This discourse was delivered by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the chief of Qadian, on 3 September 1904 at Lahore and was published by the Anjuman Furqania Lahore through Mian Maraj-ud-Din Omar, General Contractor and Secretary of the Anjuman, and Sheikh Nur Muhammad Munshi Alam, Proprietor of Hamdam-e-Sehat Lahore, for the benefit of the general public at its Rafah-e-Am Steam Press Lahore.

Today, 27 August 1904, I read in the daily Paisa Akhbar that a certain Hakim Mirza Mahmood Irani, who is residing in Lahore, is also a follower of a person who is said to have claims to messiahship as well, and Hakim Sahib desires to contest with me in that context. I regret that due to my overwhelming engagements, I cannot accede to his request because tomorrow, Saturday, is the public gathering which had been previously arranged, and on Sunday I have to proceed to Gurdaspur in connection with a court case, and my appearance in the court is a must. I have been in Lahore for the last twelve days. During this time, no such request was made to me, and now that I have to leave and I have not a minute to spare, I am confronted with this untimely request. I do not understand what is the intention and objective of making this untimely approach, but I have a suggestion which could be helpful to arrive at a positive decision.

Tomorrow, 3 September, I have to read my paper at the general gathering, and this paper will be published in the Paisa Akhbar as well. I request Hakim Sahib to publish his discourse countering my points in the said daily, and the public would thereby decide for themselves after reading both articles which of the two has better arguments favouring the truth and the right path and which of the articles is devoid of truth. I think this course would also be safe and conducive to public safety and general peace because it would not be prone to raise public commotion which has become a possibility nowadays in religious debates. I believe this suggestion should be acceptable, because in my discourse no direct reference would be made to Hakim Sahib and the discourse would be clear from any ill-feelings which sometime creep up due to such debates.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani

PART I:

To begin, I offer my thanks to Almighty Allah for placing us under the protection of a peaceful government that does not create any hindrance in any religious propagation and has removed all the thorns in our path out of its love for justice and mercy. Then, my esteemed listeners, I want to say a few words about the religious faiths that currently exist in our land — Indian Sub-continent. I shall do so within the bounds of good manners. I am aware that there are certain persons who have a natural abhorrence to listening to self-evident truths that contradict their own beliefs, and I regret that the cure for their abhorrence is beyond my power. I shall espouse the truth nevertheless and would seek their pardon in anticipation.

O respectable listeners! After incisive thinking and repeated divine revelation I have discovered that whereas many sects exist in this land, religious differences are also quite numerous, yet the cause which is responsible for these differences is just one, that is, the Divine Light and God-consciousness attuned to mercy that creates a spiritual insight and force to sift truth from falsehood is extinguished from within many hearts, and people have donned themselves in an atheistic colouring by adopting an attitude and practice that they preach and talk of goodly things but their acts contradict their words. If there is any unknown pious man, to him I do not refer in this observation but, by and large, the general visible situation is exactly what I have just said.

The purpose for which religions are raised by the Creator is being ignored. As a matter of fact, religious consciousness should inculcate a real purification of the heart. Godly love and compassion, humility, fortitude, sublimity, forgiveness and other such noble moral virtues that are the actual spirit of any religion are not being addressed by many persons. It is painful and sad to see that while these religious disputes are on the increase with the passage of time, the spiritual consciousness, on the other hand, is on decline. The true purpose of religion is to recognise the true God Who has created the entire universe and to reach, in His love and quest after Him, to a level where all attachments except His are burnt down and completely extinguished and a new over-garment of compassion for His creation and real purification is worn. But I see that this real quest is set aside by mankind in the present age, and many a people are following one or the other type of atheistic pursuits, not undertaking any effort to make a search for God. It is due to this that the commission of crimes and sins is every day on the increase, and the sinners are daring to commit any type of bad act without any moral compunction because it is a fact that one for whom we do not know, we cannot generate regard, love or fear for him in our heart. However, a sense of regard, love or fear can evidently get implanted in our heart on the recognition of one for whom we know. Consequently, currently the commission of sins and bad deeds are on the increase because of a decline in God-consciousness and recognition. Therefore, the salient feature of the true religion is that it has sufficient signs which lead to the One God so that its followers should desist from committing sins and one may become conscious of God’s beauty and glory so that His love may overpower the devotee completely.

That one may feel that an affront to God’s command means worse than being put into hellfire. It is true that love for God is the only way to get rid of the bondage of sin. The greatest aim of one’s life in this world is to attain divine consciousness and develop a natural abhorrence towards vice. The question that arises at this point is: How can one be rescued from a hellish life? The answer to this question that has been given to me by God Almighty is that it depends on one’s recognition of God with its real, complete and perfect magnitude. Since a man is being dragged by the powerful carnal desires towards vice and sin, to counteract this attraction, an equally powerful pull should operate on the opposite side. The saying goes that iron can be cut by steel alone. This self-evident truth needs no detail argumentation that love, respect and regard or otherwise of an object depends on the knowledge of the nature of that object. To illustrate: If a precious piece of diamond is placed in the hands of a child, he would consider it worth not more than a toy. Similarly, if one is unknowingly offered a poison polluted honey, he would take it with pleasure and gratitude and would not know that the honey would cause his death, because he is unaware of the poison’s presence in the honey. Likewise, one cannot put his hand in a hole of a deadly serpent out of fear of death because he has certain knowledge of the consequences of such an act. Thus, if you will not drink a deadly potion because you know that it would cause you death, why then is it that you care little about the death which would befall you on breaking the commands of God? Evidently because you do not have that certainty about it that you had about the deadly bite of a serpent or poison mixed drink.

Hence, the effective deterrence against taking any step is the thorough and effective knowledge of the consequence of such a step. It can be safely stated that one desists from taking any step when he is certain that the consequence of such a step could cause him physical or financial loss and no atonement can generate such a sense of abhorrence. Is it not true that many habitual criminals desist from many emotional insinuations where they know that they would get caught after committing an act of crime? This desistance is a result of possible punishment and not any faith on the cross or atonement of Jesus but a terror generated in the heart of the individual by the uniform of a policeman, or his unscathed sword, and the probability of being locked up. This natural law not only operates in the hearts of human beings but is equally valid for the animal kingdom. You may observe that a charging lion would not plunge himself in a burning fire irrespective of seeing that a goat is standing on the other side of the fire waiting to become his prey. Likewise, a wolf does not attack a goat that is being protected by its owner with a naked sword or loaded gun drawn over its head.

It is a true and experienced observation that man needs a complete and trusted certitude about the nature of anything to get rid of the bondage of sin. I can say without any hesitation that if Noah’s people had had true and trusted certitude which generates thorough fear in individuals they would have been saved from the deluge, and if the people of Sodom had it they would have been saved from the chastisement of the stones. It should be noted that any defective knowledge cannot be beneficial. If this land had acquired the perfect knowledge of God that could bring forth the terror capable of shattering the bodies with fear, the country would have been saved from the chastisement of the plague. But the fact is that defective knowledge is useless and it cannot instil one with either love or fear. No faith which is not complete is useless and a defective fear is equally useless as every meal or drink which is not complete cannot remove hunger or thirst, just as a drop of water cannot irrigate a field.

Hence, lo! O sluggish stragglers and indolent seekers after truth. How can you expect enormous bounties of Almighty with the least love or fear of Him? Purification from sins is from God, and to fill the heart with His complete and perfect love is also in His power. To instil one with the awe of His glory is also His prerogative. It has been His law from antiquity that to whom whatsoever was granted it happened with prior acquisition of clear and strong faith. Lo! The root of fear or love is prior acquisition of a clear and complete cognition of knowledge of anything. Hence, whoever was granted a clear knowledge also got a strong love or abhorrence perception of any act and was saved from evil which could occur only when one is heedless.

Hence, to get this safety we need nobody’s blood or placement on the cross or atonement, but we need only one sort of sacrifice, and that is the sacrifice of self. This is the sacrifice which our very nature indicates, and this if in other words Islam, which means to extend one’s neck for slaughtering for the righteous cause of God with thorough and complete willingness, that is, to offer oneself at the threshold of his Creator. This is the name which is the very soul of the entire Shariah and commands of Allah. In other words, and I repeat, to offer one’s self for slaughter with consent and without demur could not be possible unless one has thorough devotion and complete love which is generated by a doubtless cognition. A pure sacrifice needs a complete cognition and thorough love and needs nothing else, as Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:

“Neither their flesh nor their blood reaches Allah, but to Him is acceptable observance of duty on your part (22:37).

That is to say, sacrificial animals’ flesh or blood do not reach Allah but only that sacrificial spirit reaches those that have adopted the dutiful path out of awe and love for Allah.

Now it may be noted that the real requirement and object of the entire commands of the Islamic religion is indicated in the very name of the religion, and for that very purpose the Holy Quran has given various instructions which at places are trying to inculcate a sense that God may appear attractive to human beings. To that purpose it sometimes praises the beauties and glories of the Deity, and elsewhere it reminds of the bounties of the Creator, because love can be generated in one’s heart by observing Allah’s beauty and attractiveness or remembering His gifts and donations to the praiser. Hence, it is written that God Almighty is unique in His beautiful qualities and stands alone in His glory which is shared by none. He is Manifester of all perfect powers, and is Creator of the whole of creation and the Source of all bounties. He is near despite His being very far away. He has no defects and is the embodiment of all attributes of perfection. He is very far away in spite of His being very close to one’s self and He is Master of the day of requital. He is above all, but one cannot say that there is someone else beside Him. He is more concealed than everything; yet we cannot say that there is something more manifest than Him. He is ever living by Himself and everything is alive because of Him. He is self existing by Himself. He is holding everything, yet we cannot say that anything else is holding Him. There is nothing in the universe which has been created independent of Him or can survive independent of Him. He encompasses everything, but we cannot describe the centre of His circuit. He is the Light of the heaven and the earth, and every other aurora has been kindled by His hand and is a reflection of His self. He is the Sustainer of the entire universe. There is no soul which is self-existent and is not being maintained by His grace. None has any power which has not been granted by Him. His Grace is of two kinds: one is which has been existing independent of any act of an person prior to His act and has been in existence since antiquity, for example, the earth, sky, sun, moon, stars, water, fire, air, and all atoms which have been created for our comfort. Similarly, all those elements which are needed for our existence have been provided before our birth and this all was done when we were non-existent nor was there any action on our part. Who can say that the sun has been created by his act or the earth has come into existence because of his virtuous act? Hence, this grace has come into existence independent of any act of any person. The second grace is which comes into being on the actions of individuals, and it needs no elucidation. It is written in the Holy Quran that God’s person is free of any defect and is also incapable of harbouring any loss to His self, and He desires that man should also follow the same instructions and imbibe the same Divine qualities as He says:

“Whoever is blind in this (world), he will be blind in the Hereafter” (17:72).

