Solomon Sulaim a n Jacob Ya‘q u b Christ Yas u ‘ Joseph Y u suf

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Glossary A h ad (pl.A ha d ), or Khabr-e-W ah id, refers to those a ha d i th that are sol - itary and not duplicated by others.A ha d i th Plural of hadith.Reported statements of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.A m i n Lit.may it be so.It is used at the end of a supplication to pray that God may accept it.It is similar in meaning to ‘amen’.Asauj A month in a Hindu calendar.At-ta h iyy a t Lit.all kind of praise.The name of a supplication offered during the formal Prayer.Z uhr Lit.midday, noon.Refers to the noon Prayer (one of the five daily Prayers in Islam).Dur u d The name of a special prayer that calls down blessings upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as which is also a part of the formal Prayer.Far d Lit.compulsory or obligatory.Refers to the units of the five daily Prayers that must be performed.Contrast with ‘sunnah’, ‘nafl’, etc.Frontier In British India, ‘the Frontier region’ referred to the North-western Frontier Province (in present-day Pakistan) and con - tiguous regions of Afghanistan.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.Holy Prophet s as A title used exclu - sively for the Founder of Islam, Hadrat Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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172 Holy Quran The final and per - fect Scripture revealed by Allah for the guidance of mankind for all times to come.It was revealed word by word to the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as over a period of twenty-three years.‘Ish a ’ Lit.evening.Refers to the night Prayer before going to bed (one of the five daily Prayers in Islam).Khalifah Caliph/Successor.In Is - lamic terminology, the word right - eous Khalifah is applied to one of the four Khulaf a ’ who continued the mission of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as.Khalifatul Masih Ahmadi Mus - lims refer to a successor of the Promised Messiah as as Khal i fatul- Mas ih.Khulaf a ’ is the plural of Khalifah.Maghrib Refers to the evening Prayer, immediatley after sunset (one of the five daily Prayers in Is - lam).Ma h ram Close relatives of the op - posite sex who have been granted sanctity and thus may not marry one another and are not subject to the requirements of veiling etc.Non-ma h ram are the class of peo - ple from whom Muslims must observe purdah (veiling), lowering of gaze, etc.Marf u‘ Applied to those ah a d i th whose chain of narrators reaches up to the Holy Prophet s as himself.Mutta s il Lit.‘Continuous’ or ‘unin - terrupted’.Applied to those a ha - d i th where there is no break in the chain of narrators.Muqallid i n Plural of muqallid, lit - erally means ‘followers’ or ‘disci - ples’.The term was originally ap - plied to the followers of one of the four Imams: Abu Han i fah, M a lik, Sh a f i and H anbal.All four of these Imams were true muwa hh id i n, be - lievers in the Unity of God, who spent their entire lives interpreting the true teachings of Islam.Muwa hh id i n Plural of muwa h - h id, literally meaning a believer in the Unity of God.All Mus - lims, by virtue of subscribing to the Kalima-e-Tau hi d are muwa h - h id i n.However, the term muwa h - h id i n, has been adopted by some Muslims who consider the Quran and hadith to be sufficient sources of guidance and do not follow any Imam.Rak‘ a t Plural of rak‘ah, which refers to one cycle of the formal Prayer, consisting of standing, bowing, sitting, and prostration.

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Glossary 173 S a hih Lit.correct or authentic.A grade applied to a ha d i th that are deemed authentic.S i hah Sittah The title given to the six authentic books of a ha d i th, namely: S a hih al-Bukh a r i ; S a - hih al-Muslim; Sunan an-Nasa’ i , Sunan Ab u D a w u d, Sunan at-Tirmidh i , and Sunan Ibni M a jah.S ir at The name of a narrow bridge over the hellfire that all people will cross on the Day of Judgement; some will enter heaven thereby, whereas others will fall into the fire.Sunnah In the context of the formal Prayer, refers to those rak‘ a t that the Holy Prophet s as offered but are not prescribed as obligatory.Sun - nah rak‘ a t are offered regularly by practicing Muslims.S u rah A chapter of the Holy Quran.Taw a tur Refers to those a ha d i th that are reported from multiple narrators, further increasing their reliability.

