After reading the Tashahhud, the Ta’uz and the first chapter of the Holy Quran, Hazrat Amirul Mo’menine, Zafrullah Domun said:
Recently Allah said to me “Innallaha yab’aso maa yorid”. We may translate it as “Surely Allah raises whom He desires”. The way I have been given to understand this is that usually the people say why Allah should raise someone when we have a system of khilafat. In other words the Ahmadis are saying that they have what they need for their guidance and there is no need for anyone else to come from Allah. Although there are many verses of the Holy Quran which contradict this false idea, yet Allah reinforces the heart of His servant by telling him “Innallah yab’aso maa yorid”. Allah wants every one to understand that raising someone for the guidance of mankind is His Privilege. He does as He wishes and He does not have to be questioned about His actions. Usually mortal man should know that he is not here to question what Allah does, but he is the one who will be questioned after his death about what he did when he was alive here. Very clearly Allah says in the Holy Quran: “Laa yous’alo amma yaf’alo wa houm yous’aloune”. The translation is “He cannot be questioned as to what he does but they will be questioned.”(21:24)
About one hundred years ago Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas said in one of his verses
“Waqt tha waqt masiha na kissi auwr ka waqt
Mein na aata to koyi auwr hi aaya hota”
The translation is “the time was that of the Messiah and not that of anyone else. If I did not come someone else would have come”. If you read Islamic literature, you will see that many ulemas were waiting for the arrival of the Mahdi during the last part of the 19th Century which corresponded to the beginning of the 13th Century after Hegira. The meaning is quite clear if you know about the conditions of the Muslims at the time that the Messiah was raised by the end of the 19th Century. A Messiah had to come to help the Muslims to understand their religion as it should be understood and practiced. But unfortunately the majority of the Muslim world ignored his important message and they did not rally around him.
The rise of Muslim fundamentalism that we see these days are but the result of ignoring the real teachings of Islam about Jihad. The Promised Messiah and Mahdi (as) said in very clear terms that the propagation of Islam should be done by showing the teachings of Islam to Non Muslims and not by killing these people or by declaring war upon them. In the introduction to his book “Jesus in India” which he published in 1899 he writes:
“I have written this book, so that, by adducing proofs from established facts, from conclusive historical evidence of proved value and from ancient documents of non-Muslims, I might remove the serious misconceptions which are current among Muslims and among most Christian sects regarding the earlier and the later life of Jesus (on whom be peace) - misconceptions, the dangerous implications of which have not only injured and destroyed the conception of Divine Unity, but the unwholesome and poisonous influence of which has for long been noticed in the morals of the Muslims of this country.
Spiritual maladies, i.e., want of good morals, evil thoughts, callousness, want of sympathy, are spreading among most Islamic sects, being the result of beliefs in unfounded stories and anecdotes of this kind. Human sympathy, pity and love of justice, humility and humble-mindedness - all good qualities - are disappearing day by day, as if they will soon bid a last farewell to this community. This callousness and this immorality make many a Muslim appear no better than the beasts of the jungle.
A Jain or a Buddhist is afraid of and avoids killing even a mosquito or a flea, but, alas! There are many among us Muslims who, while they kill an innocent man or commit wanton murder, are not afraid of the powerful God, who rates human life higher than that of all the animals. What is this callousness and cruelty and want of sympathy due to? It is due to this - that from their very childhood, stories and anecdotes and wrong views of the doctrine of Jihad are dinned into their ears and inculcated into their hearts, the result being that gradually they become morally dead and cease to feel the heinousness of their hateful actions; nay, rather, the man who murders another man unawares and thus brings ruin to the murdered man's family thinks that he has done a meritorious deed; or rather, that he has made the most of an opportunity to win favour with his community.