This means that any person who would opt to remain blind to the truth and not desire the unveilment of the unseen would remain devoid of that inner light even after death, and the darkness would not leave him because the senses to see Almighty Allah are given in this very life, and the person concerned who had not acquired those senses in this world would not meet Almighty God in the life hereafter. Hence, in this verse Allah Almighty tells man clearly what type of progress He expects man to achieve in this world. It also indicates by such tidings what excellence is attainable by following the teachings of the Holy Quran. It is also discernible that by following the teachings of the Holy Quran Allah can be seen in this very world as He says:

“Whoever desires to meet his Sustainer he should do good deeds, and not associate anything else in worship of God” (18:110).

This means that if anybody wants to meet his Creator in this very world, he should do good deeds of such magnitude that there should not be an iota of blemish in these deeds; that his good deeds should not be to show-off to anybody, and he should not have a sense of pride in doing good deeds. These acts should emerge out of a personal love of Allah Almighty, because anything less than personal love of Allah betrays associating with God other creations. To show off to other entities is raising those entities to Godhead, which is shirk and not acceptable to Allah. Worldly means should not be raised to that pedestal or honour which is reserved for Allah alone. Instead, one should feel that whatever he has done is nothing in comparison to Allah’s benedictions on human beings. He should not take pride in his knowledge or ideas, but should prostrate on the threshold of Allah every minute of his life, and attract His grace through prayerful supplications. He should become like a man who is thirsty and helpless, and a spring appears in front of his eyes which has clean and sweet water and he pulls himself to reach that spring and does not leave unless he has drunk from the spring and satisfied himself.

Furthermore, our Lord God teaches us in the Holy Quran:

“Say! He Allah is one. Allah is He on whom all depend. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And none is like Him (112:1–4).

That is, your Lord God is One and Alone and He is Timeless and Ever-living.

None has attributes like Him. Man needs a teacher to acquire knowledge and man is limited and Allah is limitless and His knowledge is all-encompassing. He needs nobody to teach Him knowledge. Man’s listening capacity needs the presence of air and is limited, but Allah’s listening capacity is His personal attribute. Man needs light and sun to observe various objects. Allah needs no light to see; seeing is His personal attribute and is unlimited.

Likewise, man’s capacity to manufacture or create things is contingent upon the pre-existence of material elements and needs time and is limited, but God’s capacity to create needs neither prior existence of material elements or time, and is without limit, because His attributes are unique and unlimited. As He is without replica, so are His attributes and qualities. He is complete in every way. If there is any defect in His one attribute or quality, so it would be in every attribute, which would not let His uniqueness exist. He is unique and independent of everything else. Hence the above quoted verse further says that God is Himself neither a son nor has He begotten anybody. He is not in need of having a father or a son. This is the monotheistic teaching which has been taught by the Holy Quran on which depends faith.

About actions, another compact verse exists in the Holy Quran which inter-alia lays down:

“Surely Allah enjoins justice and doing of good (to others) and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency, evil and rebellion” (16:90).

That is, God commands you to do justice and be equitable. If you want to improve upon it then do ihsan or goodness proper which is done for goodness sake only without expecting any reward on it as the mother does for her offspring out of a natural urge without expecting any gratitude or reciprocation. God only forbids that you may not do any excess or mention what good you have done to the person or to show off and be ungrateful. This verse has been explained elsewhere:

“And they give food out of love for Him, to the poor and the orphan and the captive. We feed you for Allah’s pleasure only — we desire from you neither reward nor thanks” (76:8).

This means that they are most righteous who, when they feed the poor or orphans and captives, they do so simply for the love of the Creator and they do not expect any reciprocation, or say “You should be grateful to us for the feeding” etc.

Furthermore, about punishment or retaliation, the Quran has recommended:

“And the recompense of evil is commitment like it; but whoever forgives and amends, his reward is with Allah. Surely He loves not the wrong doers” (42:41).

This means the recompense of evil is punishment of the same magnitude and avoidance of any excess, that is, a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye, abuse for abuse, but whoever forgives provided such forgiveness results in amendment and does not generate furtherance of evil, and the evildoer becomes a righteous man, such act of forgiveness is much better than seeking any revenge. Allah will award the forgiver for such an act. It is not on every occasion that one may turn the other cheek towards one’s tormentor who has slapped him on the cheek to repeat the evil a second time. Such a policy will be without wisdom and would encourage the evildoer because on certain occasions to do good to the evil mongers becomes very injurious to the society as if you have done evil to a righteous one. Hence it was provided:

“And not alike are the good and evil. Repel evil with what is best when lo! he between whom and thee is enmity would be so as if he were a warm friend” (41:34).

That means that if anybody has done good to you, you should do more good to him. If you adopt such a policy, the possibility is that any existing enmity between the parties may turn into truly warm friendship, but take such warmth as if he were one of your relations. It was further pointed out:

“Not let some of you backbite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? And let not people laugh at people perchance they may be better than they. Surely the noblest of you with Allah is the most dutiful of you. Neither find fault with your own people nor call one another by nicknames. Evil is a bad name after faith. Avoid uncleanness of idols, telling of falsehood and lying. Say what is correct and straight solid, and hold the rope of thy Lord all of you together” (22:30 and 49:11–13).

This means that you should not backbite and find faults with each other. Would you like to eat the flesh of your dead brother and let not one people make the other people their laughing stock and assume false prestigious arrogance and degrade other people? The noblest among you in the sight of Allah is he who is the most observant of the commands of its Creator and completely dutiful. The racial differences of people are nothing materially. Do not call people by nicknames which they do not like otherwise you will be evildoers in the eyes of God. Similarly, idol-worshipping and telling lies are unclean acts. When you make any statement it should be straight solid and honest. Avoid and shun idle talk and loose gossip. Make it a point that all your limbs and faculties are subservient to God; and all of you should be obedient to His commands, singly and jointly. Allah’s Book, the Holy Quran, has observed at a place:

“Abundance diverts you until you come to the grave. Nay you will soon know. Nay, again, you will soon know. Nay would that you knew with a certain knowledge you will certainly see hell; then you will see it with certainty of sight. Then on that day you shall certainly be questioned about the boons” (102:1–8).

That means the Book says: Oh, those of you who are forgetful of the ways of God, and lust for life has made you heedless until you reach your grave and do not get rid from the spell of forgetfulness. This is your blunder that you will discover very soon. I repeat that you will discover very soon. Had you had positive knowledge you would have discovered with your certain knowledge the existence of hell. The time will come when you will be thrown into hell and you will certainly be questioned about your licentiousness and excesses. That is to say, after being put to chastisement, you will acquire the absolute and definite certainty.

In these verses it is pointed out that certitude is of three categories: one which is based on mere knowledge or guess, for example, one observes smoke from a distance and guesses that at a certain place a fire has been ignited; the second category is that he sees the fire with his own eyes, and the third category is that he puts his hand in the fire and feels the burning the fire. Hence these are three categories of certainty: the first is deductive certainty acquired by the thinking capacity which is called Ilm-ul-Yaqin, the second is known as certainty of the eyes, and the third is absolute certainty. In these verses, Allah Almighty has taught human beings that man’s entire consolation and contentment is reposed in his nearness to his Creator and love for Him, and whenever he de-links himself with his Creator and leans entirely towards worldly affairs he puts himself into a hellish abode. He thus gets acquainted with the abode at the time when he is de-linking himself with his property or worldly relations at the time of death.

At another place the Holy Quran has stated:

“And for him who fears standing before his Lord are two gardens” (55:46).

That is to say, whoever realises or recognises the esteemed position of his Lord and is conscious of His grandeur and is aware of that one day he has to present himself before the Lord God and therefore abhors the sins or violation of His commands and adopts a pure life for His sake, he will get two gardens, that is, he will lead a divine life firstly in this world as if he is leading a life in earthly paradise, and after death he will get the eternal bliss of paradise. This is because out of awe and glory of the Creator he preferred to lead a life according to His commands and abhorred and shunned evil. At another place of the Holy Quran it says:

“Surely we have prepared for the disbelievers chains and shackles and burning fire, the righteous truly drink of a cup tempered with camphor — a fountain from which the servants of Allah drink” (76:4–8).

“And they are made to drink therein a cup tempered with ginger of a fountain therein called Salsabil” (76:17–18).

That is, disbelievers who have no love for man in their hearts and are leaning down towards world have chains and shackles around their necks and their feet and hence are unable to raise their heads and stand straight and look in front of them so the worldly desires are kindling fire in their hearts and they are ever burning within. Yet those who are virtuous sip in this very world from the drinking-cup which is tempered with camphor, which quenches their thirst and extinguishes the fire of worldly desires. These virtuous persons who are sipping from the spring of camphor widen the spring so as a full canal flows from it thereby they can call other thirsty people to it for quenching their thirst and when that spring assumes the volume of a canal their power of faith gets strengthened and love of God starts growing. Then they are given another cup, of a syrup tempered with ginger. That is, in the initial stage they were given a syrup tempered with camphor, the purpose at that stage being to cool the lust for worldly desires. And then another syrup tempered with warmth properties was to ignite love of God in them. To abandon is no achievement hence the cup is referred to as syrup of ginger which emanates from the spring of Salsabil which means to seek after the way of God.

Thereafter at another it says:

“He is indeed successful who causes it to grow. And He indeed fails who buries it” (91:9–10).

That is, that man who has liberated himself from the shackles of worldly desires, surely he has achieved salvation and achieved a divine life, and the man who has buried himself in worldly desires and hankered after worldly affairs forgetting his Lord is surely unsuccessful. Because these liberated stages are not achieved merely by human efforts, man is urged upon at various places to ask assistance from God through prayer and earnest struggle in His way as it is said: “Pray to me! I will answer you.”

