Footnote Number Eleven

It should be borne in mind here that the ideas based solely on reason suffer not only from the defect that they fall short of the stages of certainty and cannot comprehend the finer points of theological matters, but they also suffer from another defect; namely, that discourses based solely upon reason are largely ineffective and futile in persuading the heart. The explanation for their ineffectiveness is that for any discourse to impact the heart it is necessary that its truth should be so well established in the mind of the listener that he should not be left with any room for doubt, and he should believe from the depth of his heart that what he is being told is not susceptible to any possibility of error.

I have just demonstrated that reason alone can never lead to perfect certainty. It is thus obvious that the effects that are produced by perfect certainty and the impact made by a decisive word upon the hearts can never be expected from reason alone. This is confirmed by daily experience. For instance, when a person returns home from having sojourned in a distant land then all kith and kin and even strangers inquire from him about that foreign country and their hearts are deeply affected by what he relates out of his eyewitness accounts, provided that he is not suspected of telling lies. What he relates is fully accepted and considered to be the truth without any hesitation or doubt. This is especially the case when the informer commands the reputation of being a respectable and righteous person. Why is his discourse so deeply effective? It is effective primarily because he is known to be an honourable and truthful person, and it is further believed that whatever he relates and whatever news he brings of the circumstances of those countries is his eyewitness account. His discourses create such a deep imprint on all listeners that the whole scene appears before their very eyes. Many a time when he recalls and relates a poignant story or an emotional event pertaining to a nation, his words grip the audience so completely that tears well up in their eyes as if they were physically present at the scene and witnessing the event themselves.

On the other hand, if a person—who has never journeyed beyond the four walls of his home and has never been to that country, nor has heard anyone describe its details—were to begin to narrate stories of that country out of his own imagination, his nonsense would produce no effect. On the contrary, people ask him, ‘Have you gone mad and insane that you have begun to relate things that you have never experienced nor observed, which are above and beyond your limited knowledge?’ It is like the story narrated by a wise old man about a foolish person who overly praised wheat bread, saying that it is very tasty. When he was asked whether he had ever eaten it, he replied that he had not eaten it, but his grandfather used to say that on one occasion he had seen someone eating it.

In short, unless someone, in the estimation of the listeners, has comprehensive knowledge of an event, his discourse would produce no effect upon their hearts and would, instead, make him a laugh ing stock. This is the reason why the unsubstantiated discourses of mere intellectuals have never attracted the attention of anyone to the Hereafter with certainty. Their listeners continued to think that, as the orator was speaking out of conjecture, they could oppose him with their own conjectures, as neither side had witnessed the reality at the site. This is the reason why, when some intellectuals expressed themselves in support of the existence of God, other intellectuals opposed them and wrote books in support of atheism. The reality is that even the group of intellectuals who admitted the existence of God to some extent was never free from the vein of atheism, nor is it free today. Just consider these Brahmu people. Do they ever regard God as possessing perfect attributes? Do they admit that God is not mute, but truly possesses the attribute of speech as should be possessed by a being who is alive and well? Do they truly regard Him as the Absolute Planner and Provider? Do they ever believe that God truly is Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining and that He can convey His words to sincere hearts? On the contrary, they consider His existence to be fictitious, lifeless, and concocted by human reason merely out of its own imagination. Unlike living beings, no voice is ever heard from Him, as if He were not God, but a mere idol lying in a corner.

I am astonished by how these people remain content with such immature and flimsy ideas, and what fruits they hope to reap from their self-fabricated assumptions. Why do they not search, like true seekers, for that God who is Omnipotent, Powerful, and Ever-Living, who has the power to affirm His own existence, and who can revive the dead in an instant by the call

[‘Verily, I am Allah’]? When they themselves know that the light of reason is smoky, then why do they not aspire for the perfect light? How foolish they are that while acknowledging their illness, they care not for its remedy! Alas, why do their eyes not open so that they see the truth of the matter? Why does the veil not lift from their ears so that they hear the divine call? Why are their hearts so twisted and their understanding so perverted that they have begun to level the very objection against the followers of true revelation that, in reality, applies to themselves? Have I not yet proven to them that they are utterly deficient in divine cognition and are in a perilous condition? Have I not yet demonstrated to them that complete and perfect divine cognition can be attained only through the Noble Quran and nothing else? And when it has been proven in every way that they are liars and in the wrong, then what kind of honesty and integrity is this, that while being oblivious to the mourning within their own homes, they declare the followers of Islam to be ill and level wicked and mischievous allegations—all of which certainly indicates that they have no concern or connection with the right path whatsoever. These words are not their words; rather, they are the stench of the rubbish of their jealousy and prejudice.

A supplement to this very conjecture of the Brahmu Samaj is yet another conjecture: Revelation is a restriction, and we are free from every single restriction; therefore, we are better off because a free person is better than a prisoner. I admit this criticism and confess that revelation is undoubtedly a restriction. However, it is the kind of restriction, without which, true freedom cannot be achieved; as true freedom means that one should be delivered from every type of error, doubt, and suspicion, and should attain the stage of perfect certainty, and should behold his Benevolent God in this very world. As I have proven within this very footnote, such a true freedom is achieved in this world by perfect and God-loving Muslims through the Holy Quran and is not available to anyone besides them, such as any Brahmu. Yes indeed, there is one reason why the Brahmu Samajists can be called ‘free’ and ‘unrestricted’—and it was from this very perspective that I, too, have called them ‘libertines’ at certain places in this book, just as some lewd scoundrels, after guzzling some wine or intoxicating themselves with a bowl of hemp, or smoking marijuana or other drugs, declare themselves freed from every kind of shame and modesty, and even from God, and throw all concepts of decorum and social hierarchy out of the window—they simply let out whatever thoughts come to their minds, and simply blurt out whatever they desire. In much the same way, some of the Brahmu Samajists have proven to me that they are free in the very same manner and, in fact, having become unrestrained and libertine, they may have attained worldly comfort to their satisfaction by declaring with their own tongue what is halal and haram and by placing the key to religious axioms in their very own hands. Driven by the urges of nafs-e-ammarah [the self that incites to evil], they now feel free to open or close whichever door they please; for, they themselves are [so they think] the founders of all religion and moral conduct. But they will suffer the consequences of this ‘freedom’ the day when they will have to answer to Almighty God for their dishonesty.

Another supplement to this conjecture of the Brahmu Samaj is an assertion—by making which they have dressed up the disfigured body of their objection in another attire—which is: To be a follower of revelation is an act tantamount to deviating from the right approach and is contrary to the course of nature because the clear and straight path to discovering the reality of everything, which the inner voice of every human being inherently demands, is to explain its essence through rational arguments. For instance, the true reason—upon which spiritual satisfaction depends—for theft being a vile act is that it is cruel and oppressive, and is therefore improper and unjust according to reason, not that any revealed book has declared its commission as a sin. Again, for example, arsenic, a poison, is essentially prohibited from consumption because it is deadly and fatal, and not because its consumption is forbidden in divine revelation. Thus, it is proven [they argue] that the guide of certain and real truth is reason alone, and not revelation.

These gentlemen, however, are still unaware of the fact that their argument was completely shattered at the very instant when it was proven with strong and cogent arguments that their reason is imperfect and incomplete. Is it sensible to continue, like a shameless man, to harp on the same dead thought that has already been pulverized by the powerful onslaught of mighty arguments? What a pity! What a pity! My friends, have you not heard it many a time that, although the reality of things is discovered to some degree through rational arguments, it is not [true] that perfection of all stages of certainty is dependent upon reason alone? You can be refuted by the very example that you have presented because arsenic being deadly and fatal has not been established solely by reason. Rather, this quality was understood to be a certainty when reason joined hands with proper experimentation and observed the hidden quality of arsenic. This is precisely what I am explaining to you, that just as reason had to have recourse to a companion—that is, the need for proper experimentation—to truly comprehend the quality of arsenic, in the same way, in order to deem divine matters and the reality of life after death as certainty, reason needs divine revelation; and without this companion, reason cannot operate in matters pertaining to theology, just as reason is helpless, imperfect, and incomplete without other companions in the other sciences.

In short, reason cannot consistently conclude anything with certainty on its own unless it is paired with a companion. Without such a companion, it cannot remain safe and immune from mistake and error, especially in relation to knowledge of the Divine, because the essence of all of its discussions and the true nature of this realm are hidden behind veils and nothing similar to it exists in this world. In these matters, imperfect reason cannot escape human error, let alone lead one to perfect divine cognition. The most that can be achieved through reason is only this much: someone hypothesizes the need—be it true or false—for something internally within his own mind; however, he cannot prove that what he deems necessary actually exists externally as well.

From this point of view, such a one’s prima facie knowledge—since it is based on a hypothetical need about which one does not know whether or not it corresponds to an external fact—is regarded merely as an unfounded conjecture and is entirely bereft and deprived of the stage of perfect certainty. I have repeatedly stated that it is absolutely impossible that reason should be able to attain the stage of perfect certainty by just piling up hypothetical needs and mere conjectures. Rather, to attain this perfect certainty, all matters whether secular or religious operate in accordance with only one irrevocable law, meaning that, every single matter, whether religious or secular, can attain the stage of perfect certainty only when the knowledge of the true nature of things is not confined merely to the needs perceived by conjectures, and when the basis for the proof of something’s existence is not simply that conjecture demands it, but its actual existence comes to be known in some other way as well, so that frail reason does not continue to drown in the whirlpool of mere ideas, but rather, it becomes truly aware of the existence of something which it had only hypothesized to exist.

Moreover, the attainment of certainty depends on the knowledge of actual events, and it is obviously not the function and responsibility of reason to report external events; rather, it is the responsibility of historians, reporters, and experts who have themselves observed these events or who have heard them from those who have observed them. Under these circumstances, man’s defective reason requires reporters, historians, and skilled persons. This is why one may go on endlessly scrutinizing something [theoretically], but mere conjectures can never demonstrate the true dignity and rank of something the way it is manifested [practically] with the aid of experience and history.

Mere conjectural opinions cannot serve any purpose where an eyewitness testimony is needed, and one who simply shoots in the dark and fabricates stories cannot take the place of a historian who is acquainted with the facts or a person who has made a specific observation or experiment. Had that been the case, there would not have been any need for historians, reporters, and experienced persons; and people would have come to know through their conjectures alone about various world events, the understanding of which depends on history, experience, and the factual knowledge. As such, they could have run all affairs of the world merely through conjectural speculations. The need for historians, reporters, and experienced people arose only when unassisted reason and mere conjectures were not able to work, and it was feared that by boarding the ark of mere conjectures all enterprises of the world would sink, and it was realized that by the spinning wheels of reason alone the entire operation of this world would be ruined.

In fact, the matters pertaining to the world are not so complicated; rather, they are so evident and clear as if they are right in front of our eyes and within our view. The intricacies that are encountered in the phenomena of the unseen world—and the perplexities which are confronted while contemplating the world that is concealed and hidden beyond hidden—presents an unlimited ocean transcending observation and imagination. This world does not have even a thousandth part of such intricacies. Therefore, under these circumstances, unless we clearly and deliberately choose to deviate from the right path, we would undoubtedly be forced to admit that in order to precisely understand the circumstances and facts of that world and to attain perfect belief in them, the need for historians, reporters, and experienced people is hundreds of times greater in comparison to this world.

Now, when the historian and reporter of that world can be none other than the Word of God, and the ship of our certainty may well-nigh be destroyed in the absence of a reporter, and the tempestuous winds of doubt continue to hurl the ark of faith into the whirlpool of destruction; given these circumstances, what wise person would rely entirely upon the guidance of defective reason and turn away from the need of such a word upon which the security of his life depends, and the contents of which are not limited to conjectural speculations alone? Rather, in addition to providing rational arguments, it informs us of the true facts of the second world as a true historian and gives an eyewitness account.

With divine revelation, the dawn of truth breaks;
The eye that has not seen those holy scriptures has seen nothing.

The castle of my heart is filled with the fragrance of that musk;
The Beloved who had left me has returned.

The eye which does not partake of the light from the Furqan,
By God, its blindness will never be cured.

The heart which seeks the flower of the divine garden without it,
By God, it has never even smelled its fragrance.

I cannot compare the sun with the light that I see,
For I behold hundreds of suns humbly orbiting it.

Impoverished and unfortunate are those
Who, out of arrogance, turn their faces away from this light and sever their bond.

Of course it is true that reason is not without its use and its benefit, and when have I ever said that it is useless? Nevertheless, how can we escape the obvious fact that through reason and conjecture, alone, we cannot attain the treasure of perfect certainty which can be achieved through the combination of reason and revelation; nor can we escape faltering, making mistakes and errors, misguidance, self-approval, and self-conceit. Nor can our self-conceived ideas prevail against our carnal passions as the forceful, majestic, and awe-striking commandments of God can. Nor can our self-conceived fancies, idle speculations, and baseless superstitions yield the joy, delight, satisfaction, and contentment that are conveyed to us by the delightful Word of the True Beloved. Shall we then, by following reason alone, subject ourselves to all of the losses, disadvantages, misfortunes, and ill-fate, and open the door to thousands of calamities upon us? A wise person can never accept the senseless notion that He who has created the thirst for perfect divine understanding has withheld the brimful cup of complete divine understanding; and that He who Himself has drawn the hearts toward Him has kept the doors of true cognition closed, and has confined all stages of the cognition of God solely to the flights of our imagination at the time of our supposed need.

Has God created man so ill-fated and unfortunate that, in this world, he is to remain wholly disappointed and hopeless in obtaining full satisfaction of the cognition of God which his soul desires and his heart longs for, and for the attainment of which his heart and soul are filled with eagerness? Is there not one soul among the thousands of you who can realize that the doors of divine cognition—which are only opened by God—cannot be opened by human faculties, and that God’s own proclamation, ‘I am Present’, cannot be equalled by the hypothetical conjectures of human beings? Undoubtedly, God’s affirmation of His own Being is like a manifestation of God, but man’s saying so by conjecture is not the same; and since our conjectures based on reason cannot equal God’s Word, which points specifically toward His distinct Being, then why is His Word not needed for the perfection of certainty? Are your hearts not awakened by observing this obvious disparity? Is there nothing in our discourse which affects your heart? O people! There is no difficulty in understanding that human reason cannot be the instrument for ascertaining matters of the unseen, for who among you can deny that whatever we encounter after death, indeed, belongs to the domain of the unseen? For instance, reflect whether anyone knows with certainty how the soul departs at the time of death, where it goes, who accompanies it, where it is kept, and, thereafter, what experiences it passes through.

How can human reason make a conclusive decision regarding all of these matters? A person could give a conclusive verdict had he died once or twice before and had become familiar with the paths along which he reached God, and recollected the places where he had dwelt for some time; however, as it stands, we have only conjectures to fall back on. No matter how much you hypothesize, the fact remains that no sane person has ever visited the place and seen it for himself. Thus, in such a situation, it is obvious that to gratify oneself with these baseless conjectures amounts to a false sense of comfort, not true satisfaction.

If you were to view this in the spirit of ascertaining the real truth, you would testify yourself that human intellect and conscience can never understand all of these matters with certainty, nor does any page of the book of nature point to them with certainty. Leaving aside matters of greater profundity, reason is perplexed at the very first step—what the soul is, how it enters [the body], and how it departs. On the face of it, nothing is seen as departing or entering. Even if you were to enclose a living being at the time of its last breath inside a glass chamber, nothing would be seen departing from it. Similarly, if germs are produced in some matter that is enclosed within a glass chamber, one cannot discern the path of entry of these souls. The egg is even more astonishing as to how the soul flies into it, and if the chick dies inside, by what way does the soul escape? Can any wise person resolve this puzzle through the use of his intellect alone? You may run wild with your conjectures as much as you want, but nothing actual and certain can be established through reason alone.

That being the case at the very first step, what can this defective reason discover with certainty about the matters related to Hereafter? Is there no one left among you who can understand this fact? Do you feel no remorse yourself about this miserable plight of yours? You have such an insatiable craving for the carrion of the world that you eagerly travel thousands of miles over land and sea in pursuit of it, but does the world to come amount to nothing in your view? Alas! Why do you not understand that it is impossible to find a remedy for every anxiety of the soul and to treat every malady of nafs-e-ammarah through self-conceived imagination and conceptions?

It is the law of nature that when a man is overpowered by some carnal desire or is subjected to a spiritual calamity—for instance, when his anger is fuelled, or his sexual desires are aroused, or he runs into some trouble, or he is in mourning, or is stricken with grief and a painful situation, or has been overcome by some carnal or spiritual disturbance—he cannot cure his maladies and motives that have taken control over both his mind and soul, merely through his self-admonition and advice. Rather, to remove such passions he is in need of a counsellor who commands the respect of the listener, is venerable, truthful in his speech, perfect in his knowledge, and trustworthy of fulfilling his promises; and furthermore, has the power to achieve that which inspires awe, hope, or comfort in the listener’s heart. For, it is manifestly evident and obvious that man often finds himself in a situation where, although he really considers a sin to be a sin, or regards an action that is incompatible with steadfastness and patience to be contrary to steadfastness, yet the veil of negligence or the shock of sudden grief afflicts his heart. That veil is removed only when some other person, whose greatness, reverence, and truthfulness is established in his heart, admonishes him and urges him to do good or warns him, or comforts or satisfies him, in accordance with the situation. And his speech has such a marvellous impact that even though he presents the same arguments that are already known to the listener, he transforms a staggering one to be ready for action, an inactive one to be active, a weak one to be strong, and a disturbed one to be contented. All of these matters are such that a wise man would himself admit that he needs them when he finds himself in a situation of being overpowered by his ego and afflicted with anxiety. Rather, those whose souls are highly refined, seekers after truth, and those whose hearts are disgusted at the very onset of the turbidity and sordidness of sin, implore like a sick man for such treatment themselves when they are in situations where they are overpowered by their egos, so that they might be cured of their internal constriction by hearing some words of inspiration or warning, or by listening to some words of satisfaction and comfort flowing from the tongue of some man of God.

In short, it is certainly inherent within human nature that however knowledgeable and learned a man may be, his own words alone can never affect him as do those of others in times of calamity and arousal of carnal passion. For instance, if someone faces a disaster or is mourning the loss of a life, although he is aware that this world is not a place of permanent happiness and peace, nor is it everlasting, times of shock, grief, and anxiety overwhelm the helpless man and his heart is totally beyond his control. In this situation, if such a person—who, in his opinion, is exceedingly holy, saintly, and venerable—admonishes him to be patient because there are great rewards with God for those who are patient and that this world is not a place of eternal life—even though he already knew it—hearing this from his mouth impacts him with such a wonderful effect that it prevents him from falling.

In short, one’s own self-invented ideas cannot affect one’s heart at all times and on all occasions. Rather, many a time reason is so completely subdued by carnal passions or spiritual misfortunes that man loses the abilities of thinking and understanding, and on such an occasion he finds himself in a situation where the words of advice, warning, or satisfaction and comfort should issue forth from someone else.

Thus, by looking at all of these matters, a wise person can reach the conclusion that God has cast human nature in this particular mould; and this very mould indicates that it was not the will of the All-Wise to leave man, feeble as he is, to the mercy of his own imagination and conjecture. Rather, the kind of counsellors and advisors who can grant him satisfaction, comfort, suppression of passions, and removal of spiritual restlessness; He has created all of those advisors for him, and has provided him with the Word that can cure his illnesses and maladies. No different methodology is needed to prove the need for revelation, as God’s own law of nature proves it.

Is it not true that millions of people in the world who are mired in misery, sin, or heedlessness are constantly influenced by other counsellors and advisers, and that one’s own knowledge and thinking are certainly not effective in every case? Moreover, the fact is that the speaker’s words provide satisfaction and comfort to the same degree that the speaker’s status and eminence are established in the eyes of the listener. Only the promise of such a person—who, in the eyes of the listener, is truthful in his promises and is also capable of fulfilling them—grants comfort to the mind. In this scenario, who can doubt the obvious fact that, concerning matters of the life to come and matters beyond physical perception, the highest degree of satisfaction, solace, and comfort to the mind, which is capable of averting carnal passions and spiritual misfortunes, can only be obtained from the Word of God?

Reflection upon the law of nature cannot establish any better means of comfort and satisfaction. When a person believes wholeheartedly in the Word of God and there is no intervention of any overt or covert aversion, the Word of God saves him from fierce whirlpools, fights off intense carnal passions, and affords him patience during the most terrifying calamities. When a wise person, at the time of any difficulty or arousal of carnal passion, finds a promise or warning in the Word of God, or someone else explains to him what God has commanded, he is immediately affected so deeply that he goes on repenting uncontrollably. Man is in dire need of being comforted by God. Very often he is overtaken by such misfortunes that he would have been so discouraged as to possibly deny the very existence of God, would have cut off his relationship with God altogether in his hopelessness, or would have perished from the shocks of grief, had the Word of God not been revealed and had it not provided him with this glad tiding:

In the same way, carnal passions are such that God’s Word is needed for dissipating their boiling upsurge. At every step, man encounters circumstances which can be remedied only by the Word of God. When a person desires to turn to God, hundreds of impediments block his attention—sometimes the pleasures of this world come to his mind, sometimes the company of his close friends pulls at his cloak, and sometimes he is intimidated by the difficulties of this path. Sometimes old habits and prevailing customs become his stumbling blocks and sometimes honour, fame, authority, or power try to obstruct him from this path. Sometimes all of these gather together like an army and pull him in their direction and present him with the excellences of their immediate benefits. Thus, their combined strength and thronging effect develop such force that one’s self-conceived ideas are unable to repulse them—indeed, they cannot withstand them for even one moment. On the occasion of such a battle, the powerful guns of God’s Word are needed to disperse the enemy lines by the firing of just a single shot.

Can any task be accomplished one-sidedly; hence, how is it possible that God should perpetually remain silent like a stone, while His servant continues to progress on his own in his loyalty, sincerity, and steadfastness; and only the notion that there must—after all—be a Creator of heaven and earth, grants him never-ending strength and draws him ever-forward in the fields of love? Ideas based on conjecture can never take the place of ideas based on facts, nor have they ever done so. For instance, suppose that a truthful wealthy person promises a poor debtor that he would pay off all of his debt when the payment is due, and there is another poor debtor who has been given no verbal promise by anyone but gives free rein to his imagination that perhaps he, too, would receive the necessary funds at the due time. Can these two be equal in their satisfaction? Certainly not! Certainly not!