As no lectures or sermons are delivered in our country to stop such evils - and if there are any such lectures they have an element of hypocrisy in them - the common people think approvingly of such misdeeds. Accordingly, taking pity upon my own people, I have compiled several books in Urdu, Persian and Arabic, in which I have stated that the popular view of Jihad prevalent among Muslims, that is, the expectation of a bloody Imam, full of spite and hostility for other people, is a texture of false beliefs inculcated by shortsighted Ulemas; otherwise, Islam does not allow the use of the sword for the Faith; except in the case of defensive wars, or in the case of wars waged to punish a tyrant or to uphold freedom. The need of a defensive war arises when the aggression of an adversary threatens one's own life. These are the three kinds of Jihad permitted by the Shariat, and, apart from these three kinds, there is no other kind of war which is permitted by Islam for the propagation of the Faith.
I have, in short, spent a large sum of money on such books, and have published them in this country and in Arabia and Syria and Khurasan, etc. But, by the grace of God, I have now discovered powerful arguments which are meant to eradicate these unfounded beliefs from the hearts of the people. I have clear proofs, circumstantial evidence of a conclusive character, and historical evidence the light of whose truth holds out the promise that soon after their publication there will be brought about against such beliefs a wonderful change in the hearts of the Muslims.
And I hope - I am sure - that after these truths have been comprehended, there will flow out of the hearts of the righteous sons of Islam the sweet and beautiful springs of lowliness, humility and mercy, and that there will come about a spiritual change which will have a wholesome and a blessed influence on the country. I am also sure that Christian investigators and all other people who hanker after the truth and thirst for it, will benefit from my books. And the fact just now stated by me, that the real object of this book is to correct the wrong beliefs which have become part and parcel of the creeds of Muslims and Christians, requires a little explanation which I set out below.”(Jesus in India-Introduction)
The Promised Messiah claimed that he was the person that the whole Muslim umma were waiting for but which they ignored like the Jews ignored Hazrat Isaas , their Messiah. Since then there have been many other voices that have been raised against the common idea of Jihad that is prevalent amongst Muslims. Even in Saudi Arabia “unorthodox” Islam is being slowly revised to come closer to the interpretation of Islam that was given by the Judge of the age (Hakaman), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas. He made it very clear that in fulfillment of the prophecy of the Holy Prophet Mohammadsaw he was the one to decide about the differences that have crept amongst Muslims. But unfortunately such is the grip of the so called Ulemas on the people’s mind that they ignored his teachings. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad said:
“I have been informed by pure revelations from Allah that I am the Promised Messiah and Mahdi and that I am the Judge for all the internal and external differences” (Arba’eene Number 1 page 4)
Hence if Allah has appointed Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as the Judge for what has divided the Muslims, he becomes the most important authority in deciding differences. His status precedes anyone else in the Jamaat that he has established. In the first number of “Arba’eene”, as I have quoted above he further says:
Today, for the purpose of conveying the message in a conclusive manner, I have made up my mind to publish forty announcements inviting those who oppose and deny me, so that on the Day of Judgement I should be able to plead before God, the One that I had fulfilled the purpose for which I had been sent. So, with full respect and humility, I send this announcement to Muslim and Christian divines, and to Hindus and Arya Pundits, informing them that I have been sent to the world for the reformation of moral, doctrinal and spiritual weaknesses and errors. I follow in the footsteps of Jesus as, and, in this sense, I am called the Promised Messiah.
I have been commanded to spread the truth in the world through miraculous signs and holy teachings. I am opposed to the use of the sword in support of the faith and the slaying of God’s creatures in the name of religion. I have been appointed that, so far as it may be possible for me, I should remove all these errors from the minds of the Muslims and should call them to pure morals, perseverance, meekness, justice and righteousness.
I proclaim to all the Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Aryas, that I have no enemy in the world. I love human beings with the love that a compassionate mother has for her children and even more so. I am the enemy only of the false doctrines which slay the truth. Human sympathy is my duty, and discarding falsehood, idolatry, every type of misconduct and wrongdoing, injustice, and immorality, is my principle.