He says also:

“When My servants ask thee concerning Me, surely I am nigh. I answer prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should hear Me and believe in Me, that they may walk in the right way” (2:186).

That is, if My servants ask thee about My person, about how one can know that God exists, its answer is that I am close by, and I hear the voice of one who calls upon Me, and I do enter into dialogue with him. It is therefore essential that they should make themselves worthy of My conversation with them, and have a thorough faith in Me so that they will find the way which reaches Me.

Furthermore, He says:

“And those who strive hard for Us We shall certainly guide them in Our way. And Allah is surely with the doers of good” (29:69).

That is, those who strive in Our way and have a deep quest to meet Us and dare all the difficulties and face all the hurdles, We surely show them Our path.

Further, He says:

“O you who believe, keep your duty to Allah and be with the truthful” (9:119).

That is, if you desire to meet Allah, then along with striving, pray to Him and keep the company of the truthful people, because in this path the association with the truthful is also a condition. These are all commands which lead man to the spirit of Islam.

As I stated earlier, that essential requirement of Islam is that one should surrender before the will of God like the sacrificial goat or sheep and leave his own desires and will so that Allah’s will absorbs the will of the believer and his personality gets dissolved into the personality of his Creator as if he accepted death for Him so that he virtually accepted a death for God and got annihilated for the personal love of his Divine beloved so that obedience is only for His satisfaction and then he is bestowed such eyes which perceive along with His eyes and gets such ears which hear with His ears and gets a heart which is ever inclined towards Him and gets such tongue which speaks only when He commands it to speak. This is the stage where all striving effort of the divine pilgrim culminates and all human faculties have performed the duties allotted to them by nature and a thorough death overtakes all human failures and worldly desires and cravings. Then God ‘s grace grants him another life with pristine signs and His sweet words descend on the pilgrim and the minutest and most hidden secrets which were incomprehensible by the intellect earlier open clearly to his mind and things which were not seen with the eyes become visible and He Himself gets nearer to the pilgrim’s heart as He has said in the Holy Quran at another place:

“We are nearer to him than his life vein” (50:16).

That is, He honours the mortal man with nearness to Him and a time comes when the spiritual blindness ends and the man perceives God with his new sight and hears His voice and observes himself enwrapped in a quilt of light so that the spiritual and religious quest is complete at this point, the unclean worldly garments are thrown away, and man views his Creator with his own eyes, and the promised state of resurrection no longer remains a promise to be fulfilled in the life hereafter but actually matures in this world, and the wait till life hereafter ends. He gets the taste of the fruits of paradise in this very world. He is honoured with Divine presence and dialogue, as God says:

“Those who say our Lord is Allah, then continue in the right way, the angels descend upon them saying, Fear not, nor be grieved and receive good news of the garden which you were promised.”

That is, those persons who say that our God is that God Who is the Component of all perfect qualities and has no associate with His person or in qualities. After making this declaration they do not waver in face of doubts or onslaught of difficulties of whatever magnitude or enemies of any kind. They are consoled not to get disheartened or grieved because Allah is with them. He gives them the promised paradise in this very world, so they should be happy.

This narration is not without any evidence or proof and these promises are not empty words which have never been fulfilled. In Islam, there have been thousands of pious saints who tasted the spiritual bliss of paradise. In fact, Islam is that religion the true followers of which have been declared as rightful inheritors of all the righteous ones of yore by Allah Almighty and the scattered blessings given to various persons in ancient times have been granted to this Ummat-e-Marhuma, that is, the Blessed Community, and Allah has accepted this community’s prayer which He had taught to them:

“Guide us on the right path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favours, not those upon whom wrath is brought down nor those who go astray.”

That is, show us the path of those virtuous people upon whom Thou had bestowed blessings and favours and were accepted by You, and whose supplications were accepted by You, and Your help and assistance was always available to them. Save us from the path of those upon whom Your wrath was brought down, neither of those who abandoned Your path and went astray. This is the prayer which is recited five times daily in ritual congregations. This also indicates that blindness turns this very life into hell and death of such a person is virtually passing through hell.

As a matter of fact, the true obedient of God, and actually saved soul is of that man who has recognised God and has complete faith in His existence, and it is he who can shun sin and get himself absorbed in the love of God. Anybody who is devoid of this desire and longing that he may be honoured with Divine dialogue of perfect certainty is actually dead at heart. And any religion which has no power to nourish this desire and make it grow to the acme of perfection, and lead its true followers to become recipients of Divine revelations or inspiration, that religion does not emanate from God and is devoid of any spiritual contents. Similarly, any Prophet who has not led his followers to desire divine revelations and get perfect Divine inspiration is not from God, and he is a forger of lies on Allah because the main object of man by which he can get rid of the bondage of sin is only that the existence of God and His powers to punish or reward become intelligible to him so that the unseen God should become to him like visible. Because, unless a voice from His side is not heard that He exists and His clear signs are not manifested to him, how can he have faith in His existence?

The intellect can lead man to a limited extent because the fine intellect can insist only after seeing the earth and heavens and fine arrangement in the universe that a creator of this wonderful arrangement should exist, but it cannot show that that obvious Creator really exists because obvious deduction is only a proposition and idea and not a pristine truth.

The difference in the two positions is very obvious. As the first position only shows the need for the manufacturer after seeing a finished product, the second position gives the proof of the existence of the manufacturer of the product. Therefore, in our present age when a severe conflict among the various religions is on, a seeker after truth should not forget that only that religion is a true guide which can show God with a thorough certitude, and bring him to the stage of Divine inspiration, and get him the honour to be a recipient of His revelation and thus with the spiritual and soul-stirring quality clean the heart’s impurities and bring it out from darkness into light. Every other system which cannot perform this function is only a deception and a mirage.

Now we would review the religions existing in this country whether they can lead to Divine cognition with perfection, and whether such a promise exists in their books that the word of God can be heard by the seekers of the truth, and if it exists whether any person of that status who could be a living verification of that assertion be living in this age. So, the first worth mentioning religion is that which is known as Christianity. We may say that it need not be discussed at length, because it is agreed by all Christian scholars that after the advent of Christ, inspirational revelation and Divine dialogue have ceased to exist, and this favour has been discontinued by God Almighty. Hence, there is no prayer to reach that stage, the Divine inspiration was in existence before Christ and it is no longer attainable. Which means that till the day of Resurrection there is no hope for the lovers of God to have His presence felt because the door of grace has been closed in their face.

It seems for this very reason a new method was invented of salvation, and a new prescription was proposed to get freedom from bondage of evil and sin, which is novel and unique, equally illogical and unjust, devoid of mercy. It is being said that Jesus, peace be upon him, took over the sins of the entire world on his shoulders and offered to die for the sake of the sinners so that by his death others should be saved from chastisement. God accepts to kill His only son to save the rest of the sinners. Yet one cannot understand how, by this unjust killing of His innocent son, God managed to clean the hearts of sinners from their evil inclinations and how the sinners’ past sins could be mitigated by an innocent’s murder. As a matter of fact, this method is the slaughter of both justice and mercy, because to capture an innocent against a sinner or evildoer is prima facie unjust, and moreover, to kill one without any of his fault is contrary to mercy. By this method no benefit accrued as we have already stated that the real cause of the opening of floodgate of sins is the lack of God-consciousness and real gnosis. Hence, till the cause exists its effect will remain in existence. Now it is not surprising what type of logic is this that the cause of commission of sin which is lack of certitude in the existence of God is very much there and its effect of existence of capability to commit sin and inclination thereto gets extinguished. The very experience produces thousands of witnesses that, without complete certitude, love for anything cannot sprout forth nor any fear be created.

Neither does the mere thought of a thing generate real regard for the object. It is evident that man does or desists to do an act either out of love or out of fear, because love and fear depend on the state of certitude regarding the properties or qualities and attributes of that thing. Therefore, if there is no certain realisation, how can there be fear or love?

At this point, the love and regard for righteousness urges us to state that for gnosis of God there is no clear thing in the hands of Christians since the continuation of spiritual revelation of God descending on them has stopped, and the institution of miracles has also ceased to exist after Christ and his companion Apostles. So far as discovery through reasoning faculty is concerned, that has also slipped from their hand by accepting a human being as God. Some of the ancient miracles are put forth as evidence, but those are just stories of yore because persons in the present age can deny their occurrence and say God knows what was their nature in reality and how far those have been exaggerated in the face of the fact that Gospel writers were in the habit of exaggeration. An example is that in one of the Gospels the sentence that Jesus had performed so many acts that if all of them were recorded they would not be encompassed by the world which prima facie is illogical and incorrect, because whereas those acts were encompassed by the world as being not written down, how could those bulge out of the world on being recorded in writing? What type of philosophy and logic is this? Does anybody understand?

Beside this, the miracles of Jesus do not surpass the miracles of Moses. Similarly, when the signs of Alia are compared with those of Jesus, the signs of Alia outweigh those of Jesus. Hence, if anybody can be raised to the pedestal of Godhead, then all of them deserve that pedestal. To say that Jesus himself said that he was the son of God or he has been called son in certain other books, to deduce his Godhead from such writings is not correct.

Many people have been called the sons of God in the Bible. Not only that, some have even been called God. Hence, the particular selection of Jesus is without reason. And had it so happened that none else was called the son of God or God in those books except Jesus. Even then, such writings could not be taken at face value because such metaphors exist in abundance in God’s revelations. But since according to the Bible many other persons have also been called sons of God, then why should other persons be denied this distinction? Hence, to depend for salvation on this reason is not correct, and additionally, to get rid of the bondage of sin has no relevance to this scheme of things, but to commit suicide for the salvation of others by itself is a commission of sin.

I swear by God that Jesus did not voluntarily accept crucifixion but wicked Jews desired it to happen and Jesus prayed the entire night in the garden to be saved from such death; tears even flowed on his cheeks. Then, because of his piety God accepted his prayers and saved him from death on the cross as it has been written in the Gospels. Hence, what sort of assertion is this that Jesus committed suicide out of his own willingness? Besides, reason also cannot accept such methodology that Jack may hit his head with a stone so that Jill’s headache gets cured.

