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AHMADIYYA
Gazette
CANADA
MARCH/APRIL 2010 | WWW.AHMADIYYAGAZETTE.CA
I am the lamp of Truth, in the Chamber of Holiness,
His hand is my protector against every fierce and cold wind.
Ahmadiyya Gazette Canada
An Educational and Spiritual Publication
Volume 39 - No. 3-4 - March-April 2010
Rabi’ I and Rabi’ II 1431 AH - Amān and Shahādat 1388 HS
Pearls of Wisdom
Amir Jama`at:
Lal Khan Malik
Selection from the Holy Qur’ān and Ahādīth
Writings of the Promised Messiahas
p.2
Chief Editor:
Prof. Hadi Ali Chaudhary
p.3
Editors:
Ansar Raza
S.H.Hadi
Guidance from Hadrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa
Summary of Friday Sermons
Articles
An Analytical Study of the Ahādīth About the Imām Mahdīas And The Promised Messiahas
p.8
Steadfastness; the Key to Divine Knowledge
p.16
The Truth About Eclipses
p.20
Smyth-Pigott, A Fake Messiah from England
p.28
Announcement
p.30
Hijri-Shamsi Calendar
p.30
Maulana Naseem Mahdi Recipient of the Order of Ontario
p.32
Direction de Hadrat Khalifatul Massih Vaa
Resume du Sermon
p.34
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The Holy Qur’an
Can he, then, who possesses a clear proof from his
Lord, and to testify to whose truth a witness from
Him shall follow him, and who was preceded by
the Book of Moses, a guide and a mercy, be an
impostor? Those who consider these matters
believe therein, and whoever of the opposing
parties disbelieves in it, Fire shall be his promised
place. So be not thou in doubt about it. Surely, it
is the truth from thy Lord; but most men do not
believe.
(Chapter 11 - Hud Verse 18)
of the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa
Who lives from amongst you will soon meet
Jesus son of Mary, who is a guided leader and just
ruler. He will break the cross, kill swine, abolish
jizya and the fight will come to an end.
(Musnad Ahmad)
So Said the Promised Messiahas
I swear in the name of God that as He spoke to Abrahamas and to Isaacas and to Ishmaelas and to Jacobas
and to Josephas and to Mosesas and to Jesus son of Maryas and, last of all, to our Holy Prophetsa in
such manner that He vouchsafed to him the most luminous and holy revelation, in the same way He
has also honoured me with His converse. This honour has been bestowed upon me only on account
of my obedience to the Holy Prophetsa. Had I not been one of his followers and had I not obeyed
him, I would never have been honoured with such Divine converse even if my good deeds had piled
up as high as the mountains. All Prophethood has now come to an end except the Prophethood of
Muhammadsa. No law-bearing Prophet can now come, but a non-law bearing Prophet can come,
provided he is a follower of the Holy Prophetsa. In this way I am both a follower and a Prophet. My
Prophethood—i.e., converse with God—is a reflection of the Prophethood of the Holy Prophetsa
and nothing more. It is the same Prophethood of Muhammadsa that has manifested itself in me.
[Tajalliyat-e-Ilahiyah, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 20, pp. 411-412]
2
Pearls of Wisdom
Guidance from Hadrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa
Is Not Allah Sufficient for His Servant?
Summary of Friday Sermon delivered on January 30, 2009
The status that the Promised
Messiahas attained in complete
obedience of his master, the Holy
Prophetsa is clear to each Ahmadi.
In last Friday Sermon, Hudūraa
expounded the Divine attribute of Al
Kafi (The Sufficient). In this regard,
many Divine revelations were
given to the Promised Messiahas.
He became Allāh’s beloved due to
his supreme and ardent love and
devotion for the Holy Prophetsa.
Some portions of the Holy Qur’ān
were revealed to him as revelations.
Each day that dawns on the
Ahmadiyya Community is a
testimony to the fact that these
revelations and his claim were true.
One, who attributes falsehood
to Allāh, in particular falsehood
about prophethood, cannot escape
punishment. Allāh states in the
Qur’ān:
“And if he had falsely attributed
even a trivial statement to Us,
We would surely have seized
him by the right hand, And then
surely We would have severed
his jugular vein, And not one
of you could shield him from
him.” (69:45-48)
In principle, this is a measure
regarding one who attributes
falsehood to Allāh. The Promised
Messiahas presented this measure
as a testimony to his truthfulness.
He said that it is a Sign that one
who is false is destroyed. At that
time, twenty five years had passed
since the Promised Messiahas had
started publishing his Divine
revelations and rather than
seizing him, Allāh had manifested
hundreds of signs to corroborate
his truthfulness. The Promised
Messiahas said with conviction that
no one would be able to match his
claim.
Those who state that the
aforementioned Qur’ānic verses
can only be applicable to the time of
the Holy Prophetsa overlook that is
Allāh not to seize any other person
Guidance from Hadrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa
who would attribute falsehood to
Him? Indeed this is the measure
with which each truthful person
should be evaluated. At least those
who have believed in the Holy
Qur’ān should desist from deriding
it. Neither do those who claim to
be well-versed in it understand it
themselves nor do they want the
masses to understand it.
With reference to Divine Signs of
support and corroboration, the
Promised Messiahas wrote that it
was at five instances that the life
of the Holy Prophetsa was in great
danger and it appeared as if his
safety was not possible. Had he
not been a true Prophet of God,
he would not have survived these
incidents.
These were:
1. When the Quraish lay siege
to his house and vowed to kill
him.
2. When the unbelievers reached
the mouth of the cave in which
he hid with Hadrat Abu Bakrra.
3. At the Battle of Uhad when the
Prophetsa was left by himself
3
and the enemy surrounded him
and attacked him [in vain] with
their swords.
4. When
a
Jewish
woman
poisoned the meat intended for
him with a deadly poison but
Allāh saved him.
5. When the emperor of Persia
Khusro Pervez decided to have
him killed and dispatched
someone to execute the plan.
Survival from all this is a
testimony to his truthfulness.
The Promised Messiahas said it was
extraordinary that it was also at
five occasions that his honour and
life was in danger.
1. At the time when he was
taken to court on the charge
of instigating murder by Dr.
Martin Clark.
2. Police filed a criminal case
against him at the Gurdaspur
court of DSP Mr. Dowie.
3. A Karam Din of Jehlum filed a
criminal case against him.
4. The same Karam Din filed
another criminal case against
him at Gurdaspur.
5. During the investigation into
the death of Lekh Ram his
house was searched and the
opponents tried their utmost
but could not find any evidence.
Each of these court cases came
to naught.
Indeed the glory of his master,
the Holy Prophetsa is supremely
elevated. However, in light of his
perfect obedience to him, Allāh
also demonstrated His attribute of
Al Kafi to the Promised Messiahas.
4
The court case filed by Dr. Martin
Clark is well known in the history
of the Community. During this
time, Muslims, Hindus and
Christians all began to oppose
the Promised Messiahas but Allāh
fully exonerated him from this.
However, those who derided him
or wished to deride him were dealt
with by Allāh. An example of this
is when the Promised Messiahas
arrived for the case he was offered
a chair [a sign of high regard
during the time of the British Raj].
His opponent Maulvi Muhammad
Hussein who had come to see
(God forbid) the disgrace of the
Promised Messiahas was astonished
at this gesture. He was there as a
prosecution witness and Dr. Clark
requested that he also be given
a chair. This was denied by the
presiding Deputy Commissioner.
When he came to give his evidence,
he directly asked the Deputy
Commissioner for a chair and was
refused. On his insistence, he was
publically told off and humiliated
by the Deputy Commissioner.
Nawab Siddique was a religious
scholar at the time when the
wrote
Promised
Messiahas
Baraheen e Ahmadiyya. The
British government had granted
him a few titles including that of
‘Nawab’. Despite his opulent life,
he served Islām and the Promised
Messiahas also considered him to
be a pious person. At the
publication
of
‘Baraheen
e
Ahmadiyya’,
the
Promised
as
Messiah wrote to a few people
including Nawab Siddique for
cooperation. He initially responded
politely, agreeing to purchase a few
copies but then silence followed.
When he was contacted for a
second time he responded by
saying that it was against the
wishes of the British government
to purchase or to assist with
religious books therefore nothing
should be expected from him.
Hudūraa remarked that it is alleged
that the Promised Messiahas was
‘implanted by the British’, yet their
own renowned religious scholars
refused to purchase the book to
please the British. The package that
was sent to him was returned torn
and the book was also torn. Seeing
the book in this state the Promised
Messiahas was deeply angered
and said that go ahead and please
your government, Allāh would
tear his honour apart. He said he
had not pinned his hopes on the
Nawab sahib. Allāh is Sufficient
for his hopes and may the British
government be pleased with the
Nawab sahib. A while later the
British government that the Nawab
sahib had tried to please made
accusations against him and an
Investigative Commission was set
to look into allegations that also
involved rebellion. All of Nawab
sahib’s his titles were withdrawn.
When he became very helpless
he sent requests to the Promised
Messiahas for prayers. The Promised
Messiahas prayed for him and it was
through his prayers that his honour
was restored.
Munshi Illahi Buksh was an
accountant who held the Promised
Messiahas in reverence. However,
later he became an opponent, used
extremely unseemly language and
alleged that all the revelations
of the Promised Messiahas were
untrue. He would not publish
his own revelations regarding
the Promised Messiah for fear of
litigation. The Promised Messiahas
assured him that he would never
Guidance from Hadrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa
restore to litigation as he was only
interested in a Divine verdict so
that people could recognize the
person who was from God. He
said if Munshi sahib’s revelations
were from God then certainly [God
forbid] destruction would befall
the Promised Messiahas. However,
if Allāh had any knowledge against
this negative supposition it would
become evident. He assured the
Munshi sahib that there would be
no attack on his dignity – all he
wished for was exoneration, which
was the way of Prophets of God,
just as Hadrat Yusufas had wished.
Eventually Munshi sahib wrote
Din sahib were the cousins of
the Promised Messiahas. They
demonstrated
great
enmity
towards him as well as Islām in
general and said many audacious
things about the Holy Prophetsa.
They collaborated with the Hindus
and at one point had Lekh Ram
stay in Qādiān for two months.
They would not leave any trifle
matter to harass the Promised
Messiahas. They built a wall in
order to stop the passage of people
visiting the Promised Messiahas
and would not listen to any request
to remove it. The only court case
that the Promised Messiahas
of the Promised Messiahas and the
wall came down. The judge stated
that if the Promised Messiahas
wished he could register another
court case demanding expenses.
The lawyer registered a case. By
this time, Mirza Imam Din had
passed away and Mirza Nizam Din
was given the notice. His condition
had deteriorated as the Divine
revelation had predicted and he
did not have the means to make the
payment. He requested concession
stating they were relatives. The
Promised Messiahas said it was not
him who had registered the case.
He instructed the lawyer there was
“The court case filed by Dr. Martin Clark is well known in
the history of the Community. During this time, Muslims,
Hindus and Christians all began to oppose the Promised
Messiahas but Allāh fully exonerated him from this.
However, those who derided him or wished to deride
him were dealt with by Allāh.”
a 400 page book with revelations
against the Promised Messiahas
and sent it to him. None of his
revelations – some asserting Divine
support for himself and destruction
of the Promised Messiahas through
the plague - came to pass. On the
contrary, he himself contracted the
plague and died of it in 1907. The
plague created havoc [in India]
for eleven years but the Promised
Messiahas and his Community
remained safe and today, with
Divine support and support , it has
spread all over the world.
Mirza Imam Din sahib and Nizam
Guidance from Hadrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa
registered against an opponent
was against these individuals. The
purpose of this court case was to
alleviate the inconvenience caused
to the Community. He prayed
immensely for this matter and
received a powerful revelation
from Allāh that he would be
evidently triumphant in this court
case but at the appointed time.
Although there was delay and
even the lawyers seemed to have
lost hope, eventually a document
was found from among the records
which proved consequential in the
court case resulting in the favour
no need to pursue the matter and
had it put in writing that although
these people attempted to disgrace
the Promised Messiahas, the court
case had been decided and he did
not wish to retaliate.
Hudūraa said there are numerous
other incidents that illustrate
similar incidents of Divine support
for the Promised Messiahas. Indeed
even after his passing away, each
time hostility raised its head,
Allāh’s help came and the
Community was saved from any
bad consequences of enmity.
Despite opposition and restrictions
5
And Allāh knows your enemies full well. And sufficient is Allāh
as a Friend, and sufficient is Allāh as a Helper.’
- The Holy Qur’an Chapter 4 Al-Nisa Verses 46
on the governmental level, the
Community continues to spread.
Despite lack of resources today,
a worldly person cannot even
imagine how the Community
functions. If a person, wise
according to worldly standards,
see the budget of the Community
,they would perhaps find it less
than the annual income of a wealthy
individual. However, it is so
immensely blessed that it appears
ample to a worldly person and
they see our financial condition as
strong and envisage us owing great
wealth and property. Hudūraa said
with the grace of Allāh our finances
are strong and this is because the
right amount is used for the right
purpose. Hudūraa remarked that
during his last African tour the
first question the President of
Benin asked him upon meeting was
how many millions of dollars worth
of investment was the Community
about to make in his country!
Hudūraa said in fact this notion
prevails because Allāh’s help is with
us and this is a Sign of the Living
God of Islām which is evident all
the time, which each Ahmadi feels
and the world also senses. When
God, Who is the Master of the
heaven and the earth, sends His
servants to this world to propagate
His message, He assures them in
6
every way and declares to them in
every matter, ‘Is not Allāh sufficient
for His servant?’ (39:37). He also
states: ‘And Allāh knows your
enemies full well. And sufficient is
Allāh as a Friend, and sufficient is
Allāh as a Helper.’ (4:46).
Hudūraa said we witness Divine
support and help every step of the
way, may Allāh enable us truly
honour their dues so that we may
continue to witness them.
Next Hudūraa said that he had
mentioned Baha’ullah in his last
sermon in that he had claimed
prophet-hood. Hudūraa said what
should have been said was that
even if the claim of prophethood
of this claimant is to be believed,
yet no Divine support was given
to him. Hudūraa said it would not
be correct to say that the Baha’is do
not consider him to be a prophet
because there are many among
his children who say that he was
a prophet. As a matter of fact, he
had claimed divinity. The religious
law that he introduced and which
remains unpublished refers to
his claim to divinity. Even though
he did not claim prophethood
but as prophethood was being
mentioned [last Friday Sermon],
the significance of what was said
was that even if it is accepted that
he had claimed prophethood,
Allāh did not demonstrate His
help and support for him. In some
quarters, Ahmadis are likened to
Baha’is and both are considered
as liars. Allāh’s support for the
Promised Messiahas is evident but
none can be seen to be with the
Baha’is.
