Sub-Footnote Number One1

A few days ago I came across a booklet by Maulavi Abu Abdullah Qasuri. In its epilogue he has expressed his opinion about ilham and wahi. Although his intention behind writing the booklet is not entirely clear, I am led to suspect from what I have been told, and what I have myself gathered from reading the booklet, that Maulavi Sahib does not believe in the ilham that is bestowed upon auliya’ullah [friends of Allah]. [God knows best what is in their hearts].

In any case, what I have understood from his booklet is that the author starts with a lexical discussion about ilham, which he describes as, [‘Ilham is something that is put into one’s heart, and particularly what is put into one’s heart by God’]. He then hastens to conclude that, since ilham is merely the name given to the thoughts that pass through one’s mind, regardless of whether the thoughts are good or evil, it [i.e., ilham] cannot be specific to a wali, righteous person or believer—because all kinds of thoughts occur to all kinds of people; and who is there in the world who is free of thoughts. Maulavi Sahib concludes his thesis with some confusing and dubious remarks, with no clear statement to indicate that he believes that auliya’ullah and perfect believers have a special relationship with God—who, whenever He so wills, apprises them of some matters relating to the unseen by His word and blesses them with His holy discourse—a status that cannot be granted to others in accordance with the words, [‘Can a blind man and one who sees be alike’]. The overall impression one gets from Maulavi Sahib’s writing in his booklet is that he has doubts about the revelation received by auliya’ullah. If this understanding of his intent is correct—God forbid—then Maulavi Sahib has undoubtedly fallen into a grave error. To deny that auliya’ullah are recipients of divine revelation does not behove even ordinary Muslims, let alone religious scholars. Does he not know that the Holy Quran itself mentions the fact that God spoke through His revealed word to the mother of Hazrat Musa [Moses], to Maryam [Mary], and to Jesus’ disciples, though none of them was a Prophet or a Messenger.

Maulavi Sahib might argue that he does believe that auliya’ullah receive divine communication, but he gives it [communication] the name wahi, not ilham; ilham, in his estimation, is the name given to the thoughts that come to our minds, which are common to believers and non-believers, sinners, and the righteous—they are not specific to anyone. Such a response from him would be a lexical dispute, but even here Maulavi Sahib would be in error, because generally, when the word ilham is used with reference to wahi, it is not understood in its etymological sense, but as a term used by Muslim scholars. Since the earliest times, scholars have used the word ilham in the sense of wahi, whether it is wahy-e-risalat [Divine Scriptures] or wahy-e-i‘lam, the revelation received by other believers. Only someone who has an ulterior motive to repudiate the truth will deny knowledge of this usage. Otherwise, no one can quote a single book—out of the hundreds of commentaries of the Holy Quran and thousands of other religious works—which contradicts this usage. On the contrary, the commentators have constantly understood ilham in the same sense as wahi. Several ahadith also lead to the same conclusion and Maulavi Sahib cannot be ignorant of them. Therefore, I do not understand how he got the idea that ilham should be used in religious literature in the same sense in which it is used in the lexicons, even though mainstream Muslim scholars are in agreement that the word ilham can be used interchangeably with wahi, and since the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has also done so. Therefore, it is sheer dogmatism to suggest otherwise.

Maulavi Sahib must be aware that there are hundreds of Arabic words used in Islamic theology which, if confined to their lexical meanings, would do nothing but mislead. Take the word wahi itself and tell me which of its lexical meanings conveys the sense in which Divine Scriptures are called wahy-e-risalat; and show me a lexicon that describes the state in which God speaks to His Messengers and bestows His commandments upon them. Also, look up the word ‘Islam’ in a dictionary and you will find that it only means to assign a task to someone, or to surrender, or to overlook or to submit; there is no mention at all of the necessity of professing: [‘There is no one worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’]. If all things have to be proven from the lexicons, then Maulavi Sahib ought to view Islam only as an act of reconciliation or assigning a task to someone—all other meanings being wrong and unjustified. [We seek Allah’s refuge from misguided thinking and dearth of insight].

It is no secret that every field of knowledge, whether it relates to theology or physiology or any other discipline, necessarily employs specific terms whose purpose is to clearly define and elaborate the underlying reasons for its terminology; and scholars have no choice but to assign specific connotations to certain words so as to be able to communicate. [This is no secret to the knowledgeable observer]. If, however, Maulavi Sahib does not wish to use the word in its commonly recognized sense, he is free to designate the news of the unseen that is revealed to auliya’ullah from God as wahy-e-ittela‘ or wahy-e-i‘lam [i.e., the revelations received by the believers other than the Prophets]. But it would be pertinent if he could clearly state that the difference between him and other Muslims is only semantic in nature; that what he calls wahi is the same phenomenon that Muslim scholars commonly refer to as ilham; and that he fully agrees with them in substance. This clarification will remove a lot of doubts about him in people’s minds, and his ambiguous language would not then become a source of unnecessary controversy.

If, however, Maulavi Sahib is unsure whether God speaks to any Muslim through revelation, then— [by the grace and mercy of Allah, and in compliance with the command: ‘And the bounty of your Lord proclaim’—I can cite for him, by way of illustration, some revelations of which my humble self has been the recipient. Maulavi Sahib will thus not only be fully satisfied with these accounts, but reflecting upon them will also make him realize that it is only to Muslims that divine verities and heavenly secrets are disclosed, through definitive and categorical revelations, and they are not, nor have they ever been, revealed to the opponents of Islam; nor does any opponent have the power to show anything like them. Some of the revelations that I deem appropriate to quote are of the following types:

The first type among the many kinds of revelations, of which God has apprised me, is that when God wishes to reveal something of the unseen to His servant, He causes the words to flow from his tongue—sometimes softly and sometimes forcefully—when he is in a state of slight drowsiness. If the words are forceful, their impact is very powerful, like that of a sudden burst of hailstorm upon a hard surface, or the hoofs of galloping horses hitting the ground. This kind of revelation is so rapid, intense, and awe-inspiring that the whole body is affected. The tongue moves with it so fast and in such a majestic manner as if it is not one’s own tongue. The state of light drowsiness and slumber disappears immediately after the revelation is completed, and as long as the words of revelation last, the recipient lies motionless like a corpse. Most often such revelations are received when the Benevolent and the Merciful God, in His wisdom and judgment, does not wish to accept a specific prayer, or wishes to defer its acceptance for some time, or desires to convey some other news that is likely to weigh heavily upon the recipient due to his human weakness—for instance, when a person seeks to acquire something quickly and such acquisition is not in accord with divine will, or when it is decreed with a delay. I have, on occasions, experienced such revelations; that is, the heavy and awe-inspiring words that flow from the tongue from God. It would take too long to describe them all, so I will mention one instance here by way of illustration.

About three years ago I prayed that people might be inclined towards helping with the publication of this book. Thereupon, I received a revelation in the emphatic terms that I have described:

[Not just now.]

When my humble self received this revelation, some ten to fifteen Muslims and Hindus, who are still living in Qadian, were apprised of this revelation immediately. Accordingly, it did not draw much attention from people for some time and all of those people are well-aware of it.