Nevertheless, we do accept that Jesus, peace be upon him, was a true prophet and was one of those persons whom God Almighty cleansed with His Own hand. But we, for the words that exist for him or other prophets in the books, cannot raise them to the pedestal of Godhead. I have experience of such affairs and such words also exist in my revelation. Hence, can I say that I am the son of God or God Himself? As a matter of fact, such words are only words of honour for the man. So far as the teachings of the Gospel are concerned, I may say that in my opinion only those teachings are perfect which take care of all the capabilities of human beings and do not lay stress on one aspect of moral behaviour alone.

I declare most earnestly that such a perfect teaching which keeps all the capabilities of man in view and groom them to grow to their perfection is only in the Holy Quran. Quranic instructions are filled with wisdom and practicality take care of every human situation and expediency. For example, the Gospel says that if anybody slaps you on one cheek, turn the other one to him as well. But the Holy Quran teaches us that such an order is not suitable in every situation and every place. One should judge the particular situation to decide his reaction to an act whether the situational demand requires patience, revenge, pardon or chastisement. Now it is evident such a Quranic teaching is perfect and without such situational response the human social order would become topsy-turvy. The Gospels likewise says not to cast lusty gaze on a woman who is not legally yours. And the Holy Quran says not to cast gaze on any woman. So when it is not legal to look at, whether a lusty look or without it, lest you may stumble, and lays down that in time of need your gaze should be guarded and not that of a starer, because this is the right method for your purification and guarding of lusty hearts. In the present age, some people might criticise this injunction because they have tasted newly acquired unrestricted freedom but experience shows that this injunction is correct.

O, friends! Too much of informality and physical promiscuity do not bring forth good results. Whereas an adult woman or man has not attained sublimation of their sensuous sentiments, to let them indulge in lustful surroundings means to put them into a pit. Similarly, the Gospels say to seek divorce without the charge of or act of adultery is not correct. The Holy Quran says that there could be such situations where both the bride and her groom may develop mutual hatred and enmity to the extent of risk to their lives in spite of the fact that none of the parties is sexually unfaithful to each other or have committed adultery, or either of them has caught some disease which has created risk for continued matrimonial connections. In such conditions, divorce would be more appropriate and Islam justifies the dissolution of marriage in such situations.

Now, again, we revert to our main issue and we say that Christians do not have any real method by which they can stop sinning because salvation does not mean except that man’s inner condition should be altered so that he may not dare to sin, and God’s real love should develop gradually that all other loves or temptations may not overpower God’s perennial love. Evidently such a state of mind could not grow except by a thorough gnosis of God.

Now, when we open the Holy Quran in this context we discover the means that give assistance towards a complete recognition of God, which inspires one with the awe and love of the Almighty, which overtakes the man that he desists from sinning and after shunning to sin he becomes acceptable and presentable before the Almighty and is honoured by His Divinely revelations and dialogue and gets knowledge of the unseen with His grace and an inalienable link develops with Allah and his heart is filled with God’s love and Allah accepts his prayers and a stream of devotional love flows forth with this relationship which stops the man of even sinful thoughts.

When we turn to the Gospels we find only one irrational method which has no link with the stoppage of sins. It is surprising that Jesus displayed many human weaknesses but did not show any supra natural strength which could demonstrate his distinction from others yet he was accepted by Christians as God.

Let us turn to the religion of the Aryas briefly to see what methodology is suggested therein for man enabling him to stop sinning. We find that the Holy Vedas have entirely denied the revelations of God or His signs to occur in other epochs. Hence, to search for hearing a conciliatory voice of God that He is here or He accepts the prayers of the seeker and answers him and manifests Himself by showing signs, is a fruitless effort. Evidently the love or fear of a thing could get generated either by visitation or thorough gnosis. Mere manufactured articles cannot bring forth a thorough gnosis.

That is why many intellectuals are atheist. It would not be incorrect that those with an increased philosophical outlook reach the acme of atheism as well. As we have already stated, mere intellect can lead one with reference to the created thing, provided he does not have atheistic leanings. These created things need the existence of a creator which does not prove that the Creator really exists as well, and the same intellect can further lead to doubt; that maybe be this system has been moving by itself, and quite probable the natural things are themselves being created by other natural objects.

Hence the intellect cannot lead to that perfect gnosis which is known as definitive certitude which is tantamount to the virtual seeing of God and which generates perfect love or fear and thus the fire ignited by that love and fear can cause death to the worldly and sensuous desires which cause sins and an inner radiant change overtakes man, which wipes out all inner impurities and weaknesses. But as the majority of human beings do not care for this perfect purity to set in, and which flushes out the bad shots of sin that is why they do not feel the need for it, and start out in search for it. Instead, they start to oppose it and fight in a wrong cause out of inner prejudices. With pain we say that the Aryas’ behaviour in this context is very sad, in spite of the fact that they have a despair and despondency so far as either the availability of means leading to perfect gnosis is concerned in their system and intellectual means have also slipped from their hands because, according to them, every atom of the universe is permanent and non-perishable self existent, and has not been created by anybody and all souls are equally self-existent with all their powers and potentials, then what is left to them to prove the existence of their Permashwar, that is, God?

If it is said that to arrange the atoms giving them particular shape and then to infuse soul into them is God’s work and that is the argument to vindicate His existence, then the argument is not tenable because when atoms and souls are by themselves powerful and self-potent and holding their self existence since time immemorial and are their own creator, if that is to say, then why can they not dissolve and re-evolve and arrange themselves without the assistance of any extraneous agent and in spite of every soul and body not being dependent on any other extraneous agent yet they are in need of such agent to get them arranged in any particular shape or dissolve it? Such a belief is an easy prey for atheists, and therefore the Aryas get easily converted and accepted by the atheist cults. A clever atheist can entangle them easily. I pity these simpletons and am sorry to say that these Aryas have stumbled in the path of Divine Shariah in two ways: Firstly they have propounded a belief about God that He is neither the generator of the action of creation nor source of all favourable benefits but instead all atoms and their potentialities and power of all souls are by themselves and their natures are devoid of imparting any positive benefits, if so, then they should think for a while what is the need of Permashwar i.e. God, and why He should be worshipped and obeyed and why He should be considered as all powerful, that is, Serb Shakti Maan, and how and in what way He was recognised by the worshippers ? Would anybody address this question? We wish our sympathy may influence any heart and he may ponder over it in isolation and sift these queries with deep insight. O God! Take pity on this group of people who are our oldest neighbours and turn many of them to the right path for thou are all-powerful. We must add that in this aspect the Aryas have usurped the right of omnipotence from God as creator, and in other aspect is the idea which they have presented with regard to the creation itself and that is the theory of transmigration of souls that is the souls come into this world repeatedly, changing their physical forms. The most surprising thing of this idea is that in spite of their claim to intellect, it has imagined that the Creator is so cruel that for one sin He continues to punish the sinners for a thousand million years knowing quite well that He is not the creator of those souls and consequently has no right over them yet punishes them by repeated birth cycles. And why does not He chastise the sinners for a couple of years as human authorities do? Because for an enhanced and prolonged punishment it is necessary that upon the culprits He should have enhanced rights as well whereas all the atoms and souls exist by themselves, they owe nothing to Permashwar. Then how is He punishing them?

In Islam, although God declares that He is the Creator of all atoms and souls, and all their potentialities are bestowed to them, and they along with their capabilities are God handiwork, and they exist because of Him, yet the Holy Quran says:

“As thy Lord please. Surely thy Lord is doer of what He intends” (11:107).

That is to say, hell dwellers will dwell there forever; but this time length is not that which is related to God’s eternal existence but only length which He knows or desires, and then His grace comes into operation because He is Omnipotent and does what pleases Him. With reference to this verse, our lord and protector, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has said in one his traditions that a period will come over Hell when nobody would be there, and wind would move its doors.

Alas! These nations present God as a pugnacious, vindictive and sullen creature whose anger never ends. After getting the sinner put in a cycle of birth and death which may last for millions of years, He not even forgives the poor sinners. This criticism is not only relevant to the Aryas’ beliefs, it is equally the belief of the Christians as well, who propose the eternal hell for one sin that knows no limit and yet believes that God is the Creator of everything. Since God is the Creator of human souls and has bestowed various capabilities to the creation which include human weaknesses as well, which lead to the commission of sin, then the creation deserves mercy. What type of justice is this that for His Own son the duration of the punishment was only three days and for the rest of the sinners the duration was declared as eternity which is worth any limit? That is, they should burn in the hellfire forever without any time limit. Is it possible and fair to attribute this behaviour to the Merciful and Compassionate God? Instead, it should have been more appropriate that He should have given His son severe punishment because being of divine origin the son could have more strength to bear the chastisement than poor ordinary human creatures. Thus both the Aryas and the Christians are under the same burden and some ignorant Muslims have gone along the same path. Yet the word of God is not to be blamed for their misinterpretations because God has manifestly cleared this, and these ignorant people are to blame. It is a similar fault of disinformation as they believe that Jesus is sitting alive in the heavens, knowing full well that God Almighty clearly states in the Holy Quran he has since long died. But contrary to the Book of God they are waiting for his second advent.

Again, we revert to our original talk and state that that other aspect of the untenability of the transmigration of souls is that the theory is contrary to real purification as we daily observe that sometimes a person’s mother expires and sometimes another person’s sister passes away and another’s granddaughter. What argument is available that a believer of this theory would not indulge in a situation of marrying a lady which according to the Vedas is forbidden? Nevertheless, if on every child’s birth a pre-written detailed statement is handed down with him that in his previous births he was such person, or his relation was indicated to certain persons, then it is possible that he could be saved from treading the forbidden path. But Permashwar has not done so as if He Himself desired to disseminate this undesirable, non-ethical behaviour.