All of these are the very laws of nature. Which true verity lies outside the laws of nature? But woe unto those people who, while claiming to abide by the laws of nature, violated them, ran over to the other side, and acted contrary to what they had affirmed. O Brahmu Samajists! Even if you cannot pay heartfelt attention to religious matters and even if you have no concern whatsoever for the life that is yet to come, has it not been proven to you with regard to worldly matters that reason by itself has not carried any of your worldly tasks to completion? Is there any room left for you to deny the verity that intellect never had the ability to carry any task to its completion in the best and perfect manner on its own, without being paired with a companion? Speak the truth! Have you still not experienced that whatever task relied exclusively upon intellect remained doubtful, conjectural, and incomplete; and until a portrait of the events was sketched by a recorder, the entire effort of intellect and conjecture remained incomplete and unreliable? Speak with justice! Are you still unaware that it has always been the practice of the wise that they strengthen their theories—sometimes with experience, sometimes with history, sometimes with maps depicting the geography of a place, sometimes with letters and epistles, and sometimes with their own faculties of seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and so on? So now reflect for yourselves, weigh it in your own minds, and estimate it duly in your observation: Given the condition that other companions are required for [understanding] the matters of this world, which are observable and perceivable, then how much greater is that need for those matters that transcend this world, are the most hidden of the hidden, and are the most concealed of the concealed? And given that reason by itself does not suffice even for the easy and simple matters of the world, how can it be sufficient to fathom matters relating to the life to come, which are the most abstruse and subtle?

Moreover, since you do not consider conjecture and intellect, alone, to be sufficient for the fickle and mundane matters of daily life—whose gain and loss are but a transient matter—how can you sit complacently, relying on the same defective intellect in matters of the Hereafter, whose impact is everlasting and whose dangers are irremediable? Is this not the best proof of this fact, that you have thrown all regard for the Hereafter behind your back, and you find the carcass of the world so delicious and palatable? Otherwise, how can it be believed that God has not given you even this minimal understanding that when the Perfectly Noble God has not left man’s reason alone with respect to the transitory matters of the world—on the contrary, He has strengthened it with many companions—then why did His eternal and everlasting attribute of great mercy disappear when it was needed for the subtle and intricate affairs of the abode of the Hereafter, which are everlasting and permanent? Why, in this case, did He not strengthen the weak and confused reason by joining it with a perfect companion; and why did He not grant it a partner personally acquainted with this realm in its macro and micro details, who could provide information like an eyewitness so that reason and experience, having been paired, could serve as the fountainhead of multifarious blessings and convey the seeker after truth to the stage of perfect cognition, the eagerness for acquiring which is ingrained in his nature?

I do not know who has misled you into thinking that there is somewhat of an incompatibility between reason and revelation, on account of which the two cannot coexist together. May God open your eyes and remove the veils over your heart. Can you not understand the simple fact that since reason attains its perfection by virtue of revelation, is warned of its errors, discovers the best course for its intended journey, is delivered from random wandering and confusion, is relieved of useless effort, vain toil, and fruitless travail, converts its dubious and supposed knowledge into definite certainty, and, advancing beyond mere conjecture, is informed of true facts and is comforted and finds peace and tranquillity; then, under these circumstances, is revelation a benefactor, helper, and educator of reason, or its enemy, opponent, and assailant? What kind of bigotry and what type of blindness is it to imagine the venerable educator, who clearly serves as a leader and guide, to be a highwayman and obstructor, and the one who pulls out of a pit to be the one who pushes into the pit?

The whole world knows—and all with eyes are observing, and perceptive minds are discerning—that there were, and still are, hundreds of thousands of people in the world who believed in the merits and greatness of reason, and despite believing in the ‘apostle’ of reason, and being called ‘wise’, and believing intellect to be a precious commodity and their guide, nevertheless they remained in denial of the existence of God and died in that very denial. However, show me just one person who believed in revelation, yet remained a disbeliever in the existence of God.

Hence, insofar as revelation is the only condition for firm faith in God, it is obvious that where this condition is lacking the result contingent upon it will also be lacking. So it now stands clearly proven that those who have denied revelation have deliberately chosen the ways of faithlessness and have deemed it proper that the doctrine of atheism should spread and be propagated. These ignorant ones fail to reflect that since the Utmost Hidden Being [of God] cannot be seen, nor smelt, nor touched—and should the faculty of hearing be similarly deprived and unaware of the Word of the Perfect Being—how can one then believe in the existence of that Imperceptible Being? Should the thought of a Creator even arise in the mind by pondering over the universe, but despite a lifelong effort, the seeker after truth never sees the Creator with his eyes, nor is aware of His Word, nor discovers any indication about Him that characterizes a being who is alive and well; then would the doubt not eventually befall him that perchance his deliberation erred in concluding the existence of the Creator, and maybe the atheists and naturalists are right, who conclude that certain elements of the universe are creators of certain other elements, and think that there is no need for any other Creator?

I know that if a follower of mere reason gives free rein to this line of thinking, his mind will certainly be seized by the doubt mentioned above, for, it is not possible for him to escape such doubts if, in spite of his utmost search and exertion, he fails to find a personal sign of God. The reason is that it is the inherent and natural habit of man that if he considers something necessary and indispensable through presumed conjecture, but fails to discover its existence externally despite the utmost search and diligent inquiry, he begins to doubt and, indeed, deny the validity of his conjecture, and hundreds of doubts opposed to his conjecture arise in his mind.

Time after time, all of us indulge in conjectures with regard to an unknown fact, thinking that it could be this or that, but when the details are revealed, it turns out to be something altogether different. These daily experiences have taught man the lesson that it is the height of foolishness to rest assured with mere conjectures.

In short, as long as conjectural speculations are not supported by the facts of the matter, the entire display put on by reason is a mirage and nothing more, the ultimate outcome of which is atheism. So if you desire to be an atheist, do as you please; otherwise, the only way you can be delivered from the fierce flood of doubts—which has swept thousands of intellectuals far superior than you into the depth of degradation with a single surge—is to take a firm hold of the strong handle of true revelation. However, it will never happen that, by advancing your ideas on reason alone, you will find God sitting somewhere. Rather, the only result of the progression of your thoughts will be that you will ultimately find God without a visible sign and without the perceptible characteristics of living beings, and after becoming helpless and frustrated in your quest for Him, you will end up joining hands with your atheist brothers.

Do not be deceived by thinking that if the consequence of following mere reason is atheism, then why do the Brahmu Samajists still have some faith in the existence of God and why do they not become His deniers en masse? There are two reasons for this. The first is that they have not yet achieved the full progression of their ideas, and they are holding on to the belief in that Being who is the internal product of their hypothetical reasoning. They have not yet stepped forward to search for the actual existence of that hypothetical Being somewhere externally. But bear in mind that as soon as they progress in their ideas, the first effect of their progression will be a rankling within their minds as to where and in which direction that Being is, whom they believe to be the Self-Subsisting, All-Sustaining, and Omnipresent, and that if He really does have a physical existence externally, then why is He not found and why does He not reveal His Being to those who are searching for Him? And as soon as this doubt emerges, they will either end up believing in true revelation and thus deliver their selves from the whirlpool of doubts or, if that is not the case, let the ideas evolve, and see for yourself whether or not they become staunch atheists.

When the ideas of hundreds of thousands of their very own brothers, who conformed to reason alone, progressed, they died having become naturalists and atheists. These followers of reason are not unique. They will not escape becoming atheists with the progression of their ideas, nor will they see the crystal palace wherein God dwells! Undoubtedly, whatever consequence befell the earlier ‘intellectuals’ through the advancement of their ideas, the same consequence will someday befall these people as well. The delay is only that they are not yet fully engaged in their pursuit and quest for God. This world still appears dear and sweet to them and they remain obsessed with its gains day and night. They traverse the oceans to reach far off countries for it, and as yet the thought of the realm of the Hereafter has not crossed their minds, nor do they give any thought to the Lord of Sovereignty. However, God-willing, when the days come for them to decide through mere reason that if God exists where is He and why His Being cannot be perceived like all other existing objects, there will be such a decisive moment that it will force them to either believe in the Word of the Subtle Being, or to discard even the hypothetical assertion that created things ought to have a Creator.

The second reason which deters the followers of mere reason from hastening to become atheists is the blessing of the revelation of God and the rays of the sun of the Divine Word, which have proclaimed the existence of God throughout the world, and the perpetual rain of which has established hundreds of thousands of God-fearing souls upon a firm belief in the existence of God and has made a profound impact on millions of hearts. Since the loud voices of these solid and timeless testimonies have permeated the hearing faculty of all human beings and those lovely voices have so penetrated every chord of their hearing that even if an ignorant and unlettered man—who does not even know the word ‘reason’ nor is aware of what ‘argument’ is—is questioned whether God exists or not, he would consider the questioner to be absolutely stupid. He would be found to have such a strong faith in the existence of God that if all of the followers of mere reason were placed on one side of a scale and he on the other, his certainty of faith would weigh much heavier. And the irony is that, unlike the rationalists and philosophers, he is not aware of any argument; indeed, he is absolutely unaware of what it is that is called ‘argument’, ‘proof ’, or ‘clinching of the argument’, or ‘deductive reasoning’.

In short, it is by virtue of these blessings that the Brahmu Samajists, despite adopting egregious errors, have so far managed to maintain some semblance of belief in the existence of God. The immense publicity of the existence of God has also restrained their thoughts from wandering aimlessly. In conclusion, although someone may not be grateful for divine revelation out of the depravity of their nature, the reality is that its powerful hand and mighty arm enable the vessel of certainty and truthfulness to sail; indeed, it is the very captain in the ocean of divine cognition. If the atheists have remained deprived of the effects of its blessing, it is not its fault. Rather, the atheists are themselves like a person who is inherently blind or deaf, or are like a limb that has become putrefied and leprous.

Here it should be borne in mind that those who believe in reason alone are as defective and deficient in action, faithfulness, and sincerity of conduct, as they are deficient in knowledge, enlightenment, and certainty. Their group has not produced any such exemplars from whom it can be proven that they are faithful and elect servants of God like millions of holy ones whose blessings were so manifested in the world that through the preaching, admonition, prayer, attention, and interacting fellowship of each one, hundreds of people became pure of conduct and men of God, and completely turned to their Lord so as to pay no attention to the world and its contents. They severed themselves altogether from the delights, comforts, joys, renown, pride, properties, and kingdoms of this world, and followed that path of righteousness whereby hundreds of them lost their lives, thousands of heads were cut off, and the earth was drenched with the blood of hundreds of thousands of holy ones. But, despite all of these calamities, they showed such fidelity that, like devoted lovers, they remained smiling while their feet were shackled, were joyful while suffering pain, and were grateful in the midst of misfortunes. They abandoned their homes out of the love for that very One [God], chose disgrace instead of honour, bore calamities instead of comfort, accepted poverty in place of wealth, and were content with indigence, isolation, and destitution over every kind of relationship, association, and kinship. They put seals [of testimony] on the existence of God by letting their blood be shed, having their heads severed, and sacrificing their lives. Through the blessing of truly following the Word of God, such special light was generated within them as has never been found in others. These people were not only found in the past; rather, this exalted group continues to appear among the followers of Islam and has repeatedly confuted and silenced its opponents by its enlightened existence. Thus, I have conclusively proven to the deniers that, just as the Holy Quran conveys one to the highest degree of perfection in the ranks of knowledge, in the same way, one also attains perfection in the ranks of conduct through it. The signs and light of being accepted by the One True God have always appeared—and continue to appear—in those who follow this Holy Word, but they never appear in the others.

In conclusion, this proof which one can observe with one’s own eyes, is sufficient for a seeker after truth; that is, those heavenly blessings and divine signs are found only in the perfect followers of the Holy Quran, and all other sects who renounce the True and Holy Revelation—whether Brahmus, Aryas, or Christians—are deprived and destitute of this light of truth. Hence, I myself take the responsibility for satisfying every denier, provided such a one—being ready to embrace Islam sincerely—takes the trouble of approaching me for seeking the truth with good intention, steadfastness, patience, and sincerity. If someone does not desist from denial even now, his denial would be clear proof that he has no desire to accept the truth because of his love for the world, and all of his disputation is by way of enmity and malice and not by way of seeking the truth.

Now, O Brahmu gentlemen! Just open your eyes and see that this investigation of mine has proven and fully disclosed that revelation is neither impossible nor non-existent; rather, it is a clearly proven verity which is necessary and essential according to reason, and its existence is verified by research; and I have fully demonstrated its existence. Therefore, O gentlemen, it is now incumbent upon you to read this Footnote and also Sub-Footnote Number One, Number Two, and Number Three with the utmost attention. Read them over and over again. Then, in conformity with the fear of God, renounce the dark thoughts of misguidance after finding the bright torch of the path. Let not such a facade of bigoted modesty find a place in your hearts, as to why you should undo that which you yourselves had previously done. Indeed, it is obligatory for everyone who regards himself as just to now demonstrate his justice, and everyone who regards himself a seeker after truth to now make no delay in accepting the truth.

Of course, it will be difficult for a proud man to accept a truth that goes against his boasting. But O ye who possess such a nature! You too should fear the Omnipotent God by whom you will ultimately be called to account. Bear well in mind that a person who does not renounce the path of falsehood even after finding the truth, remains adamant in his opposition, regards the holy personages of the pious Prophets of God to be soiled with the greed of the world by judging them through the standard of his nafs-e-ammarah [the self that incites to evil]—even though he himself is proven to be false, contemptible, and disgraceful in contrast to the Word of God—will find that his soul testifies to his misery and misfortune and constantly accuses him. Undoubtedly, he will reap the retribution for his dishonesty in the presence of God, because a person who stands in severe and scorching sunlight cannot enjoy the comfort of thick shade. Therefore, even though admonition is not an arrow that pierces the target as soon as it is released, but may I ask, why should those, who claim to follow the path of reason, do something in which worldly disgrace is clearly visible and misfortune of the Hereafter also cannot be averted?

In particular, I have great hope that the sagely nature of some of the courageous and decent people of the Brahmu Samaj, who are learned and capable, will enable them to accept with sincerity of heart all of the verities which have been proven to be true in this Footnote. In fact, I hope that they are convinced and rightly guided even before they finish thoroughly reading this entire footnote, because, during a controversy, a wise and noble person does not deliberately drag himself to the point of ignominy after realizing that he is confuted. On the contrary, he accepts the truth gracefully before his indignity is exposed and thus becomes worthy of respect in the eyes of those who possess the truth.

However, someone whose nature is impudent and shameless gives no thought whatsoever to ignominy and humiliation, nor does he entertain any fear for his disrepute. As a matter of fact, the world abounds with such people who, being totally devoid of any sense of shame, continue to persist in holding fast to self-evident falsehood with the utmost audacity. However much effort you exert in persuading them, they do not refrain from their obstinacy nor do they renounce their crooked ways. Knowing that it is day, they persist in calling it night, and fear not the least that people would call them blind and sightless. These are the very people who, on account of their extreme prejudice and lack of knowledge and ability, lie like corpses, failing to make the slightest advance towards truth and refuse to follow the path of steadfastness and rectitude. Strange indeed are all of their mannerisms and crooked is all of their speech. These are the very people about whom I have been writing repeatedly that they should come to their senses and, while claiming to be wise, they should not make fools of themselves. Such a man is absolutely worthless and mean who blatantly slanders the pious and holy ones, but becomes dumb at the time of speaking a word of truth. Had these people failed to understand a matter that truly comprised a subtle point, I would have appreciated that it was not their fault, and that they could not comprehend it because it was a subtle matter. But look at their bigotry! They refuse to accept things which can be understood even by a man of meagre mental capacity.

Take, for example, the debate about revelation. Let any honest man consider whether there is any difficulty in understanding that God, who possesses all perfect attributes, cannot be mute. Rather, it is a crucial necessity that as He sees, hears, and knows, He should speak as well. Since He possesses the attribute of speech, the beneficence of that attribute must grace the deserving members of humankind, because no attribute of God is devoid of imparting its beneficence. He is the Source of beneficence by virtue of all of His attributes, not just some of His attributes; and He is the Mercy for man by virtue of all His attributes, not just some of His attributes.

Is there any perplexity in understanding that man, who is imprisoned by diverse kinds of selfish motives and is ever so inclined towards greed and lust, cannot himself be the founder and author of the laws of Shariah? Rather, that holy law can emanate only from the One who, in His Being, is free from every passion of ego, forgetfulness, and error. Can there be any doubt that reason alone can never convey one to the stage of ‘He is’ regarding the cognition of the Divine? Is not a natural desire felt in the minds of all humans that they should advance beyond conjectures based on reason in their search for God? Do the souls of earnest seekers not cry out for such disclosure that would grant them perfect satisfaction and contentment regarding the Living God and the metaphysical world, thereby imparting unequivocal knowledge about His Being and His promises?

Can the fact remain hidden from any just person that the hundreds of conflicts caused by long-winded speeches—the primary reason being the misinformation in those speeches—cannot be resolved by the innuendos in the laws of nature and the clues in that vague book [of nature]. Rather, the damage done by speeches can only be rectified by speeches, and he who has been killed by the word can only be resurrected by the word. However, for a word to combat the impure word, it should be of such purity as springs forth from unadulterated truth and the special knowledge of God. Given that the need for revelation is a manifest truth, how can we believe that they—who continue to reject revelation and treat the Holy Book of God as an invention of man—have any fear of God and how can we expect their mouths to utter any word of justice? My admonition can be of no avail to those who refuse to forsake falsehood under any circumstances, and their perusal of this book will be equally in vain.

What a pity that hundreds of men are called wise, yet they are enslaved by ignorance. They have eyes, yet they do not see; they have ears, yet they hear not; and they have hearts, yet they perceive not. There is no dearth of such people among Brahmu Samajists who, even when they demonstrate their ‘wisdom’, they do so by tearing off the eternal attributes of God from Him, and call Him dumb and deficient in beneficence and power. When this is the state of their intellectuals, would not the less intelligent among them deny the attributes of God altogether by following their footsteps? For, if God does not have the power to speak, then how can one comprehend that He has the power to see, hear, and know? If He does not possess the attribute of speaking, what proof is there that He possesses other attributes? And if He has the attribute of speaking, but no creature derives any benefit from it, does it not follow that the tree of Mercy fails to shelter His creatures with the shadow of all of its branches—which are the perfect attributes—as if some of its branches are dead, with no one deriving any benefit from them?

Such are the beliefs in which the Brahmu Samajists happily indulge, yet despite their wretched and false beliefs, they maintain that the Holy Quran, which is the fountainhead of all verities, is—God forbid—not the Word of God, but written out of selfish motives. And because wicked thoughts deprive one of good morals, their ill-thinking towards the Holy Quran has plunged them into all kinds of depravities and they deem it permissible to indulge in every type and manner of contempt. They regard the healthy as ill, and remain oblivious to the mourning within their own home. It is a pity that they fail to reflect whether a book written out of selfish motives can exhibit such Signs that it should be the most superior and sublime of all books in wisdom, knowledge, truth, and subtle verities, and that man cannot compete against it. Can a book be called a man-made fabrication if all of mankind utterly fails to bring forth its like even if they exert themselves to death! Is it fair that such a noble, innocent, pure, and perfect man should be called conceited and driven by selfish motives, who received no share of worldly learning whatsoever and was unlettered and totally unacquainted with traditional knowledge, and yet, through the excellences of his superb knowledge, he put the intellectuals to shame in their own eyes, shattered the arrogance of all philosophers, and showed the path of God to those who had lost the way? If such an accomplishment was the work of man, it would be as if he were not man but God Himself, who performed an accomplishment which human capacities are incapable and unable to achieve. If the Holy Prophet who brought the Holy Quran is, God forbid, a conceited man, then what name should we give to the great intellectuals, sages, and philosophers—who were called ‘gods’ and were deemed by creature-worshippers as the ‘lords of all the worlds’—who could not equal him in the excellence of knowledge? Indeed, their words in comparison to the Holy Quran are not worth even as much as half a drop of water is in comparison to the ocean. It is a pity that they do not realize that when they deem it permissible to denigrate the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, it is tantamount to denigrating the entire world. Whether someone is proud of his intellect or claims to be a follower of another Prophet, the only straight path for him is that he should first strive his utmost and produce by means of his own intellect or his revealed book the verities and insights to compare with the wisdom-laden verities in the Holy Quran. Thereafter, he may utter any nonsense that he so desires. However, before undertaking this enterprise, whatever he does to denigrate the Holy Quran or to speak ill of Khatamul-Anbiya’ [the Seal of the Prophets], then those very words, in fact, apply to the same ignorant fool or to some prophet or saint of his. After all, if the light of the sun were deemed to be darkness, then what would be left for us to call light?

O you who have turned away from the Furqan [Holy Quran]
And have stumbled into the bottomless pit of rebellion!

Do not overly boast as you stand before the Light of Guidance!
Repent of ridiculing and mocking.

How blind is the eye, how ill-fated it is,
To which the Sun appears as a tiny particle!

Unless you renounce this way and habit of yours,
The boat in which you sail shall remain stranded far from shore.

How long will you harbour enmity and malice toward your God?
How long will you mock and ridicule the Faith?

Do not decimate yourself by abandoning modesty;
While mocking others, do not become so pitiable that others weep for you.

When the bright sun shines high in the sky,
How can you conceal it under dust and straw?

The dark night can cover many a fraud and deceit,
But doing so on a bright day is impossible.

The brilliance of the Furqan’s light is not such
As can remain hidden from the insightful.

It is a torch of guidance for the entire world;
It is indeed a guide and leader for the entire world.

It is a mercy of God for the world,
It is a favour from the heavens for the world.

It is a treasure trove of divine mysteries,
It is a God-sent means of knowing God.

Its perfection is far superior to the capacity of man;
It is the guiding hand of reasoning and argumentation.

It is the perfect accomplisher both in knowledge and deeds;
Its argument is supreme and its impact is perfect.

One who, out of arrogance and malice, does not see that light
Remains blind and deprived of divine light.

How wonderful! What mysteries it attained from that Incomparable Being!
May my heart and soul be sacrificed for these mysteries!

It is imbued with the light of the Holy Being’s glory;
The bright sun at its zenith is mere dust in comparison.

How wonderful! What treasures of divine mysteries it possesses!
May my heart and soul be sacrificed for this light!

It is a mirror designed to reflect the face of God;
It has drawn the entire world towards God.

Through it, the mute became eloquent,
And through it, the ugly became beautiful.

They ate the fruit from the garden of self-annihilation,
And thereby killed their egos and rooted out their base desires.

A hand from the unseen clutched the hems of their hearts,
And the charm of the Beloved pulled their feet out of the mire.

Indeed it was the attraction of the Word of God
That turned their hearts away from the world.

It emptied their breasts of everything other than God,
And filled them with the wine of love for God, the Unique.

When that pure light permeated their very being,
The Full Moon shone out of its veil!

All veils of darkness were removed from them,
Their being transformed entirely into light.

Nothing was left of ego, nor of desire, nor of greed,
Like a [severed] head falling, covered in dust and blood.

They were lovers of the majestic and exalted countenance of God,
They were indeed thirsty for the pure and sweet water of the river divine.