As for the other form of this revelation, which is accompanied by words that flow gently from the tongue, suffice it to say from my personal experiences that when some time had passed after the above-mentioned revelation, and I was confronted with several complications on account of people’s lack of interest and I was also facing exceeding difficulties, one day Allah the Benevolent revealed to me at about the time of Maghrib [Prayer]:

[‘Shake the branch of the date-palm tree, the fresh ripe dates will fall upon you.’]

I understood therefrom that it was an indication that I should make an effort to draw attention to the book, and it is promised that thereby the cost of the publication of that part of the book would be provided. This revelation, too, was communicated to many Hindu and Muslim gentlemen. I also communicated it to Hafiz Hidayat Ali Khan, Extra-Assistant of our district, who happened to be visiting Qadian on the same or the following day. I remember very well that I also informed your friend Maulavi Abu Saeed Muhammad Hussain. In short, after this revelation and in accordance with divine command, I made some effort and in return, help came from Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Kotla Maler and other places to meet the expenses of the parts which were being printed in whatever amount and from wherever God willed. [And all praise belongs to Allah for this].

Interestingly, it was also during those days that I received another revelation of the same kind. One day, in a light slumber, the following words flowed from my tongue at the morning time:

[‘Abdullah Khan, Dera Ismail Khan’]

Some Hindus who were with me at the time and who still live here, were informed of this and, it so happened that the same afternoon one of them went, by chance, to the post office and brought me a letter from one Abdullah Khan, who had also sent me some money.

Another miraculous sign had appeared a few days prior to this. It so happened that a Hindu Aryah boy, about twenty to twenty-two years old, who lived in Qadian and still does, and was then a student at the local school, had been suffering from tuberculosis for some time. Gradually, his disease worsened and he began to despair for his life. He came to me one day and wept bitterly in despair. I was deeply affected by his distress and supplicated to God, the One, on his behalf. As God had decreed his health, I received the following revelation as soon as I prayed:

Meaning that, We commanded the fire of fever to become cool and safe.

I immediately informed him and several other Hindus, who are still present and residing in this town, of this revelation. Trusting fully in God, I expressed the assurance that he would be restored to health and would certainly not die of that disease. Within a week thereafter, he recovered fully from his life-threatening illness. [And all praise belongs to Allah for this].

Please observe, Maulavi Sahib!!! What a splendid proof it is, that the true and blessed revelation, which is granted to the Muslims, was testified to by the very opponents of Islam and by the followers of Pundit Dayanand. Can there be a proof anywhere in the world more substantial than the one in which the antagonists are brought forth as witnesses.

My dear friend, where and in which country have you ever witnessed such a true and blessed prophecy made by Christians, Aryas, Brahmus, or others, whereby life was promised to one who had despaired of it—as if a dead one was given glad tidings of life—and which was confirmed by the testimony of the hardened adversaries. If you have ever witnessed anything like it, quote for me just one or two examples. Otherwise, why not just admit that such blessed revelations are granted solely to ummat-e-Muhammadiyyah [the followers of Muhammad(sa)]. Likewise, I can provide so many proofs regarding hundreds of magnificent revelations of this kind that you would not be able to count them. You have declared the day to be night, but how will you conceal the sun. Are you even aware of the pathetic state of the opponents of Islam. Let alone the light of faith, they are devoid of faith itself.

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If you say that you do believe that auliya’ullah are blessed with revelation, and also believe such revelations to be the hallmark of ummat-e-Muhammadiyyah, but that you do not believe such revelations to be the source of certain knowledge, but only of hypothetical and conjectural knowledge, then I would say that this statement of yours is itself a conjecture with no rational or scriptural argument to support it. Indeed, it is refuted by authentic and repeated experiences and by the categorical verses of the Holy Quran. In truth, such doubts plague the minds of only those who are unaware of the perfect light of Divine Revelation, are incognizant of divinely bestowed knowledge, and are oblivious to the wonderful divine gift of the limitless degrees of certainty and knowledge that God may grant to His true seekers. They fail to realize that when God has Himself inspired the hearts of His servants with a strong desire to attain divinely bestowed knowledge—and has imbued their hearts with their unseen motives to attain full enlightenment, vision, and light—how then is it possible that the Benevolent God should allow their zeal and anguish and their strenuous labour of love to be wasted. It is unthinkable that He would fail to provide bread to satiate the hunger He has created, or water to quench the thirst that He Himself has induced.

When a person loses himself in the love for God, loves to attain His cognition more than his own life, and runs towards Him with all his strength and faculties, will God not have mercy on him and look upon him with kindness. Will his prayers not be worthy of acceptance. Will his cries never reach God. Will God allow him to die in failure. Will he enter his grave in the utmost anguish, with God refusing to provide him the cure. Will the Benevolent God reject him and forsake him. Will God not guide His true and devoted seeker to the path of His Prophets. Will He not visit him with His special grace. Surely, He does attend to those who seek after Him, and when they run towards Him, He runs even faster to meet them. He draws ever closer to those who desire His nearness. He becomes the eyes with which they see, and the ears with which they hear. Imagine, when the Knower of the unseen becomes the eyes and ears of a person, will that person not attain the light of certainty of divine knowledge, and can he remain lost in conjectures.

Rest assured that the doors leading to God are opened to the true ones, according to the degree of their devotion. There is no dearth of His bounties, no meanness in His nature, no end to His blessings and no limit to progress in His cognition. It is true that He first bestowed the gift of the revelation of the unseen and definite and perfect divine knowledge upon His chosen Messengers, but then He taught to pray:

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And thus He gave all His true seekers the glad tiding that, by following their beloved Prophet, they too can attain the manifest and hidden knowledge that has hitherto been the share of the Prophets alone. It is in this sense that the Muslim ulema have been declared heirs to the Prophets. They could not have deserved this title if they did not inherit the hidden knowledge. Did the Holy Prophet not say that there would be muhaddathin [recipients of divine revelation] in this ummah. Moreover, Allah the Almighty says:

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And:

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Now ponder over the fact that if ‘ilm-e-ladunni [divinely bestowed knowledge] totally depends on conjecture, then how can we call it ‘ilm [knowledge]. Are mere conjectures of any such significance that we should designate them as ‘ilm. If that were the case, what would be the meaning of:

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Thus, the proper study of the Word of God and hundreds of other well-attested experiences proves that when certain chosen individuals from ummat-e-Muhammadiyyah are wholly absorbed in their obedience to their beloved Prophet and follow him in letter and in spirit, they are blessed from the blessings that he was blessed with. God does not desire them to remain in a state of unrewarded devotion. When the reflection of the blessings of prophethood falls upon a person’s heart, he is definitely endowed with true and categorical knowledge in the manner of the Prophet he follows, for the fountainhead which he has inherited is free from the contamination of doubt and ambiguity.

Being an heir to the Holy Prophet demands that one must possess sure and definite inner knowledge, for how could one benefit mankind with mere conjectures and suppositions. In that case he would be inheriting [from the Holy Prophet(sa)] only partially—like someone with one eye rather than two. And when error is also at its peak, the age is full of corruption, the deniers are full of mischief, the heedless are in a deep slumber, and the opponents have become hardened in their denial, such times require that the person who is sent by God to reform these ills should possess divinely bestowed knowledge in the same way as the Prophets. These are the people who have been called amthal [the best] in the ahadith, and siddiq [the Truthful] in the Holy Quran.