Hudūraa said he wished to make
a few things clear about this as
some ill-informed people are
easily influenced – for example
there are some in Africa and also
some in Pakistan. It should always
be remembered that Baha’ullah’s
own claim was that of divinity and
his son whom he appointed his
successor also considered him to be
a claimant of divinity. Their method
is to gradually entrap ill-informed,
peaceful people. They do not
mention his claim to divinity at first
but later implement the religious
law that he, as a god revealed to
himself. That is, he was God as
well as human. Maulana Abul Atta
who was in Palestine, mentioned
that some among them, including
one of his sons, would come to our
mosque to offer Salat five times
a day, although congregational
prayer is not their routine. To
gain sympathy with Christians
,they maintain that Baha’ullah is
a manifestation of God, just as the
Christians consider Jesusas to be son
of God.
Baha’ullah was imprisoned for
some time. From that prison, he
wrote letters that he was the master
of the world and there was no god
but him. He also maintained that he
would continue to help even after
his death. Hudūraa remarked what
sort of a god was he who could not
save himself from imprisonment.
Guidance from Hadrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa
Of what use would he be to others?
Regarding their numbers Abdul
Baha, his son and successor said
that it is possible that a Christian
is a Baha’i, a Jew is a Baha’i, a
Freemason is a Baha’i or a Muslim
is a Baha’i. Hudūraa said they
convince people to become close
to Baha’ullah in accordance with
their own religious beliefs. Once
they are persuaded then the real
teaching is taken to them.
Hudūraa said that when Allāh
sends His Prophets to this world,
He commands them to take His
message to the world. However,
the Baha’is say the message
should not be taken to others and
consider propagation as forbidden
in some countries.
On his tour of the West, an English
woman, who had become a Baha’i
came to see Hadrat Khalifatul
Masih IIra with an Iranian friend.
He asked her that the Holy
Qur’ān had brought a perfect
Guidance from Hadrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa
religious law, what new thing
had she learnt from the Baha’is.
She said that the religious law
[of Islām] was not perfect, it had
something contrary to nature, like
permission for four marriage for
men, whereas Baha’ullah enjoined
one marriage - Hudūraa remarked
there is great protest at permission
or four marriage in the West - On
this Hadrat Khalifatul Masih IIra
reminded her that Baha’ullah had
himself married twice, to this she
replied that one of the marriages
was before he had made his claim Hudūraa remark this god is strange
who did not know what religious
law he was to reveal in the future.
When Hadrat Khalifatul Masih
IIra asked why had then his son
married twice, the Iranian friend
replied, he had made the second
[wife] his sister. Hadrat Khalifatul
Masih IIra asked why is it that he had
offspring with her, does one have
offspring with one’s sister? Hudūraa
concluded we should always avoid
these people, they attack silently.
They have kept their religious law
secretive by command.
Hudūraa said Allāh states about
those who make false claims to
prophethood that He severs their
very jugular vein and disgraces
them in this world. However,
regarding those who claim divinity
Allāh states:
“And whosoever of them
should say, ‘I am a God beside
Him,’ him shall We requite with
Hell. Thus do We requite the
wrongdoers.” (21:30).
Hudūraa prayed that may Allāh
enable us to be completely obedient
to the one who is sent by God so
that He may keep us in His mercy
and grace and continues to make us
those who attain His nearness.
7
An Analytical Study Of The Ahādīth About the
Title
Imam Mahdīas and the Promised Messiahas
Author
Ansar Raza
One of the objections raised against
the claims of Hadrat Mirza Ghulām
Ahmadas of Qādiān is that his claims
are inconsistent with the prophecies
found in ahādīth as compiled,
narrated and explained by scholars
of the previous centuries.
Non-Ahmadi Muslim scholars
insist that they will not believe in
Hadrat Mirza Ghulām Ahmadas as
the Imām Mahdī and the Promised
Messiah unless they see all the signs
visibly fulfilled. This insistence on
seeing the signs with their physical
eyes reminds us the reaction of
the Pharisees and the Sadducees
who rejected Hadrat ‘Īsāas when he
claimed to be the awaited Jewish
Messiah. The Jewish clergy took
the prophecies verbatim about the
Messiah and found the claim of
Hadrat ‘Īsāas incompatible with
those prophecies and thus rejected
him. The Holy Qur’ān mentions
that it is the Jewish attitude to
demand to see something openly
before believing in it:
And remember when you
said: ‘O Moses, we will by no
means believe thee until we
see Allāh face to face;’ then
the thunderbolt overtook you,
while you gazed.’ (2:56)
8
The Claim of
the Promised Messiahas
is Based on the Holy Qur’ān
Before discussing the ahādīth about
the Imām Mahdī and the Promised
Messiah, it is pertinent to mention
here that his claim is based on the
Holy Qur’ān and not on the basis
of contradictory and inconsistent
ahādīth. The Promised Messiahas
says:
Then Maulwi Sanaullah Sahib says
that how is it that the idea of the
prophecy of the Promised Messiah
came to you? It was taken from the
ahādīth. Then why is it that the
ahādīth and the signs are not being
accepted? This simple-minded one
is either speaking due to fabricated
lies or simply due to foolishness.
However, in his rebuttal we swear
by God, the Exalted, and state
that this claim of ours is not based
on ahādīth, but rather the Holy
Qur’ān and the revelation which
has been revealed upon me. Of
course, in order to substantiate,
we do present those ahādīth which
go hand-in-hand with the Holy
Qur’ān and which do not oppose
my revelations; however, the rest
of the ahādīth we get rid of them.
Even if there were no ahādīth in
the world, even then there would
be no fault with this claim of mine.
God has presented so many times
the Holy Qur’ān in my revelation.
Hence, you would see in Braheen-e
Ahmadiyya, with respect to this
claim, there has been no mention of
ahādīth, rather in so many places
God, the Exalted, has presented
the Holy Qur’ān in my revelation.
(Ijaz-e-Ahmadi
(Zameema
Nuzool-ul-Masih) p. 36, Rūhāni
Khazā’in Vol. 19 p. 140)
He declared that the standard of
his truthfulness is like that of the
previous prophets:
“I proclaim on the basis of
Divine revelation that I am the
one who was to come. Whoever
wishes, can demand from
me proof of my truthfulness
according to the manner in
which God Almighty has
always proved the truthfulness
of the Prophetsas.” [Malfuzat,
vol. 4, p. 39]
His Belief About
Ahādīth of the Mahdī
In his book Haqiqat-ul-Mahdī the
Promised Messiahas explains the
true nature and kinds of ahādīth
about Imām Mahdī. He writes:
Mine and my Jamā`at’s belief
about Mahdī and Promised
Messiah is that all ahādīth
about coming of Mahdī are not
An Analytical Study of the Ahadith About The Imam Mahdias and The Promised Messiahas
reliable and trustworthy. To me,
they are under three kinds of
criticism, or you can say that
they are only of three kinds.
First, those ahādīth that are
fabricated and wrong and their
narrators are blamed of lies and
dishonesty, thus no righteous
Muslim can trust them.
Secondly the ahādīth that are
weak and broken and because
of
mutual
contradictions
and disagreements cannot
be trusted upon. Renowned
Imāms of hadīth have not either
mentioned them altogether
or with criticism and doubt.
They have not testified these
traditions by not confirming
the truth and honesty of their
narrators.
Third
category
of such ahādīth are those
that are though correct and
authenticated by many ways but
they have either been fulfilled
in the past and no waiting
period remains for them, or no
outwardly Khilāfat and battles
are mentioned in them. Only a
Mahdī, i.e., a guided person is
heralded in them. It is not only
hinted but also explicitly stated
that his kingdom and Khilāfat
shall not be outwardly and that,
he would neither fight not shed
blood. He shall have no army but
establish faith with the power of
spiritual concentration as stated
in hadith “No Mahdī except
‘Īsā” in the book of Ibn-e-Maja
known with the same name and
in Hakim’s Mustadrik narrated
by Anas bin Malik. Muhammad
bin Khalid Jundi has narrated
from Iban bin Saleh who
narrated from Hassan of Basara
who narrated from Anas bin
Malik who narrated from the
Holy Prophetsa. The meaning
of this hadith is that there shall
be no Mahdī except that who
shall come in the disposition
and teaching-style of ‘Īsāas.
He shall neither fight the
evil not do battles but spread
guidance through examples
and heavenly signs. The hadith
stated by Imām Bukhari in his
Sahi Bukhari supports this
hadith the wordings of that are
“Yada‘-ul-Harb” means that
the Mahdī whose other name is
Promised Messiah shall abolish
religious battles altogether.
He shall teach not to fight for
religion, but spread religion
through illuminations of truth,
miracles of morality and signs
of nearness of God. Therefore,
truly I say that one who fights
for religion at this time or
supports such fighter or advises
him apparently or secretly, or
have such desires in his heart,
is disobedient of Allāh and His
Messenger and has stepped out
of the limits of their wills and
obligations. (Haqiqat-ul-Mahdī
p. 3-6, Rūhāni Khazā’in Vol.14
p. 429-432)
He further writes:
It is the custom of Allāh that the
signs written in the prophecies
about a future prophet do not
come to pass verbatim. Some of
them are metaphors, sometime
they are misunderstood and
sometimes old accounts are
perverted. Thus the righteous
way is to benefit from fulfilled
parts of these narrations,
keeping in mind the prevailing
time and its requirement. Had it
been obligatory to match all the
predetermined signs according
to our understanding, all the
An Analytical Study of the Ahadith About The Imam Mahdias and The Promised Messiahas
prophets would have been
abandoned, culminating in
nothing but deprivation and
unfaithfulness, as no prophet
has ever passed for whom
all the stipulated signs were
literally fulfilled. There has
been always some marginal
deficiency in fulfillment of such
signs…Study ahādīth with
great care. They differ so much
about the Promised Mahdī
as if they are a collection of
contradictions. In some ahādīth
it is written that Mahdī shall
be Fatimid whereas other says
that he shall be Abbassid. Some
other ahādīth have the words
“Rajulun min Ummati” a man
from my Ummah. Hadīth in
Ibn-e-Maja has washed away
all these ahādīth which has the
words “La Mahdī Illa ‘Īsā” there
is no Mahdī but ‘Īsā, no Mahdī
except him. Further, there is no
hadith about Mahdī that is free
of any criticism and none can be
declared authentic. (Haqiqatul
Wahi pg.216, 217)
Belief in the Unseen
It is a great tragedy that the nonAhmadi Muslim scholars have
literally forsaken the Holy Qur’ān
and do not consult it to settle their
disagreements. Contrary to the
prevalent mind-set of “seeing is
believing” of non-Ahmadi Muslim
scholars, the Holy Qur’ān says that
the righteous are those who believe
in unseen:
This is a perfect Book; there is no
doubt in it; it is a guidance for
the righteous, Who believe in
the unseen and observe Prayer,
and spend out of what We have
provided for them; (2:3-4)
9
Allāh says that those who
demand for visible signs do
not ultimately believe even if
they are shown all the signs:
Allāh on sure knowledge, I
and those who follow me.
And Holy is Allāh; and I am
not of those who associate
gods with God.’(12:109)
… And even if they see
every Sign, they would
not believe therein…(6:26)
In a hadīth, the Holy Prophetsa
is quoted as saying that the
Jews and the Christians were
divided into 72 sects but my
Ummah shall be divided into
73 sects; all of them but one are
in fire. His companions asked
the sign of that saved sect.
He replied that it is the one
who shall be on myand my
companions’ path. (Tirmidhi
– Kitabul Iman Bab Iftiraq
Hadhihil Ummah)
It is further mentioned in
the Holy Qur’ān that they
strongly swear that they
would surely believe if any
sign is shown to them, but
Allāh categorically tells that
they would not believe even
if they see the signs.
And they swear their
strongest oaths by Allāh
that if there came to them
a Sign, they would surely
believe
therein.
Say,
‘Surely, Signs are with
Allāh. But what should
make you understand that
when the Signs come, they
will not believe?’(6:110)
No Faith Accepted After
Showing Signs
The Holy Qur’ān and the Hadīth of
the Holy Prophetsa tell us that once
the signs appear visibly, then belief
in them does not profit anyone:
Do they expect aught but that
angels should come to them or
that thy Lord should come or
that some of the Signs of thy
Lord should come? The day
when some of the Signs of thy
Lord shall come, to believe in
them shall not profit a soul
which believed not before,
nor earned any good by its
faith. Say, ‘Wait ye, we too are
waiting.’(6:159)
Hadrat Abu Hurairara narrates that
Allāh’s Apostlesa said, “The Hour
will not be established until the sun
10
rises from the West: and when the
people see it, then whoever will be
living on the surface of the earth
will have faith, and that is (the time)
when no good will it do to a soul
to believe then, if it believed not
before.” (Bukhari Kitabul Tafsīr)
Başar and Başīrah
The Holy Qur’ān distinguishes
between the sight of the heart
(başīrah) and the sight of the eye
(başar). Başīrah is used to express
the enlightenment of the heart
whereby the spiritual man can
understand spiritual things with as
much certainty as the common man
sees objects with the sight of the
eye. The Holy Qur’ān directs the
Holy Prophetsa to proclaim that he
and his followers are on the way of
“başīrah”, the sure knowledge.
Say, ‘This is my way: I call unto
This hadīth read in the light
of the above quoted verse
(12:109) explicitly shows that
the Holy Prophetsa and his
companions are on the path
of başīrah, i.e., they see and
believe in the signs through
their hearts and not through
their eyes. Thus, those who insist
on seeing signs fulfilled with their
physical eyes are certainly not on
the path of the Holy Prophetsa and
his companions and consequently
not among the only one saved sect.
Prophecies About The Holy
Prophetsa in the Bible
Though
non-Ahmadi
Muslim
scholars
insist
on
verbatim
fulfillment of the signs about Imām
Mahdī and the Promised Messiah,
sometime they are left with no
option but to interpret the signs. For
example, they say that by ‘breaking
cross and killing swine mean to
prove Christianity a false religion.
Interestingly, these scholars do not
take the prophecies about the Holy
Prophetsa and his companionsra
word for word, found in the Bible
An Analytical Study of the Ahadith About The Imam Mahdias and The Promised Messiahas
and other scriptures and interpret
them. For example, in Deuteronomy
33:1 it is mentioned,” The LORD
came from Sinai and dawned over
them from Seir; he shone forth
from Mount Paran.” Every Muslim
scholar interprets the coming of
LORD from these three places as the
coming of Hadrat Mūsāas, Hadrat
`Īsāas and Hadrat Muhammadsa,
respectively.