They were impregnated with divine love, and were liberated from every greed;
They were persecuted and slain, but they uttered not a sound.

They were cleansed of the filth of their egos,
And were delivered from the bondage of self-conceit.

The Beloved seized them in the noose of His Love,
And they became totally oblivious to all other relations.

They set foot upon the road to self-negation,
And from head to toe they were submerged in the remembrance of God.

The remembrance of the Beloved is the wholesome nourishment of their lives;
It is the only aim of their existence, and the essence of their lives.

They have burnt down all their desires, except for the Beloved;
They have shunned their eyes from everyone except the Beloved.

They sacrificed their hearts and souls to one countenance alone,
To unite with Him became their sole objective.

Dying for the Beloved, they annihilated themselves;
Love [of the Beloved] surged in them to work wonders.

They departed the dwellings of self-conceit;
The overwhelming flood [of the Beloved’s love] swept them along.

As a consequence they found the light of God;
When the ego departed, God appeared.

By wearing down the body, one finds the Beloved,
When the heart is surrendered, life is attained.

The love of the Beloved rained upon their faces;
The cloudburst of His mercy poured over their dwellings.

When they desire God to disclose some secret,
They are vouchsafed revelation by the Sovereign Lord.

All of these lovers of the Incomparable One
Attain their light from the Word of God.

They emerge like the sun and the moon,
And show their faces to others, as well—

Especially at times when the autumn wind
Destroys the garden of love and fidelity;

When they extol and laud this rotten carcass,
And the love of God Almighty vanishes from their hearts;

When they fall in love with riches, wealth, and honour,
And the love of the Sovereign Lord grows cold;

When the glory and honour of this transitory inn of a world
Begin to look pleasing in the eyes of the foolish;

When they ostentatiously remember God,
While their hearts are dominated by lust and greed;

In such days that are like dark nights,
The favour of the Just God holds the hands of people.

He sends an enlightened one to His creatures,
So that darkness may be dispelled through his light;

So that the ardent lover’s weeping and lamenting
Awaken God’s creatures from their slumber;

So that people recognize the straight path,
So that deniers know that God exists.

When such a person appears in the world,
God manifests his greatness to the world.

Spring arrives with his advent;
The season of blooming flowers appears with his advent.

The time of seeing the Beloved returns with his advent,
And tranquillity returns to restless lovers.

The moon-like face of the Beloved becomes visible,
And the sun again rises to its zenith.

Once again tulips and roses begin to laugh, dallying;
Once again nightingales begin to sing.

The unseen hand of God nurtures him through His grace,
The dawn of his truth breaks in full manifestation.

The light of revelation, like the spring breeze,
Blows its fragrance upon him from the unseen.

He becomes the recipient of revelation embodying secrets divine,
That is, the secrets which are solely God’s prerogative;

So that he may reveal the true facts,
And completely shatter the head of disbelief.

Thus it is that He, the Benevolent, the Holy, the Almighty God,
Enlightens him to shine like the bright sun;

And through him bestows sight upon eyes,
And through him, restores hearing to ears.

Anyone who comes to him with sincerity and purity of heart
Is cured by God’s command.

The Prophet of Excellent Qualities has prophesied,
Having received knowledge from God, the Knower of the unseen:

‘At the head of every century, a man will appear in the world.’
Who is worthy of this task?

So that the Faith be cleansed of innovations,
And so that God’s creatures attain blessings from him.

In short, the auliya’ [friends of Allah]
Belong exclusively to the faith of Islam.

Do not say, ‘It is vain, futile, and wrong.’
Demand its proof. I myself am responsible for providing it.

O despicable, abject speck of man!
How could the Creator be impotent and weak in comparison to you!

I do not make false promises to seekers [after truth];
I would be a liar should I fail to present a sign of it.

Indeed I was born to fulfil this Sign,
And I am free from every other concern, care, and grief.

I am calling the world towards the fountain of limpid water,
Like a mother who runs after her children,

So that, perchance, the thirsty wandering in the wilderness,
Hearing my clamour and call, might come to me.

But the condition is humility, truthfulness, and purity of heart,
And coming with the awareness of their being needy and with the fear of God.

And seeking with meekness and humility of heart,
And with sincerity and perfect obedience.

Should anyone turn away even now,
And, leaving the path of justice, follow another path,

And neither seeks guidance from me, nor knows himself,
Nor rids himself of rancour;

Such a one is not a human being but only a despicable insect,
Turned away from the threshold of the Incomparable One.

The argument of the believers has been completed against him,
My word is firmly established, all of his excuses are but vain.

O you who crave your carnal desires with such intemperance!
Be oft-reminded of [death,] the destroyer of pleasure.

This transitory home will ultimately come to an end,
Why have you then fallen in love with this temporary abode?

Look how your earlier life has gone by!
Look what you have lost by its passing away!

Prosperity has vanished, leaving affliction behind,
The enemy is rejoicing and friends are aggrieved.

The earth has devoured hundreds of arrogant like you,
Yet you maliciously hold your head high.

Listen to the condition of the mortal world,
Which it is portraying with its prevailing condition,

That this world is faithful to none,
Nor does it rest until it has detached someone from itself.

If you have ears, you would hear hundreds of sighs from within you,
Let out by the decimated heart whose inner self has been ruined.

Saying, ‘Why did I turn away from God!
Why did I fall in love with that which has jilted me!’

Inquire from the dead the value of this path;
There are many a grave filled with regret.

After all, how long will you, the impudent one, remain rebellious?
Can anyone sever the bond with the Beloved?

Look at the face which manifests the countenance of the Beloved;
Each and every face is to be sacrificed at the altar of the Beloved.

Come out of your shell of self-conceit, for that alone is baqa!2
Lose yourself in the Beloved, for that alone is liqa!

How long will you remain disaffected with the Beloved?
Tell me the whereabouts of anyone like Him!

In both worlds there is none like the Beloved;
His lovers care not for any others.

When the fire of love kindled in the lover’s heart,
Everything therein burnt except the Beloved.

This honour is bestowed by God to those alone
Who liberate themselves from the clutches of their egos,

Who live in accordance with the commandments of God,
And who do not disobey His injunctions.

No one else is granted this dignity;
Bring forth your evidence if anyone else has this status.

Others cannot attain fidelity and love;
The ‘wise’ can at best reach the stage of unrewarded devotion.

The ‘wise’ who take pride in their intellect
Remain ignorant of reality and mysteries divine.

They have whitewashed their exteriors like mausoleums,
But their inner selves are filled with a myriad of wickedness.

He who is the Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining God
Is, in their view, only an illusory being.

He who is the Guardian, All-Powerful, and the Lord of His servants,
Is believed by them to be lying like an inanimate object.

They are self-conceited and prisoners of their own intellect;
They are unaware of the All-Knowing and All-Powerful God.

Humility and submission are ingrained in the nature of lovers;
We have never found arrogance and love coexisting.

If you seek a vehicle to take you to the right path,
Search for it where dust is flying about.

Search for it where cruelty ceases to exist.
Search for it where there is no hypocrisy, arrogance, or contention.

Those in thrall to the world cannot be like those who annihilate their selves;
Those who merely talk cannot equal those who sacrifice their lives.

Man and his world are plunged in contention and wickedness,
But the world of the lovers is altogether different!

Unless your heart reaches the brink of death,
You will not be able to receive the message of the Beloved.

Until you distance yourself from being self-conceited,
Until you sacrifice yourself for the Beloved,

Until you free yourself from your own self,
Unless you become madly in love with God,

Until your dust morphs into a cloud of dust,
And until your blood pours forth from this cloud of dust,

Until your blood is spilled for someone,
Until your life is sacrificed for someone,

How could you be guided to the path of the threshold of the Beloved.
Reflect over this with sincerity and depth of feelings.

This intellect of yours is not a vehicle meant for this road.
Beware! Beware! Lest you go astray.

True obedience demands negation of the ego;
Where are you, and how far removed are you from the path of love?

After sacrificing faith at the altar of your ego,
You rest, relishing your obduracy and arrogance.

What kind of wisdom, understanding, and opinion you have,
That you regard yourself equal to the Unequalled One!

Who is the incompetent teacher who instructed you?
Oh, what divine wrath have you incurred that has blinded you in both of your eyes!

What blunder have you committed with your own thinking!
The very first step you have taken is filled with filth!

How can your defective intellect be equal to God!
How can a handful of dust fly to reach the skies!

How can intellect, which suffers from hundreds of oversights and faults,
Acquire knowledge that is the prerogative of that Holy Being?

Woe betide you who praise reason that is prone to forgetfulness!
Woe betide you who forget and err!

How can that which stumbles and errs hundreds of times,
Carry you from the deep sea to the shore!

Reason is but a mirage, do not make haste to reach it,
Which shows a fountain only from a distance.

This ark of yours is withered and damaged,
And furthermore, it is caught in a whirlpool.

Take no pride in such an ark,
O wretched one, do not give yourself such airs despite being ugly!

You cannot attain certainty through the path of inferences,
They are only founded on opinion and conjecture.

Even if you melt in the course of your speculations,
You cannot fathom the [divine] secrets.

Even if two hundred lives were to leave your body,
It would be impossible to remove doubt and conjecture.

Only the Word of God can provide comfort to the heart;
How can you be intoxicated with the love of God, except from the goblet of God!

The road leading to Him is closed for the others,
All doors to Heaven are shut on them.

Until a torch is lit from the unseen,
No one can be liberated from the dark night of ignorance.

Here, one must renounce all types of arrogance,
Yet you take pride in your intellect and reasoning.

What ignorance! You are content with the path you follow,
While you spend not a moment thinking about God.

Go seek communion with the Friend from the Friend Himself,
Never ever depend on your own strength.

Until you prostrate yourself with humility,
The veils of your ego will not be removed.

Until all of your wings and feathers fall off,
You cannot possibly fly to this abode.

Of whomsoever the everlasting good fortune becomes a companion,
Humility becomes his character in everything.

He indeed gets accepted in the presence of the Incomparable God,
Who escapes from the narrow passage of arrogance.

The recognition of God is not realized through self-conceit;
Self-conceit only increases one in self-conceit.

Do not let your egotism corrupt yourself,
Being a bat, do not presume the work of the sun.

As long as man’s self is filled with pride,
His heart remains empty of the Beloved.

O you whose eyes are blinded by arrogance!
What should I do that your eyes may open.

If you seek God with all sincerity of heart,
Do not disrespectfully indulge in self-conceit.

Ask only God to find the secret of the path to God,
Remain within your limits! You are not like God.

It is not the station of a servant to insist upon his own opinion,
Nor is it appropriate that he should himself settle down to govern.

One who remains busy complying with the commands of the Master,
He alone will be paid his wages; he alone earns bliss.

The one who acts of his own accord, without being commanded,
His wages are never due to him.

We are but only weak and rolling in dust,
How then can we know the secrets of that Holy Being on our own?

We, all of us, are nothing; He alone is the Perfect Being.
It is indeed impossible that our knowledge should be like His Knowledge.

He, the Incomparable Being, who is called God,
How can intellect’s thoughts possibly reach Him?

Things that are concealed within your mind—
How can anyone besides you know them like you do?

The One who created the eye, bestows light upon it,
The One who granted the heart, grants joy.

Look at the physical eye and see,
How its Creator has provided for it the sun out of His grace!

And for the benefit of the world,
He made the sun to appear at times, and to disappear at other times.

The same is true of the inner eye,
The sun of it is the Word of the Incomparable God.

O man! Beware that the intellect of man,
When it ponders, encounters thousands of pitfalls.

Unless His grace opens for you the way you seek,
The hundreds of futile attempts you make will all go in vain.

There is no place for conjectures in subtle mysteries,
A camel cannot pass through the eye of a needle.

You are ignorant of that path [leading to the Beloved],
You know not the beauty of that Face,

What do you tell people about it?
You have not seen the crescent—what sign of it will you tell others?

To talk about the Beloved, when the breast is devoid of love,
Is like dressing a corpse in the attire of the living.

Ours is but only One God; all types of grace
Come from Him, who is the Protector of body and soul.

He Himself provides it all, out of kindness and beneficence,
For, He is Benevolent, Powerful, and Loving.

Go out in the fields and see for yourself,
How row after row of the ears of corn, dallying with one another, stand on their stems!

All of this is for us, so that, having benefited from them,
We do not suffer from the pain and trouble of hunger.

Will He not do the same for the Eternal Abode?
Reflect over this with your intelligence and sense of shame and modesty.

You would hear the voice from within you, saying,
You can achieve this, but only with the help of the Incomparable God.’

No one can imagine or think
That an elephant’s work can be accomplished by a fly.

How, then, could it be possible for someone, who is no more than a speck of potential existence,
To do God’s work with his own power and strength?

O you, who are worse than animals! What kind of intellect is this!
What kind of coverings have fallen over your intelligence!

If anyone tells you out of disdain
That there are thousands like you in the city,

You do not surpass them in your intelligence,
Even the lowliest of men are your equal;

What you regard as improper treatment toward you,
How can you approve it for God, the Creator?

How can you believe that the Doer of everything
Is mute and incapable of speech!

How can you believe that the Bestower of every type of light
Has become stingy and deficient!

How can you believe that God, who is Jealous of His Honour,
Is as helpless as the dead lying in their graves!

The glorification of God is the raison d’être of religion and faith;
Cursed be the faith that blasphemes Him!

That God who has endowed people with the tongue,
Who has invested a handful of dust with the power of speech—

How can He Himself be mute and speechless!
You ought to be ashamed [to think so] of that Holy and Perfect Being.

All perfection, dignity, and greatness is comprehended in Him;
How, then, can He be defective, O prisoner of misguidance!

When all of His attributes are manifested,
How can it remain hidden that He speaks!

After all, the function of the eyes is nothing
But that man should see the way with them.

Were there any fear of God in your heart,
You would not display such carelessness!

You would seek the path leading to Him with all your heart and soul,
And would walk towards Him with sincerity.

Whosoever gives his heart to a beloved,
He inquires about the beloved from the one who knows.

If he cannot meet the beloved,
Then, at the least, he desires a letter from the beloved.

He cannot rest without the beloved,
Sometimes he looks at the face of the beloved, while at others he listens to the words of the beloved.

If you really love someone with all your heart,
You cannot have patience without meeting that beloved.

If, perchance, you are separated from the beloved,
You feel your soul departing from your body.

Your heart burns in the pangs of separation;
Your eyes start shedding tears on the departure of the beloved.

Then all of a sudden that beauty, that face,
Appears before both of your eyes in an alley.

You seize and cling to the robe of the beloved in the madness of your love,
Saying, ‘My heart bled from not seeing you.’

You have such a love for created beings—particle of potential existence,
Yet you cast away the Unique God from your heart.

You have become utterly indifferent to that Beloved,
You care not for His Beauty nor His Word.

You are so close to, so intimate with, the dead,
Yet you are averse to the Ever-Living Beloved.

Have you ever heard about any lover who is satiated in love?
Love and patience can hardly co-exist.

When the Beloved’s love penetrates into the depth of the heart,
Eyes never get satiated from looking at Him.

You have totally fallen in love with others,
And are totally indifferent to the Beloved.

Is this the manner and behaviour of an ardent lover?
Ocorpse-like man! Is this thewayto appreciate thedignity of the Beloved!

The signs of sincerity are present in lovers,
O black-hearted one, what have you to do with love!

The steps of your efforts will not move forward
Until the smoke of your heart—your arrogance—ceases to exist.

The Beloved will manifest Himself at the time
When you distance yourself from your ego.

Unless you first burn yourself out, you will not deliver yourself from burning passions and grief.
Unless you first die, you will not liberate yourself from the clutches of death.

Of what use are the worthless bodies and souls that are not burning [in the pangs of separation];
Hurl into the fire such a heart that suffers not from grief !

Nothing is like the Incomparable Being;
Ruined be the heart that does not bleed for His sake!

All treasures of the world be sacrificed for that Beloved!
The dust of the feet of the Beloved is far more precious than hundreds of treasures.

Whatever is received from His hand is indeed excellent.
One thorn of His is better than thousands of gardens.

Disgrace for His sake is better than any honour;
Poverty for His sake is better than riches.

To die for His sake is everlasting life;
Hundreds of pleasures can be sacrificed for these pains.

O you who tread upon the path of the Beloved!
Remain faithful to Him even at the cost of your life.

The righteous who seek the Beloved
Lay down even their lives for the sake of the Beloved.

If they cannot find the road to the Beloved,
They are stricken to death with grief.

They find their pleasure in the pain they suffer;
They see beauty in their love-stricken faces.

You are bogged down in mud like a donkey;
How then can you appreciate the endeavour and resolution of these champions?

It is easy to talk about pangs and grief;
Who knows what they are except those who suffer these pangs?

Who has made his heart the home of his Beloved,
And has flown thousands of miles away from base desires.

He distanced himself from the ego, and found God;
He lost himself and found the hand of the Guide.

But how could you understand when you are so ignorant of this path,
And have no understanding of God’s glory?

All of your work is done through crude and immature intellect;
All of your efforts are in vain.

Like parrots, you merely memorize the words,
Saying, ‘Man is rational and free.’

O you who run like mad after riches!
What a pity! You are so indifferent to matters of faith.

Turn your heart towards faith;
Let the thought of the Hereafter be your foremost concern.

Unless someone is divinely commissioned,
How can disbelief and belief be clearly distinguished?

How can the distinction between a rebel against God and His obedient servant
Be made except by the commandment of God?

The prerequisite of obeying a command is the presence of the command.
O you, who are out of your mind, first look for the command.

Or give up your false claim that,
‘I follow the commandment of God, the Just.’

O ignorant one! A command fabricated out of your own wishes
Cannot be a divine command.

Neither common usage nor reason permits
That your own conjecture should be taken as a divine command.

His is the command which He Himself issues,
And you ought to obey it immediately when it is given.

When it is proven that a revelation is from God,
The need of revelation also stands proven.

Were you to attain spiritual insight,
You would find your destruction in conjectures.

See through reason, reflection, and logic,
[And you will discover that] the foundation of reason is not solid.

Until you see a place with your own eyes,
Or you get its description from the one who knows,

Reason on its own would not inform you that,
‘A certain house has such and such features.’

Then how can it be said about the Hereafter,
‘That place and realm is such and such’?

What stupidity it is! What misguidance!
You boast of being intelligent while you are, in fact, ignorant.

How can you tread, by following your conjectures,
A path that you have never seen in your life?

How can you have any knowledge about the Hereafter?
Did your mother see it, or did your father?

If no one saw it, how could you have any knowledge of it?
O ignoble one! Do not strut pompously while being nude.

As some have more and others less,
Similarly there are different grades of accepting His grace.

Dark is the night! Fear is ever more!
Do not ruin yourself by being so self-conceited.

When you do not know what is behind a wall,
How then could you know the secrets of God?

What reason! What knowledge you have!
What wrath of God has shut both of your eyes!

You delight in this world as you delight in Eid,
Yet you do not remember divine punishment.

Listen to the revelation of God; what secrets it tells
From the One and Only, the Peerless God,

The Word of God is not in the heavens,
So that you may say, ‘It is beyond my reach.’

Or that you may say, ‘It is an impossible task;
What power do I have to reach the heavens?’

Nor is the Word of God beneath the earth,
So that you may say, ‘How can I thrust myself into the earth?

How can I dig it out from the depths of the earth?
Indeed, I do not have such strength.’

That Holy Being has done away with your excuses—
The light of God’s throne has come down upon the earth.

If the mercy of the One and Only God pulls you,
Your good fortune shall carry you to that light.

Good God! What light has it spread;
This Word is absolutely unique in its grace.

The shackles of ignorance are removed once and for all by observing it;
Visiting it resolves hundreds of troubles.

Its recitation yields the fruit of light;
A whole world is overwhelmed by its beneficence.

May God preserve it from the evil eye!
What beauty it is! It is, as it were, the fountain of pure and clean water.

Ever since the custom of falling in love came into existence,
No one could even imagine a beloved like this.

The light it has manifested
Has never been seen in the sun or the moon by anyone in the world.

How long will you take pride in faulty reason?
What can I do that you might open your eyes?

Look at your flaws and defects, and at the perfection of God;
Reflect upon your indignity, and upon the glory of God.

No one has seen the path of the Glorious God through reason,
Nor will they ever see it [through reason].

The place where one needs to burn oneself;
How can the path towards it be opened through conjecture alone?

Until divine revelation came down to help, and
The morning breeze brought forth the fragrance of spring,

Reason had no knowledge of that garden,
And the wings of the bird of conjecture were burnt out.

That spring breeze brought the fragrance of the Beloved
To the extent that reason also began to function.

The Beloved Himself repeatedly watered
The tree of reason until it began to yield fruit.

It is time for enjoyment and the season for celebration,
So why are you steeped in mourning and lamentation?

Pray to God for such a strong hurricane
That should sweep away all of your rubbish.

There is no doubt about the sun and the moon;
Pray to your Beloved to bestow upon you the eyes to see.

You will remain misguided so long as you are rebellious;
When you seek with sincerity of heart, you will find Him.

But you do not want to seek the truth of the secret,
That is the problem. O you, devoid of sense!

To argue the existence of God on the basis of His work
Is only a metaphor—not the real union with God.

One cannot attain communion with God through metaphoric machinations;
Open your eyes, it is not a game!

Even if you burn your heart two hundred times,
Even then you cannot succeed through reason.

You have no knowledge of the Beloved;
You just fumble about, blindfolded, searching for Him in vain.

One hears subtle truths and [divine] secrets
From the mouth of the Beloved Himself;

The other is a prisoner of intellect’s uncertainty—
How can they both be equal?

O you who pride yourself on the path of conjecture!
You are not wise; rather, you are utterly insane.

Do you believe that God, the Fountainhead of all grace,
Has been granted favours by wise men?

The strange god that has found a place in your heart
Is so weak, helpless, and lazy,

How can reason accept that God, the Greatest,
Gained all of His renown through the efforts of man?

Dark is the night, frightening are the woodlands and the wide wilderness!
O ignorant ones! Why do you sleep in oblivion?

Wake up and reflect upon your condition!
See the dangers of the way, and heave sighs.

Does it long for the veils to be removed?
Or does it regard conjectures to be sufficient in every situation?

3
‘Will you not then see’ are the words of God,
Rise and discover the reality of what your soul thirsts for.

You are incarcerated in hundreds of thousands of errors,
Each one more dangerous than a dragon.

Strange is your blindness and lack of insight!
That you are yet unaware of this simple truth.

The statement is true and not wrong;
What is wrong is that you do not understand it.

What can reveal the hidden, the ever more abstruse secrets,
Except the Revelation of God?

You do not yet understand what I say.
How can I reach the recesses of your heart?

What a pity! My heart melts with grief,
Yet my listener does not understand the pangs that I suffer.

