Written by: Abdurrofeeq Alaka
Truth since time immemorial has been subjected to mockery, ridicule, and atimes violent attacks. The history of the great men of God, prophets, and non-prophets alike, reveals that the opponents of truth would leave no stone unturned in impeding its growth and thwarting its progress since they seem to feed on falsehood.
Even though the Holy Prophet of Islam was known for his high level of morals prior to his claim, the same people who sang his praises reviled him with the most hateful expressions. It was time for the Arabs’ pilgrimage and the fear of people accepting the true religion of Islam after coming to know of it made the leaders of Makkah resort to leveling allegations they themselves knew were not true against the noble person of the Holy Prophet. This according to them would scare the pilgrims away from Islam if the founder’s close relatives like Abu Lahab could testify against his nobility and his truthfulness.
Consoling the Holy Prophet, Allah, The Almighty states:
“Nothing is said in opposition to thee but was said to the Messengers before thee. Thy Lord is, indeed, the master of great forgiveness; and also the master of painful chastisement”. [1]
Having informed him that the opponents of truth throughout history have put up the same attitude irrespective of their era, Allah also assured him of victory which in the end justifies who among the two parties is following the right path. He states:
“They desire to extinguish the light of Allah with the breath of their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, however much the disbelievers may dislike it.” [2]
The Ahmadiyya Muslim community believes in Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian to be the awaited Messiah and Mahdi. Just like every Divine reformer, the Promised Messiah’s personality has been attacked by inventing different lies with utmost impunity. Lately, some posts bearing certain allegations have been flying around on different social media sites and these will be refuted, God willing, in series.
ALLEGATION ONE: CLAIMING INFALLIBILITY AND PERFECTION
The opponents attached to this allegation two references from two books of the Holy Founder of Ahmadiyya namely, Nuzul ul Maseeh (page 202) and Nurul Haq page 192.
Below is the text alluded to:
ووالله إني لست من العلماء ولا من أهل الفضل والدهاء، و کلّ ما أقول من أنواع حسن البیان أو من تفسير القرآن ، فهو من الله الرحمان. وكل ما أخطات فيه فهو مني، وكل ما هو حق فهو من ربي. وإن ربي أرواني من كأس العرفان، ومع ذلك ما أبرئ نفسي من السهو والنسيان، وإن الله لا يتركني على خطأ طرفة عين، ويعصمني من كل مين، ويحفظني من سبل الشياطين.
Meaning:
By Allah, I am not of the (great) scholars neither am I of the shrewd and clever ones. All unique utterances I make or exegesis of the Holy Quran are from the gracious Allah, and every mistake I make are from me, whatever truth appears are from my Lord, my Lord has granted me drink from cup of knowledge.Despite that, I do not hold myself free of mistake and forgetfulness, and my lord does not leave me upon mistake for a twinkle of an eye, he saves me from stumbling and protects me from satanic path.[3]
Response:
Opponents of the Promised Messiah have said that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on one part claimed infallibility and on the other part admitted to be a moron. To those who claimed he (the Promised Messiah) ascribed infallibility to himself, I am not sure this was found in the quoted expression. Allah Almighty spoke through the Noble Prophet Muhammad that:
“Say, I am not a new Messenger to come, nor do I know what is to be done to me or you. I only follow what is revealed to me. My duty is only to warn you clearly.”[4]
All known tafasir agreed that the meaning of this verse is:
“I am no novelty (either in my person or in the message I have brought) among the Messengers, and (being human) I do not know (unless God informs me) what (will happen in the future in the world and therefore what will) be done to me and to you. I only follow what is revealed to me, and I am only a plain warner.”
Therefore, I fail to understand what could have caused the adversaries of Ahmadiyya to find fault with the above statement since every prophet according to Islam is infallible i.e. they are divinely protected from errors that could soil their personalities and destroy their communities. However, some minor human errors can be made by them which may have no direct negative impact on their holiness and pure nature.
Prophets of God, notwithstanding their highest level of morality and spirituality, are so humble as to ascribe all these excellences to God alone and not to themselves and this is observed in the above text of the Promised Messiah.
ALLEGATION TWO:
Ghulam Ahmad (as) says: Allah told me to do what I like, for you are already forgiven. (Tadhkirah, pages 378 and 465).