Moreover, it is not understandable what is the benefit for involving any soul in so many cycles of births and deaths when the entire salvation depends on real gnosis of God Almighty. It would have been more proper if the theory should have been that whenever a child was reborn his remembrance of all his previous lives experiences and gains should not have been forgotten. Incidentally, whenever a child is born he comes into this world with a clean slate of memory mind, and like any spendthrift and unmindful individual his previous collection of experiences, if any, seems to have been wiped out and like a pauper he shows his face and if a thousand times he had read the Holy Vedas he did not remember a single page of the Holy Scriptures. Hence, in this way he does not seem to get rid of the cycle of births and deaths and receive salvation, because whatever store of gnosis and knowledge he had collected on each birth and death cycle continues to get destroyed on each such occasion. Moreover, according to Arya philosophy, salvation itself is a limited period which has an added misery. This idea is totally unfortunate for the souls.

The second aspect which is counter to the purification of the creation and is added to the Aryas’ beliefs is the idea of niyog. I do not attribute this idea to the Holy Vedas, because such a thought makes my heart quiver, that I believe the Holy Vedas would have propounded this thought because my knowledge and conscience abhors it. I am definite that human nature cannot accept such an ignoble practice that a bridegroom urges his chaste bride who comes from a known family and honour to share a bed with someone only to beget a child from him notwithstanding the fact that she has close private relations with her husband and she is called his bride. My nature revolts with the idea that any faithful human would yield to such heinous commands of her husband while he is very much alive. This male sexual jealousy does not even permit certain animals to let their females yield to a rival male. A human being is a human being. How can he tolerate such a practice? I do not want to enter into a polemic debate at this point, and would submit with respect that they may please cast aside such an ignoble idea because in the first instance this country ab initio [from the beginning] is very far from real purity, and if such ignoble relations got currency among the women and men folk in this country then God knows what would become of this country. In addition to it, I would also dare to request the Aryas that although in the present age they hate the Muslims and abhor Islamic beliefs to whatever extent they may not leave the veil custom for God’s sake, they may not abandon the custom of seclusion for women totally because that step would lead to many mishaps which can be imagined by many understanding human beings in due course as many men are behaving in this world under the influence of nafs-e-ammara, that is, the mischief-monger self, and they are in the grip of nafs-e-ammara to the extent that when it provokes them, they forget the possible punishment inflictable by God when they come across women of voluptuous beauty, and likewise there are many women who have evil hearts and look at handsome men with evil eyes. If such parties are left without any restraint then same result will take place which is already happening in Europe. Nevertheless, when these people become purified and their evil inclinations get controlled and their devilish spirit gets annihilated, and God’s fear takes firm root in their heart and a purified change overtakes them and they become for God’s sake divine eunuchs, and their eyes refuse to look at women with lustful sight or any ignoble thought about her would ever enter their hearts, but, my dear ones, may God inspire you with the thought that such a time has not come as yet that you may do that. If you would hastily tread upon this course, then you would be sowing a poisonous seed among your nation. This age is sensitively very dangerous. I dare say that if the custom of seclusion was not in vogue in any other age then it should have been introduced in our age. All vices and evil deeds like drinking, adultery, arson, murder etc. have spread over the entire earth. The hearts have been afflicted with atheistic ideas, and the awe and respect for divine commandments is no longer in human hearts. There are many talks on human tongue, eloquent lectures are being delivered, which are full of logic and verbosity but hearts are empty of spiritual consciousness. In such times how is it proper that the shepherd may leave his herd in a dense forest?

Friends! The plague is over our heads and God Almighty has told me that its main brunt is yet to come. These are very miserable days. No one knows who would be living till next May and who would fall a victim, whose house would be visited by calamity and who would be spared. Hence, get up and repent and please your master with virtuous deeds. Remember that punishment on errors of beliefs is levyable after death and issue of anybody’s being a Muslim or Hindu or Christian and whether a person was rightly so or was in wrong would be decided on the day of Judgement, but one who transgresses in oppression, tyranny, bad deeds is punished in this very world. He cannot run away from God’s chastisement. Hence, do your best to please your Creator at the earliest possible moment prior to the advent of the terrible day that is the day of a terrific plague attack which has been foretold by the prophets of Allah, and make peace with Him because He is Merciful to the utmost and He forgives at a moment’s real repentance sins of seventy years, and do not say that repentance is not granted but believe that only His grace saves man and not man’s action. O our Lord! You are merciful and we are your sinful servants who are prostrating by thy throne. So forgive us because You are the Forgiver.

PART II:

O, respectable listeners! Now I would refer to a claim which has been published by me in this country and explain about what it is. As is known and has been established by intellect, oral tradition, as well as written books, that whenever the darkness of sins and evil covers the world and the earth gets polluted by bad deeds and the love of God gets dimmed and poisonous storms start blowing over the face of the earth, the grace of Almighty God requires at that time that the earth be revitalised after its decay. You see that the weather changes regularly. At one time autumn sets in and the leaves on the trees, their flowers and fruits are subjected to withering and then they blow away; the trees become ugly like a human frame which becomes a skeleton in tuberculosis. No clot of blood and pink colour is visible in the cheeks and the signs of approaching death start appearing. Or a leper’s leprosy reaches its extreme and the flesh starts decaying and parts of the body start withering away. Yet as another period sets in, the trees start leafing and beautiful flowers and fruits reappear on them. A similar condition sets in on human beings as well, that light and darkness alternately overtake their affairs. In some epoch they become devoid of any glory and progress, and in some centuries such a breeze starts blowing that a spring type of gaiety enters their hearts and their deeds bear fruit and happiness.

Ever since this world came unto being, two types of conditions have been regularly occurring in human affairs. Hence, the epoch we are living in is the start of spring in human affairs. In the Punjab, the severe autumn was prevailing when it was under the sway of Khalsa. Knowledge and learning had disappeared and ignorance was the order of the day. Religious books had not been available except probably in the private libraries of wealthy families. Then the time of British Government came and peace came along with it. We cannot even compare the nights of British Government with the days of Khalsa because that would be an atrocious comparison. Moreover, the present epoch is a combination of spiritual and material blessings. Yet this epoch is like a monster that has many faces. Some faces, because of a lack of real Divine consciousness and virtue, are dreadful, yet others, being well-wisher of the dispensation of truth, are appealing.

There is no doubt that the English Government has introduced many disciplines of knowledge so that the country may progress materially and socially. It has become easy to get books published because of the introduction of printing presses to the extent that there is no comparison in this regard with the past epochs. Many hidden libraries existing in this country have been unveiled and within a short period the times have changed as if a new nation has been born. All this happened but the practical side of the people has deteriorated considerably and people have developed an atheistic attitude in all their deeds. The Government no doubt is benign for the subjects. Law and order prevails to the extent that it has no comparison with other governments.

Yet the liberty and freedom which was given to the masses has not been digested by them. Instead of being grateful to God Almighty and the Government which has caused the judicious environment to prevail, they have become oblivious, earthbound and careless materialists, as if this world is for them an everlasting abode. They give no gratitude to anybody or any administration. It is but natural that out of this behaviour that sins have multiplied, hearts have hardened and forgetfulness has increased to a dangerous extent that ignorant and uncouth individuals have become daring in crimes such as rape, ignoble murders, dacoities, and other classes have become engaged in sins according to the provocation of their lower selves.

As a consequence, the pubs of drinks and other centres of this type have become overcrowded and show business and professions of this sort have flourished while places of worship have become only a formal and customary place. This means that the world has been overtaken by a flood of sins and because of perfect comfort and prosperity the carnal sensuous desires of many people have run amuck as if a dam on a river has burst, wiping out many villages downstream in a single night. Similarly, there is no doubt that the world has been overtaken by complete darkness and the time has come that Almighty God may either kindle some light or destroy the world. But because the world is not to be destroyed yet, and thousands of years are left, the world’s current development, inventions and comforts which the prevalent industries have introduced also indicate that God, the Great, has desired that human beings may be given material comforts and ease so that man may have a chance to progress and reform himself materially.

The spiritual condition of man has so deteriorated that it can provoke God’s wrath. Sins are on the increase and human faculties have become very weak so logic demands that as in the physical domain whenever darkness wraps the earth, a heavenly light is kindled to dispel the darkness, likewise in the spiritual domain heavenly light descends from the heavens to enlighten the hearts. Because God has created man, His law is that to bring unity among human beings He raises a person from among themselves and enlightens him with the complete light of gnosis and honours him with His word and dialogue and gives him a cup of His complete love, and guides him to His agreeable path so that other persons may link up with him, and He injects a special strive in the heart of that person so that he draws others to him and thus others forge a special link with him to such an extent that they become a part of his body, and counted as such take God’s gnosis through him and are saved from sins and grow in God’s consciousness.

Because of this law, God Almighty has sent information through His prophets of yore that when, from the time of Adam, six thousand years will be nearing their end and the earth will be covered with the darkness of sins and God’s love diminishes in the hearts of the masses of human beings, then God, from His heavens and without any earthly factors, would blow His spirit of truth and love in a person who would be called Messiah because God with His hands would anoint his soul with His personal love and he would be the Messiah of promises who has been called in God’s books the Promised Messiah. The Masih-Maoud [The Promised Messiah] would be raised against the devil and there would be a last war between the entire forces of the devil and the Messiah. The devil with all his powers and progeny and manoeuvres will come prepared for this last spiritual encounter. There had never been such a conflict between virtue and evil in this world as it would be on that day, because on that day the devil’s knowledge and trickery deceptions would be at their zenith, as he would bring forth all those cunnings with which he can lead human beings astray. Then after a terrible battle the Messiah would be victorious and the devil’s powers would be annihilated and for some time God’s awe, immaculateness and theistic glory would keep spreading on the earth, and that period would be for one thousand years which would be called the seventh day, and thereafter the world would end. And know ye all that that Messiah is myself. If you want, you may accept.

Here some sections that deny the devil’s existence would express their surprise and ask what is this Devil. They should remember that there are two forces that operate in the heart of man time and again. One is that of virtue and the other is that of evil. The force of virtue, according to the Shariah of Islam, is attributable to the angels, and that of evil is attributed to and named as the devil. Consequently, man sometimes leans towards virtue and other time to evil. I think in this meeting there would be some persons who would take my statement that I am the Promised Messiah with denial and look at me with a contemptuous gaze that I claim that God Almighty has honoured me with His dialogue but I regard them as helpless imbeciles. From the very beginning it has happened that God’s messengers and God-sent reformers have to listen to heart-breaking talks of their opponents. The prophet is dishonoured only at the start of his call.