O Sun of the Beloved’s Countenance! Come out quickly!
My heart grieves from the long and dark night.

One look is sufficient in matters of faith,
Would that someone look upon it with the fear of God!

Disbelief is evident; so is belief.
I have explained it to you both, publicly and privately.

Discarding the fear of God and adoption of immorality
Are two causes of the perversion of the heart;

Otherwise, the face of the Beloved is not hidden.
O the dead of heart! Whatever veil exists, it is from yourself.

The Beloved is nearer than the jugular vein;
It is your absurdity that prolongs the matter.

Whoever distances himself from his ego completely,
God Himself takes over the management of his affairs.

The Beloved is Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining and All-Powerful,
O despicable one! Regard Him not as dead.

If at all you desire nearness to the Beloved,
Stick to the path of truth and sincerity.

If you are in any doubt, arise and experience it for yourself,
So that, I may uproot all of your doubts.

No one is immune to forgetfulness and error
Except God, who has the knowledge of everything.

Ponder over it to make a diligent search;
Tell me, if there is anyone immune to it.

Otherwise, desist from mischief and denial;
Never gorge upon the stinking carcass of a lie.

At last you will have to answer to God;
Think about it yourself. Fear God, the Just!

The heart that lies fallen in a tavern;
How can it come out of the mire on its own?

All of your attention focuses on the wrong. Repent!
You have fallen in love with the ugly. Repent!

O you who boast of reason and wisdom!
Be mindful! Do not trespass beyond your boundaries.

Why do you turn away from the right path?
Are you unaware that you will ultimately be called to account?

Your foot is lame and your destination far off;
I wonder how you can reach it in this condition?

He first musters all his power, strength, and vigour,
And exerts his efforts to the utmost.

Perchance he might succeed in restarting the endeavour,
And is not obliged to seek others’ favours.

When he finds the task to be beyond his power,
And he can no longer control the situation,

Cries before the Holy Threshold of God,
And places his forehead on dust [in prostration] with humility.

Forgive me my sins and cover my shortcomings,
Lest the enemy rejoice in abundance.’

For, such is human nature
That the three qualities I mentioned are all ingrained within it.

Allah the Wise, too, out of His infinite grace,
Grants man the means in accordance with his nature;

Grants him the intellect to steer his efforts,
And opens for him the way of reflection, reasoning, and deliberation.

And for mutual support,
He creates within their hearts compassion for one another,

And cements their relationships
By establishing communities, tribes, and nations;

So that the affairs of man culminate in perfection,
And so that all of his desires be fulfilled;

So that the teaching reaches the stage of certainty,
And so that the way of understanding is made twofold.

With their help, every nature [of man] comes out of the pit of misguidance,
According to its level of understanding and conception.

Has always been seeking divine revelation.
Reflect over it carefully so that you may understand.

Your nature has been moulded in the same fashion.
O ignorant one! Why then do you turn away from nature?

At other times, it draws man to the narratives of others,
In order to gain contentment from the statements of the trustworthy,

Because satisfaction and peace of mind are not possible
Without the accounts of the truthful.

Moreover, it is necessary for teaching
To be at the level of intelligence [of the addressee];

And so that men of high and low intelligence,
And both the eminent and the ordinary may walk towards that Incomparable One.

Namely, the Unique God could not be so well known
Only through intellectual effort.

Had God not said

[‘I am present’],
The world would not have prostrated with humility.

The clamour with which the existence of that Beloved is announced
Proclaims that the entire world has turned into His ardent lover.

The God of the universe Himself has caused it;
Man has not done any favour to God.

What a pity! I wonder what sort of men they are,
Who have turned away from God and are in thrall to their ego.

How could there be reason if the grace of revelation had not been granted?
The existence of the eye is because of the sun.

The nightingale has learnt to sing through the favour of the rose;
He alone can deny this, who has shut his eyes.

The entire world is a witness to the bounties of God;
Only a fool denies His revelation and inspiration.

Cherish in your heart the love of the pious ones,
So that you too, my dear, may join the pious ones.

All creatures are gifted with this intellect,
So do not pride yourself in it, for there are many like you.

How can we cope without the Beloved!
What is our being! And what is the feeble reason!

You drink the poison of separation and disappointment,
Yet you deny inspiration and revelation.

You are on the verge of death for lack of water,
Yet you turn away from the water of life.

You yourself are blind, yet you harbour enmity towards those with eyes.
What a pity! What misfortune and loss you enjoy!

The remedy for the heart’s pain is not the sharpness of our intellect;
That remedy is in the hospital of divine revelation.

Imagining gold does not constitute gold,
Gold is that which can be seen [to be gold].

Revelation has bestowed this favour upon reason,
That it corrects all its defective conceptions.

That [i.e. intellect] only conjectures, this [i.e. revelation] openly manifests;
That [i.e. intellect] secretly whispers, this [i.e. revelation] unravels the mystery.

That [i.e. intellect] scatters apart, this [revelation] gathers together;
That [i.e. intellect] arouses desire, this [i.e. revelation] fulfils desire.

That which smashes each and every idol of our hearts
Is indeed the revelation of the Peerless God.

That which reveals the countenance of the Beloved to us
Is nothing but the revelation of the Most Loving God.

That which grants us the goblet of certainty
Is nothing but the revelation from God, the Comforter.

Bonding with the Beloved and intoxication from His goblet
Are possible only through the revelation of God.

Bonding with God is the ultimate cause of all objectives;
Whoever forgets this cause remains unfulfilled.

We are totally indigent without His bounties;
We are absolutely ruined without His favours.

Here, I consider it appropriate to note that Pundit Shiv Narayan Agnihotri, who is a senior member of the Brahmu Samaj of Lahore, has expressed some opposing views, which, in his opinion, go against my explanation for the need of divine revelation given above, in the hopes that he may somehow prevent the truth of this matter from having an effect upon his sect. He has struggled a great deal in this regard, and has even written a review with the utmost effort. However, as the well-known [Urdu] proverb goes, Sanch ko anch nahin [‘Truth has nothing to fear’], and since no one can hide the sun of truth, the result of whatever effort the Pundit has exerted is only that it has become manifestly clear to the wise how averse he is to accepting the truth.

The Pundit’s composition in no way merits any effort towards its rebuttal, albeit a careful study of my preceding discourse is more than sufficient to refute it. However, I deem it appropriate that, insincere as the writing of the Pundit may be, the reality [of its worthlessness] should be disclosed to the just, lest the Pundit feel aggrieved [for being ignored], or some of his friends, out of their wishful thinking, misperceive my silence as any sort of inability. Hence, it should be clear that in response to the evidence [of the Holy Quran’s incomparability] given by me, the Pundit has asserted in his review that the manner in which the divine scriptures are believed to be revealed is impossible and impractical according to the dictates of reason, and since it goes against the laws of nature, it is absolutely invalid. According to the august view of the esteemed Pundit, the existence of such revelation is absolutely impossible, which is known as the Divine Word and is revealed solely by the All-Wise God who is the Knower of the unseen, and like His Holy Being, is absolutely free from all kinds of doubts, errors, and omissions, and is characterized by all of the perfect qualities that should be found in divine revelation. In other words, as God is the Knower of the unseen, that revelation also comprises knowledge of the unseen. As God is the All-Wise and All-Knowing, that Word also comprises wisdom and knowledge. As God is entirely unblemished of mistakes, falsehood, errors, and omissions, that Word is also free from all these defects, and human thoughts have no part in it whatsoever. Man does not have the ability to bring about revelation upon himself by acquiring any type of piety and purity, or by any other means or plan, nor to know of the light of the unseen, hidden matters, and heavenly mysteries whenever he so desires, for had that been possible, man would have attained—just like God—knowledge of every particle and nothing would have remained concealed from him. He would himself gain the knowledge, on account of his own piety and purity, that enhances his good fortune and removes his troubles. As a result, he would never encounter any trouble nor suffer any grief.

However, it is strange that although the Pundit denies divine revelation so vehemently and persistently, he is unable to refute my proofs and arguments which certainly and unequivocally prove the need for divine revelation; in fact, he has not even paid any attention to them. Obviously, since I had documented irrefutable arguments supporting the need and actual existence of divine revelation, and even presented a sample of various revelations, the only option left for the Pundit, had he argued as a seeker after truth and a truthful person, was to refute my arguments with comparable arguments of his own, to demolish and invalidate whatever proof I had given in my book supporting the need for divine revelation and its existence.

But the Pundit is well aware that I sent him two registered letters, one after the other, with the intent that if he entertains any reservations regarding the practice of Allah—that He actually does speak and converse with some of His servants and informs them of such facts and such knowledge through His special Word, whose lofty eminence transcends the reach of thoughts that originate in the limited human imagination—then he should stay with my humble self for a few days with sincerity and patience to witness for himself the phenomenon which he regards impossible, impractical, and contrary to the laws of nature, and then, like the truthful, adopt the path that is an essential requirement of a truthful man’s truth and a sign of his inner purity.

It is a pity that although the Pundit has adopted the life of sanyas [asceticism], he shows complete disregard for the very first sign of true sanyas by not accepting this proposal like a true seeker. Rather, in his response, he made some comments about the Holy Quran which could never flow forth from the pen of one who truly fears God. It appears that the Pundit not only rejects divine truth, but also harbours enmity towards it. Otherwise, when strong arguments based on reason and factual evidence have been given for the reality of the existence of the revelations from God, and all kinds of doubts have been rooted out, and when my humble self stands ready to satisfy and reassure in every way, what could be the reason that stops the Pundit from accepting the truth, other than malice and personal enmity?

Now let us see what objections the Pundit puts forward against my own research. First of all, he says that the Brahmu people do believe in revelation, but only to the extent of its real meanings and the natural way [of its coming about]. Then he gives an explanation of ‘the natural way’ and says that it does not consist of any fixed and definite set of words which descend upon one’s heart in a miraculous way and comprise such matters as are above and beyond human powers. Rather, they are ordinary thoughts from God that pass through everyone’s mind in accordance with their status, because the Spirit of God—by virtue of its being perfect, ever-present, ever-seeing, and being the Cause of all causes—operates in every particle and every human spirit. Therefore, the extent to which a man hungers and thirsts for spiritual bounties and nearness to God, and to the extent he maintains the sanctity of his spiritual life, and to the extent he surrenders himself to God, and to the extent he purifies his understanding and faith—it is to that same extent that he benefits from this natural grace. This grace had begun to work from the day man was created. This is the inner revelation which is inherent within the soul of man. Hence, the human soul is a living book of God’s revelation. After this, he states that since conceit is also a part of human nature, the thoughts that come to the minds of human beings—which the Brahmu people call ‘revelation’ or ‘inspiration’—are not worthy of complete reliance. Rather, the Brahmus regard moral strength to be the touchstone for verifying these ideas, which carry the possibility of being either true or false; and they call the faculty through which they make this decision ‘reason’.

This is the essence of the Pundit’s discourse. Obviously, the intent of all of the Pundit’s discourses is that what he and his brothers in faith call ‘revelation’ are only ordinary thoughts that routinely cross the mind of common people and which, according to the admission of the Pundit, are not immune to the possibility of errors and faults.

However, the revelation that the books of God refer to as the Word of God, divine revelation, and converse of the One and Only God is a completely distinct light. It is far higher and superior than human thoughts and faculties. With regard to this heavenly light, which is a voice from the unseen with no intervention at all from any man’s thoughts or nature, the Pundit holds the view that it is impossible and impractical because it is contrary to nature and is a supernormal phenomenon. He further believes that it is absolutely impossible that God reveals His Word upon any human; rather, revelation is the name given only to those thoughts which occur in the minds of people in the usual and intrinsic manner—sometimes they are true, and sometimes false; sometimes they are valid, and other times invalid; sometimes they are pure, and at other times impure. They do not have any characteristic which is beyond human abilities; rather, they arise from within human faculties, and human nature is their fountainhead.

However, it is a pity that the Pundit needlessly wasted his time in penning those few lines. Prior to writing his discourse, had the Pundit read pages 212 to 2154 of Part III of this book with some attention, it would have been clear to him that such thoughts are not called ‘the Word of God’. These thoughts are the creation of Allah which are an integral part of human nature, and the Word of God that is revealed by God is the command of Allah, which is something granted by the grace of God and from Himself alone. It is a necessary condition for the Word of God that just as God’s Being is free from omission, error, lies, vanity, and every single defect and instance of deficiency, so should His Word be free and pure from every omission, error, lie, vanity and all manner of defect and deficiency. For, the Word that issues forth from the Pure and Perfect Fountainhead can never contain any type of impurity or defect whatsoever. It is necessary that the Word should possess all of the excellences which should be present in the Word of the Almighty God, the Perfect, the Holy, and the Knower of the unseen. However, the Pundit himself confesses that what he calls ‘revelation’ is never free from doubt, uncertainty, omission, error, defect, and deficiency. Rather, the gist of his discourse is that his ‘revelation’ has constantly been pushing people towards heresy and disbelief. Accordingly, it sometimes spoke to the people of an earlier era, saying that their god is a tree, while at other times it gave the status of god to mountains—and at still other times to storm, water, fire, stars, the moon, and the sun. In short, in this very manner their ‘revelation’ kept giving them various gods to turn to, and reason continued to confirm that ‘revelation’ until, at long last and only recently, reason and revelation have come to know the real God.

Nevertheless, I reiterate that inasmuch as the Pundit’s forefathers before him were deceived thousands of times in various ways by their imaginary ‘revelation’ as well as by their reason, and have always been stumbling in different direction in the recognition of God, by what means can the Pundit now rest assured that his own imaginary revelation and baseless conjectures are safeguarded from error and oversight? Is it not possible that this, too, should have some element of delusion? When the imaginary revelation of the Pundit has been, from the very beginning, steeped in mistakes and errors, how can it be trusted? In short, the reality of what he believes to be revelation is fully exposed and, from his own admission, it stands proven that he considers mere baseless thoughts to be revelation. Obviously, how can something which is predominantly false be the instrument of recognizing truth? How can one’s own thoughts, which the Pundit calls ‘revelation’, safeguard one from errors? And, indeed, how can those dark thoughts rescue one from all kinds of darkness and take one to the light of perfect certainty?

According to the Pundit these same bewildered thoughts, which he calls ‘revelation’, despite their confusion, led those people—who, by the admission of the Pundit, were graced to be the first and chief recipients of revelation, exceeded all others in their hunger and thirst for the cognition of God, desired to establish a god for themselves with full sincerity, and maintained a life of the utmost inner sanctity—into worshipping stones and considering the moon and sun to be divine at the beginning of time, which was the age of purity. Sin had not yet spread throughout the world, for it was the age of Sat Jug5 and these people desired to devote themselves to God. Therefore, it suddenly occurred to them that they should appoint a god for themselves and not remain godless. They had faith and clear perception and that is why such a subtle thought occurred to them and they intuitively started searching for God on a whim. Thus, given that, according to the Pundit, the revelation and intellect of such pure people—who were the prototype of God’s intelligent creation and were untainted by the various kinds of bigotry and impurity of the modern age, were engaged in their quest for the Creator of the world with purity and fervour of heart, and were personally acquainted with their own recent creation and the Creator’s recent acts—deteriorated to the point that they started to worship stones and mountains, the moon, sun, fire, and air as their Creator; then, how could such revelation and intellect of the Pundit, which perpetrated this sort of highway robbery at the very first instance, now guide the nature of those born in ages of ignorance and a time of hundreds of evils to the right path? These men have no awareness of their original creation which started their species; and, being overpowered by the love of the world and diverse types of corruption, they fail to live a life of purity, and do not hunger and thirst for the nearness of God; rather, they crave nearness of worldly government. Considering that the effect of the Pundit’s self-conceived revelation during the age of piety misled people into believing creatures to be God, then in this dark age its effect should be that people deny God altogether.

In short, when the Pundit calls such thoughts ‘revelation’, which admittedly have been erroneous from their start, this idea of the Pundit, or should I say his ‘imaginary revelation’, is absolutely wrong and false. Whereas God is the Ultimate Cause of human thoughts and He alone inspires thoughts within human minds, and shows the path to reason, revelation—which is, in fact, the Holy Word, His voice, and His inspiration—is far more superior and exalted in comparison to the thoughts that emanate from human nature. It descends from Almighty God and, by His will, upon the hearts of the perfect ones, and being the Word of God, it contains the blessings of God, it contains the powers of God, and it contains the holy truths of God. It has the intrinsic quality of ِ

[there is no doubt in it], and just as fragrance is the evidence of perfume, so is this intrinsic quality the unequivocal and certain evidence of the existence of God’s Being and attributes. Man’s own thoughts cannot attain this status; for, as man is weak by virtue of being a creature, so are his thoughts overwhelmed by weakness. Whatever springs from the fountain of the All-Powerful is one thing, and what is born of human nature is quite another. It is advisable that the Pundit take another look at pages 212 to 2156 of Part III so that he may know the difference between the Word of God and human thoughts.

The way the Pundit harps upon his pride in reason is also totally unwarranted. In Part III, I have argued in detail that the existence of created beings cannot categorically prove the existence of the Creator; it proves only the need of His existence and that, too, by way of conjecture. However, the Word of God unequivocally and certainly proves His actual existence, not just the need of His existence. Likewise, observing created things does not furnish any proof that God is eternal and everlasting, because created things have neither existed eternally, nor are they everlasting. Therefore, how can they possibly prove something that is eternal? Hadith [a nascent creation]—i.e. that which is newly born and created—can prove the need of the existence of the Almighty God only up to the extent of its own limit, meaning the limit marking the point of its coming into being and creation. Beyond that, it cannot be proven on the basis of a hadith whether or not Almighty God had existed forever and eternally prior to the existence of the universe.

Thus, the knowledge about the existence of God the Maker, that is acquired through the existence of newly created objects is extremely narrow, confined, and defective. It certainly does not pull man out of the whirlpool of doubt and misgivings, nor does it deliver him from the darkness of ignorance. Rather, it casts him into various kinds of perplexity. That is why those whose spiritual cognizance was founded exclusively upon rational knowledge did not come to a good end, and passed away, carrying with them an abundance of darkness in their beliefs. If a man completely sets aside his prejudice and stubbornness and becomes a sincere seeker after truth, and if he genuinely hungers and thirsts for the cognizance of God, and then personally reflects:

What stores of divine cognizance do I need in order to be absolutely certain about God’s existence, His omnipotence and all of His perfect attributes; and to attain conclusive and indispensable knowledge of the Hereafter and the issue of reward and punishment therein; and can I have the everlasting good fortune through just that degree of knowledge alone that is acquired conjecturally through reason, or whether the Benevolent and Merciful God has opened for me any other way? Has He not appointed another way for the perfection of my cognizance; has He left me at the mercy of my own thoughts? Has He withheld from me even the favour of taking me Himself, through His Divine power, to where my weak feet cannot take me, and that He may cause me to see, through His profound sight, the minute and subtle things that I cannot see with my weak eyes. Is it possible that, after making my heart thirsty for a river, He should limit me to drink an insignificant drop filled with the stench of deficient cognition? Is this what is required from His generosity, favour, mercy, and power? Is this the extent of His omnipotence that He lets the cognizance of a humble servant end on a delusion which he has harboured about the existence of God with his own struggle and not take him on a journey, through His special divine powers, to the world of true recognition?

When a seeker after truth asks himself these questions, he will undoubtedly receive the unequivocal reply from his heart that the innumerable favours of God demand that He should Himself help His humble servant, and should Himself guide the one who has lost his way and should Himself support the weak. Is it possible that God, being All-Powerful, Mighty, Merciful, Benevolent, Self-Subsisting, and All-Sustaining, remains perpetually silent on His part while the servant, being ignorant and blind, continues to wander aimlessly in search of Him?

How can the weak have the strength and ability
To find, on their own, a trace of the Transcendent One’s existence?

The intellect of the blind itself seeks a guide to find the way,
Do not seek guidance from the intellect of the blind.

Our intellect is only for wailing and weeping [before God].
Relief from the afflictions of ignorance is from God.

A child only has the sense to cry bitterly,
But by no means will he have milk except from the mother.

So, O readers! Ponder over this discourse honestly. Reflect over it with close attention, delving deep into it. Be on your guard and do not let any deceiver deceive you. Ask your hearts yourselves how much they desire the attainment of certainty. Can your own gloomy thoughts fully satisfy your hearts? Do your souls not desire that you attain the level of perfect certainty in this very world, and that you be delivered from blindness? Tell me honestly, do you not wish to remove your darkness and confusion, and to clear the doubts concealed within your bosoms, which you cannot even disclose? So, if you possess any zeal for divine cognizance, then know for certain that the divine law of nature governing this world is only this: He has appointed one instrument or another for acquiring or searching for everything. The only function of reason is that it proves the need of this instrument, but it cannot serve itself as that instrument. For instance, reason proves the need for a millstone for grinding grain into flour, but it is not the case that reason itself becomes the millstone and starts grinding grain into flour. Likewise the intellect has led to establish the need for hundreds of instruments. However, only that work is accomplished that is done with the help of an instrument, and where the instrument is not available, the reason remains confounded.

Look at the entire enterprise of the world and you will realize that the utmost that intellect can do is to suggest some instrument to the human mind for performing a task. For instance, when reason thought of an instrument needed to cross the river, the idea of a boat came to mind; then a suitable material that does not sink into water, but floats on it, became available for building the boat. And thus the boat was built with this material. By the same measure, there are thousands of instruments that are required for running the affairs of the world. In all cases the function of the intellect is only to prove the need of an instrument and suggest the kind of instrument needed, but it cannot do the work of the required instrument.

Thus it should be understood that sane reason determines it as being plainly evident that to have unequivocal knowledge of the events of the Hereafter, the existence of the Creator of the worlds, His pleasure and displeasure, the quality and quantity of reward and punishment, and attaining definite information about the soul’s immortality and eternal existence, is such a fine and subtle matter that it cannot be truly and certainly known without a heavenly instrument. As reason has proven the need for thousands of instruments to properly manage worldly affairs, so has sane reason proven the need for a heavenly instrument to know the unseen world with certainty, so that the Omnipotent’s Being—whom hundreds of thousands of the wise have erred in recognizing—may be known with conviction and certainty; and the realm of reward and punishment may also be known with certainty so that a seeker after truth should advance beyond conjecture and, in this very world, see God, the Exalted, the Maker, and also His perfect attributes, as well as the Hereafter, with the eye of certainty. And the instrument that leads to this highest stage of certainty is the Word of God, through which man comes to know with absolute certainty about the existence of God and His perfect attributes as well as the world of reward and punishment. By bestowing this stage of perfect cognizance upon hundreds of thousands of people, God Almighty has proven that this instrument for recognizing God does, in fact, exist in the world. Anyone who does not obtain light from this heavenly instrument is like a blind person who treads a path with ditches everywhere and huge pits all around, and he does not know where the path to safety is, nor does he know which side is safe for him. Nor is he aware of the consequence of taking a step. Neither can he himself see, nor does he hold on to a guide. He does not know where he will end up, nor has he any surety that he will achieve the objective for which he is going forth. Rather, his eyes are blind, and so is his heart.