What has roused my sympathy is that I have discovered a gold mine and have been informed of a deposit of precious stones. In this mine I have been fortunate enough to find a shining and priceless diamond. Its value is so great that if I were to divide its price among the whole of mankind, each of them would become wealthier than the person who owns the largest amount of gold and silver in the world. What is that diamond? It is the True God, and to acquire Him means to recognize Him, to believe in Him truly, to establish the relationship of true love with Him, and to receive true blessings from Him. Having found such great wealth, it would be a great wrong that I should deprive mankind of it and that they should die of hunger while I live in luxury. This I will not do. My heart burns at the contemplation of their poverty and hunger. My soul is in travail at the perception of their darkness and privation. I desire that their houses should be filled with heavenly wealth and that they should acquire so many jewels of truth and certainty that they should be filled to their capacity.
Of course everyone loves his own species. Even the ants love their own kind, unless they happen to be overcome by some selfish desire. Therefore, he who calls people to God Almighty has an obligation to love them the most. And I love mankind the most. I have no personal enmity with anyone; I am the enemy only of their misconduct and of the wrongs they commit and of their disobedience and rebellion. Out of my eager love for mankind, I offer them the treasure that I have received, which is the key to all the treasures and bounties of Paradise. The fact that the treasures that have been bestowed upon me comprise of real diamonds, gold and silver can be easily ascertained. All these coins and jewels bear the royal mark, that is to say, I have heavenly testimonies which no one else has.
I have been told that of all the faiths, Islam is the only true faith; and that of all guidance, the guidance contained in the Qur’an alone is true in every respect and is free from human interpolation. I have been made to understand that of all the Messengersas, the one who has brought the most perfect holy and wise teaching and who practically demonstrated human excellences at the highest level is our lord and master Muhammad, the Chosen One sa. I have been informed through pure and sacred revelation vouchsafed to me by God Almighty that I am the Promised Messiah and the Promised Mahdi sent by Him, and that I am the Hakam [Arbiter] of the internal and external differences. The Holy Prophet sa has honoured me by bestowing upon me the names of Messiah and Mahdi. God has also called me by the same names in His direct word. What is more, the condition of the world in the present age also demanded that these should be my names. These are thus the three witnesses to these names of mine. I call to witness my God, Who is the Master of heaven and earth, that I am from Him and He bears witness to me through His signs. If anyone can compete with me in the matter of heavenly signs, then I am false. If anyone can prove himself my equal in the matter of the acceptance of prayers, then I am false. If anyone can prove himself my equal in expounding the verities and the fine points of the Holy Quran, then I am false. If anyone can prove my equal in disclosing that which is hidden and foretelling, with the mighty Power of God, the mysteries before their time, then I am not from Him.
Where now are the Christian ministers who have said that, God forbid, no prophecy or miraculous matter was disclosed by our lord and the lord of mankind, Muhammad, the Chosen One? I say truly that he alone is the perfect man whose prophecies and acceptance of prayers and display of other miraculous matters is something which even now rages like the ocean through his true followers. Which other religion beside Islam possesses this quality and this power? Where are the people, and in which country do they dwell, who can compete with Islam in the matter of Divine blessings and signs? A person who follows a religion which does not partake of the heavenly spirit, wastes his faith. That religion alone is worth the name which is alive and possesses the spirit of life and leads one to the Living God. I claim not only that the hidden is disclosed to me through the holy revelation vouchsafed to me by God Almighty and that miraculous signs are shown to me, but I also say that whoever follows me with a pure heart and with true love for God and His Prophetsaw, will also receive this bounty from God Almighty. But remember that this door is closed upon all opponents; otherwise let someone from them compete with me in the matter of heavenly signs. I affirm that no one will be able to do so. This is a living proof of the truth of Islam and the truth of my claim….
By the grace of Allah, on Wednesday last in the morning Allah revealed to me “Mein houn woh pani jo aya aasman se waqt par” which means “I am the water that has come from heaven on time”. I humbly request you to reflect about this revelation and what the Messiah has said in the last paragraph of the above extract. May Allah guide you all to what is right and true. Ameen |