The Prophet and the Shariah we are all honoured to follow and it is on him that all Shariah has ended. If we look at his life story we see how, for thirteen years in Mecca, he was teased and dishonoured and how he was alone in his suffering and how he was jeered at by ignorant opponents and had to suffer the contemptuous behaviour of unpolished Arabs and that he had to leave Mecca in disgrace and heartbroken because of tyranny and oppression. Who knew at that time that in the long run he would become the religious leader of millions of people? Hence, this is God’s way that His elects are treated at the early stages with contempt. There are few who recognise them ab initio [from the beginning]. And so it is ordained that the elects of God suffer at the hands of the ignorant: they abuse them and the elects have to endure till God opens the hearts of the masses towards acceptance of those elects.

Thus, this is my claim which I have just stated, but the task for which I have been appointed is that the unpleasant distance which has occurred between the Creator and His creation may be bridged by love and sincerity and I may stop the religious wars and lay the foundation of peace and unveil the religious truths that are hidden from human eyes and manifest that spirituality which has got buried under worldly dark debris so that God’s powers which enter the human heart and manifest themselves through repentance, prayer and Divine grace may become a reality and not a mere narration, and explain their nature and of all the rest. The prime aim of my mission is to clear the supreme and sublime monotheistic creed from additional associations in the nation of Islam. All this would not happen with my power but would get established with the power of God Who is Lord of heaven and earth. I am seeing that on one hand God has with His Own hand fashioned me as He desired and then honoured me with His revelations and filled my heart with special zeal that I may stand up with regard to these reforms. On the other hand, He has prepared such hearts that are ready to listen to my talks and accept me with all their body and soul.

I observe that since the time He appointed me as His elect in the world there has appeared a great revolution. Those people who were firm believers of Jesus’ divinity from their hearts, their own researches have now started questioning this belief. And the people whose forefathers were idol-worshippers and they were deeply in love with the false idols have discovered that those idols were nothing. Although they do not have any spiritual awakening as yet, and are still stuck to mere words, they have thrown away thousands of absurd customs and shackles of irrational innovations, and are standing at the threshold of monotheism. I hope that after a short time God’s grace will push them into the haven of perfect monotheism and they would be granted full love and complete awe and thorough gnosis.

This hope is not a mere imagination of mine, but the holy revelation of God Almighty has conveyed to me this tiding. In this century, His wisdom has so arranged that soon He would unite various different sections into one nation. Soon peace and tranquillity will prevail. Everybody seems to smell this perfume that any day the scattered groups are going to be gathered under one banner. The Christians are publicising that soon the world would have only one religion and accept the divinity of Jesus, and the Jews, who are named as the progeny of Israel, have lately developed a new zeal that a particular Messiah that would give them domain on the entire earth is about to come. Similarly, the prophesies of Islam that give the promise about the advent of a Messiah indicate that the promises would be fulfilled by the fourteenth century of Hijrah, and Muslims in general believe that soon Islam would spread over the entire earth. Likewise, I have heard from priests of Sanatan Dharma that a divine manifestation is at hand and that manifestation would be the Divine manifestation which would enable Dharam to spread over the entire earth. And the Aryas, though they do not believe in any prophecy, yet because of the general prevailing trend and flow, are striving that their religion may spread in Asia, Europe, America, Japan and other countries. Still more surprising is that Buddhists have also felt a re-awakening in this context.

Yet if one dares laughing, the downtrodden untouchables of this country have started worrying about how to protect themselves and their beliefs from the onslaught of other nations. Every section of people, sect and faith has become zealous that others may get wiped out while its beliefs and sect may survive forever. There is an active severe conflict going on between various faiths. From this, it seems that the time has come when God Almighty has decided that various factions may get dissolved, religious disputes may end and various factions may merge into a single nation, and a single faith may emerge. We feel that about this God Almighty has stated in the Holy Quran:

“And the trumpet will be blown, then We shall gather them all together” (18:99).

If this verse is read with the verses which preceded, it conveys the meaning that at a time when the sound of religious disputations will be raised in the world and they would urge against each other as one wave strikes against the other as if to annihilate, at that time God of the heavens and the earth will initiate with His Own hands without earthly factors a new system of thoughts and organisation and will gather the factions who have capacity cum coherence in that system. They would then understand what is religion, and a new life and real virtue would be blown into them. It is a must that the world should not come to an end that this prophesy of the Holy Quran, which was stated thirteen hundred years prior to our time regarding the later days, that nations shall be gathered in one religion, is fulfilled.

This is not the only sign that has been mentioned, but many other signs have also been given in the Holy Quran. One is that in those days canals would be dug out from the rivers and mines hidden in the earth would be excavated and many earthly disciplines shall be taught, many techniques would be developed, that books could easily be published, and such carriers would get in vogue that camels as transport would be abandoned and human social intercourse shall become easy and the world would shrink. That international interaction would increase and exchange of news would be facile and it would so happen that in the sky, in same single month a solar and lunar eclipse would take place which would be succeeded by the spread of plague so that no city or village would be safe from this disease. Some populated places would be completely destroyed and many would become desolate. These days would be God’s days of wrath because the world would not have accepted the signs which He had shown for His elect and which He had raised for their reformation, denying His prophet whom He had sent and rejected him saying he is a liar notwithstanding all the signs which had been fulfilled.

I am presenting here the Holy Quran only. And at a place the Holy Quran has mentioned a sign for the age of the Promised Messiah, stating that:

“The day of thy Lord as one thousand years duration which you count” (22:47).

That is, God’s one day is like a thousand of your years. So, because there are seven days, hence the age of this world has been given in this verse as seven thousand years. But this age is with reference to Adam’s, whose progeny we are, as from God’s word it appears that before (our) Adam the world was in existence we cannot say who were those people and of what sort were they. It appears that every cycle of this world is of seven thousand years duration, and to convey this idea a sign was affixed by restricting the week to the seven days, that every single day may refer to one thousand years. We are not aware as to how many periods have elapsed on this world and how many Adams have appeared in their own times. But God is Creator since time immemorial. We believe that in this context the world is ancient, by its own nature and right.

Alas, the Christians believe that God created the world and prior to that God was inactive and in a state of suspension and was as such since time immemorial. This belief is such that no rational mind can accept it. But the belief that the Holy Quran has taught us that God was ever since a creator, is rational. If He so desires He may destroy the heavens and the earth a million times and create it again.

The Holy Quran has informed us that Adam who came after many generations had been destroyed, was our father, the human race had been in existence much before his advent on earth and this is the chain, the age of which period has been fixed approximately seven thousand years. These seven thousand years, in God’s reckoning, are just as seven days of human counting. It may be remembered in Divine law every human cycle has been fixed as seven thousand years. Therefore the age of our human race has been fixed as seven thousand years. When our Lord, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, appeared in human history five thousand years had passed. The chapter on Time was revealed to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, which according to alphabetical calculations showed the time that had elapsed since Adam’s creation and the Prophet’s appearance on earth.

According to the chapter referred to in the foregoing lines, we are living now in the fag end years period of six thousand, not only in the form of the Holy Quran but also in previous scriptures it is written that the last messenger who would be raised in the form of Adam and name Messiah, would appear at the end of six thousand years as Adam was born on the sixth day of the week. All these signs are such that they are sufficient to convince a thinking mind. The division of these seven thousand years according to the Holy Quran and God’s other books is that first thousand years is the growth and spread of virtues, and the second one thousand years is the devil’s supremacy and the third one thousand years is spread of virtue and the fourth one thousand years is again devil’s age, which is succeeded by the fifth one thousand years which is of virtue and goodness. This is the fifth thousand years when our Lord, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, appeared and the devil was chained, the sixth thousand was the devil’s release which started three centuries after the death of the Holy Prophet (qarun-sulasa), and ends at the advent of fourteenth century Hijrah. The seventh thousand years period is for God and His Messiah when all the virtues and good deeds would prevail. This is the period when we are living at the head of the epoch; no other Messiah dares to step up at this age. There are only seven epochs which have been divided in period of virtue and period of evil.

This division has been mentioned by all the prophets. Some have only mentioned towards thousand and some have mentioned in detail and this detail is given in the Holy Quran and the prophesy about the Promised Messiah is clearly inferable from the Holy Quran. It is surprising that all the prophets have mentioned the Messiah’s epoch in one form or another in their books and also mentioned the Antichrist. There is no other prophesy in the world which has so forcefully and consistently been narrated as that of the last Messiah yet there are persons in our age who deny its authenticity. Some demand proof of the existence of such a prophesy from the Holy Quran. Alas, if they had only looked deeply into the Holy Quran they would have discovered how explicitly it is narrated in the Holy Quran that, for an intelligent person, no further explanation is needed.

It is hinted in the Chapter Al Tahrim (The Prohibition — Chapter 66) that some persons of this ummah would be called sons of Mary. They are first given a resemblance with Mary and then the Almighty has blown into them the spirit. This clearly hints that first they would be made the body of Mary in a metaphorical sense and gradually they would develop and become sons of Mary as Allah Almighty named me Mary in my earlier revelation given in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya and said: “O Mary, take abode with thy friend in paradise,” and then said: “O Mary, I have blown into thee the spirit of truthfulness.” Then at last He said: “O Jesus, I shall cause thee to die and exalt thee in My presence.” That is to say, O Jesus, I shall bring death upon you and raise thee to Myself. It is to be noted that that at this place I have been transported from Mary-hood to Messiah-hood. I have been named as Jesus, and thus I have been raised to the status of Jesus, son of Mary so that the promise which was made in Chapter Al Tahrim may be fulfilled.

Similarly, in Chapter Al Nur (The Light — Chapter 24), it has been stated that all future caliphs will be raised in this very ummah. It is also inferable from the Holy Quran that two dreadful periods would come over this ummah. The first was the period when Abu Bakr (with whom God is pleased) became caliph after the death of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the second would be the age of the Antichrist, which is to coincide with the advent of the Promised Messiah. The ummah was taught to seek God’s refuge in the Antichrist’s age, as is mentioned in verse:

“Neither upon whom wrath is brought down, nor those who go astray.”

And about this very period a prophesy in Chapter Al-Nur exists:

“We will surely give thee security in exchange after their fear” (24:55).