Another doubt which assails the mind of the Pundit is that a revealed book cannot be the basis of anyone’s faith. Why can it not be the basis? In support of this argument, he writes:

Prior to accepting a revealed book, it is necessary that one should have a firm belief in God; and every Prophet or Rishi upon whom the word of God descended had first believed in the Speaker of the word and then believed in the word itself, because it is necessary that before one believes in the word, he should believe in the Speaker of the word. Thus, [he concludes that] it is evident that the Prophets did not believe in the existence of the One who sends down the word through the same word. Rather, before it was revealed, they already had that certainty of belief on the basis of the testimony of their own inner nature.

It seems that the Pundit has employed every last bit of his intellect in offering the argument that the Word of God is not necessary. However, it will be evident to every wise person upon due reflection that this is a mere delusion that has arisen in the mind of the Pundit from his misunderstanding a truth, which is that he regards the following two matters as a combination of two contradictions—namely, that the word of God should be revealed to a person who is ignorant of the existence of God and of His attributes, and on the other hand, the All-Powerful God should Himself convey the information of His existence through His Holy Word. These two matters, in the view of the Pundit, are opposites of each other and cannot coexist. As a matter of fact, their being true at the same time, according to the wise, does not constitute a coexistence of opposites. Given that a man can inform another man of his existence through his word, why then should it be impossible for God Almighty to do the same? Does the Pundit believe that God does not have the power to inform of His existence through His perfect and powerful word that comprises divine manifestations? If the Pundit harbours the doubt that all Prophets who appeared undoubtedly believed in God before the divine word was revealed—and this proves that they attained this belief from their own nature and reason—it should be clear that this doubt arises merely from the lack of reflection, because it is absolutely impossible that such belief can be attained by either reason or nature alone. The Prophets were not born in isolation in a jungle to justify the conclusion that they had not heard the name of God before receiving revelation, even through the chain of verbal reports—the foundation of which had been laid down by divine revelation—and therefore, they believed in the existence of God only on the basis of their own nature and reason. On the contrary, it stands clearly proven that the existence of God was well-publicized in the world through the divine word that was revealed in the beginning to Hazrat Adam [Adam]. Then, all of the Prophets who were raised from time to time for the reformation of the world after Hazrat Adam were made aware of the existence of God, prior to receiving revelation, by the same well-publicized verbal reports founded by the scripture of Hazrat Adam. It was the widely publicized verbal reports which the ready, worthy, and eager natures of the Prophets readily accepted; then, God elevated them to higher stages of certainty and cognizance through His special word, and thus He made up for the loss and defect which was inherent in merely following verbal reports.

I have already written that the existence of God Almighty has been continuously publicized by verbal reports, and the foundation of this chain of verbal reports is the revelation that was sent down by God Almighty in the beginning to Hazrat Adam, the father of mankind. Sufficient proof of this is that it is obvious that the Omnipotent God’s existence came to be known in the beginning through something which has the everlasting power to make it known even today. That everlasting power exists only in the word of God, because this power is present and witnessed in the word of God even now. It can give accurate and true knowledge of secret matters as it should, can disclose news of the past, and can also bestow veritable indications of the Maker’s Unseen Being. It can also bestow complete certainty about Him in its miraculous ways and can also give detailed knowledge of the realities and the circumstances of the Hereafter, as is being attested in the present age by the authentic experiences of recipients of revelation.

This essential quality is not present in intellect. Accordingly, it has been proven that if a newborn infant, being totally deprived of the knowledge of verbal reports, is left only to his intellectual abilities for the recognition of God, he remains completely unaware of the existence of God, His perfect attributes, and the world of reward and punishment. Hence, the ability to teach true cognizance [of God] is proven only in the word of God, and not in reason; therefore, every wise person will have to admit that the word of God is the basis of belief and faith and that by no means can the ideas of reason be their basis. Although rational capacity is inherent in human nature, this capacity is useless without the guidance of the divine word—as is the case with visual capacity, which is inherent in the eyes, but is meaningless without the sun. And just as the light of the sun proves its own existence as well as guides towards the existence of the sun, so does the Word of God prove itself to be from God by virtue of its intrinsic light, truthfulness, and matchlessness, and at the same time guides, certainly and conclusively, towards the existence of God Almighty.

Again, in the January 1883 issue of Dharam Jiwan, the Pundit has claimed that a wise man can write a book equalling the excellences of the Holy Quran or even better. Now, since the Pundit is himself a wise man, and indeed, claims to be a reformer and champion of his people, the onus of proof is on him that he should come forward to write such a book. As the Holy Quran, despite its perfect brevity, is comprehensive of all truths and subtleties, and as the Holy Quran, despite its adherence to truth, wisdom, and verities, is most eloquent and fluent, and as it is replete with prophecies of a high stature and matters of the unseen, and as the Holy Quran enlightens sincere seekers after truth with heavenly light, and grants them special blessings, which are not found in other faiths, by purifying their hearts through its holy effects—all of which I have proven with conclusive proofs in my book—the Pundit should come forward with another book possessing the same qualities and excellences.

Had you not spoken, nobody would have had any contention with you,
But now that you have spoken, you must come forward with your proof.

Nevertheless, I would like to make it clear to the Pundit that it is absolutely impossible for any man to embellish his discourse with the above-mentioned qualities, as they are beyond human capabilities. As for the Word of God, however, it is not only permissible but also necessary that all of these qualities should be found in it, in their totality, because as God is Inimitable and Incomparable, likewise whatever proceeds from Him should be inimitable and incomparable, whose likeness man cannot have the ability to create. Hence, the claim that the Holy Quran has made about its inimitability is not out of place. It is an issue of the same law of nature, adherence to which constitutes the intelligence of man, and deviation from which is the sign of stupidity. Reflect over it with fairness and tell me whether or not according to the law of nature the Word of God must necessarily be matchless. If according to you it is not necessary, and others’ partnership in God’s work is also permissible, then why do you not openly state that you have reservations even about the Oneness of God and His being without associates? Can you not understand the obvious truth that the Oneness of God can remain intact only as long as all of His attributes are free from being shared by others? If man can produce the like of God’s Word, it means everything pertaining to God has been fully comprehended and the entire mystery of Godhood has been disclosed.7

Now, at this point, in the interest of the public at large, I would like to explain, as a general rule, the literary standard at which a discourse becomes eligible for being called ‘incomparable’ and from God. I shall also select a surah from the Holy Quran as an illustration and prove that it fully and perfectly possesses all of the qualities of incomparability which have been set out in the general rule. If someone still refuses to accept these qualities of incomparability, the burden lies upon him to produce some other discourse which possesses all these qualities of incomparability.

It should be clear that if a discourse fully resembles something from among the things that have proceeded from God and are the handiwork of His power of creation—that is to say, it combines in it the external and internal wonders in the same way that they exist in something that has been created by God—it can then be said that such a discourse possesses the rank that is beyond the human capabilities to produce its like. For, if it is admitted and approved by all and sundry—without any disagreement or controversy—that something is incomparable and has proceeded from God, then anything that is proven to fully share its criteria of incomparability would also be considered incomparable. For instance, if one object conforms in all aspects to another object which measures ten yards, then it would be established, with absolute certainty and beyond any doubt, that it also measures ten yards.

Now, out of the things created by Allah, I shall, for purpose of comparison, select one lovely creation—namely, the rose—and describe the external and internal wonders which make it admittedly of such excellent quality that human capacities fall utterly short of reproducing its like. I shall then prove that the wonders and excellences of Surah al-Fatihah are in all respects of the same measure—and indeed, far superior—as the wonders and excellences of the rose.

The reason for selecting this illustration is that on one occasion, in a state of vision, my humble self saw that I was holding in my hand Surah al-Fatihah inscribed on a leaf and it was so beautiful and attractive that it appeared as if the paper on which Surah al-Fatihah was written was laden with soft red rose petals to the extent that it was beyond count. As my humble self recited any verse of this surah many of these roses flew upwards, producing a sweet sound. The flowers were very delicate, large, beautiful, fresh, and full of fragrance. As they ascended, my heart and mind were perfumed with their fragrance and they created such a state of intoxication that, due to the attraction of their incomparable pleasure, they created a strong aversion from the world and all that is in it.

This vision indicates that the rose has a spiritual affinity with Surah al-Fatihah. Due to this affinity, I chose it for the purpose of illustration. Therefore, it seems pertinent to delineate first, for illustration, the external and internal wonders found in the rose and then set out the external and internal wonders of Surah al-Fatihah, so that the honest readers should know that the external and internal beauties of the rose, which put reproduction of its like beyond human reach, are present in Surah al-Fatihah in the same way—indeed, with much greater beauty. And also [I chose it] so that, through this illustration, what was signified in the vision is carried out.

Therefore, bear in mind that every sensible person would readily consider it to be a proven fact beyond any doubt that a rose, like other creations of God, has such excellent beauties within it, the like of which man is unable to reproduce. These beauties are of two types. First, those that are found in its external form, namely, its colour is beautiful and lovely, its fragrance is delightful and pleasing, and in its visible form, it is characterized by extreme delicacy, freshness, softness, tenderness, and purity. Second, there are beauties that the All-Wise God has granted it internally; namely, the qualities which are hidden within its essence, and these are that it is refreshing, strengthens the heart, alleviates the bile, and invigorates all faculties and spirits. It is a laxative for yellow bile and watery phlegm. Similarly, it strengthens the stomach, liver, kidneys, intestines, womb, and lungs. Moreover, it is very beneficial for severe palpitation, fainting, and weakness of the heart. Similarly, it is beneficial for a variety of other ailments of the body. On account of these two types of qualities, it is believed that it is at such a level of perfection that it is utterly impossible for any human being to produce such a flower by himself which is attractive in colour, lovely in fragrance, and fresh, soft, delicate, and clear like the rose in its texture, and, in addition, possesses internally all of those qualities that are possessed by the rose.

If it is asked why it is believed about the rose that human powers are unable to create its match and why it is impermissible for any man to be able to produce its like and create, in an artificial flower, all of the external and internal qualities that are found in the rose, then the answer to this question is: The possibility of producing such a flower has been refuted in practice, and until today no physician or philosopher has been able to discover through the use of any device, any kinds of medicines, which, by their mixing or compounding, result in producing, externally and internally, the like of the rose in appearance and essence.

It must be realized that the same aspects of incomparability are not only found in Surah al-Fatihah, but also in every brief passage of the Noble Quran, even one comprising less than four verses. First, observe its external form to see the perfect manifestation of elegance of diction, beautiful exposition, excellent choice of words, perfectly smooth style, softness and fluidity, glamour, loveliness, and other qualities that are essential for a good composition—a manifestation that cannot possibly be exceeded and which is entirely secure and free from every kind of crude expression and complicated composition. Every phrase is the utmost in lucidity and eloquence, every form of expression is employed at its proper place, and everything that is necessary to enhance the beauty and bring out the loveliness of its composition is found in it. The highest grade of eloquence and beauty of articulation that can be imagined is found and seen in perfection and all of the beauty of expression that is needed to make its meaning clear and pleasing is available and present therein. With all of the qualities of clarity of expression and conformity with the perfect beauty of diction, it is filled with the fragrance of truth and rectitude. In it there is no exaggeration having the slightest adulteration of falsehood, nor is there any figurative expression which, like that of the poets, is aided by the filth of falsehood, vain talk, or idle boasts. Whereas the composition of poets is laden with the stench of falsehood, idle boasts, and vain verbiage, this composition is full of the delicate fragrance of truth and rectitude. Furthermore, this fragrance is accompanied by a beauty of exposition, propriety of diction, figurativeness, and clarity of expression; and, as in the rose, its fragrance is accompanied by the beauty of its colour and purity. These are its external qualities.

As for internal properties, it—that is, Surah al-Fatihah—has the following qualities. It encompasses remedies for grave spiritual ailments and it contains a vast provision for the perfection of the faculties for theoretical and practical activities. It sets straight many serious disorders. It sets forth vistas of wisdom, deep subtleties, and fine points which remained hidden from the eyes of sages and philosophers. Its perusal fortifies the power of conviction in the heart of a spiritual pilgrim, and heals the ailment of doubts, misgivings, and misguidance. Its blessed text is replete with countless supreme truths and very subtle verities which are essential for the perfect development of the human being. Obviously, these excellences are such that—like the perfect qualities of the rose—it is impossible for them to be combined in the composition of any human being. This impossibility is not mere speculation, but an established fact, because God Almighty has expounded the subtleties and splendid points of wisdom in His eloquent and lucid Word precisely in the hour of their true need, displaying perfection in both external and internal qualities, and, thus achieved perfection with profound fine details in both external and internal aspects.

In other words, it first lays down the essential, lofty divine insights, the traces of which had been lost and obliterated from earlier teachings, and no sage or philosopher had so much as hinted at them. Moreover, these divine insights have not been expounded in an unnecessary and redundant manner, but have been set forth at a time and in an age when such remedial measures were direly needed for the reformation of that time. Had they not been stated, the ruin and destruction of the age was inevitable. Again, these lofty divine insights have not been stated in a deficient and incomplete manner; rather, they are situated at the point of perfection, both quantitatively as well as qualitatively. The intellect of no wise man can alight upon a religious verity that has been left out of them, nor is there any doubt of a follower of falsehood that has not been dispelled in this Word.

To expound all of these truths and sublime verities, which nevertheless fully conform with the true needs, and to do so with such unsurpassable excellence of eloquence and elegance, is indeed a grand task—evidently beyond the reach of human capacity. But man is so inept that if he wants to describe even the insignificant and trivial affairs—that have nothing to do with sublime truths—in an elegant and eloquent composition, with strict regard to truthfulness and veracity, it would not be possible for him. This is very obvious to any wise person. For example, take the case of a storekeeper who possesses great mastery of language both in poetry and prose and wishes to maintain in his converse—which he has to make with all types of customers and clients—the highest standards of eloquence and figurative language, adapting his conversation with due regard to each occasion and situation, being brief when brevity is appropriate, and speaking in detail when argumentation is required; and if a dispute arises between him and a customer, adopting a way of speech that directs the argument towards his own benefit. Take next the case of a judge whose duty is to write most accurately the statements of both parties and witnesses and then to duly analyse and criticize each statement—limiting himself to what is really needed—with reference to the point at issue, as required for the examination of the case and appropriate for the investigation of the matters under dispute. It is expected that he should raise appropriate questions and duly record the answers and state the relevant facts. He should, as needed, cite applicable legal provision in accordance with the intent of the law. He should systematically expound the events, where needed, in their proper sequence and accuracy and then give his verdict along with supporting arguments with the utmost precision. With all this, his writings should be at such a high degree of lucidity and elegance that they are unsurpassable by any other man. Obviously, such elegance is not achievable in the above cases.

This is the state of human eloquence; they cannot even take the first step without all sorts of vain, unnecessary, and trivial words and cannot even say a word without restoring to lies and useless talk. Even when they say something, it is incomplete; if the nose is present, as it were, the ears are not and if the ears are there the eyes are gone. Strict adherence to facts impairs the elegance of expression, and concern for elegance of expression may result in piles of falsehood and irrelevance—like an onion, layer after layer of shell, but nothing inside.

In short, when sane reason clearly dictates the impossibility of stating even insignificant and unimportant matters and simple events in an elegant and eloquent composition with strict adherence to a valid need and truthfulness, then how much easier is it to understand that stating lofty points of wisdom, pertinent to [addressing] true needs, couched in exceedingly expressive and eloquent composition, which no one can even imagine surpassing in elegance and chasteness, is altogether supernormal and beyond the range of human capacity?

Just as experience demonstrates that it is outside the realm of possibility to manufacture a flower similar to the rose externally and internally, so is this impossible too. For, when authentic experience stands as a witness in even minor and trivial matters, and sane nature confirms that if a man wants to have an essential and straightforward conversation—whether it relates to some matter of buying and selling or judicial investigations—with the utmost accuracy in an appropriate manner, it becomes impossible for him to turn his discourse—needlessly and on all occasions—into an appropriate, balanced, lucid, and eloquent expression, and much less, to take it to the highest level of lucidity and eloquence. Then, how can the discourse of any man combine all these features to achieve the lucidity and unsurpassable eloquence in a composition that, in addition to truthfulness and rectitude, is filled with profound points of wisdom and lofty truths, descends to meet a true need, encompasses all divine verities, does not neglect anything in fulfilling its obligation for the reformation of the prevailing situation, perfectly completes the arguments, fully confutes the deniers, keeps in view all aspects of argumentation and debate, and includes all essential arguments, proofs, teachings, and questions and their answers—despite these intricate difficulties which far exceed the former case—in a manner that is not only incomparably eloquent, but also expresses the subject in a style that cannot possibly be more fluent? These are the properties possessed by Surah al-Fatihah and the Holy Quran, in a manner that has complete resemblance with the incomparable properties of the rose. In addition, Surah al-Fatihah and the Holy Quran have a magnificent attribute that is unique to this Holy Word, which is that studying it with attention and sincerity purifies the heart, dispels layers of darkness, and expands the mind, and, drawing a seeker after truth towards the Holy One, invests him with such light and manifest signs that are characteristic of those who have attained nearness to the Holy One, and which cannot be acquired by man through any other device or plan. I have also furnished evidence of this spiritual effect in this book and, if there is a sincere seeker after truth, I can satisfy him in person and I am ever prepared to furnish fresh and new evidence.

Moreover, it needs to be well remembered that the incomparable and unparalleled excellence of the language of the Holy Quran is not confined to rational arguments alone. Rather, valid experience spanning over a lengthy period of time also confirms and substantiates it. For 1,300 years the Holy Quran has been presenting its excellences by beating the drum of

[‘Is there a challenger?’] and proclaiming loudly to the whole world that it is incomparable and unparalleled in its external form and internal qualities, and that no man, small or great, has the ability to compete with it or counter it, yet no one has even dared to take up its challenge. Indeed, no one has been able to compete with even one surah, for example Surah al-Fatihah, in its external and internal qualities. Look! What could be a more self-evident and manifest miracle than this: Not only does intellect prove that this Holy Word transcends human capabilities, but experience extending over a lengthy period of time also bears witness to its status as a miracle?

Should anyone reject this twofold testimony, proven by intellect and experience extending over a lengthy period of time, and take pride in his knowledge and skill, or have faith in someone’s writing ability to produce the like of the Holy Quran, I am setting out below, as promised, some of the verities and subtleties comprised in Surah al-Fatihah by way of illustration, so that such a one may put forward his own composition in an attempt to match the external and internal qualities of Surah al-Fatihah.

However, before I expound in detail the lofty verities of Surah al-Fatihah, I would—setting aside any fear of prolonging this preliminary discussion—like to reiterate that anyone who disagrees with me should bear well in mind that, as I have just written, Surah al-Fatihah, like the entire Holy Quran, comprises two types of excellences that are incomparable and unparalleled—namely a beauty of external form and an internal beauty [of content].

As I have repeatedly mentioned, its external quality is that its text is so colourful, brilliant, elegant, delicate, tender, eloquent, sweet, and fluent, and its statements and sequence are so beautiful that it is impossible to express its meaning in a composition of equal or greater eloquence. Should the writers and poets of the entire world unite, seeking to expound this very subject matter on their own in any other eloquent text which is equal to or better than the composition of Surah al-Fatihah, it would be—just as the Holy Quran has put forward its claim of incomparability before the whole world over a period of 1,300 years—impossible and unachievable to write such a composition. Had it been possible, some of the opponents would have certainly taken up its challenge, because their utter failure to do so establishes the ignominy and humiliation of all its adversaries and proves the glory and honour of the Holy Quran. None of the opponents have produced anything comparable to any text of the Quran over the past 1,300 years. The fact that all opponents have remained incapable of producing anything comparable, and have borne the ignominy, shame, and curses that are the due share of disconcerted liars, is clear proof that their literary skills have been truly frustrated in the face of this challenge. It is incumbent upon anyone who is not prepared to accept this to produce the like of the text of the Holy Quran himself or with the assistance of some helpers. For example, he may take up the subject matter of Surah al-Fatihah and prepare an eloquent piece equal to its perfection in eloquence and lucidity. So long as he does not do so, the proof furnished to the truthful from the opponents’ silence and dumbness spanning over 1,300 years cannot be refuted from any perspective. In fact, this silence and dumbness of the opponents, extending over hundreds of years, has given the testimony such perfection that it transcends the proof of incomparability enjoyed by the rose etc. because the wise men and craftsmen of the world have not been given any similar incentive to produce the like of anything else, nor have they been warned of diverse kinds of troubles and tribulations that would befall them if they failed to do so. It is obvious, therefore, that the clarity, lustre, and brilliance that characterize the proof of the Holy Quran’s superiority in fluency and eloquence over human capabilities is established in a manner that is certainly not enjoyed by the incomparability of the rose in its delicacy, colourfulness, etc. To sum up, these are the external excellences of Surah al-Fatihah and the entire Holy Quran in which its uniqueness and its superiority over human capabilities has been well established by the utter frustration of its opponents.

Now, I repeat its internal beauties so that they may be well comprehended by those who reflect. Bear in mind that just as the Omniscient God has endowed the rose with various benefits for the human body—for instance, it invigorates the heart, strengthens the faculties and spirits, and is helpful in several other diseases—likewise, the Benevolent God has invested the cure for spiritual ills within Surah al-Fatihah, as He has in the entire Holy Quran. It possesses such a cure for spiritual diseases that cannot be found anywhere else, because it is replete with the perfect verities that had disappeared from the face of the earth and not a trace of them had been left in the world. Hence, that Holy Word did not descend upon the world without purpose and benefit—nay, that Heavenly Light manifested itself when the world needed it most—and it brought teachings whose dissemination throughout the world was direly needed for its reformation.

In short, the holy teachings which were urgently needed, and the divine insights and verities whose dissemination was direly needed, those same essential, inevitable, and divine truths were mentioned at the appropriate time and in the hour of need, with incomparable fluency and eloquence. With all that, absolutely nothing was omitted of that which was needed for the guidance of the misguided and for the reformation of the prevailing circumstances, and nothing was included in any of its sentences that was unnecessary, frivolous, or undesirable.

