True Insights into the Concept of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat— A Grave Threat to Islam Replies to Some Allegations (12) True Insights into the Concept of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat M i r z a T a h i r A h m a d

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(12) True Insights into the Concept of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat An English translation of the Jalsah S a l a nah concluding speech deliv- ered in Urdu by Hadrat Mirz a Ta hir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV rta , on April 7, 1985, at Islamabad, United Kingdom.First Published in Urdu in the UK in 1985 as: Irf a n-e-Khatm-e-Nubuwwat Present English translation published in the UK in 2017 Translated by: Late Mi an ‘Abdur Raheem © Islam International Publications Ltd.Published by: Islam International Publications Ltd.“Islamabad” Sheephatch Lane Tilford, Surrey GU10 2AQ UK Printed in the UK at: Raqeem Press Tilford, Surrey GU10 2AQ For further information you may visit www.alislam.org ISBN: 978-1-84880-893-5 10 9 8 7 5 6 4 3 2 1

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat— A Grave Threat to Islam Replies to Some Allegations (12) True Insights into the Concept of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat An English translation of the speech delivered by Hadrat Mirz a Ta hir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV rta on April 7, 1985 , at the Jalsah S a l a nah United Kingdom © Islam International Publications Ltd.

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Table of Contents n Preface................................................................................ix About the Author...............................................................xv Profound and Firm Faith in the Holy Prophet’s Status as Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n.........................................................2 A Masterpiece of Deception...............................................4 The ‘Muslim Thinker’—His Status as a Religious Authority...........................................................................6 Kh a tamiyyat Encompasses All Qualities of Prophethood 7 An Enlightened New Aspect of Kh a tamiyyat...................13 Profound Interpretations of Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n by Muslim Thinkers.......................................................16 ‘Kh a tamiyyat’ Transcends Time......................................18 Advent of a Prophet within the Ummah is Not in Conflict with ‘Khatm-e-Nubuwwat’.............................................21 A Foolish and Un-Enlightened Interpretation................28 A World of Difference.......................................................32 The Real Source of the So-Called Indelible Mark...........34 The Meaning of Kh a tamiyyat According to A ha d i th......38 The Messiah of the Latter Days Will be a Prophet of God...................................................................................39

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[ vi ] Completion of the Metaphorical Mansion Signifies Perfection of Divine Law................................................44 Literal Meaning of the Word ‘Ba‘d i ’................................45 Advent of a Prophet According to the Need of the Time.................................................................................49 Another Argument for the Continuity of Prophethood.52 The Real Significance of H ad i th L a Nabiyya Ba‘d i..........54 Hadrat ‘ A ishah S idd i qua’s Interpretation of L a Nabiyya Ba‘d i..............................................................56 Interpretation of Hadrat ‘ A ishah’s ra H ad i th by Learned Scholars............................................................................57 A Prophet of the Grandeur of the Holy Prophet sa Cannot Appear................................................................62 Another Misleading Claim by the ‘White Paper’............63 A Profound Interpretation of Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n........65 Plight of the Ummah Despite the Presence of the Perfect Book.....................................................................68 Lessons from the History of the Prophets.......................70 Need for a Reformer in the Present Age..........................72 Cry of the City of Sodom..................................................79 Awaiting the Advent of the Mahdi...................................81 Who are the Companions of the Latter Days?.................84 Other Misleading Statements of the “White Paper”.......86 Liar, on Him Will be the Sin of His Lie............................88 Distinction between the True and the False Claimants..91 The Real Reason for the Opposition of Those Commissioned by God...................................................94

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ vii ] Deliberate Deception in the White Paper........................96 Belief in Khatm-e-Nubuwwat and Fundamentals of the Islamic Faith....................................................................97 Belief in Khatm-e-Nubuwwat and its Impact on Civilization and Culture...............................................100 Islamic Civilization and Culture as Seen by Ulema......102 A Claim Without Evidence.............................................105 Nubuwwat within the Ummah of the Holy Prophet sa..106 Mahdi and Messiah Are One Person..............................117 The Second Coming of the Messiah and ‘All a mah Iqb a l’s View...............................................................................118 If Jesus is Dead, How Will He Return?..........................119 Unfair Attitude on a Well-Established Doctrine...........121 Glossary of Important Terms............................................125

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[In the Name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful] Preface n A perfec t example of the cr uel treatment of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at by the Government of Paki- stan is the White Paper.This document, published by the Government of Pakistan under the title Qadiyaniyyat— Islam kei liye eik Sang i n Kha t rah ( Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam ), was written in support of the federal ordinance dated April 26, 1984.By publishing the White Paper, this ‘Islamic Republic’ has set aside all Islamic values and has done away with many basic human rights, including religious and social freedoms of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at.Using the White Paper as a crutch, the Government of Pakistan claims that the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at compel it to impose restrictions upon the Ahmadi Muslims.As far as the allegations and accusations made in the White Paper are concerned, they are a repetition of the same baseless allegations and accusations that the

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[ x ] Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at has responded to in the past on the basis of the Holy Qur’an and the A ha d i th.Since much of our literature is currently being confis- cated by the Government of Pakistan, sincere seekers of truth may have difficulty finding the answers.This series of Friday sermons presents the response by Hadrat Mirz a Ta hir Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih IV rta , the then Im a m of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at, to these allegations.This response to the White Paper was first published in Urdu in 1985 and the English translation is being published now.This speech was delivered on April 7, 1985 at the Jal- sah S a l a nah United Kingdom.It details the profound insight and conviction that the Promised Messiah as had in Khatm-e-Nubuwwat.By citing extensively from reputable sources throughout Islamic history, he demonstrates that the Ahmadiyya belief in Khatm-e-Nubuwwat is fully consis- tent with the consensus of the Companions ra of the Holy Prophet sa and the views held by respected Muslim scholars and authorities.The translation of this Friday sermon was done by the late Mian Abdur Raheem.The USA translation team under the direction of Additional Wak i lut-Ta s n i f, London finalized it for publication.Important contributions were made by Munawar Ahmed Saeed, Abdul-Wahab Mirza, Luqman Tahir Mahmood, Naveed Malik, Humera Malik, Anees Ahmad, Rashida Kalim Rana, and Naser-ud-Din Shams.May Allah bless them all.Ami n.

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ xi ] This book uses the following system of transliteration adopted by the Royal Asiatic Society.at the beginning of a word, pronounced as a , i , u pre- ceded by a very slight aspiration, like h in the English word honour.th , pronounced like th in the English word thing.h , a guttural aspirate, stronger than h.kh , pronounced like the Scotch ch in loch.dh , pronounced like the English th in that.s , strongly articulated s.d , similar to the English th in this.t, strongly articulated palatal t.z , strongly articulated z.‘, a strong guttural sound, the pronunciation of which must be learnt by the ear.gh , a sound approached very nearly by r in the French grasseye and also the German r.It requires the muscles of the throat to be in the gargling position whilst pro- nouncing it.q , a deep guttural k sound.’ , a sort of catch in the voice.

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[ xii ] Short vowels are represented by a for (like u in bud ); i for (like i in bid ); u for (like oo in wood ); the long vowels by a for or (like a in father ); i for or (like ee in deep ); ai for (like i in site ); u for (like oo in root ): au for, (resembling ou in sound ).Please note that in transliterated words the letter e is to be pronounced as in prey which rhymes with day ; however the pronunciation is flat without the element of English diph- thong.If in Urdu and Persian, the letter e is lengthened a bit more, it is transliterated as ei to be pronounced as ei in feign without the element of diphthong; thus is transliterated as Kei.For the nasal sound of n, we have used the symbol n.Thus the Urdu word would be transliterated as mei n.The consonants not included in the above list have the same phonetic value as in the principal languages of Europe.The following abbreviations have been used.Readers are urged to recite the full salutations when reading the book: sa s allall a hu ‘alaihi wa sallam , meaning ‘may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him’ is written after the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa.as ‘alaihis sal a m , meaning ‘may peace be upon him’ is written after the name of Prophets other than the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa.

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ xiii ] ra ra d i-All 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 sa or of the Promised Messiah as.rta ra h matull a h ‘alaih, meaning ‘may Allah shower His mercy upon him’ is written after the names of deceased pious Muslims who are n o t Co m p a n io n s of th e Ho ly Prop h et Muhammad sa or of the Promised Messiah as.Please note that in referencing the Holy Qur’an, we have counted ‘In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful’ as the first verse of the chapter in which it appears.We pray to God that this message may reach all people who have a genuine desire to study these issues.May Allah make this a source of guidance for them.A m i n.Munir-ud-Din Shams Additional Wak i lut-Ta s n i f London, UK, July 2017

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About the Author n H A D RAT MIRZ A TA HIR A H MAD r t a was born in Qadian, India, in 1928 to Hadrat Mirz a Bashir-ud-Din Ma h m u d Ahmad ra and Hadrat Maryam Begum ra.He received his early schooling in Qadian.After graduating from the Ahmadiyya Missionary College, Rabwah with distinction, he obtained an honours degree in Arabic from Punjab University.In 1955, he visited England for the first time with his father, who suggested that he remain behind to improve his knowledge of the English language and European social habits.He secured admission at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, where he remained for two-and-a-half years.By the end of 1957, Hadrat Mirz a Ta hir Ahmad rta had seen most of Western Europe.He travelled extensively in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.The experience that he gained during these years would play a crucial role later in his life, when administer- ing his great responsibilities as Khalifatul Masih IV, the fourth Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at.He was

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[ xvi ] elected to this office in 1982, one day after the demise of his predecessor, Hadrat Mirz a N as ir Ahmad rta.The anti-Ahmadiyya ordinance of April 1984, promul- gated by General Zia-ul-Haq, compelled Hadrat Mirz a Ta hir Ahmad rta to leave Pakistan.He decided to migrate to England, where he established his transitory base in exile.Of all his achievements in England, Muslim Television Ahmadiyya (MTA) International is one of the greatest.Through MTA International, numerous educational pro- grams are televised twenty-four hours a day.His activities after his departure from Pakistan helped proliferate and spread the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at to more than 150 countries of the world.Apart from being a religious leader, he was also a homeopathic physician, a prolific writer, a gifted poet, and a sportsman.Hadrat Mirz a Ta hir Ahmad rta passed away on April 19, 2003, at the age of 74.He is succeeded by Hadrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad [may Allah be his help], the present Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at.

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A fter reciting tashahhud , ta‘awwudh, and S u rah al-F a ti h ah, H u du r rta recited the following verses of the Holy Qur’an: 1 H u du r rta said: In the so-called White Paper published by the Govern- ment of Pakistan, the most vile and painful accusation is that (God forbid) the Promised Messiah as rejected the verse about Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n 2 and did not believe the Holy Prophet sa to be Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n.The members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at are accused of the same.This is such a baseless accusation that anyone who has made an unbiased study of the writings of the Promised 1.Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; and Al- lah has full knowledge of all things.O ye who believe! re- member Allah with much remembrance; And glorify Him morning and evening ( S u rah al-A h z a b , 33:41–43).[Publisher] 2.Seal of the Prophets, a title bestowed upon the Holy Prophet sa in the Holy Qur’an (S u rah al-A h z a b , 33:41).[Publisher]

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[ 2 ] Messiah as would pay no attention to it.Unfortunately, most people are not familiar with the writings of the Promised Messiah as , and the Government of Pakistan has placed obstacles to their distribution [in Pakistan] and has confis- cated the books from which a common Muslim could have learned the truth.Profound and Firm Faith in the Holy Prophet’s Status as Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n Numerous writings of the Promised Messiah as —including prose and poetry—prove beyond a doubt the profound cognition, firm conviction, and deep and broad under- standing that the Promised Messiah as had in Khatm-e- Nubuwwat.Our opponents and other ulema do not possess even a fraction of the depth and the breadth of the under- standing that the Promised Messiah as had on this subject.As the Promised Messiah as says: Bear in mind that the charge leveled against me and my Jam a ‘at, that we do not believe the Holy Prophet sa to be Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n, is a great calumny.The strength, certainty, understanding and solid convic- tion with which we believe the Holy Prophet sa to be Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n is millions of times stronger than the belief of others.They lack the capacity and they have no inkling as to the true meaning and sig- nificance of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat.They have only inherited a word from their ancestors, but they do

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 3 ] not comprehend the meaning or the significance of the belief in Khatm-e-Nubuwwat.On the other hand, with God-given insight (of which Allah is All-Aware), I believe the Holy Prophet s a to be Kh a tamun- Nabiyy i n.God has manifested to me the truth of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat in such a profound way that I enjoy this elixir of heavenly wisdom in a manner beyond the imagination of those who have not par- taken of this fountainhead.( Malf uza t , vol.1, p.227– 228) The Promised Messiah as also writes: The sum total and the essence of our belief is: 3 Our firm belief, which we uphold in this life and with which, by God’s grace, we shall leave this worldly abode, is that our Lord and Master, Mu h ammad, the Chosen One, is Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n [Seal of the Prophets] and Khairul-Mursal i n [the best among the Messengers.] Through him faith was perfected and the blessing, through which one can reach God by adopting the path of salvation, has reached its pinna- cle.( Iz a la-e-Auh a m , R uha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.3, p.169– 170) The Promised Messiah as also writes: 3.Creed of the Islamic faith:, L a il a ha illall a ho Mu h ammadur Ras u lull a h , meaning: ‘There is none worthy of worship except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’ [Publisher]

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[ 4 ] The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, surpassed all other Prophets in all noble traits—purity of heart, clear conviction, chastity, modesty, veracity, fairness, trust, and love and devo- tion to God—and he was the best, most complete, the most exalted, most distinct, and purest of all the Prophets.That is why, of all the Prophets, the Holy Prophet sa was blessed the most by God with the per- fume of special perfections.His heart was more mag- nanimous, more pure, more innocent, more enlightened and more loving than anyone before or after him.That is why it [his heart] was deemed fit to receive the divine revelation that is more powerful, more complete, more exalted, and more perfect than all the past or future revelations, and is the biggest and widest mirror to manifest the divine attributes.( Surmah Chashm-e- A ryah , R uha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.2, p.71 footnote) A Masterpiece of Deception I will now address, one by one, the allegations made against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at and its founder, the Prom- ised Messiah as.As I read out some excerpts from the book- let, it will become evident that these objections are a masterpiece of deception in which truth is mixed with falsehood, wrong conclusions are deliberately drawn from the truth, and misleading statements are made on the basis of erroneous assumptions.As a result, the entire booklet

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 5 ] has become a masterpiece of deception and of covering up the truth.Now, let us read an excerpt from it.It states: In the last fourteen hundred years, the indisputable meaning of the phrase Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n has been that the Holy Prophet sa was the last Prophet and no Prophet would come after him.The Companions of the Holy Prophet sa also understood the Qur’anic term Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n in the same way.Based on this unshakable belief, they vehemently fought any one who claimed to be a Prophet.In the entire his- tory of Islam, the Muslim ummah never spared a per- son who claimed the status of prophethood.( Qadiyaniyyat—Islam kei liye eik Sang i n Kha t rah [ Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam ,] p.24–25) It also claims: Prominent Muslim scholars and historians, Ibn-e- Khald u n, Im a m Ibn-e-Taymiyyah, his brilliant disci- ple Ibn-e-Qayyim, Sh a h Waliyyull a h Dehlav i , and ‘All a mah Iqb a l, are renowned thinkers who have dis- cussed the intellectual, social and political aspects of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat.‘All a mah Iqb a l’s views on this subject can be read later on in this document.( Qadiyaniyyat—Islam kei liye eik Sang i n Kha t rah [ Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam ,] p.6–7) The second part of the allegation—dealing with the treat- ment meted out to the claimants of prophethood in the history of Islam and the conclusions to be drawn from it—

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[ 6 ] will be discussed later.To begin with, I would like to say that the claim that all the respected Muslim religious lead- ers have understood the phrase Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n to have no meaning other than the last Prophet of God, is an outright lie and a slander against them.There is nothing more to it.Khatm-e-Nubuwwat is a vast subject and has deep implications.It has so many meanings that covering all its positive aspects, let alone refuting the opponents’ claims, would take much more time than is allotted in one sitting.Therefore, I will limit my responses to the aspects pertain- ing to the objections [stated in the White Paper].The ‘Muslim Thinker’—His Status as a Religious Authority As far as the great thinkers of Islam are concerned, we do not question the first three names cited in the White Paper.They undoubtedly provided great services to Islamic think- ing and philosophy.The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at agrees that they were great intellectuals and men of great knowl- edge and understanding.However, regarding ‘All a mah Iqb a l, I will present a passage from his own writings to demonstrate his status as a religious thinker and authority.In his letter to Professor Su f i Ghul a m Mu st af a Tabassum, the ‘All a mah writes: The scope of my religious knowledge is very lim- ited… I have spent most of my life studying western

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 7 ] philosophy.That point of view has largely become second nature to me.Consciously or unconsciously, I study the teachings of Islam from this [western] van- tage point.( Iqb a l N a mah, (A Collection of the Letters of Iqb a l) part 1, p.46–47, publisher: Sheikh Muham- mad Ashraf, Kashmiri Bazaar Lahore) ‘All a mah Iqb a l himself acknowledges that his study of the Qur’an is influenced by Western thinkers and philosophy and that his own religious knowledge is very limited.To think that such a person can be presented as an authority for Muslims suits only the objectives of those who authored the White Paper.No unbiased person can entertain such a thought.Kh a tamiyyat Encompasses All Qualities of Prophethood I will now present to you a few excerpts from the writings of the Promised Messiah as and other pious people and thinkers from the ummah to illustrate the profound and extensive meaning of Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n.You will realize that the authors of the White Paper have taken a very narrow interpretation of this vast subject.Moreover, the premise that Kh a tamiyyat has always been understood to mean that the Holy Prophet sa is the last Prophet with reference to time is plain wrong, and the Muslim ummah ha s re jec ted that claim.These p eople on ly thin k superficially and have thus totally ignored other profound

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[ 8 ] meanings which are very deep and magnificent.The Promised Messiah as writes: It is undoubtedly true that not even a Prophet can truly equal the Holy Prophet sa in his holy excellences.Even the angels cannot dream of attaining those heights, let alone that anyone else should achieve an e xc e l l e n c e c o m p a r a b l e t o h i m.( B a r a h i n - e - Ahmadiyya , Part III, Sub-footnote Number One, R uha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.1, p.268) This is the true concept of Kh a tamiyyat , which is that the station of the Holy Prophet sa is so exalted that even the angels cannot approach it.In other words, the mi‘r a j [spiri- tual ascension of the Holy Prophet sa ] is synonymous with Kh a tamiyyat.The Promised Messiah as further writes: The insight and sagacity of our Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, far excelled the combined insight and sagacity of the whole ummah.Rather—I hope that brethren will not feel offended by it—it is my conviction, which I can prove, that the insight and sagacity of all the other Prophets cannot match the insight and sagacity of the Holy Prophet sa.( Iz a la-e-Auh a m , Part 1, R uha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.3, p.307) This means Kh a tamiyyat encompasses all qualities of prophethood, and that insight is one part of it.We have gained this lofty understanding from the Promised Messiah as.Some past thinkers had also expressed similar

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 9 ] v i ews, but the Pro m ise d Mes sia h’s a s w r it in g s o n Kh a tamiyyat are far more profound.The Promised Messiah as writes: It is undoubtedly true that not even a Prophet can truly equal the Holy Prophet sa in his holy excellences.Even the angels cannot dream of attaining those heights, let alone that anyone else should achieve an e xc e l l e n c e c o m p a r a b l e t o h i m.( B a r a h i n - e - Ahmadiyya , Part III, Sub-footnote Number One, R uha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.1, p.268) In this reference, Kh a tamiyyat has been expressed in terms of spiritual perfection.The Holy Prophet sa excelled in not only his insight, but also in spiritual perfection.He encom- passed the collective spiritual qualities of all the previous Prophets and angels.Therefore, he was called ‘ Kh a tam ’.I have quoted this reference earlier, but it was necessary to repeat it in order to highlight this particular point.The Promised Messiah as also says: All prophethoods, having arrived at their climax in the person of our lord and master, the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, have been fulfilled.( Islam i U su l k i Fil a saf i , R uha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.10, p.367) This means that not only did he possess all the qualities of prior Prophets, but that all of these qualities reached their apex in him.This is the profound insight into Kh a tamiyyat

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[ 10 ] that was granted to the Promised Messiah as by Allah.The Promised Messiah as further writes:...Our Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, embodies in himself all the excel- lences.God says in the Holy Qur’an: 4 ‘Follow all the teachings that were given to all the Prophets.’ The person who embodies all these teach- ings will, of course, become a compendium of all excellences and be greater than all the Prophets...( Chashma-e-Mas ihi , R uha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.20, p.381) Here the concept of Kh a tamiyyat has been addressed with reference to divine guidance.Out of every past teaching that appeared in the world, every good teaching is incorpo- rated in the teachings of the Holy Prophet sa.The Promised Messiah as further states: All prophethoods and all Books of the past are no longer required to be followed independently, because the prophethood of Muhammad sa comprises and encompasses them all.And except for it [the prophethood of Muhammad sa ] all routes to God are closed.Each and every truth which leads to God is in it [the Holy Qur’an] alone.Neither will any truth come after this, nor is there any earlier truth which is not present in it.It is for this reason that all 4.S u rah al-An‘ a m , 6:91 [Publisher]

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 11 ] prophethoods have ended with [the coming of] this prophethood.And so it should have been…( al- Wa s iyyat , R uha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.20, p.311) It is no longer necessary to follow previous Prophets and Books.This is also a consequence of Kh a tamiyyat.The need to follow other Prophets or Books would only exist if any part of the truth or enlightenment granted to them were missing.However, every truth and enlightenment is completely encompassed by Kh a tamiyyat — and it has appeared with a new luster and has reached a new height.The Holy Prophet sa was thus called kh a tam because he freed us from the need to reach God through the door of any other Prophet.In an Arabic qas i dah [ode], the Promised Messiah as writes: No doubt, Muhammad is the best of creation; He is the elect of the elect and chief of chiefs.Meaning that he is the moving spirit of those who are the most exalted.All excellences attained perfection in his person; The bounties of every age reached their climax in him.

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[ 12 ] In other words, Kh a tamiyyat encompasses the limits of time—it does not distinguish between the past and the future.This is the true concept of Kh a tamiyyat.He is superior to all those who attained nearness to Allah in earlier times; For the criterion of excellence is virtue, not time.O my Lord, shower Your blessings upon Your Holy Prophet, Ever and always, here and in the Hereafter.( A ’ i na-e-Kam a l a t-e-Isl a m , R uha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.5, p.592– 593) The Promised Messiah as says [in one of his poems in Persian]: The Prophet whose name is Muhammad , His pure and faultless guidance alone I hold firmly in my hands.He is the best of all Prophets and the best of all man- kind.All attributes and blessings of prophethood reached their perfection in his person.

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 13 ] All the water that we drink is from him.From him alone has anyone been satiated.We derive all light and perfection from him.Meeting the Beloved Lord is impossible without him.My love for the Prophet is deep and abiding.O how I wish to fly like a bird towards him with all my heart and longings! ( Sir a j-e-Mun i r, R uha n i Khaz a ’in, vol.12, p.95–96) An Enlightened New Aspect of Kh a tamiyyat The basic meaning of Kh a tamiyyat that has been expounded here is that Kh a tamiyyat does not limit itself to just excelling all others in spiritual rank, instead it passes these excellences on to others.Kh a tamiyyat does not denote acquiring the highest spiritual rank and withhold- ing it from everyone else; rather, it spreads its grace with such grandeur that every follower excels in spiritual rank.The Promised Messiah as mentions this subject further in a couplet, saying: We became the Best of Nations by following you, O the Best among the Prophets.We marched forward by treading in your footsteps.( A ’ i na-e-Kam a l a t-e-Isl a m, R uha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.5, p.226)

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[ 14 ] These are some examples that I have cited from the writings of the Promised Messiah as.But the writings of the Promised Messiah as on Kh a tamiyyat are such a vast treasure that our opposing clerics do not possess an iota of it.Any honest and pure-hearted person who studies the writings of the Promised Messiah as would agree with these insights.Past Muslim scholars have separately mentioned some of the meanings of Kh a tamiyyat which the Promised Messiah as has written about comprehensively.Just as the Holy Prophet sa is the Kh a tam of all the Prophets, the Promised Messiah as is the Kh a tam of all of the people in love for the Holy Prophet sa.There is nothing that others have described about the Holy Prophet sa that the Promised Messiah as has not encompassed in his writings; and there is nothing that others have described in which the Promised Messiah as has not surpassed them in grandeur.Hadrat Sheikh Ab u ‘Abdull a h Muhammad al- H asan al- H ak i m at-Tirmidh i (d.circa 255AH), in his book Khatmul- Auliy a ’ on page 241, writes: We hold that the title of Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n signifies that prophethood with all its noble qualities and grandeur has come to perfection in Muhammad sa.That is why Allah the Almighty likened his heart to a container which assimilated all the noble qualities of

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 15 ] prophethood and then it was sealed.( Khatmul- Auliy a ’, p.341, published by Catholic Press, Beirut) Just ponder over the difference.Since the word ‘seal’ had been used, Im a m Tirmidh i says that after all the excellences had been combined, a seal was put upon them.This implies an end to those excellences.In contrast, the Prom- ised Messiah as says that combining of all excellences is a valid concept.But the idea that the Holy Prophet sa limited those excellences to himself is not correct; he combined them but did not stop their further dissemination.In this respect, the commentary by the Promised Messiah as regarding the following verse is worth reading: 5 Im a m R a z i writes in Tafs i r -e- Kab i r R a z i , vol.6, p.31: Intellect is the kh a tam (culmination) of everything.[Arabic proverb] Therefore, it is necessary for ‘ kh a tam ’ to mean the best.Don’t you realize that when our Prophet s a was declared Kh a tamun- Nabiyy i n , he was declared the best of the Prophets.( Tafs i r-e-Kab i r R a z i , vol.6, p.31, under the verse, S u rah Ta h a , 20:26, by Im a m Muhammad Fakhr-ud- D i n R a z i ) 5.Then he drew nearer to God ; then he came down to mankind.( S u rah an-Najm , 53:9).[Publisher].

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[ 16 ] Profound Interpretations of Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n by Muslim Thinkers ‘All a mah ‘Abdur Ra h m a n bin Khald u n rta (died 808 A.H.) is mentioned as a noted Muslim thinker in the White Paper.He writes: Saintliness is analogous to prophethood; just as there are various ranks in prophethood, there are similar ranks in sainthood.One who possesses the best of the saintly qualities is called Kh a tamul-Auliy a ’ , just as the one who possesses the best of the qualities of prophethood is known as Kh a tamul-Anbiy a.’ ( al- Muqaddimah ibn-e-Khald u n , vol.1, p.271) That is to say, kh a tam does not mean the last with respect to time, but the ultimate according to degree or rank.If we use it to mean ‘the last’ with reference to time, then we have to agree that sainthood has come to an end, God forbid, and the ummah will be deprived of sainthood.Hadrat Ab u Sa‘id Mub a rak Ibn-e-‘Al i Mukharram i rta (died 513 A.H.), the patron saint of no less a person than Hadrat Syed ‘Abdul-Q a dir J i l a n i rta , states:.

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 17 ] Man holds the highest position of all creation.When he rises, all the noble qualities in all their grandeur find their manifestation in him and he is called the Perfect Man.The noble qualities in all their grandeur have found their perfection in our Holy Prophet sa and therefore he is Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n.( Tu h fa Mur- salah Shar i f , by Ab u Sa‘ i d Mukharram i , translation and commentary by Muhammad ‘Abdul-‘Az i z J a landhar i , p.51) The above passages contain similar themes, but all aspects of Kh a tamiyyat are not covered in them.Hadrat Maul a n a R u m rta (died 672 A.H.) writes: The Holy Prophet sa is kh a tam because there neither was nor will be any equal to him in generosity, that is, spreading the blessings… ( Mift ah ul-‘Ul u m, by Maul- av i Muhammad Nadh i r ‘Arsh i (Shara h Mathnaw i Jal a l-ud-D i n ar-R u m i rta , vol.15, Book 6, part 1, p.56–57) This is the same theme expressed by the Promised Messiah as , as noted earlier, where he says that an important aspect of Kh a tamiyyat is that the Holy Prophet sa passed on to his followers the spiritual blessings he had achieved.

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[ 18 ] …When a craftsman excels and achieves perfection, don’t we use the word kh a tam to denote his excel- lence in craftsmanship? ( Ibid.) Maul a n a Muhammad Q a sim N a notaw i , founder of the Deoband i sect, which is now in the forefront of distorting the meaning of Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n , writes: Prophets are similar to governors as they are charged with the duty of delivering divine commandments to the people.They are God’s vicegerents.Therefore, it is necessary for them to hold positions of authority.The office of a governor or minister is considered the high- est in a chain of subordinate officers.A governor or a minister has the authority to set aside the orders or directives of his subordinates.His orders, on the other hand, cannot be set aside by subordinate officers.The final authority rests with the governor.Similarly, there is no one above the ranks or with more authority than the ‘ Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n.’ All others are subordinate to him.(Collection of Rare Periodicals and Addresses— Mub ah athah Shahjahanpur , 1914, p.25) ‘Kh a tamiyyat’ Transcends Time In the above reference, we find Kh a tamiyyat meaning final- ity in status rather than finality in time.Apart from the meanings that have been discussed so far, some scholars have described Kh a tamiyyat to mean a signet ring, adorn- ment, and imparting blessing in the sense of a seal of

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 19 ] authenticity.The Holy Prophet sa is the testifier of all excel- lences.This, the Promised Messiah as argued, was the Holy Prophet’s sa favour on the previous Prophets.As I have mentioned earlier, Kh a tamiyyat transcends time and space.It has a universal application.Listen to the words of the Promised Messiah as from this point of view.He writes: Thus, he became the Seal of the Prophets.This was not because no one was to be granted any spiritual grace after him, but because no one could achieve any grace without the attestation of his seal, and that the door of converse with God would never be closed to his followers.No other Prophet has been granted this seal; he is the only one through whose seal such prophethood can be achieved and for which it is nec- essary that its recipient should be his follower.( Haqiqatul-Wahi , R uha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.22.p.29–30) The Promised Messiah as also writes: I believe sincerely in His Messenger and know that all prophethoods reached their apex in him and that all law culminated in his law.Yet one type of propheth- ood has not ended, that is to say, the prophethood which is granted in consequence of complete obedi- ence to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and which is illumined by his lamp.This prophethood has not ended inasmuch as it is a reflection of his prophethood and is given through him and is his manifestation and receives

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[ 20 ] grace from him.( Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat , R uha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.23, p.340) Elsewhere, the Promised Messiah as has elaborated that all other Prophets are indebted to the Holy Prophet sa in that through his seal of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat he has testified to the truth of all previous Prophets.Had he not done so, we could not have believed in their truthfulness.This is a unique and great favour of the Holy Prophet sa that he has testified to the truth of not only all the previous Prophets but also to the Prophets sent anywhere in the world.In other words, the benefits of his Kh a tamiyyat transcend time and space.In this connection, I would place before you a passage from the writings of the well known Mujaddid Alf-e-Th a n i , Hadrat Sheikh Ahmad Far u q i Sirhind i (died 1034 AH), who is a recognized authority among the different sects of Ahle-Sunnat ( H anaf i , Deoband i , Barelav i ).In his Makt u- b a t , he states: Following the advent of Hadrat Mu h ammad, the Chosen One, the Seal of the Prophets sa , the attain- ment of the attributes of prophethood by his follow- ers as subordinate or by way of inheritance, will in no way conflict with his status as the Seal of the Proph-

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 21 ] ets.So do not be amongst the doubters.( Makt u b a t Im a m Rabb a n i , Book 1, Makt u b no.301, vol.5, p.141) Advent of a Prophet within the Ummah is Not in Conflict with ‘Khatm-e-Nubuwwat’ Now where does their claim go that all past righteous scholars were unanimous in their interpretation and had no doubt about Kh a tamiyyat having no other meaning than being last in regards to time, and that there can be no other Prophet of any kind.Hadrat Mujaddid Alf-e-Th a n i who holds a high rank among the Muslims of the Indo-Pak subcontinent, says: Following the advent of Hadrat Muhammad the Chosen One, the Seal of the Prophets sa , the attain- ment of the attributes of prophethood by his follow- ers as subordinate or by way of inheritance, will in no way conflict with his status as the Seal of the Proph- ets.So do not be amongst the doubters.( Makt u b a t Im a m Rabb a n i , Book 1, Makt u b no.301, vol.5, p.141) Now I present the view of Hadrat Im a m B a qir ra : :

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[ 22 ] Ab u Ja‘far Im a m B a qir as said in commenting upon the verse of the Holy Qur’an: 6 Allah raised Prophets, Messengers and imams from the progeny of Hadrat Ibr a h i m as [Abraham].It is therefore surprising that while acknowledging these blessings among the progeny of Hadrat Ibr a h i m as , people deny this possibility in the case of the progeny and the followers of Hadrat Muhammad sa.( a s - Sa f i Shara h ‘Us u lul-K a f i , by Mull a Khal i l, Kit a bul- H ijjah, vol.3, p.119) The following is a couplet from Maul a n a R u m, who is known as the crown of Muslim saints: Exert yourself in the service of faith to such an extent that you be granted prophethood within the Muslim ummah.( Mift ah ul-‘Ul u m by Maulav i Muhammad Nadh i r ‘Arsh i (Shara h Mathnaw i Jal a l-ud-D i n ar- R u m i rta , vol.13, Book 5, part 1, p.98) What judgment would these present day ‘ulema,’ who are hostile to Ahmadiyyat, pass against the saints and sages quoted above? How are they going to disregard these writ- ings? These writings expose the falsehood of the claim that 6....Surely, We gave the Book and Wisdom to the children of Abraham...( S u rah, an-Nis a’ , 4:55) [Publisher]

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 23 ] all past pious ulema unanimously held the view that the only meaning of Kh a tamiyyat is ‘being the last in point of time.’ When we study the writings of great scholars and saints we find that present day ‘ulema’ are ascribing to them exactly the opposite of what they had written.It is inconceivable that a major department of the gov- ernment entrusted with the task of research on this issue was comprised of such fools that they were unaware of the existence of the writings of the past pious ulema.Surely they knew, but they deliberately chose to deceive and lie.Let us see in what meaning the Promised Messiah as con- sidered the continuity of prophethood in the Muslim ummah.He writes: We cannot attain any heavenly grace or greatness, place of honour, and position of nearness to God, except by complete devotion and absolute obedience to the Holy Prophet sa.Everything is granted to us by way of reflection and his inheritance.( Iz a la-e- Auh a m , R uha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.3, p.170) He also writes: But this honour was bestowed upon me solely because of my complete submission to the Holy Prophet Mu h ammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.If I had not been a part of the ummah of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and had not been his follower, then, even if my good deeds had matched all the mountains of

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[ 24 ] the world, I would never have received this honour of converse with God, for all prophethood has come to an end except the prophethood of Muhammad sa.No law-bearing Prophet can come after him.A Prophet who does not bring a new law can come, but he has to be a follower of the Holy Prophet sa first.On this basis, I am both an umm at i [follower] and a Nab i [Prophet].( Tajalliyy a t-e-Il a hiyyah , R uha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.20, p.411–412) The Promised Messiah also writes: The fact, O naive and blind people, is that our Holy Prophet sa , and our lord and master, (countless bless- ings be upon him), surpassed all Prophets in his spir- itual influence.The influence of all past Prophets came to an end at a certain point and their people and their religions have no trace of life left in them, but the spiritual influence of the Holy Prophet sa will endure to the Last Day.For this reason, this ummah does not require that a Messiah should come into it from outside; for, under the Holy Prophet’s sa benign influence, even an ordinary man can become a mes- siah, just as God has done in my case.( Chashma-e- Mas ihi , R uha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.20, p.389) Here is an excerpt from the writings of Hadrat Sh a h Waliyyull a h Mu h addith Dehlav i , who is has been acknowl- edged in the White Paper as an authoritative Muslim scholar.He is known to be a mujaddid (reformer) of the

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 25 ] twelfth-century (Hijri), Im a m of India, divinely inspired Su f i and prolific writer.He writes: That is, there cannot be any Prophet after the Holy Prophet sa who receives divine blessings indepen- dently [without going through the Holy Prophet sa.] ( Al-Khairul-Kath i r , p.78) This is exactly the same theme that the Promised Messiah as has expressed.The possibility of the return of the Messiah of Nazareth [Jesus] in the above excerpt is rejected because Sh a h Waliyyull a h writes that there cannot be a Prophet who has not received blessing through the Holy Prophet sa.It is agreed by all that the Messiah of Nazareth did not receive his blessings through the Holy Prophet sa , nor can he do so.Suppose Jesus returns, he would have read the Torah and Bible, not the Qur’an or the H ad i th.The question arises, would he take on a mentor, would he become a dis- ciple of a religious cleric to learn the Qur’an and H ad i th? Some people say that God will directly reveal the Holy Qur’an to him just like it was revealed to the Holy Proph- et sa.Even the sayings of the Holy Prophet sa will be revealed to him.If this were the case, how is that blessing received through the Holy Prophet sa ? Jesus is an independent Prophet who had no relation to the Muslim ummah.In the past, he received blessings through someone else.

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[ 26 ] [According to this belief ] he sat in heaven for 2000 years, and when he comes again, he will receive direct reve- lation from God! The Promised Messiah as says that one of the meanings of Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n is that no law-bearing Prophet can come because Kh a tamiyyat has the connotation of encompassing all goodness and qualities.If a teaching has reached perfection and does not exclude any good quality, then the question of a new teaching only arises if the teaching has been disfigured and tainted.However, Allah the Almighty has also guaranteed that the Qur’an will be protected.The natural and logical conclusion of these two facts— Kh a tamiyyat ensuring that the Book revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa encompasses all good qualities and God simultaneously promising that the jurisdiction of his law will extend till the Day of Judge- ment—is that this is the last teaching.The Holy Prophet sa is reported to have said that he and the Day of Judgement are as close together as two fingers of a hand.That is, there cannot be anybody who would abrogate his com- mandments or interfere in his law till the Day of Judg- ment—and beyond that the question does not even arise.This is exactly what the Promised Messiah as has said and it is what riles the opponents of Ahmaddiyyat the most.Our opponents attack us, claiming that on the one hand we believe that the Holy Prophet sa is Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n and profess on oath that we believe in verse Kh a taman-

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 27 ] Nabiyy i n in the Qur’an, but on the other hand we open the door to the advent of an ummat i Prophet.They claim that we say Kh a tamiyyat means ‘the last’ with reference to Shar i ‘ah [Islamic law], but not with reference to the non- law bearing prophethood.The Promised Messiah as writes in this respect: The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was granted a unique honour of being Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n because, firstly, all spiritual qualities of prophethood have reached their pinnacle in him.Secondly, there cannot be a law-bearing Prophet after him or one who is not in his ummah.Everyone who receives the honour of divine revela- tion does so only through the Holy Prophet sa and his blessings.Such a one is designated as an ummati Prophet and not an independent Prophet.( Tatimmah Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat , R uha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.23, p.380) Further, the Promised Messiah as writes: All prophethood has come to an end except the prophethood of Muhammad sa.No law-bearing Prophet can come after him.A Prophet who does not bring a new law can come, but he has to be a follower of the Holy Prophet sa first.( Tajalliyy a t-e-Il a hiyyah , R uha n i Khaz a ’in , vol.20, p.412)

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[ 28 ] A Foolish and Un-Enlightened Interpretation The above passages are the explanation of Khatm-e-Nubu- wwat that the Promised Messiah as has given.This is under attack.They claim it to be an established fact that all reli- gious scholars of Islam have said that the Holy Prophet sa is the last Prophet both with reference to bringing a law and with reference to time.No Prophet of any kind can come after him.The opponents of Ahmadiyyat say that the Mus- lim ummah has not, does not, and will not tolerate any deviation from that interpretation.In their animosity, these opponents make such claims today.But let us see what some of the past Muslim scholars have to say on the subject.Renowned Su f i Hadrat Ab u ‘Abdull a h Muhammad bin ‘Al i H usain al- H ak i m at-Tirmidh i (d.circa 255AH) writes: Now listen to the translation carefully.He says: As for the notion of those, deprived of goodness, that the term Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n signifies that the Holy Prophet sa was the last Prophet to be commissioned, what glory and majesty is there in him being the last? And what wisdom underlies this interpretation? It is an interpretation put forth by the foolish and un- enlightened people.( Khatmul-Auliy a ’ , p.341).

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 29 ] This is the viewpoint that the Government of Pakistan wants to thrust upon Muslims all over the world.We say to them, if you say that all doors to prophethood are closed and no Prophet can come, then why are you waiting for Jesus Christ? Forget about him and relax.If no one is going to come, then all doors are closed.The opponents would say not at all, because the Holy Prophet sa is the last Prophet to be commissioned.Any Prophet who had been commis- sioned before the Holy Prophet sa could come again.They argue that all the past scholars believed the same thing, but that is a blatant lie.According to the above quotation, this is the interpretation of the foolish and un-enlightened.Moreover, there is no glory in it for the Holy Prophet sa.In the same context, Hadrat Mu hy- ud-D i n Ibn-e-‘Arab i , the world renowned Muslim scholar and commentator (died 638 A.H.), writes: Prophethood continues in the creation till the Day of Judgment, although law-bearing prophethood has ended.Bringing down a law is just a part of prophet- hood.( Al-Fut uha tul-Makkiyyah , vol.3, ch.73, p.159).

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[ 30 ] Would he be accused of being a disbeliever for the above words? Again, in the same book Hadrat Ibn-e-‘Arab i states: The prophethood which came to an end with the advent of the Holy Prophet sa was law-bearing nubuw- wat and not the status of prophethood.There is no room for prophethood which should abrogate the message of the Holy Prophet sa or should add any- thing to it.This is the correct meaning of the h ad i th which contains the Holy Prophet’s saying; ‘There is to be no Messenger or Prophet after me.’ The h ad i th only conveys that after the Holy Prophet sa such prophethood has come to an end and there can be no Prophet or Messenger after him, that is, who will replace his Shar i ‘ah with another one.( Ibid., p.4) Similarly, Sheikh B a l i A fand i (died 960 A.H.) wrote: Kh a tamur-Rusul is one after whom no Prophet with a new law can come.( Shara h Fu sus -ul- H ikam , p.56).:..

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 31 ] It is obvious that he is not denying the appearance of a Prophet, but rather he says that no Prophet can come with a new law.Hadrat Im a m ‘Abdul-Wahh a b Sha‘r a n i , a renowned Su f i , writes in his well known and authentic book Al-Yaw a- q i t wal-Jaw a hir , volume 2, page 35: Bear in mind that prophethood per se has not ceased to exist.Only law-bearing prophethood has ended.( Al-Yaw a q i t wal-Jaw a hir , vol.2, p.35) Hadrat Syed ‘Abdul-Kar i m J i l a n i writes: With the advent of the Holy Prophet sa , law-bearing prophethood came to an end.The Holy Prophet sa was declared Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n because he, and no other Prophet, brought the perfect law.( al-Ins a nul- K a mil , vol.1, p.115) Hadrat Sheikh ‘Abdul-Q a dir al-Kurdist a n i writes: The title Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n conferred upon the Holy Prophet sa means that no other Prophet will be raised with a different law after him.( Taqr i bul- Mar a m f i Shar he Tahdh i bil-Kal a m , vol.2, p.233)...

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[ 32 ] The words ‘with a different law’ can have two meanings, one who follows a different law or one who brings a differ- ent law.With the former meaning, the return of Jesus Christ as after the Holy Prophet sa is impossible because, according to the Holy Qur’an, Jesus Christ was a Prophet for the Children of Israel, i.e., he followed the Mosaic law.A World of Difference Hadrat Sh a h Waliyyull a h Dehlav i , Mujaddid (reformer) of the twelfth century, a scholar who is recognized as a distin- guished authority by the White Paper, writes: The Holy Prophet sa being Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n means that there will not be anybody who is commissioned by God with a new law for mankind.( Tafh i m a t-e-Il a- hiyyah , vol.2, p.85) Maul a n a Muhammad Q a sim N a notaw i says: According to lay people, the Holy Prophet’s sa being kh a tam means that his era came after the era of the past Prophets and that he is the last Prophet.Now here he is attributing the notion to the lay people, he declares firmly that this is not the view of the scholarly and enlightened people.What is the view of these people, he goes on to say:

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 33 ] But it is apparent to those endowed with insight that coming in a particular sequence holds no honour in itself.How then can the verse: 7 be interpreted to convey a compliment to the Holy Prophet sa.If one does not consider Kh a taman- Nabiyy i n to be a praiseworthy trait or a rank of honour, only then can Kh a tamiyyat be interpreted as the last.In other words, this interpretation cannot be held without, God forbid, dishonouring the Holy Prophet sa.He continues: But I know that this will be intolerable to every Mus- lim.( Ta h dh i run-N a s , p.4–5, by Muhammad Q a sim N a notaw i ) Who are the Muslims then, we or the mull a hs of Pakistan? Your top scholar, who is the founding father of the Deoband Movement, says that anyone who considers the Holy Prophet sa to be last in time cannot be a Muslim.But you are presenting the same as a fundamental tenet of Islam.Let us turn to a Muslim scholar from the Barelav i sect, who are opposed to the Deoband i s.Barelav i s and other Sunn i s, who do not accept Deoband i s, allege that the 7.but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets ( S u rah al-A h z a b , 33:41)

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[ 34 ] Deoband i s not only started a sect but also laid the founda- tion for the Ahmadiyya Movement.They accuse the founder of Deoband [Maul a n a Q a sim N a notaw i ] of paving a path for Mirz a Sahib [the Promised Messiah as ], from which he made his claim of prophethood (God forbid).A well-known scholar of the Barelav i s, Maulav i Abul- H asnat ‘Abdul- H ayee of Farang Mahal, Lucknow, expounding his view on Khatm-e-Nubuwwat , writes: The advent of a mere Prophet after the Holy Prophet sa or in his era is not an impossibility.However, such a Prophet cannot be a bearer of a new law.( D a fi‘ul-Wisw a s, p.16) The Maul a n a further asserts that it is not only his belief, but a ll the Sun n i sch ola rs h ave b een m a k in g sim i lar explanations: Sunni scholars also explain that in the era of the Holy Prophet sa , there cannot be any law-bearing Prophet.His prophethood is universal and whichever Prophet will share the same era, he will be a follower of the law brought by the Holy Prophet sa.( Majm u ‘ah Fat a w a by Muhammad ‘Abdul- H ayee of Lucknow, vol.1, p.17) The Real Source of the So-Called Indelible Mark The ‘White Paper’ claims that:

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 35 ] Throughout the history of Islam, this concept of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat [i.e.the concept of being the last with reference to time] has been part of the basic beliefs of Islam and has left an indelible mark on the outlook, conduct, and psyche of Muslims.(Q a diy a- niyyat—Islam kei liye eik Sang i n Kha t rah, p.5) If you examine the history of Islam, there is no sign of such a mark.As I have mentioned, the Muslim scholars who are amongst the honoured saints, including some of the most highly renowned Su f i s, do not seem to have been influ- enced by this concept.Where did the authors of the so- called White Paper find the idea of the indelible mark.Surely, this mark must be somewhere.As they did not get it from the past Muslim scholars, they must have acquired it from somewhere else.The Holy Qur‘an has pointed out from where they have taken the concept of finality in terms of time.Allah the Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an:

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[ 36 ] And Joseph did come to you before with clear proofs, but you ceased not to be in doubt concerning that with which he came to you till, when he died, you said in despair: ‘Allah will never raise up a Messenger after him.’ This verse shows that the so-called indelible marks can be traced back to the time of Prophet Joseph as , but the Holy Qur’an rejects this concept.Continuing in this subject the Holy Qur’an uses the word ‘seal’ and says: Thus does Allah adjudge as lost those who transgress, and are doubters.“Those who dispute concerning the Signs of Allah without any authority having come to them.Grievously hateful is this in the sight of Allah and in the sight of those who believe.Thus does Allah seal up the heart of every arrogant, haughty person.( S u rah al-Mu’min , 40:35–36) This is where our opponents got the concept of the ‘indeli- ble mark.’ Allah says that the opponents of Y u suf as behaved the same way.As long as he was alive they paid no heed to him and opposed him vehemently.But when he died, they concocted a belief that God would never raise another Prophet.In other words, during the lifetime of Y u suf as , his opponents denied his claim and, after he passed away, they freed themselves from obedience to prophethood forever [by claiming that there would never be a Prophet again].

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 37 ] According to the Holy Qur’an, this concept has existed since the time of Y u suf as.The Holy Qur’an always warns against misguided notions and danger of misinterpretation.It is utterly impossible that anybody could come up with a clever argu- ment to outwit the Qur’an.In Chapter 72, S u rah al-Jinn verse 5, the same subject has been described: 8 When the jinn were initiated at the hands of the Holy Prophet sa and returned home, they talked amongst them- selves on the way back: How stupid and ignorant were our ancestors who fabricated extravagant lies against God.What were these lies? One of them was: ‘And indeed they thought, even as you think, that Allah would never raise any Messenger.’ 9 Our opponents today are the victims of the same kind of foolishness as those people were, and say the same thing: God will never raise another Prophet.If, as they assert, Allah the Almighty has now initiated a new order in which 8.S u rah al-Jinn , 72:5, [Publisher] 9.S u rah al-Jinn , 72:8, [Publisher]

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[ 38 ] the commissioning of a Prophet was to be banned, then why did Allah the Almighty mentioned the above and described as the stupidity of the former people.The Meaning of Kh a tamiyyat According to A ha d i th Our opponents assert that no Prophet will ever come, but instead of relying on the Holy Qur’an to substantiate their claim, they emphasize the h ad i th.They claim that there are many a ha d i th which conclusively prove that the Holy Prophet sa was the last Prophet with reference to time and state that after the Holy Prophet sa only false prophets and dajj a ls can appear, no one else.In other words, these oppo- nents seem to believe that, in the Muslim ummah, the door to true prophethood has been shut forever and the door of false prophethood has been flung open for all times to come.The is the concept of Kh a tamiyyat that they have proclaimed vehemently.Some a ha d i th of the Holy Prophet sa have been cited in this context.One such h ad i th is as follows: This has been translated as: Thirty imposters will be born in this ummah, each of which will think or claim himself to be a Prophet, despite the fact that I am the Kh a tam of the Prophets :

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 39 ] and after me there will be no Prophet of any kind.( Ab u D a w u d Kit a bul-Fitan , vol.2, p.234, published in Delhi) It is argued [by them] that in light of this h ad i th , how can the door to prophethood be declared open? I agree com- pletely that if the Holy Prophet sa closes a door, nobody has the authority to open it.We say: [We believe and testify to its truthfulness].I declare on behalf of the Ahmadiyya Jam a ‘at that we accept it—and we have no hes- itation in declaring it.Similarly, nobody can close a door that the Holy Prophet sa has opened with his other hand.This is the real point of contention; otherwise, there is no disagreement that whichever door the Holy Prophet sa has closed will remain closed and whichever door he has opened will remain open.The Messiah of the Latter Days Will be a Prophet of God Having reviewed the above h ad i th , I will draw your atten- tion to the h ad i th about the Messiah of the latter days.This is contained in the book S a hih Muslim Kit a bul-Fitan in the chapter about dajj a ls [antichrist].This is a long h ad i th and only relevant portions are mentioned here.Narrating the accounts relating to the descent of Messiah son of Mary, the Holy Prophet sa says:

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[ 40 ]....The Prophet of Allah, ‘ I s a will be besieged along with his Companions.Then he says: Then, the Prophet of Allah, ‘ I s a will turn to God with full attention along with his companions, Allah be pleased with them.Then he says: Then the Prophet of Allah, ‘ I s a will descend along with his companions.Further, he says:....Then the Prophet of Allah, ‘ I s a will turn to God with full attention along with his companions, Allah be pleased with them.( S a hih Muslim Kit a bul-Fitan, chapter Dhikrud-Dajj a l wa s ifatoh u wam a ma‘ah u ) This h ad i th is noted in S a hih Muslim , one of the most important books among the six authentic compilations of a ha d i th.It is to be noted that the Holy Prophet sa calls the Messiah who is to come, the Prophet of God, four times.In addition, the Holy Prophet sa calls the companions of the..." "..." "...." "...."

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 41 ] Messiah,‘ S a ha bah’, followed by the appellation ‘Allah be pleased with them’.Our opponents may say Jesus as was on old Prophet, who will return.Then will his companions of the old time, for whom the word S a ha bah was used, also return with him? It is obvious that the Holy Prophet sa is referring to an event destined to take place in the future.Irrespective of whether thirty or three million dajj a ls or impostors appear, the fact remains that the Holy Prophet sa has addressed the Messiah of the Latter Days as a Prophet of God.No one can deprive him of the title bestowed upon him by the Holy Prophet sa.An interesting incident about the Czar of Russia will make this point clearer.He had asked his doorman not to let anyone enter as he was busy in some important task and did not wish to be disturbed.Shortly, a son of the Czar sought entry into the Czar’s room but was stopped by the doorman.The prince challenged his authority to do so.The doorman indicated that it was the order of the Czar and he would not allow him to go in.The prince beat him up and attempted to go in, but the doorman again inter- vened.The doorman was beaten up again, but he would still not allow the prince to enter.At this, the Czar came out and the prince told him what had happened and that the doorman claimed that he was stopping the prince at the order of the Czar.The Czar said to the prince ‘you have dis- obeyed my order’ and ordered the doorman to whip his

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[ 42 ] son, at which the prince pleaded, saying ‘Your majesty, the law of the land does not permit an ordinary man to whip an officer.’ Hearing this, the Czar elevated the doorman to the post of a captain and ordered him to whip his son.The prince pleaded again, saying ‘Your majesty, the law of the land does not permit a junior officer to whip a senior officer.’ At this, the Czar promoted the doorman to the rank of a general and ordered the punishment to be carried out.The son further pleaded, saying ‘Your majesty, the law of the land forbids a person who is not a prince from beat- ing a prince.’ Thereupon, the Czar elevated the doorman to the status of a prince and ordered that the punishment be carried out.Thus, an ordinary soldier was elevated to the rank of a prince without any hindrance and no one could deprive him of the status.Would you not grant to the Holy Prophet sa the authority that the Czar had? With regards to the appearance of thirty dajj a ls in the Muslim ummah, we have the following in the Commentary of S a hih Muslim, known as Ikm a lo-Ikm a lil-Mu‘allim by Im a m Ab u ‘Abdull a h al-Ubayy, vol.7, p.258: The truth of this h ad i th has been fully established.The number of impostors from the time of the Holy Prophet sa till today has reached the count indicated by the Holy Prophet sa in his prophecy.

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 43 ] This, indeed, is the fulfillment of a divine plan, that the prophesied count of the impostors was completed before the advent of the true claimant to prophethood[i.e., Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as ], and it was documented in the above noted book.It could be argued that there may have been some more impostors making claims following the year 895 A.H.till the time of the Promised Messiah as.This would cast doubts upon the number mentioned in the h ad i th about thirty dajj a ls, but that is not so.This argu- ment is put to rest by a top scholar of ahl-e- H ad i th, Naw- w a b S idd i q H asan Kh a n, a contemporary of the Promised Messiah as.He writes: The prophecy made by the Holy Prophet sa regarding the advent of dajj a ls in this ummah has been fulfilled and their number as foretold has been completed.( H ijajul-Kar a mah f i A th a ril-Qiy a mah , p.239) According to the above reference, with the number of impostors as prophesied in the h ad i th having been com- pleted already, the time was nigh for the Messiah to come.All false ones had been silenced and the ummah was quietly waiting for the true Messiah.Glory be to Allah that he des- tined that a top scholar of ahl-e- H ad i th should declare that the time of the false ones is passed and now the true one will appear.

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[ 44 ] Completion of the Metaphorical Mansion Signifies Perfection of Divine Law Our opponents put forth another h ad i th , which, according to them, conclusively debars the advent of any Prophet.Great emphasis is laid on the h ad i th and it is asserted that it debars the coming of any ummat i Nab i [follower Prophet].The h ad i th runs as follows: Ab u Hurairah ra reports: ‘The Messenger of Allah sa said: ‘The previous Prophets and myself are like a pal- ace exquisitely built except for a missing brick in its wall.People would wonder why such a blemish was not attended to.I am that brick that completed and perfected the edifice of the palace.Another version of the h ad i th says: I am that brick and I am Kh a tamun- Nabiyy i n.(see S a hih al-Bukh ari Kit a bul Man a qib, S a hih al-Muslim Kit a bul-Fa da ’il, At-Tirmidh i Kit a bul Man a qib and Masnad Ahmad bin H anbal, Kanzul- ‘Umm a l Tatimmatul Ikm a l min fa da’ il motafarriqa- t a n...) They have mentioned with great pride that this h ad i th is from S a hih al-Bukh ari , but have very conveniently failed to :.....:.

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 45 ] mention the commentator and his interpretation of the h ad i th.‘All a mah Ibn-e- H ajar ‘Asqal a n i explains this h ad i th as following: The completion of the edifice means that the shar i ‘ah of Islam is more perfect in rank than the excellent laws that were revealed earlier.( Fat’ h ul-B ari Com- mentary S a hih a l-B u k h ari by Ibn H ajar al-‘Asqal a n i Kitabul Man a qib , Chapter Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n ) He is not included in their list of commentators.A com- mentator who is included in their list is ‘All a mah Ibn-e- Khald u n.Let us see what he has said about this h ad i th : People interpret the meaning of Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n with reference to the brick that completed the man- sion.However, it really means the Prophet with whose advent prophethood was perfected.( al- Muqaddimah ibn-e-Khald u n , p.300) Literal Meaning of the Word ‘Ba‘d i ’ There is another h ad i th that our opponents frequently quote to support their position.The h ad i th reads:..

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[ 46 ] Hadrat Sa’ad bin Ab i Waqq as reports that the Holy Prophet sa said to Hadrat ‘Al i ra : ‘You are to me what H a r u n [Aaron] was to Mu sa [Moses], except there is no Prophet after me.’ ( S a hih al-Muslim Kit a bul- Fa da ’il, S a hih a l-B u k h ari Kit a bul-Fa da ’il, and Masnad Ahmad bin H anbal , Masnad ‘Abdull a h bin ‘Abb a s bin ‘Abdul-Mu tt alib ) Another version of the h ad i th says: ‘…except that you are not a Prophet.’ Still another version quoted by Masnad Ahmad bin H anbal reads: ‘…But do not assume that you have become a Prophet.’ The rest of the h ad i th is the same.The background of the h ad i th is that the Holy Prophet sa was leaving for an expedition and appointed Hadrat ‘Al i to act as an Am i r [leader] in Madinah during his absence.Hadrat ‘Al i was a great warrior and had accompanied the Holy Prophet sa on all prior expeditions.For him to be left behind was very painful.He felt he would be deprived of the privilege of jih a d and that people may think the Holy Prophet sa was displeased with him.So Hadrat ‘Al i submit- ted to the Holy Prophet sa ‘O Prophet sa , am I going to be left :.:.:

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 47 ] behind as an Am i r over women and children?’ It was a sub- tle way of evoking the Holy Prophet’s sa love for him.There- upon, the Holy Prophet sa answered: ‘O ‘Al i , why do you express this grief? This event has given you the same posi- tion in relation to me, as H a r u n [Aaron] held in relation to M u s a [Moses] in his absence.You are to me what Aaron was to Moses.The difference is that you are not a Prophet.’ This h ad i th has been reported in different ways in S a hih al- Bukh ari.The meaning is essentially the same.Now, the present day ulema insist that in this h ad i th the word ba‘d i does not mean anything other than the asser- tion that there is no Prophet after the Holy Prophet sa.It has no relevance to the temporary absence of Holy Prophet sa from Madinah.Hadrat Sh a h Waliyyull a h Mu h addith Dehlav i , univer- sally acknowledged as the Mujaddid (reformer) of the twelfth-century, very well known to Muslims of the sub- continent and who is cited as a great thinker in the so- called White Paper, writes: It must be clearly understood that the object of this h ad i th is to highlight the appointment of Hadrat ‘Al i (Allah be pleased with him) to act in the place of the Holy Prophet sa when he was to be absent from Madi- nah during his expedition to Tab u k.Also, it high- lights Hadrat Al i ’s resemblance to Hadrat H a r u n as when Hadrat M u s a as had journeyed to the Mount.It is to be noted that the word ba‘d i here means ‘ ghair i ’

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[ 48 ] “beside me”.It does not mean “after me” in time.As we read in the Holy Qur’an: 10 In this verse ba‘dillah means other than Allah.( Qurratul- ‘Ainain f i Taf d ilish-Shaikhain, by Waliyyull a h Dehlav i , p.206) It may be noted that Sh a h Waliyyull a h has here based his argument entirely on the Holy Qur’an.He demonstrates clearly that ba‘d i is also used in the sense of ‘other than’ because in terms of time no one can be referred to be ‘after Him’ so the meaning has to be ‘other than Him.’ Sh a h Waliyyull a h further says: Here the word ba‘d i has not been used in the sense of ‘after me’ as Hadrat H a r u n as did not outlive Hadrat M u s a as , while Hadrat ‘Al i (may Allah be pleased with him) lived after the Holy Prophet sa.To make this exception of ba‘d i to mean ‘after me’ was, therefore, not appropriate.( Ibid.) What a fine argument! Such arguments can only be put forth by righteous people who are enlightened with divine wisdom.They carry out a deep scrutiny and thorough investigation of the h ad i th with singular love and devotion.These devout lovers of the Holy Prophet sa made genuine efforts to find the real motive and meaning of his sayings.It was, in fact, the result of this devoted pursuit that Hadrat Sh a h Waliyyull a h succeeded in adducing the arguments he 10.S u rah al-J a thiyah , 45:24

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 49 ] put forth above.Since Hadrat H a r u n did not live after Hadrat M u s a , the term ba‘di in relation to him could in no way be taken as ‘afterwards in time.’ Therefore, the same would apply to Hadrat ‘Al i , even though he lived after the Holy Prophet sa.Advent of a Prophet According to the Need of the Time There is another h ad i th about Hadrat ‘Umar that the ulema use in their support and that needs our attention.The full h ad i th is as follows: The translation of the first part of the h ad i th which is gen- erally cited is the following: ‘Uqbah bin ‘ A mir (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that “The Messenger sa of Allah said: ‘If there was to be a Prophet after me, it would certainly have been ‘Umar bin al- Kha tta b.’” The second part of the h ad i th which gives the commentary of Im a m Tirmidh i on the above statement is conveniently disregarded.Im a m Tirmidh i adds after the above citation: :.

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[ 50 ] This h ad i th falls in the category of the weak ones [ d a‘ i f ].We do not find it anywhere except through Mishra h bin H a ‘ a n.( Tirmidh i vol.2, Abw a bul- Man a qib B a bo Man a qib-e-‘Umar ra ).Our opponents argue that according to this h ad i th since Hadrat ‘Umar ra lived after the Holy Prophet sa and did not become a Prophet, therefore, prophethood has ended.It is to be noted that after recording this h ad i th , Im am Tirmidh i observed that it should fall in the category of ‘ h asanun ghar i bun ’—authenticity of this h ad i th is ques- tionable.It is handed down by one narrator, Mishra h bin H a ‘ a n.At-Tahdh i b At-Tahdh i b, an authentic work of research about the narrators, includes a note about H a ‘ a n in volume 10, page 155: Ibn Hayy a n states:...He (Mishra h bin H a ‘ a n) was among the weak narrators of h ad i th.He is not to be relied upon.In particular when he is found to be the lone narrator of a h ad i th the h ad i th should be rejected.( At-Tahdh i b At-Tahdh i b, by Ibn H ajar al- ‘Asqal a n i ) " :" " :".:

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 51 ] H ad i th-e-Ghar i b means exactly that; that there is a lone narrator.Ibn-e-D a w u d, agreeing with the above view, further states in even stronger terms: He [Mishra h bin H a ‘ a n] was in the gang of al- H ajj a j who had besieged ‘Abdull a h bin Zubair and had raided the Ka‘bah and pelted it with stones.In view of the above, the authenticity of this h ad i th is totally shattered.There are, however, sayings of the Holy Prophet sa which may help clarify this topic.The Holy Prophet sa is reported to have said to Hadrat ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): Had I not been raised as a Prophet, O ‘Umar, you would have been raised as one.( Mirq a t al-Ma sa b ih Shar h u Mishk a til-Ma sa b ih , vol.10, p.403) Another saying reads: Had I not been sent to you, ‘Umar would have been sent to you.( Kun u zul- H aq a ’iq by Im a m ‘Abdur-Ra’ u f al-Man a w i , vol.2, p.74)

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[ 52 ] All these traditions point to one fact.That is, Hadrat ‘Umar ra was endowed with the potential of prophethood.Had the Holy Prophet sa not been born and commissioned, Hadrat ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) would have been.This is the meaning of these sayings.Ba‘d i has been used in the sense of ‘ ghair i ’—other than me.Another Argument for the Continuity of Prophethood I will now put forth a h ad i th which will solve the whole issue of continuity of prophethood.We make no assertion from ourselves.Hadrat Ibn-e-Abb a s (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that the Holy Prophet sa said: When Ibr a h i m, son of the Holy Prophet sa , passed away, the Holy Prophet sa led the funeral prayers and then said Ibr a h i m will have a wet-nurse to feed him in paradise and had he lived, he would have been a true Prophet… ( Ibn-e-M a jah-Kit a bul-Jan a ’iz , Babu, M a J a ’a fi s-S al a ti ‘Al a Ibn Ras u lill a h saw , wa Dhikri Waf a tih i ) The h ad i th , as noted above, states: ‘Had he lived he would have been a true Prophet…’ Our opponents contend that God in His wisdom caused him to die lest he should : :.

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 53 ] become a Prophet.The fact is there is no wisdom in this.It is an attack on the intelligence and eloquence of the Holy Prophet sa.Let us consider the background of the h ad i th.The verse containing Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n was revealed in the year 5 A.H.Hadrat Ibr a h i m, the son of the Holy Prophet sa , died in the beginning of the year 9 A.H.If the Holy Prophet sa understood Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n to mean that no Prophet of any kind could ever come again, he would not have made a statement like the one mentioned in the h ad i th above.He could have said that although Ibr a h i m was a pure soul, even if he had lived for a thousand years, he would not become a Prophet, since the door to propheth- ood is closed.That is the most that a Prophet, who has been informed that there would be no Prophet after him, could have said: ‘The boy has a pure soul, but since Allah has informed me that there is no Prophet after me, he would not have become a Prophet’; but he did not say that.There is another tradition or h ad i th which settles this question of ba‘d i once and for all: " ".:

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[ 54 ] Meaning that, Hadrat ‘Al i Ibn Ab i Ta lib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When Ibr a h i m, son of the Holy Prophet sa passed away, the Holy Prophet sa had Ibr a h i m’s mother Mariya bathe him and wrap him in a shroud.Thereafter, the Holy Prophet sa brought the body out.He walked to the cemetery with his companions and buried him.He then put his hand on Ibr a h i m’s grave and said ‘By God, he is a Prophet and a son of a Prophet.’ (see al- Fat a wal- H ad i thiyyah by Ibn-e- H ajar, p.176) Hadrat ‘Al i was a member of the family, therefore, his narration is fuller and more descriptive.The Real Significance of H ad i th L a Nabiyya Ba‘d i 11 The above event took place about four years after the verse Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n was revealed.Holy men and scholars in the past must have read this h ad i th and the h ad i th con- taining L a Nabiyya ba‘d i that has been previously men- tioned.If we look for the interpretation of these a ha d i th , we note Hadrat Mull a ‘Al i al-Q a r i (died 1014 A.H.) writing: 11.Words of a Saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa literally meaning: There is no Prophet after me..:

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 55 ] If Ibr a h i m had lived and become a Prophet and if ‘Umar had become one too, both of them would have been followers of the Holy Prophet sa and subordinate Prophets like ‘ I s a , Khi d r and Ily a s.Their prophethood would not have run counter to the Holy Prophet’s title Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n.This is because Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n simply implies that after the Holy Prophet s a there cannot be any Prophet who brings a new Shar i ‘ah and is not from his ummah and his follower.( Al- Asr a rul-Marfu’atu fil Akhb a ril-Mau du ‘ah , by Mull a ‘Al i Q a r i , p.192) What a clear and unambiguous interpretation it is, and how he repudiates the argument being put forward by today’s so called scholars.Bear in mind that he is a top scholar among the Ahle-Sunnat.The ‘White Paper’ of the Pakistani Government contends, that the ulema from the past, without exception, held the same erroneous belief that the present day ulema hold, namely, that Kh a tamun- Nabiyy i n does not have any meaning other that complete cessation of prophethood.It is obvious that this assertion is a blatant lie.The top scholars have given L a Nabiyya ba‘d i the same interpretation as we give.Although I have presented extensive evidence to repudi- ate the claim of our opponents that Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n means the end of prophethood, some may suggest that these holy men and eminent scholars (God forbid) were

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[ 56 ] not familiar with the h ad i th in the words L a Nabiyya ba‘d i , hence, they did not talk about it.The fact of the matter is that they were learned people, and were familiar with all aspects of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat and L a Nabiyya ba‘d i.Let us now see what they wrote.Hadrat ‘ A’ ishah S idd i qah’s Interpretation of L a Nabiyya Ba‘d i In this context, I would first present to you a saying of H a d- rat ‘ A’ ishah S idd i qah ra , which is well-known to the schol- ars.Keep in mind that the White Paper asserts that never in the history of Islam has anyone interpreted L a Nabiyya ba‘d i in another manner.However, Hadrat ‘ A’ ishah ra said: Say, he (the Holy Prophet) is Khat a mun-Nabiyy i n, but do not say that there is no Prophet after him.( Ad-Durrul-Manth u r , vol.6, p.618) Hadrat ‘ A’ ishah ra knew that the Holy Prophet sa has used that phrase.But she also understood that his words could be misunderstood.Therefore she made a point to clarify that by saying L a Nabiyya ba‘d i the Holy Prophet sa did not mean that there would be no Prophet after him.

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 57 ] Interpretation of Hadrat ‘ A’ ishah’s ra H ad i th by Learned Scholars Similarly, Sheikhul-Im a m Hadrat Ibn-e-Qutaibah (died 267 A.H.) referring to the above words of Hadrat ‘ A’ ishah ra writes: The interpretation, put for th by her ( Hadrat ‘ A ’ishah ra ), does not contradict the words of the Holy Prophet sa.The Holy Prophet sa meant that there would be no Prophet after him who would abrogate his law.( Ta’w i lu Mukhtalifil-A ha d i th , p.127) This is exactly the belief of all Ahmad i s.We have inherited it not only from the Promised Messiah as but also from the earlier righteous ones of the Muslim ummah.An eminent divine, Hadrat Im a m Muhammad Ta hir (died 986 A.H), writes on page 502 of his book Takmelah Majma‘ Bi ha rul-Anw a r : Hadrat ‘ A’ ishah’s ra statement, ‘Call him Kh a tamul-Anbiy a ’ , but do not say that there would be no Prophet after him’ : " "

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[ 58 ] was made keeping in view the advent of Hadrat ‘ I s a (Jesus Christ).The Im a m adds that Hadrat ‘ A’ ishah’s ra advice was in no way in conflict with the h ad i th , L a Nabiyya ba‘d i , because by those words, the Holy Prophet sa only meant that there can be no law-bearing Prophet in the future who will abrogate his Shar i ‘ah and Law.According to Im a m Ta hir, there were two reasons why Hadrat ‘ A ’ishah ra forbade the use of the phrase “No Prophet after him.” First, it blocks the coming the Messiah.See how the verdict of a righteous scholar differs from the clerics of today! When the clerics of today say that the Mes- siah can come, but no one else, they misinterpret the phrase.If the Holy Prophet sa meant a total termination of prophethood after him, he would have said l a yak u na ba‘d i Nabbiyy u n —no Prophet would be raised after me.What he said was: L a Nabiyya ba‘d i —there is no Prophet after me.If these people insist that L a Nabiyya ba‘d i means total termi- nation of prophethood, then they close the door to the sec- ond coming of the Messiah as.The second reason that Im a m Muhammad Ta hir gives is that the Holy Prophet sa was not closing the door of prophethood, but only of the law-bearing prophethood that would abrogate his law.

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 59 ] Hadrat Im a m ‘Abdul-Wahh a b Sha‘r a n i (died 976 A.H.) wrote: The Holy Prophet’s sa statements that there will be no Prophet or no Messenger after him only meant that there will be no law-bearing Prophet after him.( al- Yaw a q i t wal-Jaw a hir , vol.2, p.35) This is exactly the same meaning as emphasized by the Promised Messiah as.Yet, this meaning is so repugnant to our opponents.Hadrat As-Sayyidush-Shar i f Muhammad bin Ras u lil- H usain i , a prominent scholar of the Indo-Pakistan subcon- tinent who is known for his commentary of Mishk a t, a book of h ad i th , has been quoted before.He further writes: According to the ulema, the words L a Nabiyya ba‘d i , occurring in the h ad i th , simply mean that there would be no Prophet after the Holy Prophet sa who would abrogate his law.( al-Ish a ‘ah li Ishr at is-S a ‘ ah , p.149) In short, the most prominent holy men in the ummah have held the same view of L a Nabiyya ba‘d i as expressed by the " "

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[ 60 ] Promised Messiah as.Yet, the Promised Messiah as is called a ‘ k a fir ’ [disbeliever] while these holy men are highly regarded and extolled.Even the White Paper of the Gov- ernment of Pakistan accepts them as top scholars and great thinkers in Islam.Amongst them is Hadrat Sh a h Waliyyul- l a h Mu h addith Dehlav i , who is universally acknowledged as the Mujaddid (reformer) of the 12th century and whom I have quoted earlier as well.He writes: From the words L a Nabiyya ba‘d i used by the Holy Prophet sa , we learn with certainty that there would be no Prophet after him who would bring a new Law or Shar i ‘ah.( Qurratul-‘Ainain f i Taf di lish-Shaikhain , by Waliyyull a h Dehlav i, p.319) Hadrat Ha fi z Barkhurd a r (died 1093 A.H.), son of Hadrat Im a m Sheikh Naush a h Ganj, the leader of the Naush a h Q a diriyyah order, who is held in high esteem throughout the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, writes: The words L a Nabiyya ba‘d i simply mean that there will be no law-bearing Prophet after the Holy Prophet sa.However, Allah may appoint a Prophet :

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 61 ] and a saint as He wills.( Shara h li Shar h il-‘Aq a’ id, known as Nibr a s, p.445) Let us review the beliefs of the Ahle- H ad i th till the advent of the Promised Messiah as.Hadrat Naww a b N u rul- H asan Kh a n, son of Naww a b S idd i q H asan Kh a n, explaining his view of the h ad i th ‘ L a Nabiyya ba‘d i’ says: The so called h ad i th ‘ l a wahya ba‘da maut i ’ – [divine revelation w ill be stopped after my death] is unfounded.We have a h ad i th ‘ L a Nabiyya ba‘d i ’ which according to the learned means that after the Holy Prophet sa there would be no Prophet who would abrogate his law.( Iqtir a bus-S a‘ ah , p.162) It is worth noting that, in explaining the meaning of L a Nabiyya ba‘d i, the phrase “According to the learned...” is used.Similar words, as quoted earlier, have been used by Sh a h Waliyyull a h and Mull a ‘Al i Q a r i.It would therefore appear that an inclination to distort the meaning of this h ad i th had set in by that time.Two distinct groups had emerged: One comprising these God-fearing holy men and the other consisting of the common people led by their ulema who have been called by a prominent scholar as ignorant and deprived of common sense.That is why these wise people used references to other learned and scholarly people to drive home the real meaning of L a Nabiyya ba‘d i as explained in the passages above.

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[ 62 ] A Prophet of the Grandeur of the Holy Prophet sa Cannot Appear There is a h ad i th which sheds more light on the word ba‘d.The book Al-Fut uha tul-Makkiyyah also contains a com- mentary on this h ad i th.The h ad i th reads: Hadrat J a bir bin Samrah reports: ‘The Holy Prophet sa said when this Caesar will die, there will be no Caesar after him.When this Chosroes will die, there will be no Chosroes after him.’ ( S a hih al-Bukh ari Kit a bul- I m a n Wan-Nudh u r ) That is to say, their pomp and glory will be destroyed by the Muslims.In this h ad i th the Holy Prophet sa , in his unique wisdom, has clearly explained the meaning of expression word ‘ Fal a ba‘adah u ’ by saying ‘ Fal a Qaisara ba‘adah u ’ and ‘Fal a Kisr a ba‘adah u ’ [That is, there would be no Caesar after him (after this Caesar) and there would be no Chosroes after him (after this Chosroes)].He makes it clear that ‘ l a ’ used in this context does not signify the exclusion of an entire genus.Rather, it is used to emphasize that there would be no one who would attain their power and grandeur.Accordingly, we had Caesar succeeding a Caesar and Chosroes succeeding a Chosroes for a thousand years after :

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 63 ] the Holy Prophet sa.Obviously, the words of the Holy Prophet sa cannot be false.Hadrat Mu hy- ud-D i n Ibn-e- ‘Arab i rta , elaborating on this h ad i th , says: Prophethood has not been totally abolished.That is why I had said that only prophethood bringing a new Shar i ‘ah.has come to an end.This is the meaning of words L a Nabiyya ba‘d i … The study of the h ad i th about Caesar and Chosroes has led me to understand that, by saying L a Nabiyya ba‘d i , the Holy Prophet sa is employing the same kind of expression as there would be no Caesar after this Caesar and there would be no Chosroes after this Chosroes.( Al-Fut uha tul- Makkiyyah , vol.3, p.103) Another Misleading Claim by the ‘White Paper’ The Government of Pakistan has made another claim in the White Paper based on their self-proclaimed study of the Holy Qur’an.They have presented it as a citation from scholars, but no reference has been provided.It reads: A close study of the Holy Qur’an would reveal that a new Prophet was invariably raised only when the teachings brought by previous Prophets were :...: :

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[ 64 ] discarded or substantially changed.In addition, when divine will feels modification and amendments are required or a law needs to be abrogated, a new Prophet is sent.Since the law brought by the Holy Prophet sa was complete, comprehensive and perfect and it has been preserved as such, therefore a need for a new Prophet does not arise.( Qadiyaniyyat—Islam kei liye eik Sang i n Kha t rah [ Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam ,] p.5) It further states that: The natural corollary of faith [in Khatm-e-Nubuw- wat ] is to accept the teachings of the Holy Prophet sa as comprehensive, categorical and perfect.( Ibid.) We agree, the teachings brought by the Holy Prophet sa are comprehensive, categorical and perfect.It is also true that the Holy Qur’an is a preserved Book.Nothing has been added to it, nor has anything been lost.However, we dis- agree with their assertion that a study of the Holy Qur’an would reveal that Allah would not raise a Prophet but for the four reasons mentioned by them.The White Paper has not cited it but there is another verse in the Holy Qur’an on a related subject.Allah the Almighty says:

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 65 ] Whatever Sign We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring one better than that or the like thereof.( S u rah al-Baqarah , 2:107) These verses show that it is the way of Allah, that once He has granted a bounty, He does not altogether deprive the world of that bounty.His magnanimity is wonderful.He says that if something is lost, He grants another equal to it or better than it.The conclusion that can be drawn from this verse is that the Holy Qur’an has been completed.If, God-forbid, something of the Holy Qur’an were to be corrupted or some of its verses were to be forgotten, Allah would reveal something better.This is the utmost that can be derived from this verse.However, since the Holy Qur’an is a pre- served Book, its teaching cannot be lost in the sense that they would be completely forgotten.Therefore, there is no question of a teaching that would substitute for the Holy Qur’an, nor for any better than it, because there cannot be any teachings better than the Holy Qur’an.However, as I stated earlier, the White Paper has drawn a totally mislead- ing conclusion from this verse.A Profound Interpretation of Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n If we review the Holy Qur’an, we find a different concept and meaning of Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n.To say that the belief that the Holy Prophet’s sa teachings are comprehensive, final

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[ 66 ] and perfect is based on the faith in Kh a tamiyyat is not cor- rect, because there are many verses in the Holy Qur’an, apart from the Kh a tamiyyat of the Holy Prophet sa , from which we can deduce this conclusion.For example, we read: This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as religion.( S u rah al-M a ’idah , 5:4) In this verse, we note that the perfection of religion has been claimed.In another verse, preservation of the integ- rity and purity is assured.The noble attributes of the Holy Prophet sa are not confined to Kh a tamiyyat alone.He had numerous other characteristics and attributes that are explained to us in the Holy Qur’an and we can also deduce them from the a ha d i th.With regards to the claim of perfection of religion, we do not differ from our opponents.The Promised Messiah as writes: The Holy Qur’an makes this claim:

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 67 ] That is, I have perfected My faith for you, and have completed My favours upon you and I have declared Islam as your faith.That is, the reality which under- lines the word Islam—which Allah the Almighty has Himself explained—should be firmly established among the Muslims.This verse has unequivocally stated that the Holy Qur’an constitutes a perfect teaching and that the age in which it was revealed was the most suitable for its revelation.Therefore, the claim to perfection made by the Holy Qur’an is fully justified and befits the Holy Qur’an alone.No other revealed Scripture has made such a claim.(Preface to Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part 5, R uha n i Khaz a ’in.vol.21, p.4) To say that whosoever rejects the meaning of Kh a tamiyyat , as manufactured by them and expressed in the ‘White Paper’, also rejects the Holy Qur’an as being the perfect teaching is wrong and far from the truth.The Promised Messiah as further writes: The expression Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n which has been applied to the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him] demands that the Book that was revealed to him, should be the most perfect of all Books and should comprise all excellences.( Mal- f uza t , vol.3, p.36) What an eloquent expression! He points out that the use of the word ‘ kh a tam ’ about the Holy Prophet sa demands that

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[ 68 ] the teaching revealed to him should also be ‘ kh a tam ’.He further writes: The Holy Qur’an is a miracle the like of which never was and never will be.The door of its graces and blessings is always open, and it is bright and manifest in every age as it was in the time of the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him].( Malf uza t , vol.3, p.57) There are many other passages from the writings of the Promised Messiah as that can be quoted.For the present, these should suffice.He has conclusively proved that the teachings of the Holy Qur’an stand out as the most perfect of all the revealed scriptures and that its text has been fully preserved.He has discussed the philosophy underlying this claim and has supported his claim with strong evidence and arguments.Plight of the Ummah Despite the Presence of the Perfect Book The argument that a Prophet has never been raised except for the four reasons stated in the ‘White Paper’ is utterly baseless.This is rejected by the Holy Qur’an with cogent arguments.About the advent of the Holy Prophet sa , the Holy Qur’an says: 12

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 69 ] The verse states that the Holy Prophet sa has been raised from among the unlettered people.The function of the Prophet is described as: “He recites to them God’s signs.” That is, he draws attention towards the Book that is being revealed to him.Secondly: “And to purify them.” That is, He has been granted the ability to purify.Thirdly: ‘And teaches them the Book.’ That is, if he were not to teach you the Book you would for- get its teachings, and you do not have the ability to under- stand them without his guidance.He teaches them the laws that govern life, through which man can make progress.Fourthly : ‘The philosophy or wisdom lying behind these teachings.’ It was necessary that the philoso- phy behind these teachings be explained.If a Divine Book were enough in itself, there would be no need to send the Prophets.People could study and understand the Book on their own.The tablets given to Hadrat M u s a as [Moses] 12.He it is Who has raised among the Unlettered people a Mes- senger from among themselves who recites unto them His Signs, and purifies them, and teaches them the Book and wis- dom, although they had been, before, in manifest misguid- ance.( S u rah al-Jumu‘ah , 62:3)

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[ 70 ] could have been directly given to the people.Human nature calls for something more.God, in His wisdom and mercy, has provided a living model for the people to emu- late in every age.The Muslims of today may deny the need of a Prophet, but if you compare the Muslims of today with those of the times of the Holy Prophet sa , you would see a world of dif- ference.What has happened? The Book is the same.The teaching is the same.The answer is obvious.They have no teacher.Nobody is purifying them or teaching them the wisdom.They are not emulating a model.This malady is afflicting the ummah because the mere presence of the Book is not enough.Lessons from the History of the Prophets The history of Prophets as narrated in the Holy Qur’an belies the thesis put forth by the Pakistani government in the ‘White Paper.’ With regards to Hadrat M u s a as [Moses], we read in the Holy Qur’an: 13

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 71 ] And then Allah the Almighty says: 14 And verily, We gave Moses the Book and caused after him Messengers to follow in his footsteps; and to Jesus, son of Mary, We gave manifest Signs, and strengthened him with the Spirit of holiness.Will you then, every time a Messen- ger comes to you with what you yourselves desire not, behave arrogantly and treat some as liars and slay others? These verses point out the fact that Prophets came in succession from the time of Moses as to the time of Jesus as to follow in the footsteps of Moses as.Every time a Prophet appeared, he was mocked and rejected and attempts were made to kill him.The Torah was revealed to Moses as , and Aaron as was commissioned in response to the prayer of Moses.Had a 13.Again, We gave Moses the Book which completely fulfils the requirements of one who is excellent in conduct and explains everything to the last detail and is a guidance and blessing so that they come to believe in the meeting with their Lord.( S u rah al-An‘ a m , 6:155) [Publisher] 14.S u rah al-Baqarah , 2:88, [Publisher]

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[ 72 ] change occurred in the Torah for Aaron as to be commis- sioned? Had Moses forgotten the Word of God? Certainly none of the reasons accepted by the White Paper were present to account for Aaron’s appointment.One can go down the list and see Prophet after Prophet appearing.David as was raised as a Prophet and was fol- lowed by his son, Solomon as , as a Prophet.No interpola- tions had occurred in the Psalms between David and Solomon to account for the commission of a Prophet as our opponents would argue.In short, their argument is frivolous and absolutely meaningless.If we turn to the time of Abraham as , we see similar series of Prophets.Isaac as was commissioned after Abraham as who was then succeeded by his son, Jacob as.Joseph as was commissioned a Prophet in the lifetime of Jacob as.These facts put to rest the arguments put forth by the Pakistani government.They are merely a play upon words.Incorrect statements have been blatantly attributed to the Holy Qur’an; there is nothing more to it.Need for a Reformer in the Present Age In short, we agree that the text of the Holy Qur’an is pre- served in its original form.No change has occurred.But we do not agree that no reformer is needed in the presence of the preserved Book.This assertion is countered by the Holy

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 73 ] Qur’an itself.In S u rah al-Furq a n , chapter 25, verse 31, Allah the Almighty says: 15 This verse depicts the agony of the Holy Prophet sa at the sad plight of the ummah.This exalted son of Adam, the life and soul of all Prophets, pours out of his anguished soul before his Lord about the treatment meted out to the ‘most perfect Book.’ The import of these words has been explained by the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa himself.He says: (Mishk a tul-Ma sa b ih , Kit a bul-‘Ilm, and Fur u ‘ K a f i, volume 3, Kit a b-ur-Rau d ah; also cited by: Baihaq i in chapter al- I m a n , and Kanzul-‘Umm a l, vol.11, ch.Tatimmatul-Fi t n minal Ikm a l ) Meaning that, alas, a time is destined when Islam will be in name only and the Qur’an will be seen merely as a book; it will not be visible in the form of good deeds and the mov- ing spirit in the ummah.15.And the Messenger will say, ‘O my Lord, my people indeed treated this Qur’an as a discarded thing.’ ( S u rah al-Furq a n , 25:31)

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[ 74 ] The question arises whether such a time had been wit- nessed prior to the advent of the Promised Messiah as.If it was, this would be further evidence to demolish the argu- ments put forth in the ‘White Paper’ that since the Holy Qur’an is intact, there is no need for a rejuvenator.A distinguished contemporar y of the Promised Messiah as , Naww a b N u rul H asan Kh a n, who has also been quoted earlier, writes in Iqtir a bus-S a‘ ah , page 12: Islam is left in name only; the Qur’an in a mere script.Worshippers fill the mosque, but are bereft of piety and righteousness.The ulema of this ummah are the worst people under the firmament of heaven.All mischief emanates from them and passes on down from them.A staunch enemy of the Promised Messiah as , Maulav i Than a’ ullah of Amritsar expresses himself in a similar way in Ahl-e- H ad i th , page 12, June 14, 1912: The fact of the matter is that we have forsaken the Qur’an.We have formal faith in it but in our hearts we consider it an ordinary and useless book.Undoubtedly, the Holy Qur’an has remained intact throughout the ages and we have it with us in its original form.There is no controversy over this issue.But the deplorable condition of the present day Muslims runs contrary to the thesis in the ‘White Paper’ that there is no need of a divine reformer to disseminate the Qur’anic

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 75 ] teachings and infuse its spirit in the people and to make them enjoy its blessings simply because the Holy Qur’an exists in its original form.Further evidence of the plight of Muslims is presented by Maul a n a Abul-Kal a m A z a d in Tadhkirah, on page 289.He writes, lamenting on the sad plight of those claiming to be followers of the Holy Prophet sa : None of these misfortunes or destructive processes has spared the Muslim ummah.There is no evil or wickedness that is not found in its extreme form in these people.( Tadhkirah , compiled by M a lik R a m, Sahitya Academy, New Dehli, edition 3, 1985, p.289) It is to be remembered that Maul a n a Abul-Kal a m A z a d is known as the guru of the Majlis-e-A h r a r.When the Indian National Congress created Majlis-e-A h r a r, he was the real intermediary in the process.The Maul a n a further writes: Muslims have followed in the footsteps of the People of the Book and have acquired absolute similarity with them in every way.The prophecy of the Holy Prophet sa , ‘If the Jews and Christians debase them- selves so much that they have to creep into a lizard's hole, the Muslims would do the same,’ has already been fulfilled.( Ibid.)

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[ 76 ] Thus the Maul a n a is confirming that the prophecy made by the Holy Prophet sa has been fulfilled in its entirety.Con- tinuing, the Maul a n a writes: May our lives and souls be sacrificed at the feet of the Most Truthful One.All that he said came true, so much so that Muslims came to walk in the footsteps of the idolators.Those professing Islam adopted their ways.Once freed from the worship of L a t and ‘Uzz a they returned to them as their slaves and servants.( Ibid.) Yes, we have the Book, but look at the plight of the ummah.They had been freed from L a t and ‘Uzz a ; but have reverted to their worship.They have become the lowest of the low.What is missing? Obviously, a divine reformer is needed who, being enlightened by God, should purify them and revive them.‘All a mah Iqb a l, held in high esteem by our opponents, also called a ‘Muslim Thinker,’ lamented the status of the ummah of the Holy Prophet sa.It is painful for me to refer to them as the ummah of the Holy Prophet sa because the Holy Prophet sa represented what was good and wholesome and to refer to these people as associated with the Holy Prophet sa is very uncomfortable.That is probably the rea- son that the Holy Prophet sa used the term ‘their ulema’ when referring to the corrupted ulema.He did not refer to them as belonging to him, but when he referred to the true

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 77 ] scholars he called them the ‘ulema of my ummah.’ The same is the reason for my disinclination to refer to them as the scholars of the ummah.They attribute themselves to Islam but, unfortunately, have not partaken of the grace of the Holy Prophet sa.‘All a mah Iqb a l writes: There is an uproar that the Muslims have been wiped out.I ask them: Were they present anywhere on earth.( Jaw a b-e-Shikwah, B a ng-e-Dar a edition 1, Sept.1924 and 12th edition, August 1948, page 226) He continues addressing the Muslims: What are you? Your lifestyle is that of Christians.Your culture is that of Hindus.Even the Jews would be put to shame by your behaviour.You call yourselves Sayyid, Mirza and Afghan.You may be everything but tell me, are you Mus- lims? ( Ibid.)

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[ 78 ] The words of ‘All a mah Iqb a l speak for themselves.These people have rejected the words of the Qur’an and a ha d i th.Will they also reject the words of their self-proclaimed ‘Muslim Thinker?’ Next, consider what Maul a n a Maud u d i has to say.The Maul a n a has passed away, but his Jam a ‘at is struggling along and enjoys the patronage of the present regime in Pakistan.He wrote: There is nothing in the Shar i ‘ah.based on which the Ahle- H ad i th, the H anaf i s, the Deoband i s, the Barelav i s, the Shi‘as and the Sunn i s can claim to be separate sects.This is the result of ignorance.( K hu - t a ba t , by Maud u d i, v ol.4, p.76) The above review proves that the assertion of our opponents is baseless.The assertion that there would be no Prophet after the Holy Prophet sa can only be for two reasons: one, there will never come a time that would require the advent of a Prophet.I have amply demonstrated the falsehood of this notion, based on what I have stated from the Holy Qur’an and the writings of their own scholars.Secondly, how can it be believed that the need would arise but God would not send a Prophet? This would amount to saying that (God forbid) the Holy Prophet was commissioned to block the descent of the mercy of Allah.These [corrupted ulema] have no objection to the advent

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 79 ] of dajj a l , be they thirty or thirty thousand.But they cannot bear the advent of a divinely commissioned reformer.Cry of the City of Sodom The question is whether there is a need for the advent of a divine reformer.If the need is established, and our opponents still insist that no divine reformer can come, it would be a grave calumny against the ummah of the Holy Prophet sa.Maul a n a Maud u d i , reflecting on the status of the Mus- lims and the need for a Prophet: The majority of the people look for a perfect man… in other words, they cry out for a Prophet, although orally they proclaim their faith in Khatm-e-Nubuw- wat.If anyone believes in the continuation of prophethood, they will do all to silence and destroy him.But in their heart of hearts, they cry out for a Prophet and will settle for nothing less.(The Pam- phlet entitled Musalm a n, published in Shahdara, India, vol.28, February 1943, cited in Al Fazl , Qadian, vol.6, March 1943) How truly, the Promised Messiah as says: In their hearts they agree with us, but verbally they keep on uttering diverse kinds of profanities.

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[ 80 ] The followers of Maul a n a Maud u d i , who are eager to silence the Ahmad i s, and the Maul a n a himself, admit of the gravity of the situation.The vice, the evil, and inequity plaguing the world today has never been seen before.No one except a Prophet can set it straight.A review of the history of nations, as noted in the Holy Qur’an, reveals that Almighty Allah has never been unmindful of the needs of His servants.He has been bless- ing them with His warners, rejuvenators and Prophets whenever and wherever the slightest signs of moral turpi- tude and spiritual weakness occurred.A Prophet was raised to put an end to disparity and dishonesty in weights and measures.Again, a Prophet was raised to stamp out misuse of public funds or personal property.In short, Allah the Almighty has been raising Prophets to eradicate even minor evils.Why has the way of Allah changed now that there are countless spiritual ills, but the need for a divine rejuvenator is denied.That reminds me of the saying of an English thinker who said that, leaving everything else aside, if we consider the evil of homosexual- ity, there is great justification for the people of Lot to make a strong protest on the Day of Judgment as to why they were destroyed, but the people of the present age, who exceed them in this evil millions of times, were not destroyed.New abominations are continuously invented.New ways of oppression, tyranny and injustice are born.Yet,

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 81 ] they would say that a divine Messenger is not needed.They would welcome innumerable dajj a l, but will not tolerate one who is sent by God for reform.Awaiting the Advent of the Mahdi Writing about the keenly awaited advent of the Mahdi in his times, Maul a n a Abul-Kal a m A z a d says: If some of these luminaries ever pondered for a moment over the sad plight of the ummah, they would console themselves and their followers by say- ing: ‘Our efforts to change the ummah would not suffice.The Day of Resurrection is upon us and the destruction of Muslims is inevitable.We should therefore defer our efforts till the advent of the Im a m Mahd i, when the entire world will belong to the Mus- lims.’ ( Tadhkirah , Muqaddamah, compiled by M a lik R a m, Sahitya Academy, New Dehli, 1990, p.12) Similarly, we read in one of the most authentic works of the Shi‘a Sect: If mankind was ever in need of a divine reformer, it is today, except if we believe there was never a need of a divine reformer in the history of mankind and all previous divine missions were superfluous and unnecessary.If one admits to the need of divine reformers in the past, then one must admit to the need of a divine reformer today.He who rejects the Im a m of the Latter Days rejects all previous Prophets

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[ 82 ] and Imams, etc.The same is established by the say- ings of the Holy Prophet sa.( as-S i ratus-Sawiyy f i A h w a lil-Mahd i , p.49–50) These people, however, will not listen unless we find some- thing similar in the writings of their proclaimed ‘Thinker of Islam.’ With due diligence we found the following in a letter published in Iqb a l N a mah , volume 1, page 41, addressed to Mr.Sir a j-ud-D i n P a l.It reads: My wish is that Maul a n a Ni zami ’s prayers be heard and the Holy Prophet sa may come back again and teach the Indian Muslims his religion again.According to ‘All a mah Iqb a l, the revival of Islam is not possi- ble without the re-advent of the Holy Prophet sa.Now I will present the conclusive and incontrovertible testimony of the verses in S u rah al-Jumu‘ah.Allah the Almighty says: 16 16.S u rah al-Jumu‘ah, 62:3–5

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 83 ] That is to say: Allah is He Who has raised the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa as His Messenger from among the unlettered people.He recited to them His verse, puri- fied them and blessed them abundantly with knowl- edge and wisdom although before this they were in manifest misguidance.Then Allah the Almighty says: The same will be the situation in the latter days.People would have lost these teachings and wisdom.No one, except the Holy Prophet sa will be able to convey these points of wisdom.In other words, a perfect follower, who would absorb that grace from the Holy Prophet sa himself and convey it to the people.No one else.There are other people, who have not yet joined the Com- panions, who are awaiting this re-advent.Then Allah the Almighty says: He is Sovereign with complete domination and is Wise.

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[ 84 ] Then it is said: This is the grace of God.He will bestow it upon whomsoever He wills, and in whatever country He wills.The same point has also been made in the following words: Is it they who would distribute the mercy of thy Lord? ( S u rah az-Zukhruf , 43:33) This verse also deals with prophethood and the re-advent of the Holy Prophet sa.Who are the Companions of the Latter Days? The ulema of today evade the issue of who these people of the Latter Days are by saying these are the people who joined the Holy Prophet sa and his followers in the last years of his own life.The Holy Prophet sa has himself categorically refuted this interpretation.In S a hih al-Bukh ari , there is a h ad i th —which, we believe, ranks at the ultimate point of authenticity.It states that when the Holy Prophet sa recited the verses under comment, one of his companions asked the Holy Prophet sa , “Who are these people?” The first point that emerges from the response of the Holy Prophet sa is

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 85 ] that these people would appear in the distant future— when darkness and ignorance would be prevailing—not in the lifetime of the Holy Prophet sa.In responding to the question, the Holy Prophet sa put his hand on the shoulder of Salm a n ra —the only non-Arab in audience—and not upon the shoulder of any Arab, and said: If faith were to go up to the Pleiades some perfect men, or man, from these [people of Salm a n] would surely find it.( S a hih al-Bukh ari Kit a but-Tafs i r, S u rah Jumu‘ah ) This answer by the Holy Prophet sa is most profound.The Holy Prophet sa is obviously talking about a distant time.During his lifetime such a loss of faith could not occur.He himself indicated that he is a sun of such brilliance that the glow of his spiritual light would continue for three centu- ries and people will continue to benefit from it.Thereafter a process of decline and darkness would set in.No one would be able to dispel it.Faith would have evaporated to the stars.How can the people of the time of the Holy Prophet sa be called ‘People of the Latter Days?’ Obviously this phenomenon belongs to distant future—the time about which the “Thinker of Islam” has said:

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[ 86 ] My wish is that Maul a n a Ni zami ’s prayers be heard and the Holy Prophet sa may come back again and teach the Indian Muslims his religion again.( Iqb a l N a mah , vol.1, p.41, addressed to Mr.Sir a j-ud-D i n P a l) In the last few pages of his famous book, Introduction to Social Philosophy, Professor McKenzie makes a cogent point.He states: There can be no ideal society without ideal men: and for the production of these we require not only insight, but a motive power… We need prophets as well as teachers… Perhaps we want a new Christ….I will explain to you why I have chosen a non-Muslim for the above quotation.In his letter to Dr.Nicholson dated January 24, 1921 (which he has himself translated in his book Asr a r-e-Khud i ), ‘All a mah Iqb a l quotes these para- graphs and then writes: “How true are the words of Profes- sor Mckenzie.” What a confession by the Thinker of Islam.“He says How true are the words of Professor Mckenzie.” He seems to wish that he had said that himself.Other Misleading Statements of the “White Paper” Another assertion put forward by the ‘White Paper’ is:

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 87 ] Anyone claiming to be a Prophet after the Holy Prophet sa was invariably considered a liar and apostate.It was not considered necessary to have discussions with or engage such a person in debate.This is proof that Mirz a Sahib was an impostor [God forbid].( Qadiyaniyyat—Islam kei liye eik Sang i n Kha t rah [ Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam ,] p.24–25) Continuing further, they write: During the last fourteen hundred years Kh a taman- Nabiyy i n has universally been interpreted by Muslims to mean that the Holy Prophet sa was the last Prophet and that there would be no Prophet after him.It was because of this unshakable faith that the Muslim ummah vigorously opposed anyone who made a claim to prophethood and never forgave him.( Ibid.) According to them, because claimants to prophethood have been opposed, no Prophet can come and that the Promised Messiah as (God forbid) was an impostor.They put forth arguments based on strange logic and based on a short period of history.A review of the entire history would change their assertion: from the time of Adam as to the time of the Holy Prophet [Mu h ammad] sa and even after him, all claimants to prophethood have been opposed, persecuted and laughed at; in particular, all true Prophets have been opposed and persecuted.

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[ 88 ] Allah says in the Holy Qur’an: Alas for My servants! … ( S u rah Y a S i n , 36:31) To reject and mock a Messenger is an old custom.Bearing witness to this, will you reject the truth of each and every Prophet simply because he was faced with hostility and antagonism? How would you justify your inference based on the above verse of the Holy Qur’an? I also quoted verses from the Holy Qur’an earlier indicating opposition of all Prophets following Moses as.It is true that some impostors also faced opposition but they were negligible.Most impostors were not opposed; they died their own miserable death.The arguments you have used to prove that the Promised Messiah as was an impostor, in fact, are a telling proof of his truthfulness.Liar, on Him Will be the Sin of His Lie I now draw your attention to the directive in the Holy Qur’an about the attitude we should adopt towards a per- son who claims to be from God and therefore a Prophet.Citing an incident from the time of Hadrat M u s a as , the Holy Qur’an tells us that when Hadrat M u s a as made his claim to prophethood, the government of his time and the people opposed him and planned to put an end to his life.

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 89 ] Thereupon, a believing man from among the people of Pharaoh, who had kept his faith hidden, sought to dissuade them.He pleaded: 17 That is to say that if Hadrat M u s a as is an impostor, he would be punished for his falsehood.The people need not worry about it.God alone knows the truth and He knows best how to punish the liar.However, if he ( Hadrat M u s a as ) is speaking the truth and you oppose him, then you are bound to be afflicted with some of the chastisements described by him.This is the attitude one should adopt towards a claimant to prophethood.The Holy Qur’an has honoured the statement of a com- mon man and has preserved it as a reminder for all times to come.The Holy Qur’an affirms the correctness of the posi- tion which he took against those who opposed Prophet M u s a as.He was a weak man, who was keeping his faith secret.Yet he said something really lovely.Unfortunately, the attitude of the Government and the maulav i s of Paki- stan is just the opposite.17.…And if he be a liar, on him will be the sin of his lie; but if he is truthful, then some of that which he threatens you with will surely befall you...( S u rah al-Mu’min , 40:29).[Publisher]

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[ 90 ] In making the above assertion, the Government of Pakistan has inadvertently made a statement which provides a strong support to the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah as.In their naivety, they have not realised the natural conclusion of their statement.They say that the ummah has totally ignored all false claimants and have not entered into any debate with him.But they themselves have launched a campaign of opposition against the Promised Messiah as and have treated him as the true claimants have always been treated by their false opponents.They did not treat the Promised Messiah as according to their confessed method of treating the liars—to totally ignore them.The Promised Messiah was confronted in debates, prayer duels and everything else that a true Prophet faces.The voice whereby the opponents of true Prophets told them that their mutual debates have reached their climax was heard loud and clear.18 To reiterate: the treatment that is given to all true Prophets was given to the Promised Messiah as.But your treatment has no value; because Allah the Almighty is also granting the same favours as He has always conferred upon the true Prophets.18.S u rah H u d , 11:33 [Publisher]

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 91 ] Distinction between the True and the False Claimants Now I will cite to you the statement of Im a m Ibn-e- Qayyim.He is the same outstanding scholar and philoso- pher who has been mentioned in the White Paper as a great Islamic thinker.What is his view of why the claimants are opposed.He says that: Ever since the world has been created, many false claimants to prophethood made their claims and dis- played some pomp and glory in the beginning, but they could not achieve their objectives nor were they granted a long time period.The Prophets of Allah the Almighty and their followers annihilated them and rendered them totally helpless.This is the way of Allah from the beginning of times and so will it remain.( Z a dul-Ma‘ a d , vol.1, p.500–501, published in Kanpur.) These are splendid words of wisdom.Let me pause and comment on these before going on.Ibn-e-Qayyim was really a great scholar of Islam.I am aware that some of the great scholars did make some mistakes of judgment but they certainly were great thinkers.They studied the issues with wisdom and depth and extracted pearls of wisdom.When he says that the false claimants showed some pomp and splendor in the beginning, he is describing a sign of the false claimants.The fact of the matter is, and the history of Islam bears it out, that the false claimant never made a

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[ 92 ] claim without overt or covert support.Musailamah, whose name is often cited by them [White Paper], also had a nation in his support.What happened to him is exactly what happens to all false claimants.They started with splendor and with a strong supporting group.It has never happened that a false claimant should be looked upon with a great hope, that he be very popular and should suddenly lose all his popularity because of his claim.No false claim- ant has initiated his claim with criticism and humiliation.Im a m Qayyim has analyzed the situation very closely and has aptly stated that they:...made their claims and displayed some pomp and glory in the beginning, but they could not achieve their objectives nor were they granted a long time period.The Prophets of Allah the Almighty and their followers annihilated them and rendered them totally helpless.This is the way of Allah from the beginning of times and it will so remain.( Ibid.) I trust that our opponents will pay heed to the words of Ibn-e-Qayyim.Ponder over the treatment that you meted out the Promised Messiah as and the way Allah the Almighty manifested His decree in his favour.Ibn-e-Qayyim states that the false claimants are not “granted a long time period.” You are well aware that more than one hundred years have passed since the claim of the Promised Messiah as.Despite vigorous opposition his community is

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 93 ] marching forward and the opponents have been totally helpless.The opponents have themselves admitted again and again that the community of the Promised Messiah as is increasing day by day despite all opposition.When the Promised Messiah as made his claim, he was deserted by all, including his own children.Close relatives also opposed him.This is the way the Prophets have always started, as Im a m Qayyim has described in detail.He under- stood the meanings of the Holy Qur’an.False prophets start with great splendor but Allah the Almighty totally annihilates their glory.On the other hand, the true Proph- ets start in a pitiable condition—they are deserted even by their close loved ones.Nobody stands by their side and the whole world joins together to try to destroy their mission.Yet, Allah the Almighty does not permit that to happen.The decree of Allah always prevails, as Allah the Almighty has said in the Holy Qur’an: 19 This is what Allah the Almighty has made incumbent upon Himself—Verily I [Allah] and my Messengers will prevail.19.Allah has decreed: ‘Most surely I will prevail, I and My Mes- sengers.’ ( S u rah al-Muj a dalah , 58:22) [Publisher]

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[ 94 ] The Real Reason for the Opposition of Those Commissioned by God As for opposition, will not the Im a m Mahd i be opposed? Will the Messiah not be opposed? If the lack of opposition to one who is appointed by God is used as a criterion for the truth and veracity of a claimant, then no true claimant will ever appear among these people.History tells us other- wise and their elders also held a different view.On page 224 of Iqtir a bus-S a‘ ah , Naww a b N u rul H asan Kh a n who died in 1336 A.H., writes: Should the Mahdi make his appearance, his plight would be the same.The Orthodox brethren will be his most ardent enemies and will seek to kill him and will charge him with distorting their religion.Similarly, Hadrat Sheikh Mu hy- ud-D i n Ibn-e-‘Arab i , the renowned Muslim scholar, wrote in Al-Fut uha tul-Mak- kiyyah , volume 3, page 336: When the Im a m Mahd i makes his appearance, none other than the theologians will be his most ardent and open enemies.The Im a m is asserting that open enmity will be shown only by the theologians.Others will be their less vocal followers.Obviously, these ulema will continue to assert that they are

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 95 ] doing what they have always done.Then, how can one dis- tinguish between the truthful and the false claimants? On page 363 of H ijajul-Kar a mah f i A th a ril-Qiy a mah , Naw- w a b S idd i q H asan Kh a n writes about the time when the Im a m Mahd i will come: The ulema of the time, having been accustomed to blind following of their theologians and ancestors, will accuse the Mahdi of having come to destroy their religion and nation.They will band together against him and, in accordance with their characteristic, will do their utmost to humiliate and destroy him.This prediction has been fulfilled word for word.You would note the ‘White Paper’ is entitled Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam.I will now present a reference from the well known Mujaddid (Reformer) Alf-e-Th a n i , Hadrat Ahmad Sirhind i.In his Makt u b a t , he states in volume 2, page 104: It will not be surprising if these so called ulema were to reject Jesus as based on his insight and deep under- standing of Islam and the Shar i ‘ah.They will adjudge his teachings as contrary to the Book and the Sunnah.This reference is very significant.We had several references mentioning the opposition the Mahdi would face but this reference specifically mentions the Messiah—Jesus as —and the opposition he would face.The ‘ulema’ believe he would descend from Heaven with his hands upon the shoulders of

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[ 96 ] two angels and that he would be clad in two yellow sheets.If this is how the Second Coming is to take place, who would dare reject him? Everything would be very obvious.These ‘ulema’ further claim that the Messiah as would join in prayers behind the Mahdi.Thus the problem of accept- ing the Mahdi is also resolved.There will be no dissension and all will be well.Hadrat Ahmad Sirhind i , an outstand- ing divine, makes a magnificent point as mentioned above.He notes that these ‘ulema’ will oppose the Messiah as.Deliberate Deception in the White Paper The ‘White Paper’ is not very easy to understand because it is a hodgepodge of disjointed words and ideas.It is not easy to decipher the precise meaning without spending a lot of time.A passage from the ‘White Paper’ on page 6 reads: This brief discussion would make it crystal clear that the doctrine of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat is an integral part of our faith...It is not only based on cogent rea- soning but has provided us with a social order and an Islamic culture.( Qadiyaniyyat—Islam kei liye eik Sang i n Kha t rah [ Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam ,] p.6) What they mean to say is that this concept of ‘ Khatm-e- Nubuwwat ’ has provided us with a purpose in life and unanimity and our livelihood is based on it.How can we let go of such a concept?

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 97 ] Further, the ‘White Paper,’ pertaining to the belief of total termination of prophethood states: …has indisputably been accepted as an integral part of our Faith.Our cultural foundation rests on it.…This doctrine has served to bring people of differ- ent ages, different races, different colours as so many pearls in a string and formed them into a distinct ummah….It has given an impetus to human intellect in its inquisitiveness and thus laid distinct founda- tions for a great and singular cultural structure.( Ibid., p.6–7) Have you followed their logic? They are trying to say that their concept of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat has brought the Islamic culture into being and has sustained it.What about the 124,000 Prophets gone by? None of them was Kh a ta- mun-Nabiyy i n yet they had a culture.What was the basis of their culture? Belief in Khatm-e-Nubuwwat and Fundamentals of the Islamic Faith As far as the belief in Khatm-e-Nubuwwat is concerned, we Ahmad i s have firm faith in it.As I have stated earlier, we do not agree with the interpretation of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat, these people put forward, because it is an innovation that is in vogue today.The fact of the matter is that belief in Khatm-e-Nubuwwat has never been part of the ‘fundamen-

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[ 98 ] tals’ of Islamic faith.Who would be more competent than the Holy Prophet sa to tell us what our fundamental beliefs are? It was he sa to whom the Holy Qur’an was revealed.Was he not granted the knowledge that a time will come when Islam will be defined in a novel way? The Holy Prophet sa says: Islam is based on five fundamentals: one, bearing witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger; two, observ- ing S al a t [Prayers]; three, paying Zak a t ; four, pil- grimage to the House of Allah; five, fasting in the month of Ramadan.( Tirmidh i Kit a bul- I m a n ) That is all the Holy Prophet sa said with regards to the fun- damentals of Islam.Five of them, no more, no less.Now these people have added a sixth one, as if, God forbid, the Holy Prophet sa was not aware of it.We can look further to see if ever in history the doctrine of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat was part of faith.There is another h ad i th in Tirmidh i Kit a bul- I m a n which talks about I m a n : ‘Umar bin al-Kha tta b (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates.:

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 99 ] We were in the company of the Holy Prophet sa when a stranger joined us.He was clad in white, had jet black hair, and had a fresh appearance.None of us had seen him before.He came and reverently seated himself before the Holy Prophet sa with his knees touching the knees of the Holy Prophet sa.He asked: ‘What is I m a n , O Mu h ammad?’ The Holy Prophet sa replied: I m a n means that you should believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, on the Day of Resurrection and on Taqd i r [divine determination of good and evil].( Tirmidh i Kit a bul- I m a n ) This h ad i th is very significant in that the narrator reports that after hearing the Holy Prophet sa the stranger con- firmed the statement of the Holy Prophet sa by saying ‘you said it right’ and left.The companions wondered if he had come to learn or test the knowledge of the Holy Prophet sa.Realizing their astonishment, the Holy Prophet sa said: He was none other than Gabriel and had come to teach you your religion.You will note that no mention of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat is made in this h ad i th as being part of I m a n.The Ahmadiyya " : : ".

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[ 100 ] Muslim Community, however, staunchly believes in Khatm-e-Nubuwwat.The Promised Messiah as has repeat- edly asserted his firm belief in Khatm-e-Nubuwwat and that whoever rejected this doctrine was not a Muslim.We believe in this doctrine not because it is a fundamental of Islamic faith but because the Holy Qur’an says so.We believe that anyone who rejects a jot of the Holy Qur’an is a renegade and outside the pale of Islam.Belief in Khatm-e-Nubuwwat and its Impact on Civilization and Culture The verse with the phrase ‘ Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n ’ was revealed in the year 5 A.H.The major portion of the minis- try of the Holy Prophet sa had elapsed by that time.The nat- ural question that arises is what did the Muslims base their unity, culture and civilization on? What special factors came to play in the 5th year of Hijra to give the Muslims a distinct entity and a special culture and civilization? The statement that belief in ‘ Khatm-e-Nubuwwat ’ had a signifi- cant impact on Muslim culture and civilization is prepos- terous.What has happened to them now? Why are they so split and facing one crisis after another? This belief is of no help to them now.On the other hand, look at the Ahmad i s.‘All a mah Iqb a l, the ‘Thinker of Islam,’ says: In the Punjab, the essentially Muslim type of charac- ter has found a powerful expression in the so-called

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 101 ] Qadiani sect [He means, Ahmadiyyat].( The Muslim Community —A Sociological Study by Dr.‘All a mah Iqb a l, published by Maktaba-e-‘ A liyah, Urdu Bazar, Lahore, p.23) Look at what has happened to those who believe in their version of ‘ Khatm-e-Nubuwwat.’ They are all at odds with each other.But those who, according to your assertion do not believe in it, are declared as a model of Islamic culture by your ‘Thinker of Islam.’ This theory, that belief in ‘ Khatm-e-Nubuwwat ’ pro- vides the foundation of Islamic culture and civilization, is altogether fictitious and fabricated.Culture and lifestyle vary from place to place across Muslim countries.Marriage ceremonies are different.The way the veil is observed or not observed, is different.In short, in all their habits, their dress, their customs, they all differ.Muslims in Indonesia, Africa, Czechoslovakia, Finland and Hungary all differ.When Bangladesh seceded from Pakistan, they proclaimed that though they are Muslims—believing in Khatm-e- Nubuwwat —their culture is different.Further, the religious beliefs are different.Even the modes of worship have diverged.Some offer their prayers with arms by their sides.Others say prayers with arms folded up on the chest; fingers have been chopped off for differences in practice and pronouncements of apostasy

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[ 102 ] have been made for the difference of raising or lowering the hands in prayer.There are many other differences.The Malikites in Africa and Khomeini’s followers differ widely in how they pray.In short, diversity, discord and disagreement is seen in every field of their cultural and religious activity.Their claim that belief in Khatm-e-Nubuwwat has given Muslims unity, consistency and harmony is incredible.The facts speak otherwise.Islamic Civilization and Culture as Seen by Ulema The next question is what is culture? Who would define it? Their own ‘Ulema’ say the following.Maul a n a Maud u d i writes If you examine the so-called Muslim society today, you will see the Muslims to be of diverse denomina- tions.It is a veritable zoo wherein kites, crows, vul- tures, quails, pheasants and a myriad of fowls have been gathered together.Each one of them is a differ- ent ‘ chirhy a ’ [specie] (in Musalm a n Aur Siy a s i Kash- makash, vol.3, p.26): What a tragedy.The Maul a n a is so angry he has debased the whole Muslim society.He has called them ‘ chirhy a ’—an abusive term in vogue in the UP [Uttar Pradesh] province of India at that time—and shows no compassion for the

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 103 ] Muslims.This is the plight of the Muslims who have ‘united in their belief of Kh a tamun-Nabiyy i n ’.Further documentation of the plight of this Muslim ummah is noted in the paper Ahle- H ad i th of April 16, 1914.This is the paper that represents them and they can- not deny it.A correspondent of the paper writes about his visit to Burma: I have been staying here for the last ten days.A big gathering was scheduled to be held at the J a mi‘a Mosque at 2.00 p.m.I went to the mosque for prayers at the time fixed for the afternoon prayers.The mosque was filled to capacity.There were strange happenings.Cups full of sherbet and trays full of bananas and dates were placed before the Im a m.He constantly raised his hands in prayer.Some audible words were—the beloved of God, ‘Abdul-Q a dir J i l a n i ….Thereafter, the mosque resounded with the chanting of ‘ Y a Mur a d i , Y a Mur a d i ’ (O, object of my love…) Then the necks and foreheads of the gather- ing were besmeared with a mixture of sandalwood powder according to the custom in vogue among the Hindu Pandits.Thereafter, a harlot stood up, dancing in the mosque as though in ecstasy.She pretended to fall headlong into the burning censer and skillfully covered her face with her hands (to protect her face from burning).This was followed by a loud beat on the tambourine by the trustee of the mosque which brought a hush in the mosque.Then the Im a m said the final prayers and sherbert and bananas and dates

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[ 104 ] were served.The people were then garlanded with wreaths of flowers.At about 4:00 p.m., everyone stood up and kissed the banners (about fifty of them) in the central part of the mosque.These were then taken out and three horses were decorated with them.The spirit of Q a dir Auliy a ’ (the Saint of the Madras Region, whose anniversary they were celebrating) was, so to say, mounted on one of them.(Such is the picture of the Muslim culture painted as a conse- quence of, God forbid, the belief in Khatm-e-Nubuw- wat ).Spirits of his disciples were mounted on the other two.The Im a m accompanied by the congrega- tion made a round of the city, begging for alms.Some chubby people, wearing thick, long beards, all naked except around the loins, body covered with cow-dung ashes, led the tumultuous crowd singing ‘ Y a Mur a d i , Y a Mur a d i , ‘Abdul-Q a dir.’ The scene was so ludicrous that it was not possible for me to suppress my laugh- ter.The wanton crowd, beating their drums, returned to the mosque before evening prayer.Alas, the Mus- lims, once wedded to the doctrine of the Oneness of God, have now sunk so deep into the filth of polythe- ism and heresy, that they are not ashamed to indulge in such practices, even in a mosque.Examples of ‘Muslim culture,’ with some variations, are found in different Muslim countries.In Pakistan, one would see a queer culture being displayed at the anniversa- ries of different saints.The Wahh a b i s and Shi‘as show their own distinct culture.In short, new aspects of culture are

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 105 ] being born at various places.Novel notions and concepts have left no harmony and concord in the culture that could be called a Muslim culture.This is the sample of the ‘uni- form culture’ that they claim to have inherited as a result of their concocted faith in ‘ Khatm-e-Nubuwwat.’ A Claim Without Evidence On page 6, the White Paper further asserts: The Old and the New Testaments bear witness to the fact that all previous Prophets have invariably been foretelling the advent of the Prophets succeeding them.But, the Holy Qur’an makes no mention of a future Prophet.On the contrary, it contains numer- ous verses which categorically state that there will be no more Prophets.Moreover, there are several authentic and mutually supporting a ha d i th which support this view.( Qadiyaniyyat—Islam kei liye eik Sang i n Kha t rah [ Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam ,] p.6) I have already answered their claim with regards to the a ha- d i th.As for the Qur’anic verses, it is noteworthy that they have not put forth a single Qur’anic verse to support their claim.As noted earlier, they mentioned some ‘Thinkers of Islam’ and, rightly or wrongly, have quoted them to sup- port their own viewpoint.They have also utilized some a ha d i th to substantiate their ‘thesis,’ including the one that

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[ 106 ] mentions ‘thirty impostors.’ All these arguments have been refuted by me.They have not put forth a single verse from the Qur’an.Nubuwwat within the Ummah of the Holy Prophet sa We can now review what the Holy Qur’an says with regards to the one coming after the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be on him).These people claim that they have not found any such verse; that is because of their ignorance.With regards to the coming of the Promised Messiah as , I have already mentioned a clear reference as noted in S u rah al-Jumu‘ah , chapter 62 of the Holy Qur’an.Another reference is made in the following verses of the Holy Qur’an Surah an-Nis a ’ , chapter 4, verses 70–71: 20 20.And whoso obeys Allah and this Messenger of His shall be among those on whom Allah has bestowed His blessings, namely, the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs, and the Righteous.And excellent companions are these.This grace is from Allah, and sufficient is Allah, the All-Knowing.( S u rah an-Nis a ’, 4:70–71) [Publisher]

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 107 ] What a grand proclamation.It reveals the unique and lofty station of the Holy Prophet sa.These verses say that from now on, only those who will ‘obey Allah and this Messen- ger’ shall be the recipients of the spiritual rewards of the highest order i.e.prophethood, truthfulness, martyrdom and righteousness.Here the word used is not just ‘Ras u l ’ (Messenger) but ‘ ar-Ras u l ’ (this Messenger) pointedly referring to the Holy Prophet sa.Allah says: Here, our opponents argue that the particle ma‘a means ‘with’ and not ‘among’ as we translate it.Meaning ‘it is they who shall be with those upon whom Allah has bestowed His blessings.’ Anyone with common sense would know that their argument is absurd.A grand divine decree has been announced conferring spiritual ranks of the highest degree on those who obey Allah and the Holy Prophet sa.But our opponents would have you believe that your reward for obeying Allah and His Prophet would be that you would only be placed with people who have achieved these lofty spiritual ranks.In the past, divine promises were made to people to be endowed with His favours, if they obeyed Allah and Prophet Moses as , Allah and Prophet Abraham as , Allah and Prophet Noah as , Allah and Prophet David as and Allah and

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[ 108 ] Prophet Solomon as.Today, a divine decree is inviting believers to follow Allah and this Messenger, holding the loftiest spiritual rank, so they may become recipients of the promised rewards.Yet, our opponents say that it does not mean that you will be the recipients of those rewards, rather you will be placed with the recipients of those rewards.This is utterly absurd.It is an insult to the lofty station of the Holy Prophet sa and the Holy Qur’an.The Holy Qur’an belies their translation of the particle ma‘a.At another place, we read: and in death number us with the righteous.( S u rah A l-e-‘Imr a n , 3:194) Here the same particle ma‘a has been used, not min.The particle min means ‘from among,’ while the particle ma‘a means ‘with’ and ‘from among,’ depending on how it is used.The Muslims have been enjoined to implore Allah the Almighty saying: ‘Cause us to die with the righteous.’ Obvi- ously, this does not mean that we should pray to die when- ever a righteous one dies.This is the height of absurdity.The fact remains that in the above example, chapter 4, verses 70–71, ma‘a cannot mean anything but min —from among.In Arabic, when referring to more than one person and expressing admiration ma‘a invariably means min — from among.But should the species change, it would not

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 109 ] be so.As Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, chapter two, verse 154: surely, Allah is with the steadfast.( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:154) Here the species has changed, hence the particle ma‘a can- not be used in the sense of min —from among.The Holy Qur’an clarifies this issue further.If you refer to the verse under discussion Chapter 4, verse 70: Among those on whom Allah has bestowed His blessings it further reads ‘among the Prophets’.That is to say: Those receiving His blessings would be ‘among the Proph- ets, the martyrs and the righteous’ and not just in their company.The particle ma‘a has not been repeated.min has been used to elucidate the meaning and to eliminate any possibility of misinterpretation.Allah says:

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[ 110 ] There is another verse of the Holy Qur’an, in S u rah al- H ajj , chapter 22, verse 76, which reads: Allah chooses His Messengers from among angels, and from among men.Surely, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.( S u rah al- H ajj , 22:76) Our opponents acknowledge that this verse was revealed after it has been pronounced that the Holy Prophet sa was ‘ Kh a taman-Nabiyy i n.’ Yet the verse says ‘Allah chooses His Messengers from among angels and from among men’ instead of saying ‘Allah used to choose His Messengers...’ This clearly means that prophethood has not been termi- nated.It is a fundamental rule of grammar that 'present continuous tense' cannot be used for an action that has come to an end.I wish the so-called ulema would under- stand.A prominent Shi‘a commentator, T ibr i, on page 171 in volume 7 of his book Majma‘ul Bay a n , commenting on this verse, writes:

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 111 ] Allah chooses His Messengers from angels, e.g.Gab- riel and Michael; and from among men, i.e.the Prophets.Here the reference is not to an ordinary messenger, but to a Prophet.At another place in the Holy Qur’an reference is made to a covenant.In S u rah A l-e-‘Imr a n , chapter 3, verse 82, we read: And remember the time when Allah took a covenant [from the People of the Book] through the Prophets, saying: Whatever I give you of the Book and Wisdom and then there comes to you a Messenger, who fulfills the message that is with you, it is incumbent upon you to believe in him and help him.And He said: Do you make that commit- ment, and do you accept the responsibility which I lay upon you in this matter? They said: Yes we make that com-

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[ 112 ] mitment; and He said, ‘Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses.’ ( S u rah A l-e-‘Imr a n , 3:82) In S u rah al-A h z a b, chapter 33, which includes the verse about Khatm-e-Nubuwwat , Allah the Almighty says in verses eight and nine: 21 This covenant was taken not only from the earlier Prophets, but also from the Holy Prophet sa as the phrase ‘ minka ’ [from you] makes clear.If a future Prophet fulfilling all the above conditions was not to come, why was this covenant taken from the Holy Prophet sa that if a Prophet appears and supports your teachings, then it will be your duty to sup- port and assist him.If the coming of the Prophet had been totally closed and a new order had been launched, why was 21.And remember when We took from the Prophets their cove- nant, and from thee; and from Noah, and Abraham, and Moses, and Jesus, son of Mary, and We indeed took from them a solemn covenant; that He may question the truthful about their truthfulness.And for the disbelievers He has pre- pared a painful punishment.( S u rah al-A h z a b, 8–9), [Publisher]

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 113 ] it necessary to take this covenant from the Holy Prophet sa.The covenant that he was asked to make was that there can be a Prophet but he will have to be a part of the ummah of the Holy Prophet sa.The above verses are quite clear.It is strange that our opponents still insist that they do not find anything on this subject in the Holy Qur’an.The fact of the matter is that there are prophecies in the Holy Qur’an as I have amply demonstrated above.Moreover, the Holy Prophet sa had made unambiguous prophecies about the coming of the Mahdi and Messiah.If you review our opponents’ belief, you would be amazed at how silly and incongruous it is.On the one hand, they insist that there would be no more Prophets, on the other hand, they believe when the second coming of Jesus as happens, he would be a Prophet.They also believe that the Holy Prophet sa said: There is no Prophet between me and him--that is, ‘ I s a as --and he is certain to descend.( Sunan Ab i D a w u d, chapter Appearance of Dajj a l ) There is a h ad i th narrated by Hadrat Ab u Huraira, who said: " :

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[ 114 ] The Holy Prophet Muhammad sa said: There would be no Prophet or Messenger between me and the coming of Messiah.Verily, he is my Khalifah in my ummah after me [ min ba‘d i ].( Al-Mu’jam Al-Ausa t , by Ha fi z T ibr a n i ) By this statement, the Holy Prophet sa has resolved the issue of dajj a ls and L a Nabiyya ba‘d i [there is no Prophet after me].He points out there will be impostors but do not con- sider the Messiah an impostor.He will be a Prophet.The Holy Prophet sa further emphasized: Remember, most surely, He (Jesus) will be my succes- sor and will be from my ummah.That is to say he was talking about a Messiah being raised from the ummah and not the Messiah from the Mosaic dis- pensation.Hadrat Mu hy- ud-D i n Ibn-e-‘Arab i , writes in Al-Fut u- ha tul-Makkiyyah , volume 1, page 545: Jesus as shall descend amongst the Muslim ummah as an arbitrator without a new law.Most surely, he will be a Prophet.There is no doubt about it.

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 115 ] This statement is self explanatory.The ulema assert that Ibn-e-‘Arab i is referring to the old ‘ I s a.However, at another place, Hadrat Mu hy- ud-D i n Ibn-e-‘Arab i , himself says: He is bound to descend in the Latter Days in a new physical form.( Tafs i rul-Qur ’a nil-Kar i m, by Ibn-e- ‘Arab i , vol.1, p.296) Here, note that Hadrat Ibn-e-‘Arab i states emphatically that the Messiah would be a new Messiah and that he will be a Prophet.Despite all this evidence, our opponents would continue to insist that there will be no new Prophet.We now quote from Im a m Ibn-e-Qayyim’s book.He writes: To say that Prophet Jesus as had gone to the heavens at the age of thirty three is by no means correct.Nor has it been handed down to us in an uninterrupted chain of narration.It therefore need not be adopted.( Z a dul-Ma‘ a d f i hadyi khairil-‘ib a d, by Ibn al- Qayyim al-Jauziyyah [691–751 AH], p.27, Mu’assas- atur-Ris a lati N a shirun, Beirut, 2006).Moreover, the author of Fat’ h ul- Bay a n f i Maq a sidil-Qur’ a n says that according to Im a m Sham i : the narration that Prophet Jesus as was raised to the heavens alive is of Chris- tian origin.( Fat’ h ul- Bay a n f i Maq a sidil-Qur’ a n , vol.2, p.247)

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[ 116 ] Two points have been clearly made here.One, that the narrations being advanced in this context are by no means authentic and acceptable.Two, that according to Im a m Sham i , these narrations are actually of Christian origin that have been interpolated; otherwise there is no firm basis for them.These views have been expressed by no less a person than Hadrat Ibn-e-Qayyim whose authority has been accepted by the ‘White Paper.’ He believes that Hadrat ‘ I s a will certainly descend, but he will not be the ‘ I s a of the past, because he was neither raised physically, nor will he descend physically.All the scholars who have been quoted above were righteous, pious, and had attained the cognition of God.After all, why did they make all these statments.Im a m Ibn-e-Qayyim, who has been cited as an author- ity, says at another places: Had Prophet Moses as and Prophet Jesus as lived (till the time of the Holy Prophet sa ), they would certainly have been among his followers.( Mad a rij-us-S a lik i n by Ibn-e-Qayyim, vol.2, p.496) This is very significant.Im a m Ibn-e-Qayyim having bracketed the two names together, is indicating to us that Moses as did not live till the times of the Holy Prophet sa neither did Jesus as.This is the same Im a m Ibn-e-Qayyim

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 117 ] whom I had quoted earlier and who stated that stories about Jesus as ascending going to the heavens alive were all fictitious.Mahdi and Messiah Are One Person Ibn-e-Khald u n is also held in high esteem by our oppo- nents.He is an outstanding scholar.He says: Ibn Ab i Wa ti l and Sha‘bah have said that there has been discussion about the Mahdi being the Messiah who would be from the progeny of the Holy Prophet.I (Ibn-e-Khald u n) would like to say that this view is held by Su f i s, too.They base their view on the h ad i th ‘ L a Mahd i Ill a ‘ I s a —There is no Mahdi but Jesus as ,’ meaning the Mahdi and Messiah would be from the ummah of the Holy Prophet sa , whereas Jesus was from the ummah of Moses.( Muqaddimah Ibn-e- Khald u n , vol.1, p.407) In this extract, Ibn-e-Khald u n has demonstrated the atti- tude of a truthful and pious scholar in contrast to the so- called scholars of today.He has pondered over the issue and has come forward with a very profound point of wisdom: The Messiah to come will be none other than the awaited Mahdi, because Jesus belonged to the ummah of Moses, whereas the future Messiah needs to be a follower and dev- otee of the Holy Prophet sa.

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[ 118 ] The Second Coming of the Messiah and ‘All a mah Iqb a l’s View In the ‘White Paper,’ great importance is given to ‘All a mah Iqb a l.His views are considered superior to all.Let us see what he has to say about the Second Coming of the Mes- siah.It is the central point of difference between Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and other Muslims.We believe that the old Jesus as will not descend physically but his re-advent would take place in the form of another per- son who would bear the name Jesus as.‘All a mah Iqb a l writes: As I understand the significance of the movement, the Ahmadi belief that Christ died the death of an ordinary “mortal, and that his second advent means only the advent of a person who is spiritually like unto him, give the movement some sort of a rational appearance...( Islam and Ahmadism, with a reply to Questions raised by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, by Dr.Sir Muhammad Iqb a l, printed at Brandreth Road Lahore on Feb.17 th 1936, p.22–23) That leaves no room for escape for those who oppose the Ahmadiyya perspective.All believe with absolute certainty that the awaited Messiah would be a Prophet of Allah.The only point of contention is, how will he come, will he be a new person in the spirit of the Jesus of old, or would it be the self-same Jesus.The thinkers of Islam, whom our oppo-

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 119 ] nents declare to be reliable, states that the coming of a new person in the spirit of Jesus is a rational doctrine.Indeed, Ibn-e-Khaldun has said so in very clear words and has expounded his reasons for its validity.‘All a mah Iqb a l was actually raised under the influence of western civilization and he viewed Islamic teachings in the light of the Western philosophy.The fact is that he nei- ther agreed with the Ahmadiyya perspective, nor with the perspective of our opposing clerics.All he says is that the Ahmadiyya doctrine is more rational and logical than the non-Ahmadi doctrine.But he does not go into his own belief.If Jesus is Dead, How Will He Return? If you look at what the ‘All a mah thinks of the Second Com- ing of the Messiah, we find he totally denies it.He claims all these a ha d i th and other writings about the Second Coming of the Messiah and associated narrations are not true.So we have Ibn-e-Qayyim saying that stories about Jesus as ascending to the heavens are fiction and ‘All a mah Iqb a l say- ing that the stories about Jesus as descending from the heav- ens are fiction.In one of his poems, written in 1905, he says:

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[ 120 ] Witness the manifestation of the glory of thy Lord, in the lofty state of your heart.Abandon all hope of the advent of the Mahdi and Jesus.( B a qiy a t-e-Iqb a l , by ‘Abdul-W ah id Mu‘ i n i , p.451, published in Lahore) One can argue he said this in a poetic vein and therefore should not be taken seriously.However, in his prose writ- ings, we find that he says: In my opinion, traditions pertaining to the advent of Mahdi, Second Coming of Messiah, and the appear- ance of Mujaddids , owe their origin to the Iranian and non-Arab way of thinking.They have nothing to do with the Arab concepts or the true spirit of the Holy Qur’an.( Iqb a l N a mah, vol.2, p.230–231, Letter addressed to Chaudhry Muhammad A h san) I have reviewed his other writings and the ‘All a mah is con- vinced that this concept is a foreign concept which crept into our beliefs in the Latter Days.So now, we have a ‘Thinker of Islam’ held in high esteem by our opponents who is totally rejecting the Coming of Messiah and the Mahdi and we have the sayings of the Holy Prophet sa emphatically stating that the Messiah and Mahdi will come and it is incumbent on us to believe in him and support

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 121 ] him.Who are you going to follow: Your ‘Thinker of Islam’ or the Holy Prophet sa ? Are you going to accept the Messiah of the past or the Messiah from the ummah of the Holy Prophet sa ? Unfair Attitude on a Well-Established Doctrine As far as the Ahmad i s are concerned, we have firm faith that the one coming, in accordance with the prophecies of the Holy Prophet sa , will certainly be a Prophet of Allah.This is also the firm belief of all of you who oppose us.Why have you then stirred up this storm of falsehood and accu- sations? Why these venomous writings? Why this demand to declare Ahmad i s non-Muslims and infidels? It is part of your creed that the Messiah would be a Prophet.Whether he is the old Messiah or a new Messiah is a different argu- ment.Even that has been settled by your own previous scholars and ulema.The a ha d i th and the Holy Qur’an leave no room for doubt about it.The Ahmadiyya Muslim Com- munity belief is clear and categorical and consistent with what is stated in the a ha d i th and the Holy Qur’an.You have been arguing with us for the last one hundred years, subjecting our people to unprovoked violence.Despite our appeals to reason, you continue in your mis- guided ways, even today!...The opponents can massacre Ahmad i s one after another, but that will not settle this matter.They may mas-

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[ 122 ] sacre one, two or a thousand Ahmadis.We know that God declares them to be among the living.They have no power to change this.Conversely, if God declares somebody dead, you do not have the power to bring him to life.Failure is your destiny.The Ahmad i s will continue to live and you will never be able to bring Jesus a s back to life.The Ahmadiyya Community will not perish by your massacring even thousands of us.Bring one man—Jesus—to life and that would be the end of the Jam a ‘at.This argument has persisted for a long time.Your own ulema have been lamenting over your miserable plight for more than a hun- dred years saying that no semblance of Islam has been left in you, but your defiance and disobedience continues unabated.What is Jesus as doing in the heavens? Why doesn’t he descend to rescue you? Instead of indulging in the genocide of the Ahmad i s, bring Jesus as back down alive.Should you succeed, I give you my word that I, with all my Jam a ‘at, will renounce our faith and join you instantly.We are the ones who have been imbibed with the spirit of obe- dience.We will fight in front of Jesus, behind him, and all around him.We are the ones who say: ‘We believe and tes- tify to its truth.’ But I tell you that if your Jesus—the presumed Jesus whom you present— did hypothetically ascend to the heavens and does come back to earth alive, you will surely oppose him.

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 123 ] Why don’t you settle this controversy by praying fer- vently to Allah that the controversies have persisted too long and the world has gone through major changes, and Allah Almighty may send Jesus back to earth, just as the Jews go to the wailing wall begging for Elias as a precursor of the Messiah.Don’t you have any feeling of pain and anguish for the life of Islam? Not to speak of Jesus, even the donkey of the Antichrist has not yet appeared according to your doc- trines.You people are living a life of fables and fantasies.You have severed all ties with reality.We pray for you, seeing your sorry and sad plight.I say, on oath, in the name of the Almighty, in whose hands is my life and the lives of all Ahmad i s, that if Jesus as is alive and we are wrong, may God annihilate us.I say to you, solemnly, on oath, that Jesus as has passed away and Islam is alive.The survival of Islam demands that you give up this false belief.Let go of it.Therein lies the survival of Islam.The people of Pakistan are going through a very grave situation.As prophesied clearly by the Promised Messiah as- they are suffering the consequences of their evil deeds.It is also clear from the Holy Qur’an that martyrdoms bear abundant fruits.Allah the Almighty grants manifold rewards in return for martyrdom.However, the Holy

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[ 124 ] Qur’an also narrates the example of nations that were totally wiped out because of their tyranny.We, Ahmad i s, are not a people who only relish the bounties.We have also become used to exercising patience and perseverance.We will continue to do so.But our oppo- nents are in grave risk.When the chastisement of Allah strikes, it wipes the nation out.If they wish to escape, they must seek Allah’s forgiveness.Therein lies their salvation.

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Glossary of Important Terms n Allah —Allah is the personal name of God in Islam.To show proper reverence to Him, Muslims often add Ta‘ a l a , ‘the Most High’, when saying His Holy name.Ahmadi Muslim or Ahmadi — A m e m b e r o f t h e Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at —(Also Ahmadiyya) The Community of Muslims who accept the claims of Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as of Qadian as the Promised Messiah and Mahdi.The Jam a ‘at, established by Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as , is now led by his Fifth Khalifah , Hadrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his help).H ad i th —A saying of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa.The plural is a ha d i th.Hadrat —A term of respect used for a person of estab- lished righteousness and piety, literally translated as ‘his or her presence’.Holy Prophet sa —A term used exclusively for Hadrat Muhammad sa , the Prophet of Islam.

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[ 126 ] Holy Quran —The Book sent by Allah for the guidance of mankind.It was revealed to the Holy Prophet sa over a period of 23 years.H u du r —A term of reverence, meaning ‘His Holiness’, lit- erally translated as ‘His Presence’.Im a m —The Arabic word for a leader.The head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at is also referred to as the Im a m.Jalsah S a l a nah — Annual convention or gathering.Jam a ‘at — Jam a ‘at means community.Although the word Jam a ‘at itself may refer to any community, in this book, Jam a ‘at specifically refers to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at.Khalifatul Masih II — Hadrat Khalifatul Masih II (1889– 1965), Mirz a Bashir-ud-Din Ma h m u d Ahmad ra.He is also called Mu s le h -e-Mau‘ u d (the Promised Reformer) because he was born in accordance with the prophecy made by the Promised Messiah as in 1886 regarding the birth of a righteous son who would be endowed with special abilities, attributes, and powers.Khalifatul Masih IV — H a d r at Khalifatul Masih IV, Mirz a Ta hir Ahmad rta (1928–2003) was the fourth successor and a grandson of the Promised Messiah as , the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at, Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as.

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A Review of the Pakistani Government’s “White Paper”: Qadiyaniyyat—A Grave Threat to Islam [ 127 ] Mahdi —‘The Guided One’.This is the title given by the Holy Prophet sa to the awaited Reformer of Latter Days.Maula vi or Maul a n a —Literally, ‘my lord’, a title of rever- ence used for religious clerics.Maul a n a , ‘our lord’.Promised Messiah— The Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jam a ‘at, Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as of Qadian, India, who made his claim in fulfilment of the prophecies of the Holy Prophet sa regarding the coming of a Mahdi and Messiah from among the Muslims.Sahib —A term of respect, similar to the diversity of English terms like mister or sir.Sunnah —Traditions/Practices of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa.S u rah —Arabic word for designating the chapters of the Holy Quran.

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