If we read this verse connecting it with what precedes it we see that God says that a severe earthquake will come over this religion in the Antichrist’s time and fear would be experienced, that religion might not disappear from the face of the earth. Then God will once again re-establish it and change the fear into contentment. As He says in another verse, it is He Who has sent His messenger and the true religion, that the true religion be made to subdue all the previous and contemporary religions. God is He Who has sent His messenger so that the religion of Islam may surpass all religions.

This also refers to the age of the Promised Messiah. And again, in this verse a promise is made:

“Surely We have revealed a reminder and surely We are its Guardian” (15:9).

This also refers to the age of the Promised Messiah. According to the Holy Quran, the epoch of the Promised Messiah is similar to the epoch of Hazrat Abu Bakr (God is pleased with him). For the people of intellect this Quranic proof is sufficient, and if to any half-educated this proof is not sufficient, then he has to admit that there is no prophesy in the Torah about Jesus Christ or Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him, because there the words used are vague also, for the similar reason the Jews got stumbled and did not accept the prophets. For example, if in clear words it had been stated with reference to the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that he would be born in Mecca and his name would be Muhammad and his father’s name Abdullah and his grandfather’s name would be Abdul Mutalib and he would be of Ishmaelite family and then he would migrate to Medina, and appear so many years after Moses, then who of the Jews would have dared to deny Him?

About Jesus the Messiah many other difficulties were confronted by the Jews for which they genuinely consider themselves forgivable since about Jesus it has been explicitly stated that he would not come till prior to him Elijah re-appears second time. But the fact remains that Elijah has not appeared a second time so far, and it was an explicit condition in God’s Book that the true Messiah would appear only after the second advent of Elijah. To this hurdle Jesus explained that this sentence does not mean the actual reappearance of Elijah, which was not acceptable to the Jews because they felt that such an explanation was tantamount to the interpolation of the scriptures because we have been told of the appearance of the actual Elijah. It appears therefore that regarding the prophets’ appearance all the prophecies are too delicate so that the righteous and God-fearing may be sifted from the stubborn.

Still further it may be mentioned that the claim which is genuine does not depend on only one or two aspects but like a pure diamond its lustre is visible from different aspects. Hence I declare with full force that my claim of Promised Messiahship is of the same quality. Firstly, my claim as one who is God sent and a recipient of God’s revelations has been publicised for the last twenty-seven years. It is from the time when my book Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya was not yet published. Then I published my claim of being recipient of God’s word which was repeated in the book that had been out twenty-four years ago. Now, any intelligent person can understand that falsehood cannot be left unnoticed for such a long time. It may be noted that one who might be a committed liar cannot be so mean that for such a long duration in which a baby grows adult and has his own children he deceives people and cannot be detected and fabricates falsehood and concocts lies on God Almighty. Every morning he fabricates a new revelation and attributes it to God, that He has revealed to him although God knows that he is a liar and knows that no word of God had ever descended upon him, and He considers him a cursed person who is not exalted in his presence but still He helps him and lets his group of followers flourish and saves him in all those conspiracies and places which his opponents hatch to destroy him. More arguments which vindicate my truthfulness and my being God’s elect is that a time when nobody knew me, that is during the period when I was in seclusion writing the book Barahin, God Almighty gave me tidings which were published in the book during that period of seclusion and disseminated in the entire country. God spoke addressing me:

“Oh, My Ahmad, you are My longing and are with Me. Your secret is My secret, you are to Me as My monotheisty and individuality. The time is nigh that men would be prepared to help you and you will become known among people. You are My elect and exalted and enjoy a status in My presence that is not known to the world. God will assist you in every field because you hold an honourable place in My presence. I have selected you for Myself. I will make many a people subservient to you and they would be followers and you would be their Imam. I would inspire into people’s hearts so that they may help you with their belongings. People from far-off lands and distant paths will come over to you, hence it is incumbent upon you not to be discourteous to them and do not get tired because of their abundance and pray: O, my Lord leave me not alone, Thou art the best of inheritors. God will give you the people of the Platform, and you know what are the people of the Platform. You would notice that the tears flow from their eyes who say: O, our Lord, we have listened to the voice of a caller who was inviting the people to faith. I am appointing you my vice regent on earth. They say with contempt that this status has been achieved by you. Tell them that the Lord is Lord of wonders; whatever He does, nobody can call Him to account about why and how have you done this. He, however, would call others to account for their words and deeds. And they say it is only a fabrication. Reply to them that God Almighty is the Initiator of this system and then leave them alone, sporting in their talks. He it is Who sent His messenger with guidance and the religion of Truth that He may cause it to prevail over all religions while these people will intend that the light which God wants to spread in the world they may extinguish it. But God would brighten the light and would complete His intention and make it reach the hearts of determined persons. Though the unbelievers may abhor it God will protect you from their machinations even if the people are not able to protect you. You are before My eyes, and I have named you The Reliant, and God is not such that He may abandon you till the pious are differentiated from the wicked. It is decided that two sheep would be slaughtered. All those who are on the face of the earth shall perish. Maybe something you abhor is good for you, and a thing you desire or like is harmful to thee. God knows and you know not.”

It may be noted that in these revelations there are four great prophecies. The first one refers to a time when I was all alone and no one was with me. On this, approximately twenty-three years have elapsed. God gives me the tiding that I would not remain alone, and the time is nigh that people would come to me in companies and they would come to me from very far off distances, and they would be in abundance. Lest I get tired of them, and become discourteous to them, I am told not be so.

The second prophecy is that great financial help will accrue to me from people. About these prophecies many people are living witnesses that when these prophecies were inscribed in the book I was alone, living in Qadian, a deserted village. Yet not ten years had elapsed on this revelation that people were attracted towards this village and they started supporting me with their holdings so much so that the number of individuals who are bound in allegiance to me in religious belief have passed two hundred thousand.

A third prophecy is connected with these revelations that there would be people who would strive to extinguish this light and destroy this order but they would remain unsuccessful. Now, if anybody bends upon to opt for faithlessness, then who can check him? Nevertheless, these three prophecies shine like the sun. It is apparent that one who is unknown, alone and helpless and no such existing factor indicates that he would be raised to lead a thousand million human beings, moreover, neither is there any sign to show that people would offer to him thousands of rupees, in such a condition, if a prophecy of reaching an elevated status and receiving God’s help could be made by only intellectual guess or an expectation of such benefits by chance medley, then the denier has to prove his contention by showing any other similar happening particularly when the third prophecy is placed with the other two, which indicate that people would try that these prophecies should not be fulfilled and turn out untrue but God will accomplish them. Therefore, looking at these three prophecies collectively one has to believe that this is not man’s machination. Man cannot claim that he would live for such a duration.

Then there is a fourth prophecy in these revelations as well. That is, these days two followers of this order would be martyred. It so happened that with the order of the Shaik-ul-Islam and Amir, Abdul Rahman of Kabul, Maulvi Abdul Latif Khan and others of my followers were stoned to death.

Besides these there are hundreds of other prophecies which have been fulfilled in their own time. For example, once Maulvi Nur-ud-Din was informed before time that a son would be born in his house who would have many pimples on his body, and it happened that when the baby was born he had many pimples on his body. Maulvi Sahib is present in the meeting; everybody in this meeting can enquire from him on oath whether what I have stated is true or not. And once the son of Sardar Muhammad Ali Khan, Chief of Malir Kotla Abdul Rahim got sick and signs of hopelessness appeared, and a revelation came to me that the boy would be cured if I interceded, and I offered a sincere prayer for the boy, and he recovered as if a dead were resurrected. Then his other son, Abdullah Khan, got sick and he also reached the threshold of death, and because of my supplications he also was cured.

Likewise, there are many other signs. If all of these are written, it would not be possible that the present discourse would come to an end even within ten days. Not just one or two, but there are thousands of witnesses who can testify to these signs. I have mentioned one hundred and fifty out of those signs in my book Nazul-ul-Masih (Advent of the Messiah), which would be published in the near future. Those signs are of multifarious nature. Some appeared in the heavens and others appeared on earth; some are about my friends and some are about my opponents; a few are about my person, and others are about my sons. There are other signs which appeared on the initiative of my opponents without my active involvement. For example, Maulvi Ghulam Dastgir of Kasur in his book Fath-e Rahman made supplication before God Almighty as mubahala (invoking Divine curse) saying that of the two of us, whoever was a liar may get death by Allah Almighty. It so happened after a few days of the supplications the maulvi himself died and testified to my truthfulness by his death. There are still thousands who accepted me on the basis of their divine dreams. Therefore, these signs are so clear that if they are looked upon together, one has no other option but to accept my truthfulness.

Some opponents of our time say that if proof from the Holy Quran was given then they would accept. In reply to these opponents I say that there is ample proof in the Holy Quran on my Messiahhood, some of which I have already mentioned in the foregoing lines. Nevertheless, to put a condition for acceptance is clear stubbornness and arrogance. To put conditions for acceptance of any person is not a correct criterion. If it were so, then prophethood of any prophet would not be established. The true test of any claim is to see the existence of any need of the age. Then it would be examined whether the person comes like the prophets at an appointed time. Then it is seen whether he has the assistance of God. Moreover, to whatever objections that have been raised by his opponents, has he argued and refuted these sufficiently? When all these factors are completed, then that person is true in his claim, otherwise he is not.

Now, the present age is crying hoarse, in figurative language, that to patch-up Muslim inter-sectarian disputes and defend Islam against external attacks and re-establish and bring back the lost spiritual consciousness in the world a divine reformer is undoubtedly the need of the time, one who should water to nourish the roots of certitude and deliver them from evil and restart treading the path of virtue and truthfulness. Hence, my coming in time of need is so amply apparent that except for any die-hard, biased person, nobody can deny this reality.

And, secondly, to see whether the appearance is according to the established traditions of the coming of Divine reformers is visible or not, this factor is also satisfied with my advent, because the prophets had prophesied that when the sixth thousand years counting would be about to close this would be the period of the Promised Messiah’s appearance. Hence, according to the lunar calendar, the six thousand year calculation is taken from Hazrat Adam’s advent, and that fixed period has since long been over. The same is according to the solar calendar. Moreover, our Lord, Prophet Muhammad, has also said that at the turn of every century of the lunar calendar a reformer will come who would renovate the faith. Now, out of the fourteenth century of Hijrah [Islamic Era], twenty years have elapsed and the twenty-second year is passing. Hence, is this not the sign that the promised reformer has already come?