In short, that light and those holy verities, in addition to their exalted nature which they possess on account of being lofty verities, carry another magnificence and blessing of an exceedingly high order in that they were not revealed pointlessly or without purpose. Rather, to counter all types of darkness which had spread throughout the world and the diverse ways of ignorance and corruption that had overpowered the popular beliefs, practices, and doctrinal matters, these verities were revealed to the world like a timely rain of mercy to dispel, all such darknesses and spread light with full vigour. In truth, it was the rain of mercy that came down from heaven to save the lives of those who were extremely thirsty. The spiritual life of people depended upon the descent of that life-giving water and every single drop of it was a cure for some illness prevailing at that time. The prevailing circumstances of the world through its perpetual wrongdoing for hundreds of years had proven that it could not itself devise a remedy for its ailments without the descent of this light, nor could it dissipate its own darkness. Rather, it was dependent upon the heavenly light to illumine the world through its rays of truth, and to enable those to see who have never seen, to impart understanding upon those who have never understood. This Heavenly Light not only disclosed vital divine truths of which not a trace had been left on the face of the earth, but also, through the strength of its spiritual quality, it filled many hearts with treasures of truth and wisdom and drew many hearts towards its winsome countenance, and led many to the highest stage of knowledge and conduct with its powerful impact.

In conclusion, these two types of excellences that are found in Surah al-Fatihah and the entire Holy Quran are such brilliant arguments to prove the incomparability of the Word of Allah, as are the excellences found in the rose, which are acknowledged by all to be above and beyond the capabilities of man. The truth indeed is that these excellences are so manifestly superb and beyond the reach of human capabilities that such magnificent excellences cannot be found in the rose at all. The grandeur, glory, and incomparability of these excellences come into display when man views them collectively and observes the overall picture with deep reflection and consideration.

For example, consider first the point that a text should be so excellent in fluency, eloquence, softness, sweetness, simplicity, elegance, and colourfulness that if a man were to plan to reproduce its like, comprehending completely and fully all the meaning carried by this eloquent Word, it would be absolutely impossible that the human text should match its eloquence and colourfulness. Second, one should consider that its subject matter should include such verities and subtleties as constitute verities of a truly excellent order, and there should not be a sentence, word, or letter in them that does not state a profound wisdom. Third, one should consider, at the same time, that these truths should be such as are direly needed by the conditions prevailing at the time. Fourth, one should consider, at the same time, that those verities should be so unique and matchless that no sage or philosopher is known to have discovered them through his observation and reflection. Fifth, one should consider, at the same time, that when these truths were revealed they should have been manifested like a fresh bounty, and that the people of that age were utterly unaware of them before they appeared. Sixth, consider that the Holy Word should be characterized by proven heavenly blessing, so that its obedience should lead the seeker after truth to a true attachment to, and love for, the Benevolent God, so that he should radiate with the light that should shine forth from the men of God.

All of these combine to create an overall picture which compels sane reason to affirm without delay or hesitation that for a human composition to comprise all these perfect features is utterly impossible, daunting, and beyond human capability. It is beyond doubt that an overall view of all these external and internal excellences strikes awe in the mind, which convinces a sensible person that the performance of such a comprehensive feat by human capabilities cannot be considered or imagined, and that such an awe-striking phenomenon is not at all found in the case of the rose. For, the Holy Quran has the added characteristic that the above qualities that are the basis of its uniqueness are patently self-evident. That is why, when critics find that it does not have a single letter deviating from wisdom and appropriateness, and there is not a single sentence that does not meet an urgent need for the reformation of the time, and, in addition, it is so perfect in eloquence that it admits not of the replacement of a single line with a differently worded one, the hearts of critics are struck with magnificent awe at the contemplation of these astounding excellences.

Of course, an ignorant person who has never considered these matters may, out of his ignorance, ask: ‘What is the proof that all these excellences are proven and established in Surah al-Fatihah and the entire Holy Quran?’ So, let it be clear that the proof is that those who pondered over the unparalleled excellences of the Holy Quran, found its text possessing such a high degree of fluency and eloquence that they failed to produce its like, and found its fine points and verities to be so sublime that they could not find their match in the whole world. Moreover, they witnessed its wondrous effects, which can never be found in human words. They also observed another holy attribute: it was not revealed uselessly or frivolously; rather, it was revealed exactly at the time of true need. Upon witnessing all of these perfections, they acknowledged its incomparable magnificence without any hesitation. As for those among them who remained bereft of the gift of faith because of their eternal misfortune, their hearts were so confounded by the awe and majesty of this matchless Word that—being dumbstruck and disconcerted—all they could utter was, ‘This is manifest sorcery.’

Moreover, a just person finds strong evidence and brilliant proof for the uniqueness and matchlessness of the Holy Quran in that, despite the challenge of the Holy Quran extending over 1,300 years—strongly rousing the sense of honour of its adversaries, and addressing those who persist in opposition and denial, in spite of their failure to respond, as wicked, foul, cursed, and hell-bound—and yet its adversaries have borne the reproaches heaped upon them with shamelessness and impudence like cowardly and unmanly people. They have lived with titles such as liar, despicable, impudent, wicked, foul, vicious, faithless, and hell-bound but have not been able to produce the like of a short surah, nor to find any fault with the excellences, attributes, greatnesses, and verities expounded by the Word of Allah. Indeed, it was, and still is, incumbent upon our adversaries because of their disbelief that if they are not prepared to abandon their disbelief and dishonesty, they should produce something similar to any chapter of the Holy Quran and should come forward with such a discourse for comparison. It should contain all of the external and internal excellences that are present in all chapters of the Holy Quran—even the smallest—meaning that, its text should be of the highest degree of elegance along with comprising truth, righteousness, and meeting a true need, in such a way that it should be totally impossible for a man to reproduce the same meaning with comparable eloquence in another composition.

Its subject matter should comprise verities of the highest level; and the verities should be such as are not written without any purpose. Rather, an utmost need should necessitate their exposition. Moreover, these verities should be such as are totally unknown to the world prior to their manifestation and their manifestation should be like a new bounty. Along with all of these excellences, there should be another spiritual speciality that, like the Holy Quran, they should have the evident effectiveness, the proof of which I have furnished in this book, and I am always prepared to provide ever-fresh proof for any seeker after truth. Until an opponent presents such a parallel, his own inability shall prove the incomparability of the Holy Quran.

The reasons for the incomparability of the Holy Quran that I have stated here are by way of brevity and ease. Were I to lay down all of the excellences found in the Holy Quran as the mandatory criterion for demanding its parallel—for example, if I say to my opponents that as the Holy Quran embodies and encompasses all religious truths and verities, omits not a single religious truth, and comprises hundreds of prophecies and matters of the unseen; and the prophecies, too, so powerful that they portend in them their own honour and their opponents’ dishonour, their own good fortune and their opponents’ misfortune, and their own victory and their opponents’ defeat—and were I to add all of these excellences to the requirements for the composition offered in competition, this condition would be tantamount to heaping further ruin upon their ruin, and, as it were, killing them after they have already died. But since the excellences of the Holy Quran already described are sufficient to render the spiritually blind opponents totally confuted, confounded, and frustrated—and through them alone our opponents’ condition will be worse than the physically dead—it is, therefore, unnecessary to ask for a parallel of all of the Holy Quran’s excellences. Besides, if all excellences are set out, it would greatly increase the volume of this book. I therefore confine myself to offering these [limited excellences] as a sufficient instrument for annihilating the wicked opponent.

Even though, in addition to all of these concessions, the demand for a comparable production has been reduced to a very brief chapter of the Holy Quran, it is manifest to every knowledgeable person that the opponents—notwithstanding their ardent desire, extreme rancour, bitter hostility, and enmity—have for all times been, and still remain, too helpless to confront and compete. Not one of them has dared to come forward. Even though their failure to answer the challenge disgraces them, condemns them to Hell, earns them the titles of ‘infidels’ and ‘faithless’, and dubs them ‘impudent’ and ‘shameless’, yet like the dead, not a sound comes out of their mouth. Thus, the fact that they have conceded every humiliation upon themselves on account of their being silenced—thus admitting the application of all despicable titles to themselves and carrying upon their heads the rubbish of all types of immodesty and shamelessness—is a vivid proof that these despicable bats are totally helpless before this Sun of Truth.

Given that such brilliant rays of the Sun of Truth are issuing forth from all directions, and that our bat-like opponents are being blinded in their presence, it would be sheer haughtiness and utter ignorance to rate the excellences of the rose—which, in comparison to Quranic excellences are weak, poor, and ill-supported—so incomparable as to be beyond human capabilities to reproduce their like, and to hold that these grand excellences [of the Holy Quran]—which are far more excellent and superior than the external and internal excellences of the rose and enjoy powerful proof—are within man’s capability to imitate. Given that man lacks the ability to produce the like of the rose, which only looks fresh, lively, and alluring for a moment but at the next moment it wilts, droops, and becomes ugly and its delicate colour fades, and its petals fall apart, then how can anyone produce the like of the True Flower, for which the Eternal Lord has ordained a perpetual spring, with permanent safeguards against the gusts of autumn and whose freshness, softness, beauty, and delicacy never change, and whose blessed being suffers no decay or decline? On the contrary, as it ages, its freshness and moisture manifest more and more, its marvels unfold more and more, and its verities and subtleties are appreciated by people in ever greater measure. Is it not utter spiritual blindness to deny the supreme graces and ranks of such a True Flower?

Nevertheless, if someone is so blind that he fails to appreciate the great eminence of these excellences on account of his spiritual blindness, then it is up to that ignorant one to produce a parallel to all of the Holy Quran’s excellences in terms of: The testimony furnished by me about the unique character of the Word of Allah; the different reasons enumerated by me to show that the like of that Holy Word is far above the reach of human capacity; and to bring forth any human composition in which the external and internal perfections are comparable to those that I have proven to be inherent in the Word of Allah.

Now I shall set forth some subtleties and verities of Surah al-Fatihah to bring my argument to its completion. I shall first write Surah al-Fatihah and then start writing about its profound verities. Surah al-Fatihah runs as follows:

A commentary of this surah, describing a few points of wisdom and verities contained in this surah, is written below by way of a brief illustration.

: This is the first of the verses of this blessed surah. It has also been written at the beginning of other surahs of the Holy Quran and also occurs at one other place in the Holy Quran. Such repetition is not found for any other verse as the frequency with which this verse is repeated in the Holy Quran. Since it has become an established practice in Islam to recite this verse, by way of benediction and seeking divine help, at the beginning of every single activity in which welfare and blessings are sought, this verse has become widely known among friend and foe, and high and low, to the point that if any man is totally ignorant of all Quranic verses, even then there is a strong likelihood that he would certainly not be unacquainted with this verse.

Now, attention should be directed to the perfect verities comprised in this verse, one of which is that the real purpose of this verse’s revelation is that humble and ignorant people may be taught the point of wisdom that Allah is the Supreme Name of the Being of Permanent Existence, which, according to divine terminology used in the Holy Quran, is applicable to the Being who comprises all perfect attributes, is free from every defect, is truly worthy of worship, is One without any associate, and is the Fountainhead of all grace. Two attributes out of several attributes of this Supreme Name are mentioned in

9 [bismillah—‘In the name of Allah’], namely, the attributes of rahmaniyyat [graciousness] and rahimiyyat [mercy], and it is by virtue of the requirements of both of these attributes that the Divine Word has been revealed and its light and blessings have issued forth. To elaborate, the descent of God’s Holy Word into the world, to be conveyed to mankind, is the consequence of the attribute of rahmaniyyat because the nature of the attribute of rahmaniyyat (as will be explained in detail later, too) is that it is manifested without being preceded by the action of any person, solely by the upsurge of the generosity and bounty of God, just as, for example, God has created the sun and the moon, and water and air, etc. for the welfare of His creatures. All this generosity and beneficence is by virtue of the attribute of rahmaniyyat. No one can claim that these things have been created as a reward for any of his actions. In the same way, the Word of God as well, which descended for the reformation and guidance of mankind, has also descended by virtue of this attribute. There is no animate being who can claim that the Holy Word of God that comprehends His Shariah has been revealed in consequence of any action or effort of his, or as a reward for his inner piety. This is the reason that—although there have been thousands of people who claimed to be pious and virtuous, or have been dedicating their lives in devotion and worship—the holy and perfect Word of God, which brought forth His commands and injunctions to the world and informed Allah’s creatures of His design, was revealed only at those special times when its revelation was needed.

It is, however, necessary that the Holy Word of God be revealed to only those who occupy the lofty rank of holiness and inner piety, inasmuch as purity has no affinity or relationship with impurity. But it is certainly not necessary that, under all circumstances, holiness and inner piety would cause the descent of the Word of Allah; rather, the revelation of God Almighty’s true shariah and teachings is linked with the existence of true needs. So, whenever true need arose, and it was considered necessary for the reformation of the age that the Word of Allah should descend, God Almighty, the All-Wise, sent down His Word in that very age. God’s Perfect Word, comprising God’s true shariah, however, is never sent down at any other time even though there be hundreds of thousands of people who are God-fearing and pious, and possess a high degree of holiness and virtue. It is true that some of the virtuous people are honoured with divine communion and discourse; this, however, occurs at the time that Allah’s wisdom determines that a true need has arisen for such communion and discourse.

The difference between these two types of needs is that the revelation of God’s true shariah is needed at a time when the people of the world, because of misguidance and error, have turned away from the right path and a new shariah is needed to guide them to the right path, which can effectively remove the prevailing afflictions, completely dispel their darkness and obscurity through the light of its perfect and decisive exposition, and provide whatever remedy is needed to cure the evil state of the age with its powerful message. But the converse and discourse with auliya’ullah [friends of Allah] is mostly not in response to such grave need and may, on some occasions, be aimed only at bestowing upon the wali [friend of Allah] the robe of patience and steadfastness in an hour of tribulation and travail, or to convey some piece of good news to him at a time when he is overcome by grief and sorrow. But the Perfect and Holy Word of God Almighty, which descends upon Messengers and Prophets as I have just explained, descends at the time of its true need, when creatures of Allah urgently need its revelation.

In short, true need is the real reason for the descent of the Word of Allah. As you see when darkness envelops the night entirely, and light completely fades out, you perceive at once that the beginning of the new month is nigh; in the same way, when utter darkness of misguidance takes a firm hold of the world, sane reason perceives that the appearance of the spiritual moon is near. Similarly, when drought plays havoc with the lives of people, the wise feel that the descent of the rain of mercy is very close. In his physical law also, God has assigned certain seasons for rain—that is, the months in which Allah’s creatures are in need of rain. From the rain that descends during those seasons, it cannot be concluded that people particularly excel in doing good deeds during those months and remain engrossed in vice and immorality during the other months. Instead, it must be understood that those are the months when cultivators are in need of rain, and the rain therein promotes growth of vegetation during the whole year. Similarly, the descent of Allah’s Word is not due to anyone’s purity and piety. In other words, the effective cause of that Word’s descent cannot be someone’s extreme holiness or spiritual purity, nor one’s thirst or hunger for righteousness. As I have stated repeatedly, the real cause of the descent of heavenly scriptures is the genuine need for it; namely, the darkness and gloom that envelop the world call for a heavenly light, so that, by descending, it may dissipate the darkness. There is an elegant reference to the same, as Allah the Almighty says in His Holy Word:

Although this Lailatul-Qadr [Night of Destiny] is commonly interpreted as a blessed night, there are references in the Holy Quran which also indicate that the gloomy condition of the world is like a Lailatul-Qadr on account of its hidden qualities, and truthfulness, steadfastness, devotion, and worship during this period of darkness have tremendous value in the estimation of God. And it was that very dark condition that—having reached its ultimate point during the advent of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be on him, demanded the descent of the Glorious Light. In view of the dark condition of the time, and as a mercy for those afflicted with darkness, there was an upsurge of the attribute of rahmaniyyat and heavenly blessings addressed themselves to the earth. Thus, this dark condition became a blessing for the world, and because of it, the world received a magnificent mercy in that the perfect man, Sayyidur-Rusul [the Chief of the Messengers]—the like of whom has never been born, nor ever will be—came for the guidance of the world and brought the Radiant Book, the like of which no eye has ever seen. Thus, it was a grand manifestation of God’s perfect rahmaniyyat that He sent down, at the time of gloom and darkness, the Magnificent Light that is called the Furqan [Discrimination, i.e. Holy Quran], which distinguishes between truth and falsehood and which demonstrably established truth and uprooted falsehood. It descended upon the earth when the earth had died a spiritual death and great corruption had spread over land and sea. Thus, through its descent, it accomplished that which Almighty Allah has Himself indicated in the words:

Here, it must be fully borne in mind that this descent of the Holy Quran, which took place for the spiritual revival of the world, was through the upsurge of the attribute of rahmaniyyat. This is the same attribute that, at times, is roused to take care of the physical needs of the famine-stricken and pours down the rain of mercy upon parched land; and the same attribute is roused spiritually, at other times, as compassion for the starved and thirsty, who are in the deadly grip of error and misguidance and have run short of the nourishment of truth and righteousness, which is the source of spiritual life. Just as the Most Gracious God provides food for the body at the time of its need, so does He, by virtue of His perfect mercy, provide spiritual nourishment at the time of its true need. It is true, though, that the Word of God descends on only those exalted personages with whom God is well-pleased and He honours only such people with His converse and discourse, of whom He approves. But it is certainly not correct to say that a heavenly book would descend on whomsoever God is pleased with, irrespective of whether it is really needed; or that God Almighty should, without true need, necessarily and constantly converse with the one who has found favour with Him on account of his inner piety. Rather, the Book of God is sent down only when there has arisen a true need for its descent. In brief, the underlying cause of the descent of divine revelation is the rahmaniyyat of God Almighty and not the conduct of anyone. This is a magnificent truth, of which our opponents like the Brahmus and others are unaware.

After that, it must be understood that it is through the operation of the attribute of rahimiyyat that a person is enabled to truly benefit from the blessings of the Divine Word, to reach his goal by means of its blessings and light, and to reap the harvest of his efforts and hard work. This is why Allah the Exalted has mentioned the attribute of rahimiyyat after mentioning the attribute of rahmaniyyat, so that it may be known that the effectiveness of the Word of Allah upon human souls is brought about by the attribute of rahimiyyat. The more a person purifies himself of inner and outer disinclination, the more his heart is imbued with sincerity and righteousness, and the more eagerly he adopts obedience, the greater is the impact of Allah’s Word upon his heart; and in like proportion does he benefit from its light and cultivate in himself the distinct characteristics of the elect of God.

Another verity comprised in

12 is that this verse has been revealed for the commencement of the Holy Quran and the object of its recitation is to seek help from the Being who comprehends in Himself all perfect attributes. One of these is that He is

[Rahman—Gracious] and He provides for the seeker after truth the means for goodness, blessings, and guidance through His sheer grace and munificence; and the other attribute is that He is

[Rahim—Merciful], meaning that He does not let the efforts of those who undertake efforts and endeavours go to waste. Rather, He blesses their efforts with good results and bestows upon them the fruit of their labour.

These two attributes, namely, rahmaniyyat and rahimiyyat, are such that no task, temporal or spiritual, can be carried to completion without them. Careful reflection would show that both these attributes are in operation, at all times and moments, for the consummation of all enterprises within the world. God’s rahmaniyyat has been manifesting itself since well before the creation of man. Hence, it is this rahmaniyyat that provides man with such resources as are beyond his capabilities and which he cannot acquire through any design or plan. And these means are not granted as a result of any action; rather, they are bestowed by way of grace and munificence. For instance, the advent of Prophets, revelation of Books, falling of rain, and carrying out of the allotted functions by the sun, moon, air, and clouds, and man’s own being born in this world, equipped with appropriate faculties and capabilities and being endowed with good health, security, leisure, and longevity—all of these matters are manifested by virtue of the attribute of rahmaniyyat.

Likewise, the rahimiyyat of God manifests itself when man, having been endowed with all resources, puts into motion all of his God-given faculties for the completion of a certain objective and expends all his effort, vigour, and strength to that end. Then it is the practice of Allah that He does not let his efforts go to waste, but rather, crowns these efforts with beneficial results. Thus, it is indeed His sheer rahimiyyat that infuses life into the lifeless efforts of man.

It should be borne in mind that the purpose of teaching us the above-mentioned verse is to seek help and blessings when beginning [the recitation of ] the Holy Quran through the rahmaniyyat and rahimiyyat of Allah the Almighty—the Being who comprehends all perfect attributes. The purpose of seeking blessings through the attribute of rahmaniyyat is that the Perfect Being, out of His rahmaniyyat, may provide, as a grace and munificence, all those means that are needed before an effort is put forth in following the Word of Allah—for instance, the continuity of life, being granted leisure and freedom from care, finding the time to concentrate fully, the stability of faculties and capabilities, the prevention of anything that might disturb comfort and peace, and being safeguarded from anything that might prevent the heart from paying attention—in short, being bestowed the needed capacity in every way. All these matters are attained through the attribute of rahmaniyyat. The purpose of seeking blessings through the attribute of rahimiyyat is that the Perfect Being may, by virtue of His rahimiyyat, bless man’s effort with good results, may safeguard his hard work from being wasted, and may bless his enterprises after his toil and hard work.

Thus, seeking blessings and help through both attributes of God Almighty, rahmaniyyat and rahimiyyat, in the beginning of the Word of Allah, and indeed at the beginning of every magnificent effort, is such an infinitely high verity from which man learns the reality of Tauhid [Oneness of God] and, becoming certain of his own foolishness and unawareness, ignorance and misguidance, and helplessness and contemptibility, his mind finally rests upon the greatness and glory of the Source of Grace; and considering himself wholly poor, indigent, insignificant, and amounting to nothing, man seeks the blessings of rahmaniyyat and rahimiyyat from the All-Powerful God.

Although these attributes of Allah the Almighty are in operation continually on their own, the Omniscient God has ordained this law of nature for man from the beginning that his prayer and supplication play a great role in the achievement of success. Divine grace certainly resolves the difficulties of those who supplicate in their endeavours with heartfelt earnestness, and their prayer reaches the utmost degree of sincerity. Everyone who sees his own weaknesses, and observes his own faults, does not embark upon any affair with liberty and self-conceit; rather, the appreciation of his true servitude [to Allah] makes him realize that he should seek the help of Allah the Exalted, who is the Absolute Controller. The zeal for true servitude [to Allah] is found in every heart that has retained its innate simplicity and is aware of its own weakness.

Therefore, a truthful man—in whose soul no kind of arrogance and self-conceit has taken root, and who is well aware of the weakness, insignificance, and ineffectiveness of his own being, and finds himself incapable of carrying any task to its completion, and sees no power or strength in his own person—finds his feeble spirit begging, without any artificiality, for strength from the heavens before he embarks on any endeavour. He beholds the Omnipotent Being of God in all His perfection and glory all the time, and His rahmaniyyat and rahimiyyat appear to him as the pivot for the successful conclusion of all his affairs. Therefore, before he ventures upon exercising his own imperfect and ineffective energies, he spontaneously seeks help from Allah through the prayer,

13. Therefore, because of this humility and lowliness, he becomes worthy of receiving power from the power of God, strength from His strength, and knowledge from His knowledge, so that he may achieve success in his objectives.

The proof of this matter does not require complicated arguments of logic or philosophical reasoning; rather, the soul of every human being possesses the capacity to understand it, and the personal experiences of every truly enlightened one furnish recurring testimony in support of its validity. Man’s seeking help from God is not a matter which is useless or fictional, nor is it based on baseless speculations, without any rational consequences. In fact, it is an eternal truth that has ever been the way of the Benevolent God who is truly the Sustainer of the universe and with whose support, in reality, the ark of this universe is constantly moving, that He lends His support to those who seek His help—considering themselves to be unworthy and humble—and He grants them His support when they begin their endeavours with His name. When they turn to God in genuine humility and servitude, His support joins in their affairs.

In short, beginning every magnificent enterprise with a prayer seeking help with the name of that Source of every grace, who is

[Rahman] and

[Rahim], is a way of extreme reverence, servitude, self-negation, and indigence. It is such a vital way that the first step of Tauhid in one’s actions begins with it. By strict adherence to it, a person acquires a childlike humility and is purified of the arrogance with which the hearts of the haughty wiseacres of the world are filled; and, by being convinced of his own weakness and the effectiveness of divine help, he partakes of that cognition, which is granted especially to the men of God. Certainly, the more a person adopts this way and the more he considers it his duty to act upon it, and the more he realizes that departing from it spells his ruin, the clearer becomes his belief in Tauhid and the more he is cleansed of the grime of pride and self-conceit. Accordingly, the soot of artificiality and affectation is washed off his face and it begins to radiate in the light of innocence and simplicity. Thus, this is the verity that leads a person gradually to the stage of fana fillah [self-annihilation into Allah] until he finds that he has nothing of his own and he receives everything from God. Whenever someone adopts this path, at the very first step he begins to perceive the perfume of Tauhid and his heart and mind begin to be suffused with it, provided his [spiritual] faculty of smell is not damaged in any way.

In short, a sincere seeker must, in the pursuit of this verity, confess his own utter insignificance and worthlessness, and testify that Allah the Glorious is the Absolute Controller and Source of all grace. Both of these matters are the objectives of seekers of the Truth [i.e. God] and an essential condition to attain the state of fana. A simple similitude should suffice to convey the concept of this necessary condition: Even when there is widespread rain, it falls only on the one who takes his stand at the place where rain is falling. In the same way, only those who ask are granted, and only those who seek, find. Those who embark upon any enterprise, relying on their own skill, intellect, or strength instead of relying on God Almighty, do not give any reverence to the Omnipotent Being who encompasses the entire universe with His all-sustaining power. Their faith is like a dry branch that is no longer connected to its verdant and blooming tree and which has become so dry that it cannot draw anything from the freshness, blossoms, or fruits of its tree. It has only an outward physical connection, which can snap at the slightest stir of the wind or by someone’s shaking it. Such is the faith of the sophists who do not rely on the support of the Sustainer of the universe and do not acknowledge their dependence upon the Source of all grace, whose name is Allah, for all situations and circumstances. Consequently, such people are as distanced from true Tauhid as darkness is from light. They have absolutely no understanding that placing oneself under the mighty power of the All-Powerful God, truly believing oneself to be insignificant and worthless, is the ultimate point of servitude and the highest stage of [believing in] Tauhid, from which the spring of total annihilation gushes forth, and one is delivered entirely from one’s self and volition, and affirms with a sincere heart that God is the Ultimate Controller.

No weight need be given here to the argument of the sophists who say, ‘What is the need for seeking God’s assistance before starting anything, since God has already endowed our natures with [the appropriate] capabilities, and in the presence of these capabilities, it is a superfluous act to beg Him for the same capabilities again.’ My response is that no doubt it is true that God Almighty has equipped us with some limited capabilities to perform certain tasks, but we are not thereby freed from the governance of the Sustainer of the universe. He has not separated Himself from us, nor has He desired to exclude us from His support, nor has He willed that we should be deprived of His limitless beneficence. Whatever He has bestowed upon us is a limited matter and that which is begged of Him is without limit. Moreover, we have not been granted the power to attain that which is beyond our capabilities.

If you were to reflect carefully and utilize all logical analyses, it would be clear that we do not even possess a single capability in its perfection. For example, our physical capabilities depend on our health, and our health depends on many factors, some of which are heavenly and some of which are earthly, yet all of them are completely beyond our capacities. I have made this simple observation in accord with the aptitude of an average person. However, in truth, the extent to which the Sustainer of the universe, on account of His being the Cause of all causes, encompasses all of the capabilities of our exterior and our interior, our beginning and our end, above us and below us, on our right and on our left, in our hearts, our mind, and our souls, is such a deep insight that its essence is beyond the comprehension of human intellect. It is not necessary to delve further into the matter, for what I have stated above is sufficient to refute our opponents and make them understand.

In short, the only way of obtaining the grace of the Sustainer of the universe is to seek His protection with all ability, force, and strength. This is not a new way; rather, it is the same way that has been inherent within human nature since the beginning. A person who desires to tread along the path of servitude adopts this very path, and the person who seeks the grace of God treads this same path, and the person who seeks mercy [of God] obeys these same eternal laws. These are not new ordinances. They are not concocted like the god of Christians. Rather, it is an established law of God which has been in operation since time immemorial, and is the perpetually recurring practice of Allah, the truth of which is manifest to every sincere seeker through multiple experiences. And why should it not be manifest, given that every sensible person can realize what a helpless and weak condition we are in, and how useless and ineffective we are without the help of God. If a Being possessing absolute control were not to take care of us every moment, and if His rahmaniyyat and rahimiyyat were not to sustain us, all our efforts would go in vain; indeed, we ourselves would perish altogether. Therefore, embarking on any of our enterprises, particularly starting the Heavenly Book, which is the finest and most delicate of all momentous affairs, the invocation of the name of the Omnipotent God who is

[Rahman] and

[Rahim] with the intention of seeking His blessings and help, is such a self-evident verity that we are perforce drawn towards it.

In fact, every single blessing comes about in this very manner; namely, the Being who is the Absolute Controller, the Cause of all causes, the Source of all graces, who is called ‘Allah’ in the terminology of the Holy Quran, may be pleased to manifest His attribute of rahmaniyyat first, and bring into existence whatever is needed before one’s own effort through His pure grace and munificence without the intervention of any action. And when the attribute of rahmaniyyat has accomplished its function fully and perfectly, and man, equipped by His grace with appropriate capabilities, has put forth his effort and toil with due diligence, then Allah the Exalted may manifest His attribute of rahimiyyat and bestow good results upon whatever toil and effort man has made, and grant him his desired objective by saving his efforts from being lost. With respect to this second attribute [rahimiyyat], it is said that he who seeks, finds; he who asks, is granted; and he who knocks, for him it is opened. In other words, God Almighty, through the grace of His attribute of rahimiyyat, does not let the labour and effort of anyone go in vain and, ultimately, one who seeks, finds.

In short, these verities are so self-evident that everyone can recognize their truth through personal experience. There is no person from whom these manifest verities can remain hidden, provided that he possesses some intelligence. However, this fact is not intelligible to those whose vision, on account of hard-heartedness and ignorance, is limited to material means and who have no knowledge of the subtle determining factors of the Being who is the Controller of all means, nor are they broad-minded enough to consider that thousands—indeed countless—heavenly and mundane factors that are needed for the healthy functioning of every part of the human body, and their attainment is certainly not within man’s control and power. There is only One Being, who has perfect attributes, who creates all of the means from above the heavens to the nethermost regions of the earth and has full control and authority over them. Those who are wise understand it without any hesitation and, indeed, as an evident reality; and as for those who are higher than them in rank and are more experienced, they have reached the stage of perfect certainty in this matter.

However, the doubt as to why sometimes this seeking of help proves useless and of no avail, and why the rahmaniyyat and rahimiyyat of God do not display their brilliant light on every occasion of seeking help, is caused only by misunderstanding a verity, because God Almighty certainly hears the supplications which are offered in sincerity, and also, as appropriate, helps the supplicants. However, it sometimes happens that a person’s supplication for help and his prayer lack sincerity, or he does not beg help from Allah with heartfelt humility, or his spiritual condition is not up to the standard; rather, while his lips utter the prayer, his heart is heedless or ostentatious. Or, sometimes it so happens that God listens to his prayer and grants him in the most appropriate and beneficial manner in accordance with His perfect wisdom, but the ignorant person fails to recognize those hidden beneficences of God, and, owing to his ignorance and lack of awareness, starts complaining. Such a one does not understand the message of the verse:

Meaning that, it is possible that you may dislike a thing while it is, in reality, good for you; and it is possible that you may like something while it is, in reality, harmful for you. God knows the true reality of things and you know not.

It is clear from my entire exposition how lofty a verity is proclaimed in

15. It comprises such an excellent means of making progress in true Tauhid, in servitude, and in sincerity, whose match is not to be found in any other scripture; and if anyone makes such a claim, let him set forth that verity along with all of the other verities that I shall mention below.

An objection has been advanced against the eloquence of

[bismillah] by some short-sighted and ignorant opponents. One of these objectors is a padre named Imad-ud-din, who has set out the following objection in his book Hidayatul-Muslimin. Another is Bawa Narain Singh, a lawyer in Amritsar, who, deeming the objection of the padre to be valid because of the rancour of his heart, has repeated the same absurd objection in his journal Viddya Parkashak. I deem it appropriate to set forth this objection together with its answer, so that unbiased people may realize how the overwhelming prejudice has pushed our opponents to the extremes of dark-heartedness and spiritual blindness so that they are perceiving intensely bright light as darkness, and the finest perfume as foul stench.

So let it be known that the objection raised by the above-mentioned people against the eloquence of

is that ar-Rahmanur-Rahim, which appears in

[bismillah], has not been used in accord with the norms of fluency. The fluent style and proper sequence should have been [ar-]Rahimur-Rahman inasmuch as the name Rahman for God is on account of that mercy which is abundant and general. The word

[Rahim] in juxtaposition to

[Rahman] signifies the mercy that is limited and special, and eloquence calls for proceeding from limited towards the abundant and not from abundant to limited.

This is the objection that these two gentlemen have raised with closed eyes against that discourse, the eloquence of which was admitted by all native speakers of Arabia including great poets, in spite of their bitter hostility [of Islam]. Rather, great enemies were astonished by the magnificent quality of this discourse. Many of them, who were well-versed in judging the merits of literary fluency and eloquence and were men of integrity, being convinced that the Holy Quran’s style was above and beyond human capacity, admitted it to be a great miracle and believed in it. Their testimonies are cited in numerous places throughout the Holy Quran. Those who were inwardly blind to the extreme did not believe in it, but even they were so confounded and amazed that they had to say that it was a great magic that could not be matched; their testimonies are also recorded in several places throughout the Glorious Quran.

The criticism against this very Word of miraculous composition is advanced by such people, one of whom lacks the competence to write even two correct and eloquent lines in Arabic, and who, if he happens to hold a dialogue with a native speaker would not be able to utter more than a few broken, ungrammatical, and faulty phrases. Should anyone doubt this, he is welcome to carry out a test. The other [objector] is totally ignorant of the Arabic language and is not well versed even in Persian. And it is a pity that the first-mentioned Christian does not seem to be aware that Western scholars, who are his elders and leaders, have themselves admitted to the splendid degree of eloquence of the Holy Quran as has been recorded by Westerners such as Mr. Davenport. Apart from this, an intelligent person should consider that this is a book revealed to a person in his own language and hailed by all linguists, including the poets of the Sab‘ah Mu‘allaqah16, for its supreme eloquence. Can a word bearing such an established proof be subjected to valid criticism if denied by an ignorant non-Arab who is inarticulate and totally devoid of the art of composition and who has never acquired proficiency in the knowledge pertaining to the Arabic language; on the contrary, he cannot even hold a conversation with an ordinary Arab? In making their comments, such people overreach themselves and merely expose their own ignorance. They fail to realize that criticizing something against the testimony of native speakers and renowned poets is, in fact, tantamount to proving one’s own ignorance and obstinacy.

Let Padre Imad-ud-din hold a dialogue with an Arab for one or even half an hour on any religious or secular topic so that the public may know whether he is capable of communicating his thoughts in simple and idiomatic conversation in the manner of a native Arab. I am certain that he cannot do it, and I know with full certainty that if I were to confront him with an Arab to converse with him, he would not be able to relate even one tiny tale in the style and taste of the Arabs, and would remain bogged down in the mud of ignorance. Should there be any doubt, then I put him under oath to give it a try. I, myself, undertake the responsibility that, if Padre Imad-ud-din asks me, I will provide an Arab and arrange for a meeting on an agreed date which will be attended by some qualified Hindus, and also some Muslim divines. It would be incumbent upon Imad-ud-din to bring some Christian brothers with him. Then, in the presence of all attendees, he will first narrate, in Arabic, a story which will be provided to him at that time. Following that, the Arab gentleman, who will also be present, will narrate the same in his own language. If the judges rule that Imad-ud-din’s narration was of high quality, elegant, and in accordance with the literary style of the Arabs, I shall concede that his linguistic criticism is not objectionable and will further award him a cash prize of fifty rupees immediately. On the other hand, if Imad-ud-din makes a reeking display of dishevelled and erroneous composition instead of making a fluent and eloquent presentation, or, fearing his humiliation and exposure of his incapability, does not even publicly announce his willingness to go through such a test, then what can I say except,

[‘The curse of Allah be upon the liars’].

It should also be remembered that even if Imad-ud-din were to be born again, he would still be incapable of competing with a native speaker. Given that he is incapable of even conversing with Arabs and is ever-ready to become speechless, then a thousand woes and two thousand curses be upon the understanding of those Christians and Aryas who, solely on the basis of the composition of such an ignorant man, object to the eloquence of the Peerless Book that was revealed to the noblest among the Arabs, and whose grand status was admitted by all eloquent scholars of the Arabic language, so much so that, on its being revealed, the Sab‘ah Mu‘allaqah were removed from the door [of the Ka‘bah] in Makkah, and the only poet of those odes living at that time believed in this Book without any hesitation.

Again, it is a pity that this ignorant Christian still does not know that true eloquence does not call for the small to precede the large without any rhyme or reason, and that the real rule of eloquence is that one’s discourse should reflect the situation and sequence like a mirror.

Here, by making

[Rahman] take precedence over

[Rahim], the composition has been made a mirror of the actual situation and sequence. A detailed account of this natural sequence will be set forth in the course of the discussion of Surah al-Fatihah’s other verses.

I will now elaborate upon the other verses of the blessed surah as follows:

[alhamdulillah]—All praises are proven for that Being, truly worthy of worship, who combines in Himself all perfect attributes, whose name is Allah. I have already stated that in the idiom of the Holy Quran, Allah is the name of that Perfect Being, who is truly worthy of worship, who combines in Himself all perfect attributes, is free from all defects, is the One without any associate, and who is the Source of all grace. God Almighty has, in His Holy Word, the Holy Quran, described His name ‘Allah’ to be the noun qualified by all other names and attributes, and has nowhere accorded this status to any other name; therefore, the name ‘Allah’, on account of its being the comprehensive noun denoting all of the attributes which qualify it, refers to all attributes of Allah. And since it is qualified by all names and attributes, it would mean that it comprehends all perfect attributes.

In conclusion, the gist of the meanings of

[alhamdulillah] is that all types of praise, both external and internal, and whether relating to personal excellences or to wonders of omnipotence, belong exclusively to Allah, and no one is His associate in this. Moreover, all true praises and utmost excellences that any wise one’s intellect can imagine or any thinker’s reflection can conceive of are present in Almighty Allah. There is no excellence, the possibility of which is confirmed by intellect, of which God Almighty is bereft like an unfortunate human being. Indeed, no wise person’s intellect can even suggest an excellence which is not found in God. The utmost of the excellences that a person can think of are all found in Him. He is perfect from every point of view in His Being, His attributes, and in His praiseworthy qualities, and He is absolutely free from all ignoble qualities.

Now see for yourself that this is the kind of verity which distinguishes a true religion from a false one! For, reflection upon all religions would reveal that there is no religion in the world, other than Islam, which believes God Almighty to be free from all ignoble qualities and to be the possessor of all perfect praiseworthy qualities. The Hindu masses believe their deities to be partners in the realm of Divinity and regard them as constant intermediaries in God’s works. Indeed, they believe them to be able to modify Allah’s designs and to overturn His decrees. Moreover, concerning human beings and other animals—even about some unclean and filth-consuming animals, such as swine—the Hindus believe that their Parmeshwar has, at certain times, incarnated himself in their form, has been involved in all the filth and vileness that pertain to them, and has been afflicted like them with hunger, thirst, pain, torture, fear, grief, disease, death, ignominy, disgrace, helplessness, and weakness. It is obvious that all such beliefs besmirch the excellences of God Almighty, and undermine His eternal and everlasting glory and majesty. And the Aryah Samajists, who have emerged as their cultural brethren and imagine that they follow the teaching of the Vedas strictly, altogether deny God Almighty’s attribute of being the Creator, and regard all souls to be, like His Perfect Being, uncreated, necessarily self-existent, and living with true existence; sane reason, however, considers it a palpable defect in respect of God Almighty that, despite being called the Lord of the world, He should not be the Master and Creator of anything, and that the life of the world should not depend upon Him, because it is of necessary existence on its own.

If these questions were submitted to sane intellect—i.e. is it more appropriate and more in accord with the perfect excellences of the All-Powerful God that He should have brought into existence the whole universe out of His Own perfect power and should be its Lord and Creator, and that the entire system of the universe should ultimately depend upon His providence, and that the attribute and power of creation should be inherent in His Perfect Being, and that He should be free from the blemishes of being subject to birth or death; or, are the following things more in accord with His status, that all creatures under His control are not created by Him, do not owe their existence to His support, are not dependent upon Him for their existence and survival, and that He is not their Creator and Lord and does not possess the attribute and power of creation and that He is not free from the blemish of birth and death—the intellect would never give the verdict that He who is the Lord of the world is not the Creator of the world and that the thousands of wonderful, wisdom-laden qualities that are found in souls and bodies are self-existent and have no creator, and that God, who is called the Lord of all these things, has only been assumed to be their Lord. Nor does it give the verdict that God should be considered devoid of the power to create, or helpless and defective, or that involvement in the unworthy and despicable habits of impurity and consuming filth should be attributed to Him, or that He should be considered to be subject to death, pain, suffering, lack of knowledge, and ignorance. Rather, it gives clear testimony that God Almighty must be free from all such ignoble and defective traits, and must possess perfect excellence. And perfect excellence is conditional upon perfection of power. Should it be [falsely] deemed that God Almighty lacks perfection of power and was unable to create anything else, and should He be [falsely] deemed unable to guard Himself against every kind of loss and defect, then He would lack perfection in excellence; and lacking perfection of excellence, He would become unworthy of perfect praise. Such is the case of the Hindus and Aryas. As for the glory of God Almighty that the Christians proclaim, it is a matter that can be easily understood by an intelligent person through asking a single question. In other words, if an intelligent one is asked, ‘Is it permissible to hold about the Perfect, Eternal, Self-Sufficient, and Independent Being, who required no assistance at any time for the fulfilment of the magnificent tasks that He has been carrying out Himself since eternity—in other words, creating the universe without the aid of a father or a son, bestowing all needed powers and faculties upon souls and bodies, remaining the sole Protector, Sustainer, and Determining Lord of the entire universe, indeed, bringing into existence whatever was required for the sustenance of His creatures before they came into existence through the pure grace of His rahmaniyyat, and creating for mankind the sun, moon and innumerable stars, and the earth and thousands of bounties that abound in the world, through His pure grace and munificence only, without waiting for any action to have proceeded from any executor and without having to call in the aid a son in all this grand process—that this same Perfect God should, in a later period, undergo a total loss of His glory and control and should become dependent upon a son for providing the means of forgiveness and salvation? And that son, too, who was so deficient that he had nothing in common with the Father. Unlike the Father, he did not create even a single portion of the heavens nor any part of the earth which might be offered to prove his ‘Divinity’. On the contrary, Mark, chapter 8, verse 12, describes his helplessness as follows: He heaved a deep sigh and said, ‘Why do the people of this generation seek after a sign? Verily, I say unto you, there shall no sign be given unto this generation.’ Even when he was crucified, the Jews said that if he would come back to life in their presence they would believe in him. But he did not come back to life before their eyes, and did not furnish the slightest evidence in support of his [supposed] divinity and omnipotence. If he did perform some miracles, the same had been shown by other Prophets before him on a much larger scale and even the water of a pond possessed properties that manifested similar wonders (see chapter 5 of the Gospel of St. John).

In short, he was not able to show any sign of his divinity as his confession is recorded in the verse cited above. Being born of a weak and helpless woman, he (according to the Christians) underwent such humiliation, ignominy, weakness, and lifelong misery as is the portion of the men who are called unfortunate and deprived. Moreover, he was a prisoner for a long while in the dark cell of the womb and was born through the filthy passage polluted by urine. Thus, he sullied himself with all types of foul conditions, and there is no stain of human foulness and defects which this son, who has tarnished the reputation of the Father, was not subjected to. Moreover, in his own book, he confessed his ignorance, lack of knowledge, powerlessness, and also that he was not good. This humble servant, who was without any reason considered to be the son of God, was even inferior to some of the lofty Prophets in intellectual attainments and actions; even his teaching was imperfect, being only a branch of the Law of Moses. How then is it permissible to attribute such a calumny to the All-Powerful God, who is Eternal and Everlasting, that having been eternally Perfect in His Being, Self-Sufficient, and All-Powerful, He, in the end, became dependent upon such a defective son and lost His Glory and Greatness altogether? I most certainly do not believe that any wise person would permit such ignominies to be imagined concerning the Perfect Being who combines in Himself all perfect attributes.

It is clear that if the events [in the life] of Ibn-e-Maryam [the Son of Mary] are shorn of absurd and futile praises, the gist of the real facts of his life according to the Gospel is that he was, like other human beings, a humble, weak, and imperfect man and was one of the follower-Prophets of Hazrat Musa [Moses]. He was a subordinate and follower of that great and eminent Messenger, but he certainly did not attain that greatness himself. In other words, his teaching was a branch of the lofty teaching and did not constitute a permanent teaching. He himself admits in the Gospel that he was not good, nor the knower of the unseen, nor omnipotent, but was, rather, a humble man.

The account given in the Gospel clearly shows that before his arrest, he prayed repeatedly for deliverance during the night. He desired the acceptance of his prayer, but his prayer was not granted. Moreover, as humble men are put to trials, he was tempted by Satan. This shows that he was altogether humble. Having been born through the well-known channel of birth, which is polluted with filth and excretion, he endured hunger, thirst, pain, and illness over a long period. It is related that once, suffering from the pangs of hunger, he approached a fig tree, but since the fig tree had no fruit, he remained deprived and was unable to create a few figs for himself to eat. In short, having spent quite some time in such impurities and having endured such afflictions, he died, according to the Christians, and was raised from this world.