The time of their coming, too, has a strong affinity with the time of the Prophets: just as the Prophets have been sent into the world whenever it was plunged into misguidance and heedlessness, so do these persons appear when misguided beliefs reign supreme, truth is ridiculed, falsehood is hailed, liars are labelled righteous, dajjals [anti-christs] are considered mahdi [rightly-guided], and the world seems extremely beguiling in the eyes of the people, who vie with one another for its sake and regard faith as something base and unworthy. At such times, only those people can champion the cause of Islam who receive certain and unambiguous revelation and become worthy successors of the perfect ones who have gone before them. In short, true and categorical revelation is an indubitable fact which is manifestly witnessed among the perfect beings within the ummat-e-Muhammadiyyah and is exclusive to them.

It is true that prophetic revelation is extraordinarily brilliant, luminous, radiant, most powerful, exceedingly clear and at the highest level of certainty, and that it dispels every darkness like the shining sun; whereas the revelation granted to auliya’ullah will remain at the level of supposition, as long as the meanings of its words are ambiguous or the revelation itself is veiled and unclear. The revelation granted to a wali [friend of Allah] is only considered certain and categorical if it is distinct from uncertain revelations by being accompanied with perfect light. Such revelation descends continuously like rain—manifesting its light in a forceful way, filling the recipient’s heart with complete conviction by visiting him repeatedly, making its meaning clear by employing different words or phrases, and by removing all kinds of doubts. God Almighty Himself makes their meaning clear by constantly responding to, and accepting His servant’s prayers and supplications. When a revelation reaches this level, it becomes the bearer of perfect light and attains the status of absolute certainty. As for those who claim that the revelations granted to auliya’ are intrinsically devoid of the element of certainty and conviction, such people are utterly deprived of true enlightenment. [And they did not honour God as He ought to be honoured. O Lord, reform the people of Muhammad].

If someone asks what would happen if the revelations of auliya’ were to be in conflict with the true Muhammadan Shariah, this would be like asking what would happen if revelations to two Prophets were to contradict one another. My response to all such doubts, as I have already said, is that it is impossible for the kind of perfectly enlightened revelation that I have described above to clash with the true Shariah of Muhammad(sa). If some foolish one thinks otherwise, he has only his own understanding to blame.

The second type of revelation, which, on account of its many wonders, I call ‘perfect revelation’, is that when God Almighty desires to inform His servant of a hidden matter, either as a result of the prayers of His servant, or of His own volition; He causes him to sink into a kind of slumber whereby he loses all control over himself, like one who dives into the water and is completely submerged. When he emerges from this state, which is very similar to diving into water, he feels something like an echo inside him. When this echo recedes somewhat, it leaves behind words that are harmonious, subtle, and sweet. This immersion into a state of slumber is a wonderful experience that cannot be described in words. In this state, an ocean of knowledge and understanding is opened to man, because, when man prays again and again, and God repeatedly puts him through this experience of immersion and slumber, and answers all his prayers with His subtle and sweet words—and in response to every entreaty, God discloses to him verities that are beyond human power to disclose—all this leads to greater understanding and perfect enlightenment. Man’s supplication and God’s response to it, through the manifestation of His Godhead, is an experience akin to the supplicant beholding God in this very world, and both worlds appearing equal to him without any distinction.

In a time of need, a servant repeatedly supplicates to his Benevolent God seeking guidance about a difficulty that has arisen. Then after his supplications he receives a reply from the Benevolent God just as one human being talks to another. The reply is such that it is couched in fine eloquent words. In fact, sometimes it is in a language of which he is completely unfamiliar, sometimes comprising hidden matters which are beyond human faculties, sometimes conveying glad tidings of great bounties, sometimes imparting good news of high ranks, and felicitations of nearness to God, and sometimes consisting of prophecies regarding worldly blessings. By listening to these fine and eloquent phrases, which are above and beyond human faculties, he acquires a degree of delight and understanding which is appreciated only by him upon whom this bounty is bestowed. In truth, he comes to recognize God as any of you recognizes his old bosom friend.

This kind of revelation often relates to matters of great import. Sometimes it contains words that have to be looked up in dictionaries. In fact, sometimes, I have received such revelations in alien languages, like English, with which I am totally unacquainted. I can give many examples of this kind of revelation, but here I will quote the one I received in March 1882, during the course of writing this footnote. In this revelation, a matter of the unseen has been disclosed to me in the form of a prophecy—that through this well-publicized book and its contents, the opponents of Islam will eventually be completely defeated, seekers after truth will find guidance, false beliefs will be eradicated, and people will be inspired and motivated by God Almighty to come forward and support this cause. The words of the revelation are as follows:

[Translation:] Allah has placed blessing in you, O Ahmad. Whatever you did let loose, it was not you but it was Allah who let it loose. Allah has taught you the Quran so that you should warn the people whose ancestors have not been warned, and that the way of the guilty ones might become manifest. Say: ‘I have been commissioned and I am the first of the believers.’7 It means, ‘I am the first to turn towards Allah under His command in this age,’ or that ‘I am the first to believe in this commandment.’ Allah knows best. Say: ‘The truth has come and falsehood has vanished away; and falsehood was bound to vanish.’ Every blessing is from Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; so, highly blessed is he who taught and he who has been taught. Say: ‘If I have invented it of myself, the sin thereof is on me.’ Allah is the God who has sent His Messenger and His Appointed One with guidance and the True Faith so that He should make this faith prevail over all diverse faiths. No one can avert the words of Allah. They have been wronged and Allah will help them. He is All-Powerful and does as He pleases. That is, He will make the faith of Islam prevail over all others with conclusive proofs and sharp arguments. In other words, God will help the wronged believers by illuminating their faith and perfecting their arguments. We shall suffice against those who mock you. People will say: ‘Whence have you received this status; whence have you received this status? What is presented as revelation is only the word of a man and has been made with the help of other people; do you knowingly accept that which is a delusion? How can that happen which he promises you, especially the promise of one who is lowly and mean and cannot even express himself properly. He is ignorant or demented.’ Say: ‘Put forward your reasons if you are truthful’. This status has been granted as a mercy from your Lord. He will perfect His bounty unto you so that it should be a Sign for the people.

You have appeared with a clear Sign from your Lord so give glad tidings, and by the grace of your Lord you are not demented. Say: ‘If you love Allah, then follow me, so that Allah should love you.’ We shall suffice against those who mock you. [Proclaim:] Shall I inform you on whom the satans descend? They descend upon every lying sinner. Say: ‘I have with me proof from Allah, then will you believe or not?’ Say: ‘I have with me proof from Allah, then will you accept it or not?’ My Lord is with me; He will soon open for me the way. Lord, show me how You bring the dead to life. Lord, forgive and send mercy from heaven. Lord, do not leave me alone and You are the Best of inheritors. Lord, reform the people of Muhammad. Our Lord, judge between us and our people with truth; You are the Best of judges. Say: ‘Carry on, on your side, to plan for your success and I shall also carry on and soon you will see whose actions are blessed with acceptance.’ Do not say with regard to anything, I shall certainly do it tomorrow. They attempt to frighten you of others than Allah. You are in Our sight [under Our watchful care]. I have named you Mutawakkil [the one trusting in God]. Allah praises you from His Throne. We praise you and call down blessings on you. People wish to put out Allah’s light with the breath of their mouths and Allah will not leave this light without perfection, even though the disbelievers might resent it. We shall soon cause fear to enter their hearts. When the help of Allah comes, and victory, and the hosts turn to us, it will be asked: ‘Was this not true?’ This is the interpretation of my dream from before, which my Lord has caused to come true. They will say: ‘This is only a delusion.’ Say: ‘God has revealed these words,’ and then leave them occupied with their sport and play. Say: ‘If I have invented it, the sin thereof is on me; and who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against Allah?’ The Christian priests and the Muslims possessing the characteristics of Jews will not be pleased with you. They have fashioned sons and daughters for God without any knowledge. Say: ‘God is He, who is Single, and is Self-Existing and Besought of all. He has no son, nor is He anyone’s son, and there is none like unto Him.’ These people will devise their plans and Allah will devise His plan and Allah is the Best of planners. There will soon be mischief; then be steadfast as the Prophets of high resolve were steadfast. Beg Allah for the manifestation of your truthfulness. We have the power to show them before your death a manifestation of Our divine decree that We have promised, or cause you to die. Allah is not such as to chastise those among whom you dwell. This means, Allah will not wipe them out with chastisement while you are among them.

I am with you; so be with Me wherever you might be. Be with Allah wherever you are. In whatever direction you turn there will be the countenance of Allah. You are the best people who have been raised for the benefit of mankind and as a pride for the believers. Despair not of the mercy of Allah. Hearken, indeed the mercy of Allah is near. Hearken, the help of Allah is near. Help will come to you by every distant track. People will come to you so that the track will become deep due to excessive travel. So many people will come to you that the track on which they travel will become deep. Allah will help you from Himself. Such people will help you whom We shall inspire from Ourself. No one can change the words of Allah. We will bestow upon you a manifest victory. The victory of the friend of Allah is the true victory and We have bestowed upon him such intimate nearness that he becomes Our confidant. He is the bravest of people. Had faith ascended to the Pleiades he would have reached there and brought it down. Allah will illumine his arguments. Mercy flows from your lips, O Ahmad. You are in Our sight, [under Our watchful care]. Allah will exalt your name and perfect His bounty upon you in this world and the Hereafter. He found you seeking His guidance and guided you. We looked at you and commanded the fire, which is the fire of mischief from the people: ‘Be cool and safe for this Ibrahim [Abraham]’. Treasures of the mercy of your Lord shall be granted to you. O you the one wrapped up, stand up and warn [people against the coming calamities] and proclaim the greatness of your Lord. Your name will come to an end O Ahmad, but My name will not come to an end. That is, you are mortal and your praise is limited, but Allah’s praise is unlimited for it is without count and without end.

Be in the world like a stranger or a traveller and be of the righteous and the faithful and call to goodness and forbid evil and call down blessings on Muhammad and the people of Muhammad. Calling down blessings is the true training. I shall raise you towards Me and bestow My nearness upon you. And I have conferred My own love upon you. He is the God who is truly worthy of worship; there is none worthy of worship except Him. Then write and let it be printed and published in the world. Hold fast to Unity, hold fast to Unity, O sons of Persia. Give glad tidings to those who have believed that they have the station of righteousness before your Lord. Recite to them the revelation that has been sent to you from your Lord. Remember that a time is coming when people will come to you in large numbers. It is incumbent upon you not to be arrogant towards them and you must not get tired of receiving them in large numbers. There will be people who will migrate from their homes to dwell in your quarters. They are Ashabus-Suffah8 in the eyes of Allah. Do you realize how magnificent in status the Ashabus-Suffah will be? They will be very strong of faith. You will see their eyes shedding tears; they will call down blessings on you. They will supplicate: ‘Our Lord we have heard a Caller, calling people to the faith and a Summoner to Allah and a refulgent lamp. So we have believed.’ Write down all these prophecies for they will be fulfilled in due time.

Here, one should not let doubt enter one’s mind as to how a humble follower can share the names, qualities, or excellences of that beloved Prophet. It is undoubtedly true that not even a Prophet can truly equal the Holy Prophet in his holy excellences. Even the angels cannot dream of attaining those heights, let alone that anyone else should achieve an excellence comparable to him. But O seeker after truth— [may Allah guide you]—listen carefully that, in order to perpetuate the blessings of His beloved Prophet, and so that the perfect rays of his light and his acceptance may always continue to refute and silence the opponents, the Benevolent God has so ordained by His perfect wisdom and mercy that when certain individuals belonging to this ummat-e-Muhammadiyyah follow the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with such humility and meekness as to reach the state of self-annihilation, then God—finding them to be utterly selfless and clear like a mirror—causes the blessings of His beloved Prophet to be reflected through their selfless beings. Whatever praise is bestowed upon them by God, and whatever signs, blessings, and miracles are manifested by them, the true source of all their praise and the perfect fountainhead of all those blessings is, in reality, the Holy Prophet alone. In reality and in their perfection, those praises are worthy only of him, and he is truly deserving of them. However, as the follower of the way of Sarwar-e-Kā’ināt [the Chosen one of all creation], through perfect obedience, becomes the zill [shadow] of the luminous being of the Holy Prophet, so also is the divine light, which is focused on and manifested in the holy being of the Holy Prophet, manifested and reflected in this zill. The appearance, in the shadow, of the whole form and manner of the original is a matter that is not hidden from anyone. However, the shadow has no existence of its own, and in reality, no superiority is present in it. All that appears in it is an image of the original, which becomes visible and manifest in it. Therefore, neither you nor anyone else should consider it denigrating to the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that his inner light reaches those who, out of his ummah, are perfectly obedient to him.

It should be understood that two great matters result from this reflection of light, which, like permanent grace, manifests itself in the purified souls of the followers of Muhammad. The first is that the utmost perfection of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is thereby displayed; for a lamp from which other lamps can be lit, and are ever lit, is better than a lamp from which no other lamp can be lit. Its second effect is that, by such perpetual grace, it proves the superiority of this ummah over all other peoples, and the proof of the divine origin of Islam always continues to remain fresh, and does not need to rely only on references to the past. This fact is enough to demonstrate the truth of the Holy Quran like the shining sun. It also serves to complete the argument against the opponents of Islam, and visibly brings humiliation, shame, and disgrace upon them, for they are unable to show in their own faith and among their own priests and pundits the light and blessings they witness in Islam. [So reflect, O you who are true in your search. May Allah guide you in what you seek].

At this point, some immature [scholars] might ask: ‘What was the need for glorifying a Muslim in the above-mentioned revelations.’ Let it be understood that two major benefits can be deemed from this praise, in view of which the Omniscient God has mentioned them for the welfare of Allah’s creatures.

The first is to show the blessed effects of obeying and following the Holy Prophet, to demonstrate the exalted status of Hazrat Khatamul-Anbiya’ [the Seal of the Prophets], peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to the general public, and to reveal the effect of the rays of the Sun of Truth—that following him makes one a perfect believer, elevates another to the ranks of ‘arif [cognizant of the Divine], and bestows upon others the ranks of ayatullah [the Sign of Allah] and hujjatullah [the Proof of Allah], making all of them the recipients of divine praise.

The second benefit of praising the new recipient [of revelation] is that it helps reform many internal evils and innovations. Many ignorant people have made hundreds of allegations against past auliya’ and righteous ones, asserting that they themselves demanded to be regarded as God’s equals, granters of prayers, omnipotent, and controllers of the universe. This being the case, if a new reformer is not granted the kind of praise that these people have in mind regarding their pirs [spiritual guides], his exhortations will have little effect on them, for they will certainly think: ‘How can this insignificant man equal the grandeur of our pirs. When our great pirs have promised to grant us our desires, who then is this man of insignificant status, limited resources, low rank, and poor esteem, that we should follow him instead.’ These, then, are the two great benefits because of which Allah the Almighty—the Lord of all praise and honour—chose to praise one of His humble and worthless servants. Otherwise, a mere handful of dust merits no praise. All praise and all good belongs to Him, the Lord of all the worlds, the Living, the Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining.

For the above-mentioned reasons, when God Almighty, hallowed be His name, praises someone—through whom He wishes to reform mankind—it becomes incumbent upon that person to fully publicize it with the intention of benefiting mankind. He should never be afraid of what common people might say, because, due to their disposition and [lack of] understanding, the common people will certainly utter some nonsense, for it has always been in their nature to think ill of others and to mistrust, and they cannot be expected to behave otherwise in this age. The fact is that this kind of praise is for the benefit of mankind, and though they might dislike it at first and consider it to be fabricated, Allah the Almighty discloses the truth to them in the end. And once the truthfulness of the humble claimant becomes established and divine support in his favour is manifested, all these praises of the embattled claimant lead to a great victory. It has the extraordinary effect of bringing lost souls back to Tauhid [Oneness of God] and Tafrid [God’s Uniqueness]. Even if he has to suffer mockery and ridicule for some time, the very fortitude of such a devotee of the faith in the face of such derision becomes a source of great honour and pride for him. [And those who convey the messages of their Lord do not fear the reproach of a fault-finder].

The third type of revelation is communicated to one’s heart in a soft and gentle manner. A phrase suddenly passes through the heart, but it does not have the same perfection or wondrous quality as described in the second type. Even the condition of slumber and drowsiness does not apply to it, for it can often be received in a state of complete wakefulness, leaving one to feel as if someone from the unseen has ‘breathed’ or ‘thrown’ these words into his heart. A person might be absorbed in thought or completely awake when he suddenly finds that new words have entered his breast. Sometimes, upon entering the heart, the words at once manifest their forceful light and the recipient becomes aware that these words have been revealed by God. Those with developed senses also feel that just as refreshing air enters the body and brings comfort to the heart and limbs, so does the revelation bring peace and contentment to an anguished heart which feels its joy and peace. This is a mystery which common people are unaware of, but the enlightened ones and men of understanding, whom the Eternal Bestower has granted knowledge of divine secrets, understand it well. I have experienced this kind of revelation on many occasions, but there is no need to go into its details at this time.

The fourth type of revelation is the one whereby God Almighty reveals something through a true dream, or through an angel who appears in the form of a person and discloses something of the unseen, or through some writing that appears on a piece of paper, stone, or so on, containing hidden mysteries or other such phenomena.

Here, this humble one will cite, by way of example, some of my dreams which were not only communicated to many opponents of Islam at the time of their occurrence, but whose fulfilment was also witnessed by them. Among these is a dream in which my humble self saw Hazrat Khatamul-Anbiya’, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. A brief description of the dream is that in 1864 or 1865 when this humble one was in my early youth, and was still pursuing my studies, I saw Hazrat Khatamul-Anbiya’, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. At that time, I had in my hand a religious book which I felt was of my own authorship. Upon seeing the book, the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, enquired from me in Arabic: ‘What have you named this book.’ I submitted: ‘I have named it Qutbi’. The interpretation of this name has now come to my mind on the publication of this well-publicized book [i.e., Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya]—that it is a book which, in its reasoning and arguments, is firm and unshakeable, like the polar star. Presenting the firmness of the contents of this book, I have issued a challenge and announced the award of a prize of ten thousand rupees [for anyone who might be able to refute it]. In short, the Holy Prophet took that book from me. The moment the blessed hands of the Holy Prophet touched the book, it became an attractive and lovely fruit resembling a guava, but as large as a watermelon. When the Holy Prophet started cutting it into pieces to distribute, it yielded so much honey that his blessed hand and forearm began to drip with it. Then a dead body that was lying outside the door came to life, as a miracle of the Holy Prophet, and came and stood behind me. My humble self was standing before the Holy Prophet as a supplicant stands before a ruler. The Holy Prophet was occupying his chair in great glory and majesty, and with a display of authority, as if he was a great champion. To summarize, the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, handed over to me a piece of the fruit so that I might give it to the newly revived person, and he bestowed upon me all the remaining pieces. I gave that one piece to the revived person, which he ate immediately. When he finished eating it, I noticed that the blessed chair of the Holy Prophet had risen much higher and the countenance of the Holy Prophet began to shine forth like the rays of the sun, which was an indication of the revival and progress of Islam. While watching this display of light I woke up. [And all praise belongs to Allah for this].

This dream was communicated to about two hundred people in those very days, and around fifty of them were Hindus who are alive and well to this day. They all know well that at that time, the writing of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya was not even thought of, nor was there any consideration to write a religious book and issue a challenge of ten thousand rupees in order to demonstrate its strength and truth. The manner in which some of the prophecies contained in this dream have been fulfilled has now become quite apparent. The status of Qutb [the Polar Star] that was conferred on the book in the dream has also been established, and the arguments of Islam have been completed against the opponents with the promise of a substantial reward. As for other aspects of the dream that have not yet been fulfilled, we should all wait for their fulfilment, since heavenly promises never fail to materialize.

Now let us come to the second dream of about twelve years ago. There was a Hindu gentleman9 who is now a member of Aryah Samaj of Qadian and who is alive and well. He bitterly denied the miracles and the prophecies of Hazrat Khatamur-Rusul [the Seal of the Messengers], peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and held the views out of spite, like the Christian priests, that ‘all of these prophecies have been concocted by the Muslims; otherwise, God did not reveal anything of the unseen to the Holy Prophet,’ and that ‘he lacked this particular sign of prophethood.’ But, subhanallah [Holy is Allah], how God blessed His dear Prophet and how sublime is the status of that Innocent and Holy Prophet, the rays of whose truth shine to this day even as they have shone since bygone ages. It so happened that a few days later a near relation of this Hindu gentleman10 was sent to prison because of some unexpected allegation against him. Another Hindu11 was sent to prison along with him. Their case was taken up to the Chief Court on appeal. In that state of confusion and distress, that Aryah gentleman said to me one day: ‘It would be considered a revelation of the unseen, if someone can tell us now what the result of our case would be.’ To this, I replied that the knowledge of the unseen belongs to God, and that no one is cognizant of God’s hidden mysteries, whether he be an astrologer, diviner, fortune teller or any other creature. It is true that God, who knows all that goes on in the heavens and the earth, does at times inform His perfect and holy Messengers as He wills and desires about some secrets of the unseen. And sometimes, if He so wishes, He also reveals some hidden secrets to the perfect followers of His true Prophet, who are Muslims, on account of their obedience and being inheritors of the teachings of their Prophet, so that it may serve as a sign of the truth of their religion. Followers of other religions, who are in the wrong, like Hindus and their pundits, or Christians and their priests, are bereft of such perfect blessings. The moment I said this, he started insisting that if the followers of Islam do indeed enjoy this distinction over others, then this was the time to demonstrate it. No matter how repeatedly I answered him that such matters are entirely in the hands of God, and that man has no authority over them, he continued to persist in his demand. When I saw that he was a vehement denier of the prophecies of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the excellences of the religion of Islam, I was overwhelmed by a God-given fervour that God may humiliate and confound him in connection with this very matter and I supplicated: ‘O Benevolent God, this man denies the honour and greatness of Your Noble Prophet and utterly denies the signs and prophecies that You have shown and promulgated through Your Messenger, but the revelation of the final result of this case can confound him. You have power over everything. You do ordain all according to Your will, and there is nothing hidden and beyond Your comprehensive knowledge.’

Thereupon, God—Who protects His true faith, Islam, and desires the honour and greatness of His Messenger—revealed the whole matter to me in a dream at night. He disclosed to me that the divine will was that the case would be remitted by the Chief Court back to the Lower Court, and in that Lower Court his12 sentence would be reduced by one-half but he would not be acquitted; and that his companion would serve out the whole of his sentence and he would also not be acquitted. I thanked my Benevolent God when I woke up that He had safeguarded me against being embarrassed before an opponent, and I related this dream to a large number of people immediately and also informed that Hindu13 of it the same day.

Now, Maulavi Sahib!! You can come here yourself and inquire, in whatever way you like, from this Hindu gentleman who lives here in Qadian. You can also ask others whether what I have said is true or if I have omitted or exaggerated anything. I am sure you realize the importance in such matters of the testimony of the opponents of the Faith, especially those who are followers of Pundit Dayanand.

Now let me relate to you the third dream. You must have heard of Sardar Muhammad Hayat Khan, who, by order of the Government, remained under suspension for a long time. Eighteen months or perhaps a little longer passed in which he suffered all kinds of misfortunes, difficulties, and hardships during the period of his suspension, and it appeared that the Government was also against him. At that time, I was told in a dream that he would be cleared and I said to him in my dream: ‘Fear not. God has power over all things and He will deliver you.’ At that time, I related this dream to scores of Hindus, Aryas, and Muslims. Everyone who heard it considered it improbable and some even thought it was impossible. I have been told that someone also communicated my dream to Sardar Muhammad Hayat Khan, who was in Lahore. Therefore, [all praise and munificence belongs to Allah], that this glad tiding came to pass as I had seen it. There are at least sixty to seventy witnesses to this dream. If the testimony of Muslims or that of Muhammad Hayat Khan himself is not reliable, then do not forget that the witnesses included ten or twelve Hindus and Aryah Samajists, who are ardent followers of the Vedas and bear a special grudge against Muslims. I did not have any correspondence with Sardar Muhammad Hayat Khan; neither did we associate socially nor have any special relations, and it was for this reason that I wondered why God revealed to me his destiny while he was in such anguish. But now it has become clear that this vision was granted to me so that it would be of help to me now in this divinely inspired endeavour that God has entrusted to me. [And all praise belongs to Allah. Again, all praise belongs to Allah].

I will now relate a fourth dream for your complete satisfaction. About ten years ago, I saw Hazrat Masih [i.e., Jesus the Messiah], peace be on him, in a dream. The Masih and I ate together from the same dish. During the meal we were very intimate and affectionate with each other, like two brothers or two companions and friends of long standing. Afterwards, in the same place where I am now writing, the Masih and I, and a perfectly righteous descendant of the Holy Prophet, happily stayed together in the courtyard for some time. The descendant of the Holy Prophet held a piece of paper in his hand on which the names of some eminent personalities from among the followers of the Holy Prophet were entered, and it also included words of praise which had been bestowed upon them by Allah the Almighty. He started reading this paper which seemingly indicated that he wanted to inform the Masih of the ranks, which are decreed by Allah, for the chosen ones from among the Muslims. All praise entered in that paper was on behalf of God Almighty. When the reading of the paper was approaching its end and only a small portion was left, the name of this humble one was mentioned and the following appreciation was entered in it, in the Arabic language, as proceeding from God the Almighty:

[‘He is to Me like My Unity and My Uniqueness. Therefore, he will soon be made well-known among people.’]

The last portion:

[‘Therefore, he will soon be made well-known among people’]

was also conveyed to me by verbal revelation. Since I have always been eager to spread this spiritual knowledge, I immediately informed many Muslims and Hindus—who live in Qadian to this day—about this dream. Just consider how magnificent this dream and revelation is, and how far beyond human power. Although this revelation has not yet been fulfilled in its entirety, we should wait for its fulfilment in its own good time, for there is no going back on divine promises.

Here it also needs to be stressed that although non-Muslims too have dreams that occasionally turn out to be true, such dreams are in stark contrast in many ways to those experienced by the perfect followers of the Beloved Prophet of God. One of these differences is that Muslims have true dreams in abundance, for God Himself has promised:

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On the other hand, disbelievers and deniers of Islam do not experience true dreams as often—not even a thousandth part of them. This is easily proven by the thousands of true dreams that I had related to hundreds of Muslims and Hindus before they came true, and also by the fact that people of other faiths have failed to match them, as I have always maintained.

The other difference is that the dream of a Muslim most often contains glad tidings and cheerful news of extraordinary and momentous events, whereas the dream of a disbeliever often revolves around petty and insignificant matters and bespeaks failure and disgrace. Anyone demanding proof of this should ponder over my dreams with a fair mind. And if someone denies it, let him provide accounts of such magnificent dreams experienced by [adherents of ] other religions, and prove their truthfulness.

Another difference is that the dreams experienced by Muslims are very upright and revealing. A perfect Muslim rarely has baseless and confused dreams, for he is pure of heart and pure of faith and has a true relationship with the One True God. This is in contrast to the deniers of Islam, who, due to their impurity of heart and misguided creeds, are languishing in a sort of filth, and therefore true dreams rarely come their way. Experience also establishes that non-Muslims, who on rare occasions have true dreams, are not among the zealous deniers of Islam, such as priests or pundits, but are simple-minded Hindus or Christians, with no firm faith in their own creed and no spite or animosity towards Islam. Moreover, it has also been frequently observed that true dreams which are sometimes experienced by simple-minded Hindus or Christians are not altogether free from an element of error and ambiguity; rather, they are always characterized by some inaccuracy, confusion, and exaggeration.

For instance, on the first or second of Muharram, 1299 AH,15 I saw in a dream that someone had sent me fifty rupees towards the cost of my book. An Aryah16 also saw a dream that someone had sent me a thousand rupees for the same purpose. He related his dream to me and I immediately told him of my dream and said to him: ‘Nineteen-twentieths of your dream is false; this is a consequence of your being a Hindu and outside the pale of Islam.’ He might have taken it ill, but it was the truth and this was confirmed on the fifth or sixth of Muharram, when the sum of fifty rupees, which had been remitted by Sheikh Muhammad Baha’-ud-Din, Chief Minister of Junagadh State, was received as assistance towards the cost of the book, in the presence of several people, one of whom was an Aryah. [And all praise belongs to Allah for this].

At another time, God informed me about the death of a raja, which I communicated to a Hindu who is now a pleader by profession. When the prophecy was fulfilled later the same day, the Hindu was greatly astonished as to how I could have acquired such clear and manifest knowledge of an unseen event.

On another occasion, the same lawyer appeared for his law examinations, and several other candidates from that district [Sialkot] appeared with him in the same year. At that time also, I saw a dream on the basis of which I informed around thirty or forty Hindus, including revenue collectors, record keepers, and clerks, not to mention the lawyer himself, that only he would pass the examination and all the other candidates would fail. This is exactly what happened, and I received this news in 1868, in Qadian, through the letter of the lawyer. [And all praise belongs to Allah for this].

Here it should also be borne in mind that just as the dreams of our opponents regarding worldly matters turn out to be predominantly worthless and baseless lies, so is the case with their dreams that relate to matters of faith. About eight or nine years ago I heard that a priest had predicted that, within three years, Hazrat Masih would descend from the heavens to help the Christian priests. Another priest from Bangalore made a similar prediction which I read in Manshur-e-Muhammadi or some other newspaper. However, the three years have long passed, and no one has seen Masih descending from the heavens. Thus, these predictions turned out to be just as wrong as the predictions of a certain astrologer who had predicted that the world would end in November 1881. It should be clear that I do not deny that a priest could have had a dream about the descent of the Messiah, but what I maintain is that most of the dreams of these priests have turned out to be false on account of their denial and animosity towards Hazrat Khatamul-Anbiya’, and any odd dream that comes true is unclear and doubtful. If we were to suppose that the above dream about the Messiah falls into this second category, it would mean that the Messiah in the dream symbolizes some perfect beings within ummat-e-Muhammadiyyah [the followers of Muhammad(sa)]. As it has been a long-established experience that whenever a Christian sees a dream that the Messiah is about to return to revive the faith, or a Hindu sees a dream about the coming of an avatar to make the dharma [religion] flourish, all such dreams—if they happen to be true—invariably point to the coming of a follower of Muhammad(sa) who will appear at his appointed time to reform and strengthen the Faith. Since such a person inherits the light of all holy men, he appears in the imaginative faculty of the imperfect and confused minds in the form of someone whom, according to their creed, they consider to be very holy, perfect, a model of truthfulness, and their guide.

In short, the dreams of Christians and Hindus most often turn out to be baseless, completely untrue or ambiguous. In view of all this, it becomes evident that the experience of true dreams, in their abundance and perfection, and their perfect disclosure of matters of great import, is a phenomenon specific to ummat-e-Muhammadiyyah, to the exclusion of all other faiths. The reason why all others are excluded is that they are far removed and cut off from the right path and their entire thinking revolves around material-worship, creature-worship, and egotism, being completely bereft of the light that God Almighty causes to descend upon the righteous. This is not just a claim, or mere talk; it is an established fact whose denier, if he be a man of sense, will need to prove otherwise. A fact that has been established with irrefutable arguments and undeniable witnesses cannot be dislodged by idle and derogatory talk. [So ponder and reflect].

The fifth type of revelation has nothing to do with man’s heart; rather, a voice is heard from the outside, like someone speaking from behind a curtain. This voice, however, is very sweet and comely. It is rather quick and the heart derives pleasure from it. A person’s mind is somewhat lost in thought, when he suddenly hears a voice and wonders where it came from and who addressed him. He looks around in bewilderment and finally realizes that the voice came from an angel. This external voice often brings good news when one is quite anxious, sorrowful or is gripped by fear on hearing some bad news, which was, in fact, totally false.

Unlike the second kind of revelation, however, this kind is not the consequence of repeated supplications; rather, an angel speaks suddenly out of the unseen whenever God Almighty so desires. This is unlike the second type of revelation in which perfect prayers are answered by God—a hundred supplications and entreaties may receive a hundred replies from the Absolute Benefactor, as has been my own experience. Regarding this [fifth] kind of revelation, my humble self recalls a great prophecy which I was blessed with by God and which I related to a member of the Aryah Samaj of Qadian, who still lives here and is reachable. He was left speechless when it came true, for the matter had seemed so unbelievable, utterly impossible, and incredible that when I related the prophecy to him he emphatically refused to believe it and said that such an unbelievable thing could never happen. However, it ultimately happened exactly as had been foretold. In addition to that Aryah, this prophecy was also related to many other people who are still alive and cannot deny its fulfilment. Since this prophecy consists of a long story, it is not necessary to give its details here.

However, it should be understood that revelation is a true and certain fact and it flows from the pure and blessed fountain of the religion of Islam. God, who always takes the truthful as His friends, never opens this door of enlightenment to others and does not bestow His special bounty upon them. And why should He. Can one who has shut all the doors of his house and has covered his eyes receive the same light as the one whose doors are open and whose vision remains unhindered. Can the seeing and the blind be alike. Can darkness defeat light. Can a leper, whose body is rotting and falling apart limb by limb, be comparable to a community of people whom God has granted excellent health and beauty. I am ever ready to prove to any true seeker that the spiritual, real, and true blessings, which are to be found among the followers of Hazrat Khairur-Rusul [the Best of the Messengers], are totally absent in other faiths.

When we ponder over the dark and bleak state of the Christians, Aryas, and [followers of ] other religions, we find their pundits, yogis, rabbis, priests, and missionaries to be completely deprived and devoid of heavenly light. On the other hand, we witness an unceasing river of spiritual blessings and heavenly light flowing among the followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and watch divine light descending like rain. How then can we deny something that we observe with our own eyes, that has been ingrained in our very fabric and that is testified to by every drop of blood in our body. Should we just turn the other way and call reality a fantasy, or treat something obvious and visible as obscure and concealed.

I tell you in all honesty, and nothing can stop me from telling the truth, that if the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had not come, and if the Holy Quran—whose spiritual effects have been witnessed by our elders and divines in the past, and are being witnessed by us to this day—had not descended, it would have been very difficult for us to ascertain from the mere study of the Bible whether Hazrat Musa [Moses], Hazrat Masih, and other earlier Prophets truly belonged to that holy and pious community which God had graciously chosen to represent Him. We should acknowledge the gratitude we owe to the Holy Quran, which has demonstrated its light in every age and thus made manifest for us the truth of past Prophets. This favour is not only upon us, but also upon the Prophets who came before the Holy Quran, right from Adam to the Masih. In fact, every Prophet owes a debt of gratitude to the Holy Prophet, to whom God bestowed that perfect Holy Book whose influence has kept all truths alive forever; a book which opens the way for believing in the prophethood of the earlier Prophets and safeguards their prophethood against doubts and suspicions.

Be it clear that the Holy Quran is the bearer of two miracles for all times to come. The first is the miracle of its content and the other of its impact. Both of these miracles are so evident that anyone can readily witness the light of this truth for himself, provided he is not blinded by external or internal veils covering his self. The miracle of the content of the Quran spans the entire text of the book, of which some examples have been given in Footnote Number Eleven. As for the miracle of the extraordinary impact of the Quran, I can present as evidence the fact that there has not passed a single century in which Allah the Almighty did not lead eager and sincere seekers after truth to perfect enlightenment by virtue of their complete adherence to the Holy Quran. Even today the door to this light is wide open for seekers, and we do not need to refer back to any past century. Even today a seeker can experience the spiritual blessings that ought to be experienced by sincere followers of the True Faith and the Divine Scripture, and can partake of special divine mysteries. Anyone who wishes to experience these blessings should come forward with honest intentions and he will witness them and come to an auspicious end; and, God-willing, every seeker after truth will find his goal and every man of insight will bear witness to the glory of this Faith.

On the other hand, is there anyone who can come forward and prove that the same divine light is also to be found among our opponents. Who can show us a person who has rejected the prophethood and supremacy of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa [the Chosen One], peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the divine origin of the Holy Quran, and yet receives any spiritual blessings and heavenly succour. Is there anyone living from one end of the world to another who can compete with the luminous blessings of the Holy Quran. No, not even a single one. Even the so-called ‘People of the Book’ have nothing but tales to fall back upon. The followers of Hazrat Musa [Moses] tell us that the staff that Hazrat Musa used to turn into a snake departed with him, and the followers of Hazrat ‘Isa [Jesus] lament that the blessings which enabled Hazrat ‘Isa to raise the dead, ascended to heaven with him. True, the Christians do claim that the twelve disciples of Hazrat ‘Isa also used to demonstrate some certain spiritual blessings, but they also acknowledge that those very twelve leaders of the Christian faith took the heavenly light and revelations with them and, thereafter, the doors to heaven were forever sealed. The dove17 that first descended upon Hazrat Masih, and then visited the disciples in the guise of flames of fire, has never descended upon any Christian ever since. In other words, the grain of the heavenly light of faith, which had attracted the heavenly dove, lay only in the hands of those men. Thereafter, the Christians were left only with the trap of worldly gains. Seeing that, the dove flew back to heaven.

In short, there is no other means to receive heavenly light except through the Holy Quran. In order to distinguish truth from falsehood forever, and so that falsehood may never be able to prevail over truth, God has blessed the ummah of Muhammad with these two miracles for all times to come—that of the Holy Quran’s content and its effect—which all false religions have failed to match throughout the ages. Had the Quran possessed the miracle of content only and not that of effect, what superiority would the blessed Muslim ummah have achieved over others in terms of progress in receiving its effects and achieving spiritual enlightenment.

Mere asceticism and chastity can never be categorized as miraculous, for is it not possible for a priest, pundit or Brahmu, who is pious by nature, to choose the path of chastity and honesty. Since unrewarded devotion is possible for people of all faiths, how can it serve to distinguish between the signs shown by a believer and a non-believer, considering that there must be a distinction between the signs shown by the truthful and the untruthful. If a believer is just as deprived of heavenly light as its denier, then how has the light of his faith been manifested in this world and what superiority would faith have over faithlessness.

Now that the miracle of the Quran’s effect has been demonstrated, and I myself accept the responsibility for proving it to full satisfaction, there is no need to unnecessarily prolong the subject, in the light of this conclusive argument. Let him who has doubts examine it, and let him who has misgivings put it to the test.

Here it should be clear that whatever is disclosed to a person by way of divine revelation becomes binding upon him, upon those who have been granted some reason to believe in it, and upon anyone to whom God has manifested its truth through a sign. By the same token, one who has been exhorted through such a revelation, but who wilfully refuses to act upon it, invites divine wrath upon himself. There is a real risk that such a person will come to an undesirable end. Balaam son of Beor, for instance, received revelation from God directing him: , that is, do not curse Musa and his encampment. But he made plans to curse the encampment of Hazrat Musa, in open defiance of the divine injunction, and thus was rejected by God to the extent of being likened to a dog. It was in compliance with revelation that Hazrat Musa’s mother put him, an infant, in a box and cast him into the river. Again, it was revelation which God wanted to manifest to a resolute Prophet like Musa, by sending him to Khidr, whose name was Balya son of Malkan, and regarding whose certain and categorical knowledge Allah the Almighty Himself said:

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It was on the basis of this certain and categorical knowledge that Khidr did things in the presence of Hazrat Musa that seemed contradictory to Divine Law, such as damaging a boat, killing an innocent boy, and undertaking an unnecessary labour without any payment. It is obvious that Khidr was not a Prophet, or else he would have been among his own people and not wandering about in forests and on riverbanks. God Himself does not refer to him as a Prophet or Messenger, and yet He labels the knowledge Khidr was given as certain and categorical, because ‘ilm according to the terminology of the Holy Quran refers to definite knowledge. It is also apparent that if the knowledge Khidr possessed was not certain, it would not have been permissible for him to rely on his conjectures to do what was clearly against the Divine Law, undesirable, and, indeed, cardinal sins by the unanimous verdict of all Prophets. And, in that case, Hazrat Musa’s coming to him would itself be a futile act. So when it is conclusively proven that Khidr was indeed granted certain and categorical knowledge from God Almighty, then why should anyone who calls himself a Muslim and believes in the Holy Quran, think that no one from among ummat-e-Muhammadiyyah can equal Khidr in spiritual excellences. Of course they can. In fact, God has the power to bestow even greater spiritual bounties upon the chosen ones of this blessed ummah of Muhammad.

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Has this very Benevolent God not Himself taught this ummah to pray:

20

Has He not Himself said:

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Understand with full certainty that the Benevolent God is particularly gracious towards this blessed ummah, and that right from the beginning He has desired to grant it superiority over other nations in respect of His luminous grace and heavenly light. He has done this so that the enemy dare not ask, ‘What is the difference between you and us,’ and so that its adversaries—may God humiliate them completely—may not, in their instinctive wickedness and mendacity, be able to say that the Holy Prophet, Sayyidut-Tayyibin [Noblest of the pure], and his blessed and virtuous progeny and enlightened followers, failed to demonstrate heavenly blessings.

Think and deliberate: would it be better for you if you were bereft of heavenly light and had to lead your lives on the basis of old tales like your opponents; or would it be better for you, and an occasion for thanksgiving, if God perpetually chose certain individuals from among you and your religion and granted them a large portion of His light and blessings, thus perfecting your faith and bringing humiliation and disgrace upon your enemies.

Look at other religions and reflect on how they came to ruin and decay. It was because the Gospels and other past scriptures, having been corrupted and distorted, failed to reflect in their form and substance anything miraculous or spiritually effective, and all their focus remained on old miracles presented in mythical form. How could it be possible for those who did not actually see the staff of Hazrat Musa turn into a snake, nor witnessed the dead restored to life by Hazrat ‘Isa, to be inspired by baseless stories and reach the level of absolute certainty. Inevitably, therefore, the Christians and Jews gave themselves up to the world and lost all faith in the Hereafter, for they did not witness any blessings with their own eyes. Anyone whose faith is based on mere fables and tales, like the Christians, Jews, and Hindus, has lost his moorings, and the same darkness of misguidance is destined for him as was destined for unfortunate people like the Christians, who have nothing to show but ancient legends and time-worn tales. Their faith has no firm footing and they have no way of knowing whether or not the God of old, who had been with their forefathers, even exists anymore.

Brothers, if you truly seek God and desire certainty, and if your hearts are not filled with the love of this world, arise and prostrate in gratitude because God does not forget you. He does not wish for you to go to waste; but rather, that you be grateful to Him. Do not belittle divine signs lest you fall into peril; do not reject God’s bounties, for this invites His wrath. Do not love this world, for it is the source of all pride, jealousy, and conceit. Do not turn away from God’s Signs, for nothing good comes of it. Allah the Almighty says:

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Only briefly have I related to you the anguish of my heart,
I fear to inconvenience you; otherwise, I have no shortage of words.

I will now close this discourse with the prayer:

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—Author