Analytical Study of Ahādīth
The analytical study of the ahādīth
about the Imām Mahdīas and the
Promised Messiahas reveals that
a large number of them are from
unreliable sources. That is why
the three most authentic books of
ahādīth, Mu`ata Imām Malikrh,
Sahi Bukhari, and Sahi Muslim
do not mention the name and
title of Imām Mahdī. It is also an
established historical fact that many
ahādīth about Imām Mahdī were
fabricated during the Ummayad
and Abbasid period. These ahādīth
are so contradictory that scholars
fail to reconcile them. Some of the
contradictory reports mentioned in
these ahādīth are about:
• The Ancestry of Imām Mahdī;
• The place of his appearance;
• The place of descent of Hadrat
‘Īsāas;
• The identification of the Imām
of first prayer after descent of
Hadrat ‘Īsāas;
• Time
of
appearance
of
“Dābbatul-Ard” (Animal of the
Earth) etc.
Non-Ahmadi Muslim scholars find
no alternative but to select a few
from the pile of such contradictory
ahādīth, prepare a script and make
the Muslim masses believe that
these are the only authentic ahādīth
on this subject. A Deobandi scholar,
Syed Badr Alam Meerthi, in a
chapter titled Al-Imām Al-Mahdī of
his book Tarjuman-us-Sunnah has
admitted that the scholars arranged
the scattered pieces of these ahādīth
in self-made chronological order
and developed a story out of them.
He further explained that it is wrong
to attribute this self-arranged story
to the Holy Prophetsa. Mufti Nizamud-din Shamezai has also testified
this fact by reproducing this
statement in his book Aqeeda Zahoore-Mahdī (Belief of Appearance of
Mahdī). A simple reading of this
script reveals that it is not much
different from Hindu and Greek
mythologies. The Imām Mahdī and
the Promised Messiah in this script
are like mythological super-human
characters that perform magic and
kill their enemies en-masse. These
scholars have made the Muslims
believe that this magical drama
shall be played once these two
sacred persons appear.
It is, therefore, incumbent on us
that instead of trying to prove the
claim of the Promised Messiahas
in accordance with these selfcontradictory
ahādīth,
their
analytical study is presented before
the readers and let the readers
decide whether these ahādīth can
be made basis of the Islāmic creed
and belief system or not.
An eminent non-Ahmadi Muslim
scholar, Mufti Muhammad Shafi,
collected 40 most authentic ahādīth
regarding the descent of the
Messiah in his book Al-Tasreeh bimaa
Tawatar fi Nuzool al-Maseeh which
was originally written in Arabic,
later expanded and translated by
his son Mufti Muhammad Rafi
Usmani. Now this book has been
translated into English by Rafiq
Abdur Rehman and its first edition
An Analytical Study of the Ahadith About The Imam Mahdias and The Promised Messiahas
appeared in 2000.The title of the
book is Signs of the Qiyamah and
the Arrival of the Maseeh. All the
references in this article are from this
book. Two other books, Antichrist
(Maseeh Dajjāl) and Descending of
Jesus, may peace be upon him)” by
Imām Naasir-uddeen Al-Albaani;
and The Dajjāl and the return of Jesus
by Yusuf ibn Abdullah ibn Yusuf
al-Wabil, were also consulted. The
following topics, out of many, have
been selected and discussed in
this article to show how different,
rather contradictory information is
provided in these ahādīth:
1. Where shall Hadrat ‘Īsāas
Descend?
2. Who shall be leading the
prayer?
3. Hadrat Imām Mahdīas shall be
in the middle or end time of this
Ummah? and
4. Who shall be Khalīfa of this
Ummah in latter-days?
1. Where Shall Hadrat
‘Īsāas Descend?
The above referred book quotes
several ahādīth that tell us four
different places of descent of the
Messiah:
a. Bayt Al-Maqdis in Palestine
“In that period, there would be
few Arabs and most of them will
be in Bayt al-Maqdis. Their Imām
(leader) would be a righteous
man. (It will happen one day) their
Imām will proceed to lead the
congregation of Fajr when ‘Īsā Ibn
Maryam will descend among them.
So the Imām will step back a little so
that he may ask ‘Īsāas to lead prayers
but ‘Īsāas will place his hands on his
shoulders and say, “Go forward
and lead the congregation because
the iqamah is called for you1. So,
the Muslims will be led in prayer
11
by their own Imām.” (Ibn Majah,
Abu Dawood, Ibn Khazaymah, and
Hakim p. 75)
b. Valley Afeeq In Jordan
“And Muslims will (finally)
concentrate in the valley Afeeq1.
(Footnote1. A 2-mile long valley in
Jordan)…Then at the time of Fajr
prayers, ‘Īsā Ibn Maryamas will
come. The Amir of the Muslims will
invite him, O Rooh Allāh, come lead
the congregational prayer!” He will
say, “Some people of this Ummah
are amir of some others, (so go
ahead, you alone lead them).” Their
amir will then lead them in prayers.
Having offered prayers, ‘Īsā aswill
take his weapons and pursue
Dajjāl. (Musnad Ahmad, Ibn Abi
Shaybah, Tabarani, Hakim, Al-Dur
Al-Manthur). (p. 79)
“Sayyidina Huzayfahra has said that
the Messenger of Allāhsa said: …
He will be last seen at Afeeq valley
in Jordan. Everyone who believes
in Allāh and the Last day will be
present in Jordan at that time.
(There will be war between the
Muslims and the army of Dajjāl
and) he will kill one third of the
Muslims, defeat one-third and
drive them away, and let alone
(the remaining) one-third. At
night, some of the Believers will
say to the others, “What stops you
from meeting your (martyred)
brothers 9and gaining martyrdom)
to obtain the pleasure of your
Lord?” Whoever has something to
eat should give it to his (Muslim)
brother. When it is dawn, offer the
Fajr prayer earlier (than usual) and
then march forward to fight the
enemy.”
As these people prepare to pray
the Fajr,‘Īsāas will descend before
them and offer the prayers with
12
the congregation. Having offered
the prayers, he will make a gesture
with his hand suggesting that they
should move away from between
him and the enemy of Allāh (Dajjāl,
so that the latter may see him).
(Mustadrik Hakim, Kanzul Ummal
with reference to Ibn `Asakir. This
hadith is also found in Muslim, in
brief).
c. Eastern Side Of Damascus
“It is narrated by Sayyidina Aws bin
Aws al-Thaqafi that the Messenger
of Allāh said, “‘Īsā Ibn Maryam
will descend on the eastern side of
Damascus near a white minaret.”
(Al-Dur Al-Manthur in reference
to Tabarani, Kanz-ul-Ummal, Ibn
`Asakir etc).” (p. 89)
d. Jabl Dukhan
“The Muslims will flee to the Jabl
Dukhan in Syria and Dajjāl will
pursue them and surround them
there. This will be a very severe
siege. The Muslims will be in much
difficulty. Then at the time of Fajr,
‘Īsā Ibn Maryam will come down.
He will address the Muslims,
“What prevents you from going to
this filthy liar?” The Muslims will
say that this man is a jinn (and so
it is difficult to fight him). In short,
the Muslims will advance and‘Īsā
Ibn Maryam will be with them.
The iqamah will be called for the
prayers and ‘Īsāas will be requested,
“O Rooh Allāh come forward (and
lead the prayers).” He will say,
“Your Imām should come forward
and lead the prayers.” (Musnad
Ahmad, Mustadrik Hakim p. 90)
The compiler of this book knows
very well about these discrepancies.
He writes in a footnote on page 64:
“Allama Ali Qari has stated on
the authority of Ibn Kathir that
according to a version the place is
Bayt Al-Maqdis instead of eastern
side of Damascus. In another
version, the site is mentioned as
Jordan and in yet another place of
the Muslim army. Allama Ali Qari
has preferred the version that gives
the place as Bayt Al-Maqdis as
transmitted by Ibn Majah. He said
that if there is no white minaret in
the Bayt Al-Maqdis these days, one
will be built by that time surely.” (p.
64)
It is however, not mentioned on
what authority Allama Ali Qari has
preferred one place over the other
three places and why should we
blindly follow him.
2. Who Shall Lead The Prayer?
Another perplexing issue is
regarding the identification of
Imām who shall lead the prayer
right after the descent of the
Messiah. Many ahādīth including
those mentioned in Bukhari and
Muslim clearly indicate that the
Promised Messiahas shall be the
Imām of the Muslim Ummah.
“Sayyidina Abu Hurairara has
reported that the Messenger of
Allāhsa said, “How will it be with
you when Ibn Maryam will descend
among you and your Imām at that
is one of you (from my Ummah)2.”
(Bukhari and Muslim p. 60)
“Sayyidina Jabirra has reported the
Messenger of Allāhsa as saying, “A
section of my people will not cease
to fight for the truth and prevail till
the Day of Resurrection.” He said,
“‘Īsā, the son of Maryam will then
descend and their ameer (leader)
will invite him to come and lead
them in prayer but he will say that
Allāh had honored this people and
so some of them are leaders over
others (of them).” (Muslim, Ahmad
p. 60)
An Analytical Study of the Ahadith About The Imam Mahdias and The Promised Messiahas
In these ahādīth, the Holy Prophetsa
clearly indicates that Ibn-e-Maryam
is nobody else but a person from
the Muslim Ummah who shall be
its leader. However, non-Ahmadi
Muslim scholars make us believe
that the word Imām in this hadīth
means the one who shall be leading
the prayer at the time of descent of
Hadrat ‘Īsāas, and not the overall
leader of Muslim Ummah. These
scholars tell us that the Imām of
the Muslims for prayer shall be
a Muslim. Hadrat ‘Īsāas shall not
accept his request to lead the prayer
saying that this honor is for people
among the Muslim Ummah. The
following questions arise over this
interpretation:
• The Imām of the Muslims
leading a prayer is always
a Muslim, a member of the
Muslim Ummah. Then why has
the Holy Prophetsa specifically
mentioned that at the time of
descent of Hadrat ‘Īsāas, the
Imām of the Muslims shall be
from amongst them?
• It is argued that “Seal of the
Prophethood’ is not broken by
the coming of Hadrat ‘Īsāas as he
shall come as a member of the
Muslim Ummah and a follower
of the Holy Prophetsa. If this is
the case, then why can Hadrat
‘Īsāas not lead the prayers, being
one of us? He has been quoted as
saying in the above ahādīth that
your Imām shall be one of you and
that Allāh has honored these people
and so some of them are leaders
over others (of them)? If he comes
as an “ummati”, then obviously
he is one of us and among
those who have been honored.
Then why could he not lead the
prayers, being a Muslim?
This dichotomy has been explained
in that book in a footnote:
The literal translation of the
word of the Hadīth is “he will
lead them”. Therefore, either of
the two meanings may apply.
(i) Henceforth, he will shoulder
responsibilities
of
leadership
over Muslims, there is no doubt
concerning this and (ii) He will
now lead them in prayers; a doubt
arises concerning this meaning
because we have seen in Hadīth #
2 that when he will descend, not
he but Imām Mahdī will lead the
men in prayers. This doubt may
be removed in two ways. One is
what we have put in parenthesis
in the text that to lead includes
An Analytical Study of the Ahadith About The Imam Mahdias and The Promised Messiahas
to command another to lead;
for instance, it is said often that
the king killed someone but the
meaning is that he had him killed
at his command, and the second
is that, apart from the first prayer,
he led the congregations after that.
Thus, the meaning is that ‘Īsāas
would lead men in every prayer
thereafter although Imām Mahdī
would lead them at the time of his
coming. (p. 68, 69)
It is obvious from the above that
words in parenthesis are added in
the body of hadīth text to alter the
true meanings of hadīth. Secondly,
it is explained that the Imām Mahdī
shall lead the first prayer right after
the descent of Hadrat ‘Īsāas. Let’s see
what happens after this first prayer
is finished:
In that period, there would be
few Arabs and most of them
will be in Bayt al-Maqdis. Their
Imām (leader) would be a
righteous man. (It will happen
one day) their Imām will
proceed to lead the congregation
of Fajr when ‘Īsā Ibn Maryam
will descend among them. So
the Imām will step back a little
so that he may ask ‘Īsāas to lead
prayers but ‘Īsāas will place his
13
hands on his shoulders and
say, “Go forward and lead
the congregation because the
iqamah is called for you. So, the
Muslims will be led in prayer
by their own Imām. When the
Imām would have finished the
prayer, ‘Īsāas would say, “Open
the door!” The door would
be opened and Dajjāl would
be found standing behind it.
Seventy thousand Jews will be
with him, each of them carrying
a jeweled sword and wearing a
precious thick garment. When
Dajjāl sees ‘Īsāas, he will begin
to dissipate as salt dissolves in
water and he would flee. ‘Īsā
would say to him,“Only one
blow has been decreed on you
from me and you cannot escape
from it” So, he will confront
him at the eastern gate of Ludd
and slay him. (p. 75)
This hadīth explicitly tells us that
right after finishing his first prayer
after his descent, Hadrat ‘Īsāas shall
kill Dajjāl. The explanation in the
above quoted footnote tells us that
Hadrat ‘Īsāas shall be the Imām
leading the subsequent prayers
after killing Dajjāl. Now read the
following hadīth keeping these two
statements in mind that:
Hadrat ‘Īsāas shall kill the Dajjāl
after offering his first prayer right
after his descent, behind Imām
Mahdī and that;
He Shall Lead All the Subsequent
Prayers After That
“Sayyidina Abu Hurairara said that
he heard the Messenger of Allāh
say that ‘Īsā Ibn Maryam would
descend and (with the exception of
the first prayer, the Fajr) he would
lead Muslims (in the other prayers)
and in the prayers when getting up
14
after that first prayer?
from the bowing posture (ruk`u),
he will say (in supplication) after
‘Allāh hears him who praises
Him’, “May Allāh slay Dajjāl and
give supremacy to the Believers”
(Sa`ayah, sharah waqayah in
reference Ibn Habban, Majma` Azzawa`id in reference Bazzar p. 84)
It cannot be argued that Hadrat
‘Īsāas would recite this prayer while
offering prayer behind Imām Mahdī
as the followers in congregational
prayers do not say ‘Allāh hears him
who praises Him’. It is only the
Imām who says these words.
This hadīth tells us that while
offering and leading a prayer, which
is, of course, a subsequent prayer
after killing the Dajjāl, Hadrat ‘Īsāas
shall recite a prayer raising his
head from ruk`u that may Allāh kill
Dajjāl and give supremacy to the
Muslims. Now the questions that
arise here are:
3. Imām Mahdīas Is In The Middle
Period Or In The End?
In the following two ahādīth quoted
in this book, the Holy Prophetsa said
that he is in the beginning of this
Ummah and Hadrat ‘Īsāas shall be
in the end of it. Note that the Imām
Mahdī is not mentioned altogether
in these ahādīth.
• Why would he pray to Allāh
to help him kill the Dajjāl as
he has already killed him after
finishing his first prayer?
“It is stated by Sayyidina Abdullah
bin Umarra that the Messenger of
Allāhsa said, “How can that Ummah
perish when I am there in its early
period and ‘Īsā in the final era.”
(Hakim, Kanz-ul-Ummal, Al-Dur
Al-Manthur, Mishkat, Nasa`i)
• If he is going to kill the Dajjāl
after his first prayer, doesn’t it
show that he shall be the Imām
leading the first prayer?
• Why would Hadrat ‘Īsā agree
to be the Imām in subsequent
prayers as he is stated to refuse
to be the Imām on the plea that
members of Muslim Ummah
are honored of being Imām over
themselves? Would that honour
be taken away from Muslim
Ummah or Hadrat ‘Īsāas shall
be included in Muslim Ummah
as
“The front-rank taba`ee Jubayr
bin Nufayrra has stated that the
Messengersa of Allāh said, “Allāh
will certainly not let that Ummah
despair in whose beginning am I,
and in whose last day is ‘Īsā”. (Ibn
Abu Shayba, Al-hakim, Tirmizi,
hakim, Al-Dur Al-Manthur p. 82)
However, in the following hadīth,
the Holy Prophetsa has been quoted
as saying that he is at the beginning
An Analytical Study of the Ahadith About The Imam Mahdias and The Promised Messiahas
of the Muslim Ummah, Imām
Mahdīas is in the middle and Hadrat
‘Īsāas is at the end.
“Syedna Ibn `Abbas has stated
that the Messengersa of Allāh
said that such a people will never
be destroyed who have me in
their beginning and ‘Īsāas in their
concluding days and the Mahdī in
the intermediary3 period.” (Nasa`I,
Abu Na`eem, hakim, Ibn `Asakir,
Kanz Al-Ummal and Al-Siraj alMuneer p. 85)
ra
In some ahādīth, also quoted in this
book, we read that Hadrat ‘Īsāas and
Imām Mahdīas shall appear at the
same time and same place and that
both shall work in unison with each
other. To reconcile this discrepancy,
the compiler of this book has
changed the universally accepted
and applied meaning of the term
‘middle’. In the following footnote,
the compiler says that middle
means ‘attached to the concluding
period’.
Footnote 3: The intermediary period
means attached to the concluding
period and before it because ‘Īsāas
will come in the times of Imām
Mahdī and he will offer prayers in
the leadership of Imām Mahdī as
we have seen in earlier Ahādīth.
pg.85
We know that to show a point that
lies at equal distances from two
opposite points, one on its right
and the other on its left, we use
the word ‘middle’ or ‘center’. The
Arabic word for such situation is
or
. If something is not
right in the middle of two points
but lies anywhere from point A to
point B, we use the word ‘between’
or ‘in between’. The Arabic word
. The word
for this situation is
used in the above quoted hadīth
not
. The exact word
is
used is
(in her middle), that
has been translated by the compiler
of this book as ‘intermediary’
and further explained in the
above quoted footnote as ‘attached
to the concluding period’. If, for
argument sake, this translation
and explanation is accepted as
valid, even then it does not serve
their purpose and does not join
the Imām Mahdī and Hadrat ‘Īsāas
in onetime and place. One thing
attached to the other does not mean
included in it. Instead, it means one
thing after the other. The second
thing starts where the first thing
ends. This word cannot be used for
any point adjacent to the endpoint.
The compiler of the book has done
a poor job, , rather committed a sin
by changing the meaning of the
and tried to prove his
word
point on flimsy grounds.
4. Two Khalīfas
At The Same Time!
Another important issue that needs
to be highlighted but has been
simply ignored by non-Ahmadi
scholars is having two Khalīfas at
the same time. Ahādīth about the
Imām Mahdīas and the Promised
Messiahas tell us that both are
Khalīfas for this Ummah.
Hadrat ‘Īsāas is Khalīfa
“Beware, there shall be no prophet
or messenger between Jesus, the
son of Mary, and me. Remember, he
shall be my Khalīfa in my Ummah
after me…” (Tibrani p. 95)
Imām Mahdīas is Khalīfa
“Hadrat Thaubanra relates that the
Holy Prophetsa said: ‘When you
find the Mahdī, perform ba`it at his
hands. You must go to him, even
if you have to reach him across
icebound mountains on your knees.
An Analytical Study of the Ahadith About The Imam Mahdias and The Promised Messiahas
He is the Mahdī, the Khalīfa of
Allāh.”(Ibn-e-Majah Kitabul Fitn)
If There Are Two Khalīfas, Kill
One Of Them
However, a hadīth reported in Sahi
Muslim tells us that if there are
two Khalīfa at the same time, the
Muslims are instructed by the Holy
Prophetsa to kill the latter one.
It has been narrated on the authority
of Aba Sa’id al-Khudrira that the
Messenger of Allāh (may peace be
upon him) said: When an oath of
allegiance has been taken for two
caliphs, kill the one for whom the
oath was taken later. (Sahi Muslim
Kitabul Imarah Chapter 20-15:
When the Oath of Allegiance Has
Been Obtained for Two Caliphs)
This problem can only be solved
by believing that the Imām Mahdīas
and the Promised Messiahas are the
two titles of one person and there
are not going to be two Khalīfas in
this Ummah at the same time but
one.
Conclusion
From the above, it is quite clear
and transparent that ahādīth are
contradictory with each other.
Therefore, they are not and cannot
be made the basis of the claim of
Hadrat Mirza Ghulām Ahmadas
of Qādiān being the Promised
Messiah and the Imām Mahdī. If
we consider them, at any level of
authenticity or as secondary sources
of information and containing
signs of the Imām Mahdīas and the
Promised Messiahas, even then we
cannot take them literally and have
to interpret them in the light of the
Holy Qur’ān and Sunnah of the
Holy Prophetsa. The claims of the
Promised Messiahas, by the grace of
Allāh are absolutely proven on the
basis of the Holy Qur’ān.
15
Steadfastness;
the Key to Divine Knowledge
Atif Munawar Mir
Most religions describe God as an
infinite reality, which is not bounded
by time and space, and thus outside
the grasp of human mind. A great
chasm separates human mind and
God. Can this gap be bridged and
if so, how? Science is taking tiny
steps forward but new scientific
discoveries only confirm the depth
and breadth of human ignorance.
Prophets, however, never relied on
science to grasp the divine reality.
They always depended on the
spiritual knowledge. But after the
departure of prophets, the spiritual
path is often discarded or distorted.
The human ignorance inserts
intermediaries between individuals
and God. Since the advent of
modern science, the idea of a
divine reality itself is under attack
from scientists and philosophers.
These philosophers and scientists
hold religion responsible for the
oppression of humanity and want
to replace religion with science as
the supreme authority on human
affairs. The idea that God does not
exist became prevalent in the 19th
century and was articulated by
Nietzsche in his famous phrase,
“God is dead.”
In such a backdrop, the Promised
Messiahas revived the forgotten
spiritual path that connects the
16
human mind to divine reality. This
path gives us a perfect certainty in
the existence of God. The Promised
Messiahas relied on the concepts
outlined in Surah Al-Takathur to
identify three tools that grant us
certainty in the existence of Allāh.
These three tools are:
1. Knowledge by way of inference:
2. Knowledge by way of sight
3. Knowledge
experience
by
way
of
The degree of certainty provided by
these three tools varies. Knowledge
by way of experience provides
the highest degree of certainty in
the existence of Allāh followed
by knowledge by way of sight.
Knowledge by way of inference
is the inferior of three forms of
knowledge.
Knowledge
By Way of Inference
The Promised Messiahas says that
knowledge of God by way of
inference is knowledge based on
reason and information.1 When we
see smoke from a distance, we infer
the existence of fire. Similarly, when
we see creation, we infer that there
must be a creator. The sight of a
sublime glacier melting into rivers,
which snake their way into the
ocean, and then vaporize to form
clouds and then falls back on earth
in the form of rain or snow is one
of many marvelous phenomena
in the universe. This circular
process called water cycle is indeed
beautiful machinery designed to
maintain life on Earth and what’s
more this machinery does not
make any clanking noises. On the
contrary, the sounds of nature are
musical and the sights of nature
are pleasing to eyes. To a curious
mind, a natural question comes to
mind. Who created this beautiful
machinery of nature in such an
artistic manner? Such breathtaking
beauty helps us to infer that a
supreme being exists who created
the universe and the life in it. The
challenge is to find this creator.
How do we know where He is, and
how do we know His attributes?
Holy Scriptures and Prophets point
to the fact that the creator of the
universe communicates with His
creation. Muslims believe that the
final scripture revealed to humanity
is the Holy Qur’ān. The teachings of
this scripture were demonstrated by
the Holy Prophetsa in practice. The
teachings of the Holy Qur’ān and
the life of the Holy Prophetsa create
a certainty in our mind that Allāh
exists but this certainty is based on
Steadfastness
indirect knowledge of God. To gain
this indirect knowledge, we rely on
our mental capacities and historical
information provided to us. Can
we gain still a better knowledge
of Allāh? The answer is in the
affirmative. To understand Allāh
better, we need to rely on Allāh’s
grace. We have to seek His help
to develop knowledge about Him
without any intermediary.
The Holy Qur’ān says:
Eyes cannot reach Him but He
reaches the eyes. And He is the
Incomprehensible, the All-Aware.
(6:104)
Knowledge
By Way of Sight
We can say that we see God with
our own eyes when God reveals
Himself to us. No longer do we
depend on logic and information to
infer the existence of Allāh. At this
stage of knowledge, we do not see
only the smoke but also the fire.
The Promised Messiahas explains
the power of revelation:
“Is it not true that an
affirmation by the Living God:
I am present; bestows such
a degree of understanding
compared with which the
self conceived books of all
philosophers amount to nothing
at all.”2
However, sometimes revelation is
not a testimony of our righteousness,
but is a motivation for us to become
righteous. It is like when our parents
show us a beautiful toy and take it
back until we finish our homework.
Similarly, God grants us revelation
and shows Himself to us but he
stops His revelations if we do not
respond with an improved level of
righteousness. In other words, if
Steadfastness
someone is blessed with revelation,
it does not mean that the spiritual
destination has arrived. It is more
so that God has given us a glimpse
of our destination so that we start
traveling faster on the spiritual
path. The Promised Messiahas
elaborates:
“Sometimes
revelation
is
vouchsafed to a person by way
of trial and is not equipped
with full blessings. In such a
case, the recipient is put on his
trial at this elementary stage so
that having tasted somewhat of
revelation he should order his
life along the lines of those who
called a recipient of revelation,
for an expert thief often thinks
out surprising ways of theft and
robbery, and many clever plans
of robbery and murder pass
through his mind. Would all
these unclean projects be called
revelation?”4
The Promised Messiahas describes
true revelation as something that
is not a product of our mind but
a dialogue between two friends
initiated by Allāh.
“It is necessary that a divine
revelation should be like a
dialogue between two friends.
When the servant submits a
“[when] one suffers a loss, one
should consider it as rendering
back to God that which He had
bestowed, and should utter no
complaint about it”
are true recipient of revelations,
in default of which he would
encounter frustration. If he
doesn’t adopt the ways of the
truly righteous, he is deprived
of the fullness of this bounty and
is left only with vain boasting”.3
What is true revelation? The
Promised Messiahas first explains
what revelation is not. Any brilliant
idea of a scientist or philosopher
cannot be termed as revelation. The
Promised Messiahas explains:
“If a revelation were to mean
merely an idea arising in one’s
mind, a thief would also be
question he should receive a
delicious and eloquent response
from God Almighty in which
his own self and thinking and
reflection should have no part.”5
Finally, the Promised Messiahas
describes the mechanics of a
genuine revelation. Revelation is
not an idea but a meaningful backand-forth dialogue between Allāh
and His servant.
“But if a righteous and virtuous
servant of God should experience
unobstructed dialogue with the
Divine and should hear bright,
and delicious and meaningful and
17
wise, majestic divine utterances in
a state of complete wakefulness in
the shape of question and answer
at least ten times that is to say he
put a question and God replied to it
and then in complete wakefulness
he made another submission and
God made answer to it, and he
made another humble supplication
and God replied to it.”6
Those who are blessed with
revelation are few because most
of us choose worldly things over
spiritual bounties. But once we
have acquired the taste of genuine
revelation, all worldly things
become meaningless. The Promised
Messiahas says:
This bounty is mot rare and is
the highest good luck. For him on
whom it is bestowed everything
else is utterly without value. 7
Knowledge
By Way of Experience
According to the
Promised
Messiahas, revelation is open to
us all but we can become worthy
of it by becoming righteous. If
revelation inspires righteousness
in you then you become worthy of
further revelations. Revelation and
righteous actions reinforce each
other and give us the highest level
of certainty in the existence of Allāh.
At this stage of certainty, we feel the
warmth of God in our hearts. It is as
if we have become certain of fire by
inserting our hand into the fire.
Since righteousness is a prerequisite
for attaining certainty in the
existence of God, we should know
the meaning of righteousness.
Righteousness means showing
steadfastness in the face of
misfortune. When great calamities
enter the house of a righteous
person, he does not “lose heart but
18
says: Surely to Allāh we belong and
to Him shall we return. It is these
on whom are blessings from their
Lord and mercy, and it is these who
are rightly and perfectly guided
(2:156-158).” 8
The journey of righteousness is not
easy. Righteousness is tested when
a faithful person faces suffering.
When we respond to suffering with
steadfastness without diverting
from the right path, only then do
we step into the divine reality
where the attributes of Allāh are
imprinted on our souls and become
a part of our hearts. At this point,
we become absolutely certain of the
existence of Allāh.
You can learn about Allāh in the
Holy Qur’ān and receive revelations
from Him through prayer, but
unless we show steadfastness, when
mired in adverse circumstances, we
cannot win Allāh’s pleasure and
will not be able to cross over into
the divine reality wherein the heart
is pervaded with divine love and
certainty of faith.
The Promised Messiahas explains:
“…all the hardships and
calamities
and
sufferings
that are experienced by the
Prophets and the righteous at
the hands of their opponents
or that are imposed upon them
by divine decree. Through
these hardships and sufferings
all the commandments of the
law and its directions that
were comprehended by the
human mind intellectually,
appear in practical shape and
become experience, and by
being developed by practical
exercise arrive at their climax,
and person concerned himself
becomes a perfect code of
Divine guidance. All the moral
qualities
like
forbearance,
retribution, endurance, mercy
etc. which hitherto pervaded
the mind and heart theoretically,
become part of personality
through practical experience
and make their impress upon
the total personality of the
sufferer, as God the Glorious
has said: “We shall surely try
you with somewhat of fear and
hunger and loss of wealth and
lives and of the fruits of your
labor, that is to say, you will
suffer all this at the hands of
enemies or by virtue of Divine
decree. Then give glad tidings
to the steadfast, who, when a
misfortune overtakes them, do
not lose heart but say: Surely
to Allāh we belong and to Him
shall we return. It is these on
whom are blessings from their
Lord and mercy, and it is these
who are rightly and perfectly
guided.” (2:156-158) These
verses indicate that there is no
virtue in the knowledge that
is confirmed to the mind and
heart. True knowledge is that
which emerges from the mind
and regulates and trains all the
limbs, and manifests in practice
all the store of memory. Thus
knowledge is strengthened and
fostered through its impress
being imposed on all the limbs
by practical experience. No
type of knowledge, however,
elementary, arrives at its climax
without practice…Thus God
Almighty teaches us in these
verses that sufferings which He
imposes upon us are a means
of perfecting our knowledge
through experience.”9
Why is steadfastness, in the face
Steadfastness
of suffering, necessary to gain
absolute certainty in the existence of
God? Steadfastness in bleak times
-- when we start to lose everything
we posses or desire and our most
cherished hopes begin to vanish
into despair – proves that that we
love and worship Allāh and not the
objects of our desires.
The Promised Messiahas calls
steadfastness a moral quality when
“one suffers a loss one should
consider it as rendering back to
God that which He had bestowed,
and should utter no complaint
about it”.10 In other words,
steadfastness is “reconciliation
with the divine will”.11
When we claim love of Allāh, we
must be ready for steadfastness as
Allāh is going to test our faith.
The Promised Messiahas says:
“God Almighty provided the
Muslims with opportunity to
illustrate whatever they are taught
in the Qur’ān in their practice
and thus to become filled with its
light.” 12
possessions. Some try to find
happiness in knowledge. Others
seek satisfaction in relationships
and friendships. Then there are
those who find happiness in selfdenial
and
self-mortification.
According to the Holy Qur’ān,
true happiness comes when our
souls are at peace. And our souls
are at peace when the reality of
Allāh has penetrated into our
soul, body and mind. You do not
find God in physics laboratories
or in mathematical formulas. You
will find God in logic, historical
knowledge and revelation but the
absolute certain knowledge of God
comes when we are steadfast in
the face of suffering. Steadfastness
is the key that unlocks the door of
our hearts and opens us up into the
presence of Allāh. It is interesting
that scientists find logic to be the
ultimate tool of knowledge. In
Islām, steadfastness is
the ultimate tool
that grants us knowledge of the
infinite reality. Steadfastness and
knowledge are strongly intertwined
in Islām.
(Endnotes)
1. Ahmad, Hadrat Mirza Ghulām,
“Sources of Divine Knowledge”,
Philosophy of the Teachings
of Islām, Islām International
Publications Ltd, 1993, p. 99
2. Ibid, 103
3. Ibid, 105
4. Ibid, 104
5. Ibid, 105
6. Ibid, 106
7. Ibid, 106
8. Ibid, 109-110
9. Ibid, 109-110
10. Ibid, 40
11. Ibid, 41
12. Ibid, 111
Conclusion
It is in our nature to seek.
Everyone
is
seeking
personal satisfaction
and
happiness.
Some try to find
happiness in
money and
Steadfastness
19
The Truth About Eclipses
Saleh Mohammed Alladin, Retired Professor of Astronomy
Taken from Review of Religions, May June, 1999
In an article entitled the Fraud of
Eclipses, Idare Dawato-Irshad of the
USA has made several allegations
of falsehood against the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Jamā‘at. The eclipses relate
to a prophecy of the advent of the
Messiah.
The prophecy regarding eclipses
is given in the following hadīth:
(i.e. Sayings of the Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa)
“For our Mahdī (Spiritual Reformer)
there are two Signs which have never
occurred before since the creation of
the heavens and the earth, namely,
the moon will be eclipsed on the
first night in Ramadhān (i.e. on the
first of the nights on which a lunar
eclipse can occur) and the Sun will
be eclipsed on the middle day of
Ramadhān (i.e., on the middle day on
which a solar eclipse can occur) and
these Signs have not happened since
the creation of the heavens and the
earth (Dar Qutni, Vol.1, pg.188)
We have inserted the brackets in the
text of the Hadīth in order to elucidate
the meaning. We shall discuss this
point later. In the quotation from
Rūhāni Khazā’in, Volume 17, page 133,
given by the author, the meaning of
the Hadīth is given instead of a literal
20
translation, and no brackets are used.
If the lunar month is reckoned from
the first sighting of the lunar crescent,
the dates on which a lunar eclipse
can occur are the 13th, 14th and 15th,
and the dates on which a solar eclipse
can occur are the 27th, 28th and 29th.
The prophecy thus requires that the
lunar eclipse should occur on the 13th
of Ramadhān and the solar eclipse on
the 28th of Ramadhān.
Hadrat Mirza Ghulām Ahmadas
of Qādiān, the Holy Founder of
the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamā`at
received his first revelation regarding
his appointment as the Divine
Reformer in 1882. In obedience to
Divine command, Hadrat Ahmadas
declared that he was the Mujaddid
(Reformer) of the 14th century of the
Islāmic era. In 1891, he claimed on the
basis of Divine revelation to be the
Promised Messiah and Mahdī whose
advent was foretold by the Holy
Prophet Muhammadsa. He asserted
that Almighty God had sent him to
give spiritual life to people. But the
contemporary theologians rejected
his claims and he met a storm of very
violent opposition.
The prophesized eclipses then
occurred over Qādiān on the specified
dates of Ramadhān. The lunar eclipse
occurred after sunset on March 21,
1894 (13th of Ramadhān, 1311 H)
and the solar eclipse occurred on
the morning of Friday April 6, 1894
(28th of Ramadhān). The Promised
Messiahas then wrote the book Nūrul
Haq, (Light of Truth) Part II, in which
he declared that these eclipses were
Divine Signs in support of his claim.
The Promised Messiahas also drew
attention in this book to several
properties of the eclipses which make
the signs very impressive.
Allegations
The following allegations have been
made in the article under review.
The Hadīth of Dar Qutni regarding the
signs of the eclipses is not authentic.
Reply to the First Allegation:
The authenticity of the Hadīth is
supported by the following facts:
1. The root of the prophecy lies
in the Holy Qur’ān since the
eclipses of the moon and the sun
are mentioned as important signs
of the approach of Resurrection
in the Holy Qur’ān and the time
of the advent of the Promised
Spiritual Reformer is also the
Latter Age. The Holy Qur’ān says:
He asks: When will be the day
of Resurrection? When the eye
is dazzled, and the moon is
eclipsed, and the sun and the
moon are brought together, on
The Truth About the Eclipses
that day man will say, whither
to escape? (75:7-11)
When the solar eclipse occurs,
the sun and the moon are in
conjunction, i.e. they are in the
same direction as viewed from
the earth. Hence the words and
the sun and the moon are brought
together signify solar eclipse. The
Hadīth of Dar Qutni supports this
interpretation and gives valuable
details about the prophesied
eclipses.
1. The Holy Qur’ān says:
He (Allah) is the Knower of
the unseen, and He reveals not
His secrets to anyone, except to
whom He chooses, namely a
Messenger of His. (Ch.78: vs.2728)
The unique nature of the prophecy
and its magnificent fulfillment
also indicate that the source is
the Holy Prophetsa. When the
prophecy in the Hadīth has been
fulfilled the criticism against
the narrators loses significance.
The Promised Messiahas has
discussed this point in his book
Zameema Anjame Atham, Rūhāni
Khazā’in , Volume 11, page 333334. The Promised Messiah as
has also replied to the objection
raised against the narrators of the
Hadīth in Tohfae Golarviya, Rūhāni
Khazā’in , Volume 17, page 133.
Hadrat Ali Bin Umar Albaghdadi
Ad-Dar-Qutni, the compiler of the
Hadīth, was a much respected saint
and was scrupulously careful in
recording the saying of the Holy
Prophetsa. Hadrat Shah Abdul Aziz,
Muhaddith of Delhi, another eminent
elite of Islām, comments about Imām
Dar Qutni in his book Naubatul Fikr
thus:
The Truth About the Eclipses
Imām Dar Qutni once said, “O
residents of Baghdad, do not even
think that any narrator would be
able to refer any false or incorrect
statement to the Holy Prophet
of Islāmsa during my life time.”
(Naubatul Fikr, footnote pg. 52)
1. The article under review has
expressed doubts as to whether
the narrator of the Hadīth is really
Hadrat Imām Baqar. Muhammad
Bin Ali is considered as Hadrat
Imām Baqar in Iqtirabus Saat by
Nawab Siddique Hasan Khan
Sahib (pg. 1061) A photocopy of
Sunni and Shia sects. Eminent
Muslim scholars have mentioned
these signs in their books. Books of
other religions also mention eclipses
as signs of the Promised Divine
Reformer. For details see:
• Review of Religions, November
1989
• The Advent of Imām Mahdī, A Great
Heavenly Sign, (in Urdu)
• The Great Heavenly Sign of Eclipses
of the Moon and the Sun, by Muneer
Ahmed Khadim, Qādiān 1994 (in
Urdu)
• The Truth of Hadrat Imām Mahdī
and the moon is eclipsed,
and the sun and the moon are brought together
- The Holy Qur’an Chapter 75 Al-Qiyama Verses 9-10
the relevant page is given in The
Advent of Imām Mahdī - A Great
Heavenly Sign by Muhammad
Azam Ekseer, Rabwah 1994, page
88. In this connection it may also
be noted that Allama Shaikh
Shahabuddin Ibn Al Hajar-al
Hashimi wrote:
Muhammad Bin Ali, an elite
among the Ahle-Bait, narrates
that there will be two signs for
Imām Mahdī which have never
been shown to mankind since the
creation of the heavens and the
earth. One of these is the eclipse of
the moon on the first of its nights
in the month of Ramadhān, and
the eclipse of the sun on the middle
of the days. (Kitabul Fatāwā Al
Hadīthiyya, pg. 31, Egypt)
The signs of eclipses are mentioned
in the collections of Hadīth of both
as vindicated by the Signs of Solar
and Lunar Eclipses by Saleh
Mohammed Alladin, 1988, (in
Urdu)
• Article entitled Fulfillment of
Celestial Signs - Veracity of the
Holy Prophet of Islām, by Anwar
Mahmood Khan, Minaret, April June 1994.
Second Allegation
The Hadīth has been misinterpreted.
The words first and middle stated in
the Hadīth do not signify 13th and 28th
but signify 1st and 15th.
Reply to the Second Allegation:
In the article under review, the Hadīth
has been understood as meaning
the lunar eclipse would occur on
the first of Ramadhān and the solar
eclipse would occur on the 15th of
Ramadhān. As the author has himself
admitted this event is astronomically
impossible. Interpreting the Hadīth
21
in this way makes the Hadīth
meaningless. As the Promised
Messiahas has mentioned, the purpose
of the Hadīth is not to promise some
extraordinary prodigy but to provide
a criterion for the recognition of the
Imām Mahdī which is not shared by
any other person (Zameema Nuzoolul
Masih, Rūhāni Khazā’in , Vol.19,
p.141).
The notion of a lunar eclipse
occurring on the first of Ramadhān
is also very unreasonable. The lunar
crescent of the first night is often seen
with difficulty. Detecting the eclipse
on it would be a formidable problem.
It may also be noted that the lunar
crescent of the first of Ramadhān is
called Hilal and not Qamar. In the
Hadīth, the word Qamar is used and
not Hilal.
According to the laws of nature, a
lunar eclipse occurs at full moon (and
this happens only on the 13th, 14th and
15th of the month) and a solar eclipse
occurs at conjunction when the moon
cannot be seen at all (and this happens
only on the 27th, 28th and 29th of the
month). The Hadīth therefore implies
that the lunar eclipse would occur on
the first of the possible nights, i.e. on
the 13th and the solar eclipse would
occur on the middle of the possible
days, i.e. on 28th.
These properties of the eclipses were
known not only to the scientists
but also to others who were not
scientists. Thus, Nawab Siddeeq
Hasan of Bhopal wrote in his book
Hijajul Kiramah that according to
astronomers, the lunar eclipse does
not occur on any date other than 13th,
14th and 15th and the solar eclipse does
not occur on any date other than 27th,
28th and 29th. (Hijajul Kiramah pg.344)
Third Allegation
The eclipses did not occur on 13th and
22
28th Ramadhān in 1894, but occurred
on the 14th and 29th of Ramadhān.
Hence, even our interpretation is not
justified.
Reply to the Third Allegation:
The third allegation has been that
the eclipses had occurred in 1894
on the 14th and 29th of Ramadhān
and not on the 13th and 28th. This is
not correct. The date of Ramadhān
depends upon when the lunar
crescent is first sighted and this
cannot be decided with certainty by
the astronomical calculations alone
in many cases since this depends also
upon meteorological conditions. The
calculations do indicate that there
was a possibility of sighting the moon
on the evening of March 8, 1894 if
meteorological conditions were good
but meteorological conditions were
not favorable and the lunar crescent
could only be observed in the evening
of March 9 from Qādiān. (Review
of Religious, July 1987) The age of
the moon at sunset on March 8 was
22.7 hours. (Review of Religions,
September 1994).
As Dr. Mohammad
mentioned:
Ilyas
has
On the basis of recorded accounts,
sightings of the moon younger than 20
hours are rare and sightings of more
than 24 hours are not uncommon
although the visibility may at times
require it to be more than 30 hours
old. (Islāmic Calendar, Times and
Qibla, by Dr. Mohammad Ilyas,
Berita Publishing SDN BHD, 22
Jalan Liku, Kuala Lumpur, 1984)
The lunar eclipse was seen from
Qādiān after sunset on March 21.
Hence it was the 13th of Ramadhān
when the lunar eclipse occurred. The
solar eclipse occurred in the morning
of 6th April. Hence it was the 28th of
Ramadhān, when the solar eclipse
occurred. The Promised Messiahas
has repeatedly mentioned that
the eclipses occurred on the dates
required by the prophecy, see for
example, Noorul Haq Part II, Rūhāni
Khazā’in , Vol.8 page 209; Zameema
Anjame Atham Rūhāni Khazā’in ,
Vol.1, pg.334. Even our opponent
Muhammad Abdullah Memar has
written that the eclipses were seen on
the 13th and 28th of Ramadhān.
Fourth Allegation
The lunar and solar eclipses have
occurred on 13th and 28th of Ramadhān
thousands of times whereas the
Hadīth states that these events have
not occurred before.
Reply to the Fourth Allegation:
The fourth allegation is that the lunar
and solar eclipses have occurred
on the 13th and 28th of Ramadhān
thousands of times whereas the
Hadīth states that these events have
not occurred before.
In reply to this allegation, we state
that the Hadīth does not imply that
eclipses did not occur on the 13th
and 28th Ramadhān ever before but
it implies that such eclipses never
happened before as signs. The
Promised Messiahas wrote:
We are not concerned with how often
solar and lunar eclipses have occurred
in the month of Ramadhān from the
beginning of the world till today. Our
aim is only to mention that from the
time man has appeared in this world,
solar and lunar eclipses have occurred
as Signs only in my age for me. Prior
to me, no one had this circumstance
that on the one hand he claimed to be
Mahdī Ma`ūd (Promised Reformer)
and on the other, in the month of
Ramadhān, on the appointed dates,
lunar and solar eclipses occurred and
he declared the eclipses as signs in his
favor. The Hadīth of Dar Qutni does
The Truth About the Eclipses
not say at all that solar and lunar
eclipses did not occur ever before, but
it does clearly say that such eclipses
never occurred earlier as Signs,
because the word Takoona is used
which denotes feminine gender; this
implies that such a Sign was never
manifested before. If it was meant
that such eclipses never occurred
before, Yakoona which denotes
masculine gender was needed and
not Takoona which denotes feminine
gender. It is clear from this that the
reference is to the two signs because
signs are feminine. Hence, if anybody
thinks that lunar and solar eclipses
have occurred many times before,
it is his responsibility to show the
claimant to Mahdī who declared the
solar and lunar eclipses as his signs
and this proof should be certain and
conclusive. This can only happen if
a book of the claimant is produced,
who claimed to be Mahdī Ma`ūd
and had written that the lunar and
solar eclipses which occurred in
Ramadhān on the dates specified
in Dar Qutni, are the Signs of his
truth. In short, we are not concerned
with the mere occurrence of solar
and lunar eclipses even if they had
occurred thousands of times. As a
sign, this has happened at the time of
a claimant only once and the Hadīth
has proved its authenticity and truth
through its fulfillment at the time of
the claimant to Mahdī. (Chashma-eThe Truth About the Eclipses
Marifat, Rūhāni Khazā’in , Vol.23, pg.
329 - 330)
We may also note here that although
lunar and solar eclipses have occurred
on the specified dates many times,
the occurrence of these dates from a
specified place is quite rare. A lunar
eclipse can be seen from more than
half the earth’s sphere, but a solar
eclipse is visible from a much smaller
area. It often happens that a solar
eclipse is only seen from a sparsely
populated area or from an ocean.
The solar eclipse of April 6, 1894
was visible from a vast area of Asia
including India.
The calculations made by Professor
G.M. Ballabh and myself at the
Department of Astronomy, Osmania
University, Hyderabad, indicate that
from the time of the Holy Prophetsa up
to the present, pairs of eclipses have
occurred in the month of Ramadhān
109 times. Of these, only three times
were both eclipses visible from
Qādiān on the specified dates, i.e. on
the 13th and 28th of Ramadhān. Hence,
having the eclipses on specified dates
at a specified place is quite rare. (For
details, see Review of Religions,
London, June 1992 and September
1994)
The Promised Messiahas stated that
people should ponder over the fact
that the sign was manifested in his
country for the wisdom of God does
not separate the sign from the person
for whom the sign is meant. After the
eclipses were observed from Qādiān
in 1894, the Promised Messiahas wrote
as follows:
O servants of God, ponder and think.
Do you consider it permissible that
the Mahdī should be born in the
countries of Arabia and Syria and
his Sign should be manifested in
our country; and you know that the
wisdom of God does not separate the
sign from the person for whom the
sign is meant. Then how could it be
possible that the Mahdī should be in
the East but his sign should be in the
West. And this should be sufficient
for you if you are really seekers after
truth. (Noorul Haq, Part II).
Fifth Allegation
The eclipses have also occurred on
13th and 28th of Ramadhān at the time
of other claimants to Mahdī.
Reply to the Fifth Allegation:
The fifth allegation has been that the
eclipses have occurred on the 13th and
the 28th of Ramadhān at the time of
other claimants also. The important
point in this regard, as already
mentioned, is that the claimant
should also declare that these are
Divine Signs for him.
In the article under review it is stated:
There is no mention whether
this sign will occur before the
23
birth, during the life, upon the
claim, after the claim, or upon the
death of the individual making
the claim. Qādiāni (Ahmadi)
interpretation is simply without
any merit.
The Promised Messiah has given
valuable guidance in this matter. He
says:
as
The Hadīth does not imply that before
the advent of the Mahdī there would
be eclipses of the moon and the sun in
the month of the Ramadhān, because
in that case it was possible that after
seeing the lunar eclipse and the solar
eclipse in the month of Ramadhān,
any impostor could claim to be the
Promised Mahdī and the matter
would become ambiguous since it is
easy to claim afterwards. If after the
eclipses there are many claimants
it is clear that the eclipses cannot
testify anyone (Anwarul Islām,
Rūhāni Khazā’in , Vol.9, p.48).
From ancient time, this has been the
way of God that a Sign is manifested
when the Messengers of God are
treated as liars and are regarded as
impostors (Tohfae Golarviya, Rūhāni
Khazā’in , Vol.17, pg.142)
Professor G.M. Ballabh and I
investigated the dates of eclipses
that occurred in Ramadhān at the
time of 25 other claimants to Mahdī.
The dates depend upon the place
24
of observation. We calculated the
dates with respect to the place of the
claimant. We found that for none of
the claimants can we definitely say
that after their claim in their life time
there occurred over their place a lunar
eclipse on the 13th of Ramadhān and a
solar eclipse on the 28th of Ramadhān
in the same month. For details see AlFazal International, London, dated
June 12, 1998. Furthermore, we do not
have any evidence of any claimant
who put forward the testimony of
eclipses in support of his claim.
In the article under review, the author
has mentioned the names of Saleh
Bin Tarif, Mirza Ali Muhammad
Bab, Hussain Ali Bahaullah, Mahdī
Sudani, and Dr. Alexander Dowie.
The author states that eclipses could
have been claimed by them but gives
no evidence of their claims from any
of their writings.
With regard to the above persons, we
make the following comments on the
basis of our calculations:
1. Saleh Bin Tarif claimed to be
Mahdī in 125 AH and ruled until
174 AH. During the period 125
AH to 174 AH, pairs of eclipses
occurred in Ramadhān in 126 AH
(744 CE) 127 AH (745 CE), 170
AH (787 CE) 171 AH (788 CE). We
studied the occurrence of pairs
of eclipses in Ramadhān with
respect to Morocco, the place of
the claimant. We found that in
none of these years was the solar
eclipse visible from Morocco. The
lunar eclipses were visible in 745,
766, 787, and 788 CE.
2. Mirza Ali Muhammad Bab
claimed to be Mahdī in 1264 AH
(1848 CE) and was killed on 28
Shaban 1266 AH (July 9 1850 CE).
During the period 1848 to 1850
CE, there was neither a lunar
eclipse nor a solar eclipse in any
part of the world.
3. Hussain Ali Bahaullah did not
claim to be Mahdī. He claimed
to be a manifestation of God
in 1867. He died in May 1892
(Encyclopedia
Britannica).
During the period 1867-1892, we
do not have any year in which
both lunar and solar eclipses
occurred in Ramadhān and were
visible in Iran. In 1289 AH (1872
CE) both eclipses occurred in
Ramadhān but none of them was
visible from Iran. In 1290 AH
(1873 CE), both eclipses occurred
in Ramadhān but the solar eclipse
was not visible from Iran and the
lunar eclipse was visible from
Iran on 14th of Ramadhān.
4. Muhammad Ahmad of Sudan
claimed to be the Mahdī in 1298
AH (1881 CE) and he died on
9th Ramadhān 1302 AH (June
22, 1885). During the period,
The Truth About the Eclipses
1881-1885 neither a lunar eclipse
nor a solar eclipse occurred in
Ramadhān in any part of the
world.
5. Dr. Alexander Dowie did not
claim to be Mahdī. He was an
enemy of Islām. In 1903 CE, he
claimed to be the harbinger of the
Messiah. He died in 1907. During
the period 1903-1907, there was
no eclipse of the sun or the moon
in Ramadhān in any part of the
world.
Five important aspects of the
Prophecy of Eclipses
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamā`at
celebrated in 1994 the centenary of
the fulfillment of the prophecy of the
Holy Prophetsa regarding the signs of
lunar and solar eclipses. In the UK,
on July 31, 1994, Hadrat Mirza Tāhir
Ahmadra, the revered Head of the
community gave an illuminating and
lucid lecture on the grand prophecy
of the signs of lunar and solar eclipses
and its exact fulfillment. His lecture
was telecast all over the world.
In his lecture, he drew attention to the
following five important aspects of
the prophecy:
1. The lunar eclipse should occur on
the first of the nights on which a
lunar eclipse can occur.
2. The solar eclipse should occur on
the middle of the days on which a
solar eclipse can occur.
3. These eclipses should occur in the
month of Ramadhān.
4. The claimant to Mahdī should be
present before the eclipses, since
it is possible that after the eclipses,
many can claim and it would not
be possible to recognize the right
person.
5. The claimant should be aware
of the signs and should declare
The Truth About the Eclipses
being the Imām Mahdī for whom
the heavenly signs have been
shown.
Hadrat Mirza Tāhir Ahmadra stated
that even after a thorough search of
the literature, we did not come across
any claimant to Mahdī who had
declared that lunar and solar eclipses
are Divine Signs for him, except
Hadrat Mirza Ghulām Ahmad, the
true Imām Mahdī and Promised
Messiahas.
Declarations by the Promised
Messiahas regarding the signs of lunar
and solar eclipses. While on one hand
we do not find in literature even a
slight reference to the signs of the
eclipses by any other claimant, on
the other we find that Hadrat Mirza
Ghulām Ahmadas of Qādiān declared
repeatedly and emphatically that
lunar and solar eclipses are Divine
Signs for him. We give three examples
from his writings:
In my age only, in the month of
Ramadhān, eclipses of the sun and
the moon occurred; in my age only,
in accordance with the authentic
sayings of the Holy Prophetsa and the
Holy Qur’ān and earlier Books, there
was the plague all over the country,
and in my age only, a new mode of
transport, namely railways came
into existence and in my age only, as
per prophecies, terrible earthquakes
came. Does not then righteousness
demand that one should not be
bold in denying me. Look! I swear
by Almighty God and say that
thousands of signs for establishing
my truth have been manifested,
are being manifested and will be
manifested. If this were a man’s plan,
never would he have enjoyed such
support and help. (Haqiqatul Wahi,
pg.45, Rūhāni Khazā’in ), Vol. 22,
pg.48)
He further said:
And I also swear by Almighty God
that I am the Promised Messiah
and I am the same person who was
promised by the prophets. There is
news about me and my age in the
Torah and the Gospel and the Holy
Qur’ān. It is stated that there will be
eclipses in the sky and severe plague
on the earth. (Dafiul Balaa, pg.18,
Rūhāni Khazā’in , Vol.18, pg. 238)
He also said:
I swear by God in Whose Hand is my
life that He has manifested this Sign
in the sky to testify my truthfulness,
and He manifested it at a time
when the Maulvis (theologians)
named me Dajjal (Anti-Christ),
the biggest liar, infidel and even
the biggest infidel. This is the same
Sign regarding which twenty years
ago I was promised in Braheen-e
Ahmadiyya, namely, Tell them I have
with me testimony from Allah, will
you believe it or not? Tell them I
have with me testimony from Allah,
will you accept it or not? It should
be remembered that although there
are many proofs from Almighty God
for vindicating my truthfulness and
more than a hundred prophecies that
have been fulfilled to which hundreds
of thousands of people are witnesses,
but in this revelation, this prophecy
has been mentioned specifically, i.e. I
have been given such a Sign which
was not given to anybody else from
the time of Adam to the present time.
In short, I can stand in the sacred
precincts of the Ka’aba and swear
that this Sign is to testifying to my
truth. (Tohfa-e-Golarviyya; Rūhāni
Khazā’in , Vol.17, pg.143)
Sixth Allegation
Hadrat Ahmadas has written in his
book Haqeeqatul Mahdī that all the
ahadīth in which the coming of the
25
Mahdī is foretold are not verifiable
and cannot be relied upon.
(Aiyamus Suleh, Rūhāni Khazā’in
Vol.14 pg. 419
Reply to the Sixth Allegation:
The author has not properly translated
the passage from Haqeeqatul Mahdī,
Rūhāni Khazā’in, Vol. 14. pg. 429.
The actual words of the Promised
Messiahas are as follows:
Comments on the article entitled
“Flaws in the Ahmadiyya Eclipse
Theory” by Dr. David McNaughton.
Regarding Mahdī and Promised
Messiah, it is my belief and the belief
of my Jamā`at that all ahadīths of
this kind in which the coming of the
Mahdī is foretold are not verifiable
and cannot be relied upon.
In the article under review, the words
‘of this kind’ are missing. The context
shows that the Promised Messiahas
has objected to statements in literature
such as the following:
The Mahdī will kill the Christians and
those who remain will not be capable
of ruling and they will flee in disgrace.
On page 419 of the same volume of
Rūhāni Khazā’in (Vol.14) in the book
Iambus Slue he has clearly stated that
the Hadīth of the signs of eclipses is
authentic. He wrote as follows:
That Hadīth is quite correct and is
recorded not only in Dar Qutni but
also in other books of Hadīth of both
Shia and Sunni sects. Furthermore,
this principle has been accepted
by the scholars of Hadīth that if a
prophecy of any Hadīth has been
fulfilled, then even if, for the sake of
argument, that Hadīth was earlier
considered as false, the Hadīth will
be regarded as true after the prophecy
has been fulfilled because God has
borne witness to its truth since
except God nobody has power over
the unknown. The Holy Qur’ān says:
i.e. only the Messengers of Allah
can narrate the unseen in a perfect
way; others cannot be of this rank.
Here Messengers include Resold
Nabi, Muhaddith and Mujaddid.
26
Hadrat Imām Baqar Muhammad
bin Alira has narrated the following
Hadīth (sayings of the Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa):
For our Mahdī (Divine Reformer),
there are two signs which have
never appeared before since the
creation of the heavens and the
earth, namely the moon will
be eclipsed on the first night in
Ramadan (i.e. on the first of the
nights on which a lunar eclipse
can occur) and the sun will be
eclipsed in its middle (i.e. on the
middle day of the days on which a
solar eclipse can occur), and these
signs have not appeared since God
created the heavens and the earth.
(Dare Qutni Vol. 1, pg. 188)
In the literature of the Ahmadiyya
Muslim Community, the dates of
the lunar and solar eclipses have
been taken as 13, 14, 15 and 27, 28, 29
respectively of the Islāmic calendar.
Dr. David McNaughton has pointed
out that lunar eclipses can occur on
13th, 14th and 15th and solar eclipses
on 28th and 29th. Only under special
circumstances, a solar eclipse can
occur on the 27th of the Islāmic month.
Also, under special circumstances, a
lunar eclipse can occur on the 12th.
Hence the dates of the eclipses should
be taken as 13, 14, 15 and 28, 29 or as
12, 13, 14, 15 and 27, 28, 29.
Perhaps the author is the first person
to point out that it is possible to
observe a lunar eclipse on the 12th.
On the other hand, it seems to be well
known from observational records
that a solar eclipse can occur on the
27th. I present two examples taken
from important books wherein 27th is
considered as one of the dates for the
solar eclipse.
Nawab Siddeeq Hasan Khan writes in
his book Hujajal Kirama (in Persian,
published in 1271 Hijri) on page 344
that according to astronomers a lunar
eclipse does not take place on any
date other than 13, 14 and 15; and in
the same way a solar eclipse does not
take place on any date other than 27,
28 and 29.
Professor F. Richard Stephenson, who
has devoted considerable effort in the
study of ancient records of eclipses,
writes in his book, Historical Eclipses
and Earth’s Rotation (Cambridge
University Press 1997) on page 436 as
follows:
“In the Islāmic calendar, lunar
eclipses consistently take place
on or about the 14th day of the
month and solar eclipses around
the 28th day.”
Hence, considering the dates as 13,
14 and 15 for the lunar eclipse and
27, 28 and 29 for the solar eclipse
for interpreting the prophecy in
1894, at the time of the claimant,
is quite reasonable. The purpose
of the prophecy is to help people
to recognize the Promised Divine
Reformer and the prophecy has
served the purpose very well.
It may also be noted that Hadrat
Mirza Ghulām Ahmadas claimed on
the basis of Divine revelation, which
he received, that the prophecy had
been fulfilled in his person. He also
declared on oath that he was the
Promised Messiah and Mahdī.
In order to understand the Hadīth on
the basis of our present knowledge,
we should note that the time between
the astronomical new moon and
full moon varies between 13.9 days
The Truth About the Eclipses
and 15.6 days as mentioned by Dr.
McNaughton. Hence, if a lunar
eclipse occurs on the 12th of a month,
the solar eclipse cannot occur on the
28th of the month because in that case
the interval between the new moon
and the full moon would exceed 15.6
days. If the Hadīth had not laid any
restriction on the date of the solar
eclipse, the first date of the lunar
eclipse may have been considered
as 12th. But since the Hadīth has
specified the date of the solar eclipse,
the first night in the Hadīth has to
be interpreted as the first of the well
known three nights, i.e. 13th.
The Promised Messiah also gave
another explanation for the Hadīth
which is simple but very illuminating.
He wrote in his book Noorul Haq Part
2, Rūhāni Khazā’in Vol. 8, pg. 196:
as
“Dar Qutni has recorded that Imām
Muhammad bin Ali has narrated that
there are two signs for our Mahdī
which never appeared before, that is,
never occurred for any other person
since the creation of the earth and
the heavens and these are that the
moon will begin to be eclipsed in the
beginning of the night in Ramadhān
and the sun will be eclipsed in the
remaining half of the month.”
Professor G.M.Ballabh and I had
prepared a list of the years in which
both lunar and solar eclipses occurred
in the month of Ramadhān from the
The Truth About the Eclipses
time of the Holy Prophetsa until the
year 2000 A.D. We found that 109
times both lunar and solar eclipses
occurred in the month of Ramadhān
over some part of the earth or the
other. Out of these, only seven pairs
of eclipses were visible from Qādiān.
Only in the year 1894, the moon
began to be eclipsed in the beginning
of the night in Ramadhān. The sun set
in Qādiān at 18 hours and 41 minutes
and the eclipse of the moon began
at 18 hours and 56 minutes. (Review
of Religions, Vol. 89, Number 9,
September 1994, pg. 47)
For a detailed discussion of the
fulfillment of the prophecy, please see
my article entitled, The Advent of the
Promised Messiah as vindicated by the
Signs of the Lunar and Solar Eclipses in
the Review of Religions, Vol. 84, No
11, November 1989, pages 3 to 24.
Answers to some of the objections
have been given in my article, The
Truth about Eclipses published in The
Review of Religions, Vol. 94, No’s 5
and 6, May & June 1999.
Almighty God says in the Holy
Qur’ān:
He (Allah) is the Knower of the
unseen, and He reveals not His
secrets to anyone, except to him
whom He chooses, namely a
Messenger of His. (Chapter 72,
Verses 27 and 28)
The remarkable prophecy of the signs
of the eclipses and its fulfillment in
our age bears eloquent testimony to
the greatness of the Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa.
May Almighty God guide mankind
to the right path, amīn.
Conclusion
The prophecy of the Holy Prophetsa
regarding the signs of lunar and solar
eclipses for Hadrat Imām Mahdī, the
Promised Divine Reformer, has been
clearly fulfilled in the person of Hadrat
Mirza Ghulām Ahmadas of Qādiān,
who was a devout follower of the
Holy Prophetsa and was deeply filled
with his love. He passed away in 1908
but his noble mission of propagating
Islām and calling mankind to God
Almighty is being continued with
great zeal by his worthy successors,
all praise to Allah.
May Almighty Allah enable mankind
to consider with reverence and
diligence the precious hadīth of
our noble master, the Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa and be guided by it
to the right path. The remarkable
prophecy and its magnificent
fulfillment bears eloquent testimony
to the truth and greatness of our most
reverend master, the Holy Prophet
Muhammadsa. All praise belongs to
Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.
27
Smyth-PigottA Fake Messiah from England
Tahir Ijaz, M.D, FRCP, San Diego, California USA
Most readers are familiar with the
life and circumstances surrounding
John Alexander Dowie, who came
into confrontation with Hadrat
Mirza Ghulām Ahmadas, the
Promised Messiah in the early
20th century. However, not as
well known is the warning of the
Promised Messiahas regarding
Reverend John Hugh SmythPigott (1852-1927). In fact, initial
correspondence with both Dowie
and Smyth-Pigott commenced in
late 1902 when their claims reached
India.
Reverend Smyth-Pigott was born
in 1852. After spending some time
as a sailor and soldier, he became
interested in theological studies
and eventually joined the ministry
of the dominant ecclesiastical
authority of the time, the Church
of England in 1882. However he
found himself dissatisfied with his
position and in due course left the
Church of England. He worked
for the Salvation Army in Ireland
until around 1897 where eventually
he made contact and joined the
cult followers of a group styling
themselves as Agapemonites. This
particular group was founded in
Somerset, England by Reverend
Henry James Prince. The group
combined elements of Christianity
28
with pagan rituals, and was
comprised mainly of unmarried,
educated women. A large house in
Somerset England housed members
of the group, numbering 100 or so.
The house was called Agapemone
(Greek for Abode of Love).
Reverend Smyth-Pigott became a
regular at the group gathering in
delivering the Sunday sermons.
He was known for considerable
charisma and was genuinely an
entertaining speaker, drawing
people also from outside the group.
In 1892, Reverend Prince built a
church in London for Reverend
Smyth-Pigott, called Ark of the
Covenant.
One curious aspect of the group
was that men would take ‘spiritual
brides’ though in most instances
they may already have been
married. Later revelations would
reveal these relationships to be far
from just being ‘spiritual’.
In many lectures of Reverend
Prince, he spoke of how some day
Jesus himself would come back to
earth in the near future, perhaps to
his church. When Reverend Prince
died in 1899, the tone of Reverend
Smyth-Pigott’s sermons changed.
He started intimating that perhaps
Jesus was already here, only to
r e v e a l
himself
soon as if to
prepare the
minds
of
the faithful.
Finally, in
September,
1902, with
great
fan
fare,
he
publicly
proclaimed
he was the Messiah, the Son of God,
the same Jesus who had ascended
to Heaven. He sat on a throne that
was constructed and said, “God is
no longer there”, pointing upwards,
“but here,” pointing to himself. The
story made front page news. It also
created considerable protest among
the populace charging him with
blasphemy and denigration of the
Christian faith. Police protection
had to be brought in to protect him
from the angry mob as his Divinity
story hit the media.
Eventually the storm settled and
Reverend Smyth-Pigott elected not
to publicly preach his supposed
Divinity, except perhaps to his
followers in the house of the
followers, in Somerset.
It is recorded in Encyclopedia
Britannica (1911 edition), “Pigott
Reverend John Hugh Smyth-Pigott - A Fake Messiah from England
retired to his headquarters the
Abode of Love in Somerset and all
efforts to interview him or to obtain
details of the life of the community
were abortive.” (Pg. 366 under
“Agapemonites”)
It is recorded in Malfoozat that
Hadrat Mufti Muhammad Sadiq
became aware of the claims of
Reverend Smyth-Pigott, and wrote
to him around October 1902 to
accept the true Messiah who had
appeared in India. The letter was
not directly addressed, but rather
more literature was sent by the
group to Qādiān.
Thereafter the Promised Messiah
issued a challenge to Reverend
Smyth-Pigott.
(See
figure,
reproducing the original letter). In
the letter the Promised Messiahas
asked the Reverend to repent, and
if not he would face Divine wrath,
even in his lifetime.
Unlike the case of Dowie, where
he continued making false claims
and angrily responded back to the
Promised Messiahas through the
media, Reverend Smyth-Pigott
totally retracted public claims and
retreated. It is perhaps for this
reason he did not die in the lifetime
of the Promised Messiahas. Indeed
he lived on and died in 1927.
overseas to the New York Times,
(see figure) with the heading, ‘Say
Abode of Love is Public Scandal.’
However Reverend Smyth-Pigott
did not leave the world without
public humiliation. In 1905, it was
revealed that Reverend SmythPigott had fathered an illegitimate
child, and had registered the birth
with the authorities. Two more
children followed. Thus, the other
women were far from being mere
‘spiritual brides’ to the men! By
1908, the publicity of the birth of
these children renewed the scandal.
The media silence on Smyth-Pigott
was broken. The story made it
A granddaughter of Reverend
Smyth-Pigott, Kate Barlow, who
grew up among the remnants of
the cult, has written a book called
Abode of Love, reviewing the cult, its
teachings and demise with a unique
personal angle. She lives in Ontario,
Canada. I have been in contact
with her, explaining the prophecy.
However, due to presumably past
personal experiences, she has
abandoned religion altogether.
Reverend John Hugh Smyth-Pigott - A Fake Messiah from England
The cult membership dwindled
over many years. Financial ruin set
in. Reverend Smyth-Pigott became
a forgotten man. The last of the cult
followers lived into 1950s before
the Smyth-Pigott chapter closed
forever.
29
Announcement
For National Secretaries, Regional And Local Presidents
The prime objective of the Ahmadiyya Gazette Canada is to provide information to our members about the
activities of Jama`āt held or about to be held all over Canada. However, this objective cannot be achieved without
your cooperation. This is your gazette and we need your contribution to make it a useful and informative
magazine. Please send brief reports and announcements about the activities of your department. Please also
send pictures of the activities.
Hijri-Shamsi Calendar
The Hijri-Shamsi Calendar was worked out under the direct supervision of Khalifatul Masih IIra, Hadrat Mirza
Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad, and was adopted in 1940. Although the calendar is based on solar calculations,
the starting point in time is the migration of the Prophetsa of Islām. According to this method, 2010 AD translates
into 1389 Hijri-Shamsi. Each month in the calendar is named after an important event that occurred in the history
of Islām. The months are synchronous with the Gregorian months:
1. Sulh (Peace)
2. Tabligh (Preaching)
3. Amān (Protection)
4. Shahādat (Martyrdom)
5. Hijrat (Migration)
6. Ehsān (Benevolence)
7. Wafā(Loyalty)
8. Zahūr (Appearance)
9. Tabūk (Battle of Tabuk)
10. Akhā (Brotherhood)
11. Nabūwat (Prophethood)
12. Fatah (Victory)
30
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Hudaybia Peace Accord
Tabligh Letters to Kings
Protection declared for Muslims at last Hajj
Many Muslims were martyred with deception
Migration from Mecca to Madina
Prisoners of Banu Ta`I were released as favour
Sahaba showed loyalty during battle of Zat-ur-Riq`a
Islām’s appearance outside Arab land
Battle of Tabūk was fought
Brotherhood was established among Muslims
Prophethood was awarded to the Holy Prophetsa
Victory of Mecca
Announcements
Gregorian 2010 AD / Islamic 1431 AH / Hijri-Shamsi 1388 HS
Maulana Naseem Mahdi
Recipient of the Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is the province’s most prestigious official honour. The award was created in 1986
by the Government of Ontario to recognize the highest level of individual excellence and achievement
in any field. Past recipients have contributed to education, the arts, community and public service,
science and medicine, citizenship and multiculturalism, business, sports, and many other fields. Their
lives have benefited society in Ontario and elsewhere. The men and women invested in The Order
are are considered an example of excellence to all Ontarians. They are representative of the best of
Ontario’s caring and diverse society and stand as shining examples for us all.
By the grace of Allah, on 28th January 2010 the government of Province of Ontario, presented the
distinguised award of Order of Ontario to Respected Naseem Mahdi sahib, Ex-Naib Amir and
Missionary Inchrage Canada, for his outstanding service to Canada.
The Award Ceremony and Presentataion was held at province of Ontario Parliament. Numerous
television, radio and newspapers covered the event.
The Premier
of Ontario
Legislative Buildi
Le Premier minis
tre
de l’Ontario
ng
Queen’s Park
Edifice de l’Asse
Toronto, Onlario
Queen’s Park
M7A 1A1
January 28, 2010
mblee legislative
Toronto (Ontario)
M7A 1A1
Mr. Naseem Mah
dī
Senior Vice-Presid
ent and Missiona
ry In Charge
Ahmadiyya Mus
lim Community
(Canada)
Baitul Islām Mos
que
10610 Jane Street
Maple, Ontario`
L6A 3A2
Dear Mr. Naseem
,
As you prepare to
ta
personally comm ke up your responsibilities in W
ashington, I wish
en
to
Canada’s Ahmad d you on a quarter century of tir
eless dedication
iyya Muslim com
to
munity. During yo
service, you have
ur years of devote
w
d
and admiration of on - through your exemplary lea
dership - the resp
all who have had
ect
the privilege of w
orking with you.
I have always sa
id that diversity
is one of Ontario
us our unique ch
’s greatest assets
aracter and our he
- it gives
ar
Muslim commun
ity united and str t. And in keeping Canada’s Ahm
adiyya
ong, you have pl
enhancing the di
ayed a vital role
versity that brea
in
thes life into our
province.
I know you will
be sorely missed
no
community, but
also by those of ot t only by the members of your ow
her faiths, with w
n
beneficial bridge
ho
s of co-operation
and understandin m you have built
g.
Please accept my
he
accomplished on artiest congratulations on all that
be
yo
- and my warmes half of the Ahmadiyya Muslim co u have
t wishes for muc
h continued fulfi mmunity in Canada
remaining in touc
lmen
h, and to followin
g the successes yo t. I look forward to
to you.
ur new position
brings
Yours truly,
Dalton McGuint
y
Premier
Respected Naseem Mahdī sahib with
The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
Direction de Hadrat Khalifatul Massih Vaa
Traduit par Abdul Rashid Anwar Missionnaire Ahmadiyya à Montréal, Canada
Protégez-vous contre les péchés externes ou internes. Le vrai fidèle
est celui qui va à la quête des voies de la Taqwah.
Resume du sermon prononce le vendredi 05 Fevrier 2010
Le Khalifatoul Messieaa prononça le
sermon du vendredi 05 février 2010
à la Mosquée de Modern Baitoul
Futouh à Londres. Il fut diffusé en
direct par les canaux de la MTA en
différentes langues.
Pour commencer Hudur-e-Anwar
récita le verset 121 du chapitre AlAneām et dit : le mot est utilisé deux
fois, qui signifie le péché. Allah a
attiré l’attention vers deux choses
pour nous dire que nous devons
éviter non seulement les péchés
externes mais aussi les péchés
internes et pour cela nous devons
implorer l’aide d’Allah afin qu’Il
nous protège contre tout malheur.
Deuxièmement si en commettant
les péchés et que la Taqwah et la
distinction du licite et de l’illicite
ne seront pas au premier plan de
toute chose, alors vous mériterez
la punition. Il est essentiel pour
maintenir l’état de croyance qu’on
veuille minutieusement sur les
œuvres et les voies de la Taqwah et
aussi sur les voies qui peuvent nous
éloigner de Dieu.
Hudur-e-Anwar
34
dit : Allah
a
déclaré illicite toutes les obscénités
manifestes ou dissimulées. Il a
déclaré aussi que c’est la prière qui
peut servir d’antidote. Le Messie
Promisas dit : « la prière quotidienne
n’est autre qu’une invocation qui,
en protégeant l’homme des vices
et des obscénités lui donne droit
aux bontés et aux grâces divines.
Mais une telle prière ne peut être
obtenue que par l’aide divine. C’est
pour cela, aucun moment du jour
ou de nuit ne doit passer sans les
invocations. De ce fait, il faut que
nous emplissions nos esprits du
rappel divin.
En signalant quelques graves
obscénités et vices, Hudur-e-Anwar
dit : Allah nous interdit l’alcool et les
jeux d’hasard. En dépit de quelques
avantages, leurs aspects vicieux
surpassent nettement. La chose
dont les désavantages dépassent les
bienfaits, doit être évitée. L’alcool,
les jeux d’hasard, les idoles et les
tirages au sort ont été déclarés par
Dieu comme des œuvres du Satan.
Elles nous empêchent de faire de
bonnes œuvres, d’avoir de bonnes
mœurs et d’adorer Allah. De ce fait,
il faut absolument les éviter.
Hudur-e-Anwar dit qu’Allah nous
a exhortés afin que nous avancions
dans la vertu et la Taqwah et
que nous évitions les péchés. Il
nous demande de s’entraider par
rapport à la vertu et à la Taqwah
et non pas par rapport aux vices
et à l’injustice. Le Messie Promisas
dit : Il faut soutenir vos frères qui
sont faibles, fortifiez-les ! Il faut les
protéger avant qu’ils ne nuisent.
Soyez sensibles par rapport à leurs
faiblesses pratiques, religieuses
et financières et soignez leurs
faiblesses physiques aussi. Une
communauté ne peut être digne
d’un tel titre si elle pratique la
vanité ; si ses membres se plaignent
et se critiquent publiquement et
s’ils dédaignent et détestent les
pauvres. Il faut éviter de telles
pratiques. Par contre, il faut
fortifier l’esprit de consensus. Il
faut qu’une unité se manifeste.
A travers cela, se produiront
l’amour et les bénédictions. On
doit amplifier les forces morales.
Une communauté ne peut s’établir
que lorsque la compassion, la
Direction de Hadrat Khalifatul Massih Vaa
La fraternité et l’amour exigent
qu’on soit épargné de suspicion,
de curiosité et de la médisance
car elles ne sont que des œuvres
malveillantes et causent un désordre
dans la société.
sympathie, le pardon, l’indulgence,
l’amour et la grâce sont au premier
plan des valeurs morales. Ainsi, ce
sont des meilleurs mœurs qui nous
font progresser vers la vertu et à
la Taqwah, et ces dernières nous
protègent contre le péché et contre
l’injustice.
Hudur-e-Anwar
dit
qu’Allah
désire l’instauration de l’amour
et la fraternité au sein des fidèles
et cela ne peut se manifester que
par la franchise. Evitez, donc des
suspicions car elles constituent un
péché qui détruit la paix sociale.
Ensuite, ne soyez pas trop curieux
car cela est synonyme aussi de
suspicions, cause du désordre.
C’est un acte si abominable, comme
celui de consommer la chaire du
cadavre de votre frère. Si vous avez
l’intention de réformer votre frère
alors conseillez-le à huit clos ou
confiez son affaire au système de la
Jama’at. De ce fait, chaque Ahmadi
doit essayer d’éviter ces vices.
Qu’Allah nous donne le pouvoir
d’éviter tous genres de péchés et que
nous ayons le pouvoir d’observer
de bonnes œuvres. Amine !
Pour terminer Hudur-e-Anwar fit
mention de l’événement du martyre
de Monsieur Samaioullah Sahib, le
fils de Mumtaz Ahmad Sahib qui
offrit sa vie pour la cause d’Allah.
Il fit mention aussi de ses services
religieux et officia sa prière funèbre
après la prière de Djomoua.
En maitrisant ses désirs personnels,
l’on jouit de la résistance et de la patience.
Resume du sermon prononce le vendredi 05 Mars 2010
Le Khalifatoul Messieaa prononça
le sermon du vendredi 5 mars 2010
à la Mosquée de Modern Bait-ul
Futuh à Londres. Il fut diffusé en
direct par les canaux de la MTA en
différentes langues.
Hudur-e-Anwar dit : les mêmes
responsabilités incombent aux
membres
des
communautés
divines, celles qui résultent de
la responsabilité des hommes
choisis de Dieu qui fondent ces
communautés. C’est-à-dire appeler
les gens vers Dieu et les guider sur
le droit chemin en les alertant sur la
fausseté de leurs idées qui ne cessent
de se déformer avec le passage du
temps. Cette voie débouche sur
des adversités maximales et l’on
subit incessamment des épreuves
Direction de Hadrat Khalifatul Massih Vaa
et des difficultés. Mais les croyants
force de leur conviction solide
comme une roche, ne cessent
d’accroître leur détermination, leur
foi et leur certitude. Un quelconque
mal, blessure ou perte des vies
n’ébranle jamais leur foi. Le crie de
Hasbonallah (qu’Allah suffit pour
nous Qui représente pour nous
le plénipotentiaire) jaillit du fond
des cœurs et fortifie toujours les
croyants.
Hudur-e-Anwar dit : Aujourd’hui,
on essaie d’apeurer les membres de
la communauté du Messie Promisas.
Ils sont calomniés mais font toujours
preuve de patience. Ils subissent
des dégâts matériels mais leur foi
ne se fragilise pas. Ils perdent leurs
vies pour la cause divine mais leurs
parents toujours répondent à cette
situation en disant : « c’est Dieu Qui
représente le Plénipotentiaire pour
nous!» Lorsque l’ennemi dépasse
les limites et se manifestent en
fanfare alors les fidèles essaient
de se plonger davantage dans
les souvenirs de leur Bien-aimé
intime. Hudur-e-Anwar dit : le
fait de subir une opposition atroce
au niveau internationale montre
notre épanouissement planétaire.
De ce fait, les musulmans Ahmadis
doivent toujours supporter ces
difficultés avec beaucoup de
patience et sans aucune crainte,
continuer tout le temps à raffermir
leur foi.
Le Messie Promisas dit : en dehors
des oppositions déclarées, les désirs
35
personnels sont aussi des ennemis
acharnés de l’homme. Ces désirs
personnels représentent aussi une
catastrophe qui entraînement des
effets comme le fait un ennemi.
Résister contre ces désirs personnels
fait partie des distinctions des
fidèles. On n’aura le pouvoir
contre les adversités déclarées que
lorsqu’on résistera aux assauts des
désirs personnels. Allah a décrété
l’épanouissement de cette Jama’at
à travers le monde. La patience de
quelques jours fera constater qu’un
antagoniste soit se repentira soit
sera détruit. La Patience représente
aussi un acte d’adoration. Allah
dit ceux qui font preuve de
patience bénéficieront des Grâces
innombrables. Houdhour Anwar
dit que la Patience, la résistance des
fidèles démontre l’excellence de la
foi.
Hudur-e-Anwar dit : le deuxième
volet de l’attribut de Hassibe est que
le but principal des hommes choisis
de Dieu et celui de leur Communauté
est de transmettre clairement le
message divin à travers le monde.
Demander des comptes par rapport
à l’acceptation de ce message
revient à Allah Seul. Ainsi, le vrai
36
but est d’enjoindre l’adoration du
Dieu Unique. Il a été décrété par
Dieu que grâce à l’acceptation de
l’Islām, les adversaires perdront
continuellement du terrain, ou
Allah à travers Ses châtiments et
à travers Ses catastrophes leur
fera perdre partout. De ce fait,
œuvrez avec l’aide de l’amour
pour l’épanouissement de l’Islām
jusqu’aux confins du monde.
Le Messie Promisas dit : lorsqu’on
accable gravement un juste, alors
des malheurs de plusieurs genres
couvrent le monde. Les malheurs
célestes et terrestres font ravage.
Hudur-e-Anwar a fait mention
des séismes catastrophiques à
travers le monde et dit que le
Messie Promisas a déclaré que les
séismes font partie des signes de
Dieu manifestés en sa faveur. Il dit :
soyez sûr qu’il y a eu des séismes
aux Etats-Unis conformément à la
prophétie et aussi en Europe et il y
aura d’autres à différents endroits
en Asie, qui seront semblables au
Jour du Jugement. En plus de ceuxci, d’autres malheurs horribles
frapperont à partir des cieux et la
terre au point que les intellectuels
les accorderont une importance
capitale. C’est en ce moment là que
les ennuis se déverseront sur les
Hommes et beaucoup pourront
bénéficier du salut et beaucoup
d’autres perdront la vie. Cela se
passera parce que l’Homme a
abandonné l’adoration de Dieu et
le centre de toutes ses pensées est
consacré à l’obtention seule des
intérêts de ce monde. Il dit : le salut
sera accordé à ceux qui se repentiront
et ceux qui craindront les malheurs,
seront graciés de la miséricorde
dit :
divine. Hudur-e-Anwar
Qu’Allah accorde à l’Homme les
capacités intellectuelles et aussi
le pouvoir de cerner afin de bien
comprendre le message d’Allah, et
qu’Il suit Sa voie et qu’’Allah nous
accorde à nous aussi le pouvoir
de transmettre le vrai message de
l’Islām. (Amine).
Jouiront de la protection et de la
miséricorde divine, ceux qui se
repentiront et ceux qui craignent
les épreuves avant qu’elles ne se
manifestent.
Direction de Hadrat Khalifatul Massih Vaa
Requirements for Admission
Education:
High school diploma (12th grade, such as in USA or Canada), A-Level or
equivalent such as in UK, or FA/FSc. such as in Pakistan with a minimum
average of 70% marks.
2.
Age:
Admission age is 17- 20 years.
3.
Medical Report:
A medical report from a practising physician certifying
the good health of the prospective student.
4.
Written Test:
Prospective students must pass a written test. The study material for the test
is the Waqf-e-Nau Syllabus for 16 year olds. This test will be in English and
Urdu and/or Arabic.
5.
Interview:
Only such students who successfully pass the written test will be
date and time of the interview.
6.
Application Procedure:
The following documents should be attached
to the Jami`a Admission Form:
i.
ii.
Attested application by President and/or National Amīr Sahib
Medical report in English or French
iv.
v.
Copy of valid passport
Two passport-sized photographs
At the time of the interview, original documents will be seen and
a report will be attained from Khuddam-ul-Ahmadiyya,
Waqf-e-Nau and other such sources as are deemed necessary.
7.
General Instructions:
Prospective students, besides reciting the Qur’ān daily, should prepare
for the written test and focus on improving their Arabic, Urdu and English.
8.
Submission Deadline:
Applications must be recieved by June 20, 2010.
Ahm
a
di
a In
yy
stitu te of Islam
ic
ies
ud
St
Jāmi`a Ahmadiyya Canada
1194 Matheson Blvd. East
Missisauga, Ontario L4W 1R2
Canada
JAMIA AHMADIYYA CANADA
Phone:
Fax:
E-Mail:
Website:
Ahm
ad
i
JAMIA AHMADIYYA CANADA
1.
Address:
stitute of Islam
ic
ies
ud
St
Jāmi`a Ahmadiyya Canada
a In
yy
+ 905 - 206 -1605
+ 905 - 206 -1144
[email protected]
www.jamiaahmadiyya.ca
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