Response: The text of Tadhkirah refered to here says:
اعمل ما شئت قد غفرت لك”
Meaning: “do what I like, for you are already forgiven.”[5]
It is true that this statement was made by the Promised Messiah AS who received it from Allah the Almighty, yet the picture the adversaries are trying to paint here is still bound to meet a futile end. One only needs to examine whether such statement could actually be said by Allah or not.
Hatib Ibn Abi Bal’atah was one of the 313 companions who participated in the battle of Badr with the Holy Prophet (Saw). Afterwards, he was guilty of an offense that attracts a Capital punishment as he was revealing the secrets of the Holy Prophet (Saw) to the Quraysh who were in turn trying to kill him and wage wars against the Muslim State. After confessing his guilt, Umar bn Khattab (ra) sought the Prophet’s permission to kill him but the request was declined and the Prophet (Saw) said:
إِنَّهُ قَدْ شَهِدَ بَدْرًا، وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّ اللَّهَ أَنْ يَكُونَ قَدِ اطَّلَعَ عَلَى أَهْلِ بَدْرٍ فَقَالَ اعْمَلُوا مَا شِئْتُمْ، فَقَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَكُمْ”
i.e. “Hatib participated in the battle of Badr, and who knows, perhaps Allah has already looked at the Badr warriors and said, ‘Do whatever you like, for I have forgiven you.”[6]
We see clearly how the statement objected to is deep-rooted in the tradition of our Noble Prophet Saw. It may be of importance to note that this statement does not give liberty to the warriors of Badr to do whatever they wished without thinking of the limits set by Allah, rather, it was a confirmation that their deeds would meet with Divine favour and they would be blessed with noble deeds that attract Divine pleasure in this world and the next.
In his book titled “As Saarimul Maslool alaa Shaatimir Rasul”, Ashaykh Ibn Taimiyyah writes:
والمضمون لأهل بدرٍ إنما هو المغفرة؛ إما بأن يستغفروا إن كان الذنب مما لا يغفر إلا بالاستغفار، أو لم يكن كذلك، وإما بدون أن يستغفروا؛ ألا ترى أن قُدامة بن مَظْعونٍ – وكان بدريًّا – تأول في خلافة عمر ما تأول في استحلال الخمر من قوله تعالى: {لَيْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا طَعِمُوا} [المائدة: 93]، حتى أجمع رأي عمر وأهل الشورى أن يستتاب هو وأصحابه، فإن أقروا بالتحريم جلدوا، وإن لم يقروا به كفروا، ثم إنه تاب، وكاد ييئس لعِظَمِ ذنبه في نفسه، حتى أرسل إليه عمر – رضي الله عنه – بأول سورة غافرٍ، فعلم أن المضمون للبدريين أن خاتمتهم حسنةٌ، وأنهم مغفورٌ لهم، وإن جاز أن يصدر عنهم قبل ذلك ما عسى أن يصدر؛ فإن التوبة تَجُبُّ ما قبلها””
Meaning:
What is guaranteed for the people of Badr is forgiveness; either by seeking forgiveness if the sin committed is such that could not be forgiven except with Istigfar or by (being forgiven) without even seeking forgiveness. Don’t you see Qudaamah Ibn Madh’un, a badri companion, who legalized alcohol by relying on the verse which says: (There is no sin on those who believe and do good in whatever they eat so far they are pious and believe [Maaidah:93} until Umar and the members of consultation forum agreed that he and his cohorts be advised to repent. If he does, he should be flogged but if not they should be declared heretics. After this, he repented and almost despaired (of Allah’s forgiveness) looking at the enormity of his sin until Umar sent the first few verses of Sura Ghafir to him. From here it is clear that what is guaranteed for the people of Badr is a good end even if they commit sins because repentance wipes off the evils done in the past”) [7]
What more can we say after it has been seen that the earlier recipients of this statement were Allah’s chosen servants whose essence was fully immersed in His? Should you ask me, I will say this is one of the greatest signs of the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah AS.
ALLEGATION THREE: MOLESTATION OF ALLAH’S PROPHETS LIKE YA’QUB, ADAM, NUH, YUSUF, EESA etc.