The third condition was whether God Almighty has assisted the claimant. This has also been fulfilled because every group in this land has tried its best to oppose and destroy me, but they have failed and no one nation can say that they have any person among them who has not taken any part in the effort to destroy me, but God Almighty has honoured me against their efforts and expectations. Who is not aware of the struggle that group of nations has mounted against me to wipe out my cause, yet their efforts met no success? Contrary to their assessments, it grew day after day that now my order counts at least two hundred thousand followers. Now, if the hidden hand of God Almighty were not with me and if my cause and order was a human machination, then of all the arrows which were shot against me at least one could have struck its target and I would have been destroyed and gone and even my grave would not have been traceable, because one who fabricates a lie and attributes it to God, to wipe him out many factors go into operation, because God Himself becomes his main enemy. But here He Himself has saved me from the plots and machinations hatched against me by ill-wishers as He informed me twenty-six years before those efforts were mounted against me. Other than open assistance by Him, what else could be the explanation that God Almighty in the days of my loneliness and oblivion informed me in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya that He will assist me and a vast group of people will come to accompany me and He will wipe out those who would oppose me?

Ponder over it, how clear manifestations of assistance is this. Has any human being or devil such a power under the sky that in his lonesome hours and isolation he gives such news which later comes out true and thousands of his opponents are unable to block its way to become a reality?

The fourth condition was whether various points of criticism that opponents had raised were duly taken of or not. This condition was also fulfilled because the opponents’ one main and great objection was that the Promised Messiah is the same Jesus Christ and he himself will come in this world second time. They were replied that according to the Holy Quran Jesus Christ has died so he cannot come in this world second time. Reference to the Holy Quranic verse:

“When you caused me to die then You Yourself were the Watcher over them” (5:117).

When this verse is read with the preceding verses it says that God, on the day of Resurrection, will question Jesus Christ whether he had given instructions to his followers to take him and his mother as deities or gods and worship them, to which he would reply: My Lord, had I instructed so it would have been known to You because You are Knower of all unseen. I nevertheless told them all that You had instructed me to let them know that they should believe in God alone and that I am His messenger/prophet. I know only that much when I was with them but then when You caused me to die You were the lone Watcher over them. How could I know what they did after I left them?

It is apparent from these verses that the Christians had not gone astray within the life span of Jesus. Hence, if it is believed that Jesus is alive to this day, then as a logical deduction this would also have to be accepted that Christians have not gone astray until now and they are still on the path of their true religion and Jesus, after death, expresses ignorance about the wrong beliefs of his followers. Moreover, if it is accepted that before the day of Judgement he would come for the second time in this world and fight along with the Mahdi many a battle against the unbelievers, including Christians, then, God forbid, this verse of the Holy Quran stands untrue or else it has to be accepted that Jesus, God forbid, tells a lie on the day of Judgement before God Almighty and conceals the fact that he did not come in this world the second time, and had lived for forty years and had fought along with the Mahdi battles against the Christians. Now, if one is a believer of the Holy Quran, then for him this single verse is sufficient to nullify the whole concept in which it is said that a bloodthirsty Mahdi will be born and Jesus will descend from the heavens.

Thereafter, when our opponents get cornered on all counts then at last they say that some of the prophecies were not fulfilled. For example, the prophecy concerning Aatham, in their assessment, was not fulfilled. I enquire where is Aatham now? The gist of the prophecy was that whoever is supporting the false doctrines would die in the life of the believer of the true doctrine. So Aatham did die and I am still alive. I reassured that the prophecy was conditional. That is, a period was attached to it as a condition. So when he heard the prophecy he got frightened and thus one condition of the prophecy was fulfilled by his mental condition, that is why a few months delay and respite was given to him by God Almighty.

Alas, those who raise such objections do not ponder the prophecy of Prophet Yunus (Jonah) whose prophecy had no condition attached yet that prophecy was left unfulfilled. The fact is that all Divine prophecies that promise chastisement to the offenders are latently conditional. They contain an announced condition of repentance or charitable expiation. Hence, the offenders are granted respite, delay or complete annulment of the promised punishment on the repentance of the offender or mere expression of the fear of God’s Divine pardon or mercy evokes or else Prophet Jonah’s prophethood becomes questionable because its perfect and definite prophecy seemed to have remained unfulfilled.

It must be remembered that if God intended to punish any culprit and He conveyed His intention to His prophet, it can be reverted by the supplications of the culprit and his repentance or charitable offerings. The intention of Almighty Allah is the reformation of human beings and not their punishment. To say that when it has been conveyed to human beings through His prophet it cannot get cancelled is not well founded because such a notion is tantamount to the opposition of many, prophets. Moreover some prophecies are multifaceted and allegorical and their intended purpose and meanings are unveiled at a later stage. And it is also true that sometimes the interpretation of a prophecy made by a prophet can go wrong because it is possible that he might have misunderstood it, because he is also a human being. Jesus Christ had said that his twelve Apostles will be in paradise sitting on twelve thrones, but this did not come true because one of the twelve became an apostate and was liable to be condemned to hell. He had likewise said that people of his contemporary age would be still alive when he comes for the second time. This prediction also did not materialise. Many other predictions of Christ, because of his interpretative slips, were not fulfilled. But those were only mistakes of interpretation. And my predictions are such that if one would listen with patience and a truthful heart then there are approximately one hundred thousand signs which have appeared in my support. Hence, it is a severe meanness that no benefit may be derived from these predictions which have come true and if a few were not understood by their short-sightedness or loss of thinking, the cause may be rejected outright. I am hopeful if one stays with me for forty days he would definitely witness some sign which may be sufficient for him.

Peace be on him who follows the right guidance.

Footnote:

A certain gentleman, Hakim Mirza Mahmood Irani, has enquired from me today, 4 September 1904, by letter, the meanings of the verse of the Holy Quran:

“He found it going down into a black pool of mud” (86:18).

It may be explained that this verse of the Holy Quran contains many a secret in it which cannot be easily encompassed. Its apparent surface conceals inside depths of hidden meanings. But the meanings which have appeared to me are that if the verse is studied in the context of verses that precede and succeed it, then it is a prophecy about the Promised Messiah and delineates its time of appearance. To elucidate it further it may be clarified that the Promised Messiah is a Dhul Qarnain. Because in Arabic a century is called a qarn, the verse indicates that when the Promised Messiah appears his birth and appearance would coincide with the contact of two centuries. Accordingly, my appearance has coincided with two calendar centuries, whether those are of the lunar calendar of Hijrah or the solar centuries of the Christian calendar or the solar centuries of the Indian calendar of Bikrmajeet. Hence, according to my knowledge, the period of birth and appearance should spread over the two centuries of every religious calendar, and it is not confined to only one century but also steps into the second century as well.

Hence, according to this interpretation I am Dhul Qarnain, and in some of the holy hadith (traditions) the Promised Messiah is referred to as Dhul Qarnain also. In those holy hadith, a similar meaning is alluded to as the one I have given. Now the rest of the verse means the two great nations of the world have been given the tiding of Dhul Qarnain and the call of messiahship has been given to them as their right and privilege. So God Almighty in an allegoric way says that the Promised Messiah, the Dhul Qarnain in his travels, would find two nations. One of the two he would observe in darkness sitting alongside a bad smelling pond whose water is not worth drinking and is full of mud emitting a very bad odour. This nation is of Christians who by their wrong beliefs and erroneous thinking have polluted the Christian fountain with odour-emitting mud. In his second travel, the Promised Messiah the Dhul Qarnain, saw a people who are sitting in the scorching heat of the sun, and there is no shelter between them and the scorching heat of the sun, and they have not benefited from the light of the sun. Instead, their outer skin has become dark because of the heat and they are being burnt. This is the nation of Muslims who are in front of the sun, but instead of being burnt they have not benefited. That is to say that sun of monotheism, although shining upon them, yet they are not drawing any real benefit from this privilege, that is, the real religious consciousness, and have lost the true and beautiful qualities and manners. Instead they have adopted barbarity, greed, terrorist leanings and prejudice.

In short, Allah Almighty in this way has said that Promised Messiah, Dhul Qarnain, would appear at such a time when the Christians would be in darkness and bad odour-emitting mud would be their only share which in Arabic is called hama. And in the hands of the Muslims would be a dry monotheism which too would be burning in the heat of barbarity, bias and devoid of real and pure spiritualism. Then the Promised Messiah, who is Dhul Qarnain, would meet a third nation that is worse affected and troubled by Gog and Magog. They would be a highly righteous people. Their nature would be noble and they would request assistance from Dhul Qarnain, the Promised Messiah, so that they are protected from the aggressive attacks of Gog and Magog that the Promised Messiah may build for them a strong barrier, that is to say, that he (the Promised Messiah) would teach them such strong arguments in support of Islam that the onslaught of Gog and Magog would come to a naught. The Promised Messiah would wipe out their scars and would help them in every way and would be with them. This is a glorious prophecy and in this clearly the prediction is made about my appearance, the date of such appearance and my followers.

Thus blessed are those who ponder deeply on these prophecies. This is a style of the Holy Quran that it prophesies about one while narrating about another person as it has done in the chapter on Joseph. Apparently the story of Joseph has been narrated but actually the events that are going to take place have been alluded in this narration which were related to the tribe of Quraish and our Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. That is to say, how Joseph’s brothers thought of him in a derogatory way and shunned him and tried to trouble and destroy him. In the end, Joseph became their lord. Likewise, the Quraish rejected our prophet and forced him to quit Mecca, but he who was rejected surprisingly became victorious and their lord.

It is a point to ponder and wonder how repeatedly the Holy Quran has alluded to the appearance of the Promised Messiah, yet those people who are devoid of spiritual insight say that there is no mention of the Promised Messiah in the Holy Book. What answer can they give to the Christians who say that there is no prophesy regarding the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in the Bible?

Open your eyes and open your ears. I am surprised at your wisdom, you have targeted the bow’s arrow at a distance while the prey is close to you.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad