Questions and Answers
The Light (Pakistan), 16th March 1922 Issue (Vol. 1, No. 7, pp. 3–4)
Question:
Are all religions the same in fundamental principles?
Answer:
Yes, so far the divine origin and the basic principles, which are not governed by the considerations of space and time, are concerned, all religions must concur. The apparent differences among the various religions are due to human ingenuity or to human interpolations.
As there has been only one God, so there has been only one religion since the birth of the world, and that is Islam. That is why if we take out the common factors of all the religious, they constitute the principles of Islam. Christianity and Hinduism, for instance, believe in the plurality of gods, yet they believe in the unity as well.
Question:
Can a man attain salvation by following his own religion?
Answer:
Salvation means spiritual bliss, which depends upon the evolution of the soul. A man can attain salvation to the degree to which his soul has been evolved by his own conduct of life.
But the most important question is, is there any other religion except Islam which has promulgated a complete code of life and which thus ensures the perfect salvation for those who live up to it?
Question:
Which is the true religion that exists on the face of the earth?
Answer:
Islam, which is the natural religion of humanity.
Question:
Is not Jesus Christ a prophet and will he not offer prayer behind Imam Mahdi?
Answer:
The question evidently relates to the second advent of Jesus Christ, but perhaps the enquirer has ignored the fact that Jesus Christ, who lived some two thousand years ago among the Israelites, died a natural death and therefore cannot come again to the world.
The prophecy about the second advent of Jesus Christ has already been fulfilled in the person of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, who was a Reformer or Mujaddid, and not a prophet, and said his prayers behind another Imam.
Question:
Where is Heaven and Hell?
Answer:
Heaven and Hell are not the names of particular places. They only represent two different stages of the human soul: one of perfect happiness, and the other of distress and affliction.
[Related: Correspondence: Heaven and Hell]
Question:
What do you mean by the word Dajjal? — Syed Kareem Bakhsh
Answer:
Literally it means a group of people who are devoted to spread mischief and deceit.
Question:
What is the difference between you and the Ahmadees [Ahmadis] of Qadian? — Syed Kareem Bakhsh
Answer:
The main difference is that we believe the late Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian to be the Reformer or Mujaddid, while those who belong to the Qadian party believe him as a prophet, and hence all the Muslims except Ahmadis to be kafir or outside the pale of Islam.