Response: This is a very laughable and feeble allegation. Since the author has not given any quotations from the Promised Messiah’s writings that purportedly molest these saintly personalities, it should suffice to say that the Promised Messiah defended the purity of all these prophets in a manner not done by anyone before him. This, according to us is not a surprise since his mission is to proof to the world the truthfulness and sanctity of all Prophets of God in line with the verse that says:
وَجَاءَ مِنْ أَقْصَى الْمَدِينَةِ رَجُلٌ يَسْعَى قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ اتَّبِعُوا الْمُرْسَلِينَ *اتَّبِعُوا مَنْ لَا يَسْأَلُكُمْ أَجْرًا وَهُمْ مُهْتَدُونَ * وَمَا لِيَ لَا أَعْبُدُ الَّذِي فَطَرَنِي وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
Meaning:
“And from the farthest part of the town there came a man running. He said: O my people, follow the Messengers. Follow those who ask of you no reward and are rightly guided”[8].
A perusal of the Promised Messiah’s books shows how much he invited the Christians, for instance, to follow the true teachings of Jesus AS and not the imaginary one portrayed by the bible in the worst possible manner. When accused of reviling Prophet Eesa AS by some opponents, the Promised Messiah AS responded saying:
“Claiming as I do, that I am the Promised Messiah and that I bear a resemblance to Hazrat Isa, peace be on him, every one would understand that were I to revile him, I would not claim any resemblance to him, for by reviling him, I would confess that I myself was vicious.” (Announcement of 27 December 1898)
He also praised him in many of his writings and refuted those hurling abuses at his person due to sheer enmity. An example is cited below:
“The Messiah was an accepted one of God and was beloved of Him. Those who utter calumnies against him are wicked”.[9]
Explaining the reasons why some words are misconstrued by his opponents and thought to be satires of Prophet Eesa AS, he states: “I desire to make it clear to the readers that my faith in Hazrat Masih, peace be on him, is a very good faith. I believe sincerely that he was a true prophet of God and was loved by Him and I believe that, as indicated by the Holy Quran, he had, as a means of his salvation, perfect faith in our lord and master, Muhammad Mustafa, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. He was one of the sincere servants of the law of Moses. I respect him according to his station. But the Jesus who is presented by the Christians, who claimed to be God and condemned everyone else except himself, both those who had gone before and who were to come after, as accursed, as having been guilty of vices the recompense of which is a curse, is regarded by us as deprived of Divine mercy. The Holy Quran makes no reference to this impertinent and foul-mouthed Jesus. We are surprised at the conduct of one who considered that God was subject to death and himself claimed to be God and who reviled such righteous ones as were thousand times better than him. In our writings we have had this fictitious Jesus of the Christians in mind. The humble servant of God, Isa, son of Mary, who was a Prophet and is mentioned in the Holy Quran, is not the object of our harsh condemnations. We have had to adopt this method after having endured for forty years the abuse of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, by the Christian missionaries.”[10]
ALLEGATION FOUR: HE CLAIMED HIS SUCCESS IS GREATER THAN THAT OF THE HOLY PROPHET
Response: The following passage from Al Khutbat ul Ilhaamiyya is referred to by the author of the allegations:
وقد مضى فتح مبين في زمن نبينا المصطفى وبقي فتح آخر وهو أعظم وأكبر”
Meaning: “A clear victory was witnessed during the time of our Prophet Muhammad SAW and there remains another victory which is greater.”
Just like all others, this allegation stems from a sheer ignorance of the status and personality of the awaited Messiah and Mahdi. According to the first few verses of the 62nd chapter of the Holy Quran, the Holy Prophet Muhammad SAW is said to have two dispensations; one among the unlettered Arabs and the second among a latter generation of his pious followers. Upon the request of his Sahabah to shed more light on this latter generation among whom he was to be raised again, he responded saying that his second coming is meant to be fulfilled in the coming of a Persian who shall continue his mission. (Bukhari and Muslim).
This shows that the Holy Prophet’s dispensation is meant to last till the end of time. It should not be forgotten that Islam, a universal religion, had barely traversed the Arabian peninsula at the time of the Prophet’s demise but today -thanks to the Jama’at of the Promised Messiah-, Islam is being introduced to towns and places that had hitherto had no taste of this Divine gift to humanity.