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Index

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Index of the Verses of the Holy Quran Chapter 2, al-Baqarah verse 40....................................72 verse 41....................................47 verse 50–51............................47 verse 56....................................51 verse 56–58............................48 verse 62.............................49 , 97 verse 86....................................57 verse 88.......................41 , 43 , 71 verse 185..................................55 verse 233..................................55 verse 235..................................55 Chapter 3, « A » l ‘Imr « a » n verse 105..................................55 verse 111..................................93 verse 196..................................55 Chapter 4, an-Nis « a » ’ verse 30....................................56 verse 42.................................106 verse 60....................................56 verse 114..................................93 verse 165..................................75 verse 165–166........................75 Chapter 5 , al-M » a « ’idah verse 4.........................69 , 70 , 71 verse 7......................................56 verse 116..................................60 verse 118.........................53 , 103 Chapter 6 , al-An‘ » a « m verse 55....................................56 Chapter 7 , al-A‘r » a « f verse 128–130........................45 Chapter 9 , at-Taubah verse 119..................................81 Chapter 10 , Y » u « nus verse 65....................................61 Chapter 13 , ar-Ra‘d verse 18.............................39 , 88 verse 32....................................90 Chapter 15 , al » - H « ijr verse 10................67 , 68 , 86 , 87 verse 25....................................57 Chapter 17 , Ban » i « Isr » a » ‘ « i « l verse 16.............................50 , 90 Chapter 18 , al-Kahf verse 99–100..........................23 Chapter 19 , Maryam verse 72....................................57 Chapter 21 , al-Anbiy » a « ’ verse 92–94............................22 verse 97......100 , 101 , 104 , 121 verse 97–98............................22

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178 Chapter 23, al-Mu’min « u » n verse 45....................................72 Chapter 24, an-N « u » r verse 56..44 , 53 , 58 , 59 , 68 , 77 , 89 , 90 , 107 Chapter 29 , al - ‘Ankab » u « t verse 50....................................87 verse 70....................................89 Chapter 33, al-A « h » z « a » b verse 41.................................103 Chapter 39 , az-Zumar verse 69....................................39 Chapter 56 , al-W » a « qi‘ah verse 40–41.....................44 , 65 verse 80....................................82 Chapter 57, al- « H » ad « i » d verse 18....................................39 verse 28....................................41 Chapter 61, a « s » - « S » aff verse 10....................................23 Chapter 62 , al-Jumu‘ah verse 3...............................67 , 82 verse 4...................................122 Chapter 73, al-Muzzammil verse 16...........................40 , 105 Chapter 77 , al-Mursal » a « t verse 11....................................34 verse 12.............................36 , 37 Chapter 81 , at-Takw » i « r verse 2......................................35 verse 3......................................35 verse 5...............................20 , 33 verse 6......................................34 verse 8......................................33 verse 11....................................33 Chapter 82 , al-Infit » a « r verse 2......................................36 verse 3......................................35 verse 4......................................34 Chapter 84, al-Inshiq » a « q verse 2......................................36 verse 4–5.................................32 Chapter 97 , al-Qadr verse 2–6.................................26 Chapter 99, az-Zilz « a » l verse 2......................................32 verse 2–6.................................28

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Index of Topics Ahmadiyya Community advice for, 152 prayer for, 157 Announcements for the attention of the government 127 invitation to Islam for Parliament in London 116 postponement of Jalsa, 149 Promised Messiah spent 2,000 rupees on, 116 British government as a blessing of God Almighty 142 gratitude owed to, 144 jihad against, prohibited 141 Muslims as loyal subjects of, 139 Muslims under, able to practice their Faith 143 British, The blessings of, government 146 did not use the sword to convert 121 established freedom of religion 121 God draws, towards prosperity and wisdom 129 government established peace 131 possess great knowledge 130 prayers for, government 130 Christian priests interpolate holy books 30 misguide people 100 , 104 Commandments, Divine addressed to Companions but meant for all 62 are opposed to desires of ego 78 Criticisms, Response to that Promised Messiah denied the miracles of Jesus 119 that there is no need for reformers in Islam 69 D « a » bbatul-ar « d » 38 Da jj « a » l and ‘waves of conflict’ 101 distance between ears of 31 machinations of Christians referred to as 101 , 104 Faith cannot be perfected until needs of others are put first 152 God did not give Jesus the power to create 119 law of, requires truth to come out 112 life and death in the hand of, 123 one who does not recognize, cannot recognize Quran 82

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180 shows heavenly support for Prophets 111 Hadith advent of Jesus mentioned in, 4 discarding, would amount to destroying large portion of Islam 8 fulfilment of prophecy is proof of reliability of, 32 Islamic prayer based on, 9 meaning of ‘Signs will appear after 200 years’ in, 110 mentions three periods of ummah 66 necessary to accept, if not against Quranic teachings 8 prophecy about Promised Messiah in, 14 Signs of Latter Days in, 17 the reliability of, increases when combined from different sources 5 Imam of the Age one who does not recognize, dies a death of ignorance 60 Islam cannot be grasped through mere talk 85 is like a house that requires cleaning 76 Promised Messiah invited leaders to, 116 prophecy that, will enter every nation 17 requires obedience to God and government 131 Jalsa looking after the poorer guests of, 158 postponement of, 149 true purpose of, 149 Jesus concluded khuilafat in Khil « a » fat dispensation 41 Jews awaited Elijah as Muslims await Jesus 112 Jesus appeared when, were in decline 96 Jesus appeared when, were subjugated by Romans 97 story of, in Quran 47 Jihad baseless views regarding, against British 139 is, against government lawful? 130 need to clarify the true understanding of, 141 objective behind, 144 the Reformer and, 122 Khil « a » fat « A » yat Istikhl « a » f 44 David and Solomon were Khulaf « a » ’ 46 in Islam was not limited to thirty years 65 lasted 1400 years in Mosaic dispensation 41 needed even after religion has been perfected 69 not limited to Companions of the Holy Prophet 54

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Index 181 of Latter Days discussed in « S » a « h » i « h » Bukh « a » r « i » 66 only righteous believers are true bearers of 59 purpose of, 70 , 77 , 91 similarity of, between Mosaic and Islamic dispensations 106 , 107 Latter Days discussed in Hadith 15 likeness to the, of Mosaic dispensation 108 Quran on Promised Messiah in, 39 Signs of, 28 , 38 two periods in, 40 Mahdi Muslims ignorantly await a violent, 131 Promised Messiah same as, 132 Miracles Promised Messiah does not deny the, of Jesus 119 Muslims as loyal subjects of British government 139 British government as a mercy for, 142 objecting to gratitude for British government 144 Mutiny of 1857.see Rebellion of 1857 Nafkh-e- « s »« u » r a metaphor for Promised Messiah 39 during ‘waves of conflict’ 100 Numerical value of verse 62:4 is 1,275 122 Philosophers endorse that likes of humans beings are born 114 people misguided by, 122 , 124 Prayers acceptance of, of Promised Messiah a Sign 115 Promised Messiah gratitude for British government by, 144 Prophecies about Lekhram 123 about Promised Messiah are part of faith of Muslims 14 about Promised Messiah in the Gospel 35 about the progress of Islam 17 about the rise of Christianity 15 are beyond human power 123 in Hadith about Promised Messiah 4 in Quran about the decline of Muslims 99 in the Torah about Shiloh 99 of Promised Messiah encompass chief nations of India 123 that camels will be abandoned 19 Prophets after Holy Prophet 85 appear in times of trouble 78 are the greatest benefactors of mankind 88

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182 Holy Prophet was the Seal of the, 43 in Mosaic dispensation 71 needed to safeguard Quran 68 Quran promise to safeguard the, 67 requires teachers 83 successors of Holy Prophet will safeguard, 69 two benefits of, 67 Railways prophecy about, 20 replaced camels 20 Rebellion of 1857 father of Promised Messiah during, 135 Reformer(s) appear after death of Prophets 77 are spiritual teachers 83 do not add or take away from religion 70 of this age is Promised Messiah 102 Religion spiritual decline leads to death of, 91 Rulers Muslim, lost due to their indulgences 121 Sinful, are a trial 59 Shariah prohibits raising sword against just government 140 Signs Divine, are shown in support of Prophets 111 of the Latter Days 110 over 3,000, shown in favour of Promised Messiah 114 Sufis testify to the advent of Promised Messiah 5 Tau « h »« i » d world will turn to, 132 Truth fabrications smashed by, 133 freedom and tolerance for spread of, 143 in nature of man to tell , 8 Ulema Muslim, followed in the footsteps of Jews 97 prophesy that, would resemble Jews 17 Ummah of Holy Prophet Khil « a » fat in, will last forever 91 decline of, similar to that of Jews 97 deterioration of, in Latter Days 111 if Prophets were sent as mercy before Islam then why not in, too 75 similar to that of Moses 91 Wisdom hadith on, 144

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