Even though the spread of Islam today can never be compared to that of the Prophetic era, this glory still goes to the Holy Prophet whose teachings are so beautiful that they appeared seeming to people of all generations and this is why the Promised Messiah AS has always attributed all his success to the Holy Prophet as evident in one his poems which says:
فوالله هذا كله من محمد* ويعلم ربي أنه كان مرشدا
Meaning:
By Allah, all this (success) is from Muhammad,
And my Lord is a witness that he is my guide.[11]
Furthermore, different commentators of the Quran, while explaining the prevalence of Islam over all other religions as codified in the 10th verse of the 61st Chapter, have said that this would come to pass at the hands of the Promised Mahdi[12]. So, if the Promised Messiah AS has said that his time will witness more victory than was witnessed at the time of his master, it only points to the fact that he is a true claimant to that office and not an imposter. Since the opponents have found fault with this statement and deemed it an aberration, they should do well to tell the world if the following Hadith found fulfillment during the time of the Prophet or better still accuse the Holy Prophet Saw of lying (God forbid). The Hadith says:
“ليَبْلغنَّ هذا الأمرُ ما بلغ الليلُ والنهارُ، ولا يترك اللهُ بيت مَدَر ولا وَبَر إلا أدخله الله هذا الدين، بعِزِّ عزيز أو بذُلِّ ذليل، عزا يُعِزُّ الله به الإسلام، وذُلا يُذل الله به الكفر
“Indeed, this religion will reach everywhere the night and day can reach. Allah will not leave a dwelling in a city or a desert except that He will make this religion enter it, thus, honoring the honorable or humiliating the humiliated; an honor which Allah will bestow on Islam, and a humiliation which Allah will inflict on disbelief”[13]
(Musnad Ahmad bn Hambal)
ALLEGATION FIVE: HE CLAIMED TO HAVE MORE MIRACLES THAN THAT OF ALL PROPHETS EXCEPT MUHAMMAD SAW (SAFEENATU NUH, pg 10, Haqeeqatul Wahy pg 539-540)
Response:
The Mahdi is a reflection of the Holy Prophet SAW, hence his miracles and grandeur just like the Holy Prophet’s should supersede that of his predecessors. This is one of the reasons why this is the best Ummah as expounded in the Holy Quran and Sunnah. If the ordinary scholars of this Ummah who are not Divinely appointed could be likened to the Israelites’ prophets in the Hadith, then should you expect a Divinely appointed man from the same Ummah to be lesser in rank than these prophets? In other words, the Mahdi’s mission is universal since it’s meant to be a continuation of the same Muhammadan task which requires more miracles in its support than others who were only sent to their tribes and family.
Had Mirza Ghulam Ahmad said his miracles are inferior to those of the earlier prophets, it would have been enough proof to reject him since he would seem not to grasp the true status of that seat of Messiahship to which he laid a claim.
To be Continued…
Reference
- Ha Mim Sajdah – 41:44
- As Saff – The Ranks – 61:9
- Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Nur-ul- haq, United Kingdom, 2007, pg 192.
- Al-Ahqaf – The Sandhills – 46:9
- Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Tadhkirah, United Kingdom,2013, 378.
- Sahih al BUKHAR, babul jasus, no 2874
- Taqiyyudeen Ibn Taimiyyah, As Saarimul Maslool alaa Shaatimir Rasul, Saudi Arabia, 1983, pg 530.
- Ya SIN – 36:21,22.
- Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, I’jaaz Ahmadi, United Kingdom, pg 15.
- Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Nurul Qur’an, part 2, Ruhaani khazain, vol 9, p 374.
- Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, karamatus Saadiqeen, United Kingdom, 2007, pg 30.
- Fakhrudeen Ar Raazi, Mafaateehul Ghayb, Darul fikr (Beirut), 1981.
- Ahmad bn Hambal, Musnad, vol 4, pg 103
Abdurrofeeq Alaka is a speaker, writer, poet and a professional translator. He has a degree in Arabic Studies from Lagos State University. He’s happily married with a daughter.
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