Now, my question is whether the Omnipotent God should possess such defective qualities—is He called Holy and Glorious because He is filled with such faults and deficiencies? Moreover, is it possible that of the five children born to the same mother—that is, Maryam [Mary]—one became the son of God, and even God Himself, while the remaining four poor ones were not bestowed any part of the Godhead? The dictate of reason is that if God can be born of a created being—unlike a human being born of a human and a donkey being born of a donkey—then whenever a god is created out of a woman’s womb, no created being should be born from the same womb; rather, all the children born from it should be gods so that that holy womb should remain unblemished from the association of creatures and should be a mine exclusively for the birth of gods. According to above-mentioned speculation it was necessary that the brothers and sisters of Hazrat Masih [the Messiah] should have partaken somewhat of the Godhead, and the mother of the five should have been honoured as nothing but the ‘God of Gods’, because all these five personalities were graced with their spiritual and physical faculties from her.

The Christians have invented all kinds of undue praise for Ibn-e-Maryam and yet they could not conceal his imperfections. They themselves confessed that he was tainted with impurities, and yet they pronounced him to be the son of God without any reason. Although the Christians and Jews, according to their astonishing scriptures, are all ‘sons of God’—indeed, according to one verse, they are themselves ‘gods’—I should point out that the Buddhists have fared better than them in their lies and inventions. Because, having acclaimed Buddha as God, they did not ascribe his birth through the filthy and impure channel or his nourishment to any kind of filth. On the contrary, they believe Buddha was born by way of the mouth. Alas for the Christians! They forged many lies, but it did not occur to them to similarly ascribe the birth of Masih through the mouth so that they could have safeguarded their ‘God’ from being mixed with urine and other impurities. Nor did it occur to them to safeguard him against death, which is the utter negation of the truth about Divinity. Nor did they think of excising from the Gospel all references to the confession of the son of Mary that he was not good, nor completely wise, nor had he come of his own will, nor was he the knower of the unseen, nor did he possess absolute power, nor did he have the power to accept prayers; and that he was a humble servant [of God] and a submissive human being who had been sent by the Master and Lord of the universe.

In brief, the grand verity contained in the subject of

[alhamdulillah] is not at all found in any religion other than the pure and holy religion of Islam. Should, however, the Brahmus claim that they believe in the above-mentioned verity, let it be known, that they too would be false in making this claim. As I have pointed out earlier in this very discourse, the Brahmus regard God Almighty to be dumb, mute, destitute of the power of speech, and incapable of granting the inspiration and revelation of His knowledge, and they consider Him to be deprived of all perfect attributes that must be inherent in the True and Perfect Guide. Rather, they do not even have enough faith to believe that God Almighty has revealed His Existence and His Divinity to the world of His own will and volition. On the contrary, they say that God Almighty was hidden like a dead body or a piece of rock in some obscure corner and the wise, on their own, worked diligently to discover Him, and made His Divinity well known in the world. It is thus obvious that, like their other brothers, they too deny the perfect excellences of the One True God. On the contrary, they ascribe to themselves all the attributes worthy of the glorification of God.

Here in Surah al-Fatihah, God Almighty has set forth four of His attributes—namely

[Rabbul-‘alamin—Lord of all the worlds]

[Rahman—Gracious],

[Rahim—Merciful],

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din—Master of the Day of Judgment]. Of these four attributes, He has first mentioned

[Rabbul-‘alamin] and thereafter mentioned the attribute of

[Rahman] and then stated the attribute of

[Rahim]. Then He has set forth

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din] after all of them.

It needs to be understood why God Almighty adopted that order. The wisdom behind this lies in the natural order of these four attributes. In their actual operation, these attributes are manifested in the same sequence. The detail is that divine grace manifests itself throughout the world in four ways which can be understood by every intelligent person who ponders over the matter. The first grace is the most universal grace. This is the absolute grace which perpetually operates upon everything from the heavens to the earth without distinction of animate or inanimate. The coming into being of everything from non-existence and then its development to its fullest potential is through this very grace. Nothing is outside of it—whether it be animate or inanimate. Through this alone, the being of all souls and bodies were brought into existence, and continue to be so, and everything was nourished by it and continues to be so. This grace is the very life of the entire universe. Were it cut off for even one moment, the entire universe would perish. If it had not been there, nothing of the creation would have existed. It has been named rububiyyat [providence] in the Holy Quran and it is on its account that God has been named

[Rabbul-‘alamin] as He has also mentioned in another place:

Meaning that, God is the Rabb [Lord] of everything and nothing that exists in the universe is outside the sphere of His rububiyyat. Therefore, in Surah al-Fatihah, God first mentioned the attribute

[Rabbul-‘alamin] out of all the attributes of grace, and said,

18. The reason for saying this is that rububiyyat has a natural priority over all attributes of grace. In other words, it is the first grace to appear in terms of manifestation, and it is also the most universal grace covering everything animate and inanimate.

The second category of grace which is next in sequence is the general grace. The difference between this and the most universal grace is that the most universal grace is a universal providence by means of which the entire universe came into being and continues to be sustained, and the grace that is called the general grace is a special eternal favour which is applicable to the condition of the animates. In other words, the special attention of God the Maker upon all animates is called the general grace. The characteristic of this grace is that it extends to all animates according to their needs, without reference to any right or merit, and is not in recompense of any action on their part. It is because of the blessings of this very grace that every living being is seen to be alive and well, eats and drinks, is secure against afflictions, and is well-provided with all that it needs. All necessities of life are provided for the survival of every living being and the survival of its species. This very grace results in the provision of everything that living beings need for their physical development. Similarly, for living beings that need spiritual development in addition to physical development—that is, which have the capacity for making spiritual progress—the Word of Allah has been revealed since the beginning, whenever the need arose. In short, through this very grace [of rahmaniyyat] man enjoys the satisfaction of millions of his needs—the surface of the earth for habitation, the moon and the sun for light, air for breathing, water for drinking, a variety of provisions for eating, hundreds of thousands of types of medicines for treating ailments, different kinds of apparel for wearing, and divine scriptures for guidance—but no one can claim that these were attained due to his actions or that he had been engaged in some virtuous deeds in a previous incarnation in recompense of which God has bestowed all these innumerable bounties upon mankind. It is thus established that this grace, which manifests itself in thousands of ways for promoting the comfort of all animates, is an ex gratia bounty which is not due to the result of any action on the part of anyone. It is only the upsurge of mercy of the Provident God so that every animate may attain its natural goal and may satisfy the urges inherent in its nature. In short, the function of eternal favour through this grace is to provide for the needs of mankind and all animals and to attend to what they require and what they do not require lest they should perish or their capabilities remain in the realm of dormancy. The presence of this grace in the Being of the Almighty God is clearly established by the observation of the law of nature, because no wise person would deny that the moon, the sun, the earth and the elements, and all other essentials which are found in the universe upon which the life of all animates depends are manifested through this grace. And every individual takes advantage of the above-mentioned bounties, according to his needs, without distinction of man or beast, believer or non-believer, good or bad. No living being is deprived of it. And the name of this grace is rahmaniyyat [graciousness] in the Holy Quran and by virtue of it God has been called

[Rahman] in Surah al-Fatihah after the attribute of

[Rabbul-‘alamin], as is said:

19.

This attribute is mentioned at several other places in the Holy Quran also. One of them is the following:

Meaning that, when the disbelievers, the faithless, and the atheists are asked to prostrate before

[Rahman], they declare their aversion to the attribute

[Rahman] and they retort by way of denial, ‘Who is this Rahman?’ (Allah responds to them by saying)

[Rahman] is that Being, the Source of abundant blessings and the Fountainhead of perpetual good, who has made mansions in the heaven and has placed in those mansions the sun and the moon which shed light for all creatures without discriminating between believer and disbeliever; the same

[Rahman] made for you—that is, for the whole of mankind—day and night that alternate one after the other so that a seeker of true understanding may benefit from these points of wisdom and be freed from the veil of ignorance and heedlessness, and he who is ready to be grateful may render thanks. The true worshippers of

[Rahman] are those who walk on the earth in meekness and when the ignorant address them in a harsh language they answer back in words of peace and mercy. That is, they respond to harshness with gentleness and offer blessing in return of abuse; thus, they reflect the qualities of the Gracious God, as

[Rahman] also pours forth His grace on all His creatures without discrimination of good and bad through the sun, the moon, the earth, and other innumerable bounties.

In short, in these verses God Almighty has clearly expounded that the word

[Rahman] is used for God in the sense that His widespread mercy is made available to all good and bad alike. The same general mercy has been referred to at another place:

Meaning that, I inflict My chastisement on whomsoever I deem to be deserving it, and My mercy encompasses everything.

Meaning that, say to these disbelieving and disobedient people, ‘If God did not have the attribute of

[Rahman], it would not have been possible for you to remain secure from His chastisement.’ That is to say, it is only because of His rahmaniyyat that He gives respite to the disbelievers and the faithless, and does not seize them very quickly. At another place the same rahmaniyyat is referred to as:

Meaning that, have these people not seen the birds flying above them, that sometimes their wings are spread out and sometimes they fold them. It is

[Rahman] who keeps them from falling down. This means that the grace of rahmaniyyat encompasses all animates in such a way that even the birds, of which two or three may be purchased for a penny, fly happily and joyously in the vast expanse of this grace. Since the occurrence of this grace takes place after rububiyyat, Almighty Allah has mentioned His attribute of

[Rahman] after mentioning the attribute of

[Rabbul-‘alamin] in Surah al-Fatihah to correspond with their natural sequence.

The third category of grace is special grace. The difference between this and general grace is that there is no obligation upon the recipient of general grace to conform to virtue in his conduct in order to benefit from that grace, and to pull his ego out of the veils of darkness or to exert himself or strive in any way. On the contrary, as I have just mentioned above, God Almighty grants to every animate everything it needs according to its nature without asking and without any effort on its part. But special grace is conditional upon exertion, effort, purification of heart, prayer and supplication, earnest direction of the mind towards Allah, and all other kinds of striving as are appropriate for the circumstances. Only those attain to this grace who seek it. It is bestowed only upon those who strives to attain it. The existence of this grace is also established by observing the law of nature, because it is obvious that those who strive in God’s path cannot be like those who are heedless. Without a doubt, a special mercy accompanies those people who strive in the cause of God with sincerity of heart and withdraw from every darkness and disorder. By virtue of this grace, God Almighty is called

[Rahim] in the Holy Quran. As the attribute of rahimiyyat [mercy] is exclusive and is contingent upon certain conditions, it ranks after the attribute of rahmaniyyat [graciousness]. The attribute of rahmaniyyat manifested first by God Almighty, and attribute of rahimiyyat followed it. On account of this natural order, the attribute of rahimiyyat has been mentioned after the attribute of rahmaniyyat in Surah al-Fatihah as He has said:

24. This is mentioned at several places in the Holy Quran while explaining the attribute of rahimiyyat, as He has said in one place:

This means that God’s rahimiyyat is confined only to the believers and that the infidels, meaning, the disbelievers and the rebellious ones, have no share in it.

It should be noted here how God has restricted the attribute of rahimiyyat to the believers, but He has not restricted rahmaniyyat to the believers in any place, and has nowhere stated

meaning that, He is

[Rahman] for the believers. Rather, the attribute of mercy that is especially reserved for the believers has been mentioned with the attribute of rahimiyyat every time. At another place He has said:

Meaning that, the rahimiyyat of Allah is close to only those who do good. Then, at another place, He has stated:

Meaning that, those who believed and sacrificed their homes or personal desires for the sake of Allah, and strove in the cause of Allah, are hopeful of Allah’s rahimiyyat and Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful. Meaning that, His grace of rahimiyyat is certainly bestowed upon those who deserve it. There is no one who sought it and did not find it.

What kind of lover is he towards whom the Beloved does not incline [with compassion]?
It is the pain [of yearning] that is lacking, my master, not the Physician!

The fourth category of grace is the most special grace. This grace cannot be acquired merely in response to effort and exertion. Rather, the first condition of its manifestation and reflection is that this realm of means, which is a narrow and dark space, should be totally demolished and annihilated and that the complete power of the One True God should be unveiled in its perfect brilliance without any mingling of the usual [material] means. For, in regard to this final grace, which is the ultimate point of all grace, the only addition and perfection—above and beyond the graces mentioned earlier—that the human mind can conceive of is that it should be manifested with the utmost vividness and clarity, and there should not remain any doubt, concealment, or imperfection. That is, there should be no doubt left with regard to the determined grace of the Gracious Bestower, nor should there be any question that the bestowed grace is the real bounty and pure and perfect mercy. Rather, the munificence and recompense of the Eternal Master should become manifest like the bright day. And the recipient of this grace should feel and realize with true certainty that it is indeed the Sovereign of the Kingdom who is bestowing a lofty favour and a great delight upon him, by His will, command, and special power; and that, in truth, he is the recipient of a perfect and lasting reward for his good deeds, which is extremely pure, superb, most desirable and lovely, and is not any kind of test or trial.

To be the recipient of such perfect, superb and enduring, high, and splendid grace is contingent on the migration of the servant [of Allah] from this imperfect, opaque, dense, confined, depressed, ephemeral, and doubtful realm to another realm. For, this grace is the manifestation of the supreme splendours, which call for the witnessing of the True Benefactor’s beauty as unveiled and at the stage of certainty by experience. Thus, no degree of shuhud [observation], zuhur [manifestation], and yaqin [certainty] should be left out; there should be no intervention of any usual [material] means; and every subtlety of perfect cognizance should move from a potential faculty into actual realisation. Moreover, the manifestation of the grace should be such a clear and unequivocal reality that God Himself should have conveyed that it is free from the blemish of every test and trial. Furthermore, this grace should carry with it such high and perfect delights whose condition of purity and perfection takes such a complete and everlasting possession of one’s heart and soul, outside and inside, body and life, and every spiritual and physical faculty, the exceeding of which cannot possibly be conceived by reason, imagination, or fancy.

This world—which is defective in its essence, clouded in its appearance, mortal in its being, doubtful in its condition, and limited in its capacity—cannot bear these grand manifestations, pure light, and eternal bounties, nor can it comprehend those full, perfect, and enduring auroras. Rather, for this manifestation, another world is needed, which is pure and completely free from the darkness of intervening means and is a manifestation of the complete and perfect power of the One Supreme Being. However, a foretaste of this most special grace is granted in this very life to those perfect persons who tread wholeheartedly upon the path of righteousness; and, discarding all personal desires and inclinations, lean wholly towards God. They annihilate themselves before their death, and though they appear to be in this world, in reality they live in another world. Thus, as they wean their minds away from all worldly means and, by abolishing human ways and values and turning their faces away from everything other than Allah, adopt an extraordinary way of life, the Benevolent God also treats them in like fashion and manifests His special light to them in an extraordinary manner, which cannot be manifested to others except after death.

In short, for the reasons described above, they experience, to some degree, the light of the most special grace in this very world. This grace is the most special of all graces and is the culmination of all graces. Its recipient arrives at the greatest bliss and achieves everlasting prosperity, which is the fountainhead of all happiness, and he who remains deprived of this [grace] would live in everlasting hell. By virtue of this grace, Allah the Almighty has mentioned His name as

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din—‘Master of the Day of Judgment’] in the Holy Quran. By placing

[al—i.e. ‘the’] before the word

[Din—i.e. ‘Day’], the purpose is to convey the meaning that the recompense referred to here is the perfect recompense, the details of which are given in the Glorious Furqan [Quran]. That perfect recompense cannot take place without the manifestation of complete divine mastership, which is contingent upon the demolition of the foundation of [material] means. Accordingly, the same is also referred to at another place where it is said:

This means that, on that day, God’s rububiyyat will manifest itself without the intervention of the usual [material] means and it will be observed and felt that everything is non-existent except the supreme power and perfect omnipotence of the Exalted Maker. Then all comfort and joy, and all reward and punishment will appear clearly as coming directly from God alone, and there will be no covering and veil in between and there will be no room left for any doubt. At that time, those who had cut themselves asunder from others for His sake will find themselves in a state of perfect bliss which will envelop their bodies and souls, their outside and inside, and there will remain no part of their beings which will remain deprived of this great good fortune.

Moreover, the phrase

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din] also indicates here that whatever comfort or suffering and pleasure or pain is experienced by human beings on that Day will proceed directly from God Almighty, and He alone will be, in truth, the sole Master of all symbolic manifestations. In other words, meeting with Him or separating from Him will be the cause of eternal bliss or eternal misfortune. Thus, those who had believed in His Being, adhered to Tauhid [Oneness of God] and had dyed their hearts in His pure love, will have the light of the Perfect Being’s mercy descend upon them clearly and openly; and those who had not attained the faith and love of God will be deprived of this delight and comfort and will be cast into painful torment.

These are the four types of divine grace that I have described in detail. It is now obvious that to place the attribute

[Rahman] before the attribute

[Rahim] is absolutely necessary and demanded by the rule of perfect eloquence. For, when the book of nature is studied, first of all, the universal rububiyyat of God Almighty is noticed, then His rahmaniyyat, and thereafter His rahimiyyat, and finally His being

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din], and perfect eloquence demands that the order followed in the book of nature should also be kept in view in the Revealed Book. For, reversing the natural arrangement in composition is tantamount to reversing the law of nature and reversing the natural order. For an eloquent composition, it is absolutely necessary that the order of the composition should mirror the order of nature as if to reflect it accurately, and whatever has natural and factual priorities should have precedence in description also. So, this verse under consideration possesses the highest eloquence that, despite conforming to the norms of perfect fluency and rhetoric, it fully depicts the natural order [of these attributes] and follows the order which everyone possessing insight would observe in the order of the universe. Is this not the most straightforward way that the order in which the bounties of Allah appear in the book of nature should be followed also in the Revealed Book? To raise an objection against such an excellent and wise order is, in fact, the characteristic of the blind ones who have simultaneously lost both their sight and insight.

The eye of the ill-wisher, wherever it lands,
Is prone to see evil even where there is good.

Now I reiterate the subject and proceed to expound what Allah the Exalted has set out in this blessed surah from the attribute of

[Rabbul-‘alamin] to

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din]. As expounded in the Holy Quran, they comprise four grand verities. I deem it appropriate to describe them in detail here.

The first verity is that God Almighty is

[Rabbul-‘alamin]. This means that God is the Lord and Owner of whatever is present in the universe and that whatever has appeared in the universe, is seen or felt, or is comprehended by the intellect, is nothing but His creation and nothing else possesses true existence except the Exalted Maker Himself.

In short, the universe, together with all of its components, is created and is a creation of God. There is nothing among the components of the universe that is not the creation of God. Through His perfect rububiyyat, God Almighty controls and rules over every particle of the universe, and His rububiyyat is in operation at every moment. It is not that God Almighty created the universe and then abdicated its administration, consigning it to the laws of nature in such a manner that He no longer intervenes in anything; and therefore, just as a machine becomes entirely unconnected from its maker after it has been manufactured, the created objects are [God-forbid] no longer connected with the True Maker. On the contrary,

[Rabbul-‘alamin] is constantly showering His perfect rububiyyat over the entire universe and the rain of His rububiyyat is falling perpetually upon the whole universe. At no time is the universe deprived of the bestowal of His grace. Even after the creation of the universe, that Source of Grace is truly needed every moment, without interruption, as if He had not yet created anything. As the world depended upon His rububiyyat for its coming into being and taking shape, it is equally dependent on it for its continuation and sustenance. It is He who sustains the world at every moment, and every particle of the universe is kept vibrant and flourishing because of Him, and He exercises His rububiyyat with respect to everything by His will and intent. It is not as if His rububiyyat is exercised with respect to anything without His will.

In short, according to the verses of the Quran, the summary of which I am giving here, the intent of this verity is that everything existing in the universe is created and is dependent upon the rububiyyat of God Almighty in regard to all of its excellences, conditions, and circumstances. There is no spiritual or physical excellence which any created thing can acquire on its own without the determination of the Absolute Controller. Moreover, according to the detailed accounts given in the Holy Word itself, it is latent in this and other verities that the attributes, such as

[Rabbul-‘alamin] and others which are found in God Almighty, are exclusive to Him alone, who is One without any associate, and none else is associated with Him, as has been stated in the opening phrase of this surah; that is,

[alhamdulillah], meaning that all kinds of praise belong to Allah alone.

The second verity is

[Rahman], which has been stated after

[Rabbul-‘alamin]. The meaning of

[Rahman], as I have explained before, is that all animates—whether gifted with reason or not, good or bad—have been furnished, and continue to be furnished, with all the necessary means for their stability, preservation of life, continuation of their species, and perfection, out of the common mercy of God Almighty. This is an absolute gift that does not depend upon anyone’s actions.

The third verity is

[Rahim], which has been mentioned after

[Rahman]. It means that, as demanded by His special mercy, God Almighty brings about good results as a consequence of the efforts of those who strive. He forgives the sins of those who repent, bestows upon those who ask, and opens for those who knock.

The fourth verity mentioned in Surah al-Fatihah is

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din]. It refers to the excellent and perfect recompense which is free from all tests and trials, intervention of means, negligence, and lies; and is cleansed of all impurity, foulness, uncertainty, doubt, and defect, and is a display of the highest manifestations—its Master, too, is the same Allah, the Omnipotent, and He certainly does not lack the power to make manifest His perfect recompense, which is as bright as the day. The purpose of the One True God in manifesting this grand verity is to make the following matters clear to everyone as a certainty by experience.

The first is that the recompense is real and certain; it is imposed on His creatures by their True Lord and by His special will. However, its full manifestation is not possible in this present life because it is unclear to common people within the world why they are undergoing good and evil, comfort and pain, and by whose will and authority. No one hears a voice telling him that he is being accorded his due, nor does anyone observe or feel that whatever he is passing through is the recompense of his actions.

Secondly, from this verity, it is intended to bring about a realization that material means amount to nothing and the True Operator [of the universe] is God and He is the only Grand Being who is the Source of all graces and Master of all recompense.

Thirdly, it is desired to expound in this verity what the greatest bliss is, as well as the greatest misfortune. Meaning that, the greatest bliss is the condition of supreme triumph in which light, joy, pleasure, and comfort encompass the inside and outside, and the body and soul of a person, and no limb or faculty is deprived of it. And the great misfortune is the painful torment which—in consequence of disobedience, impurity, alienation, and separation [from God]—is set ablaze within hearts and envelops the bodies, and the whole being feels as if it is on fire and in hell. These grand manifestations cannot be demonstrated in this world because this narrow, constricted, and opaque world—which, being wrapped in the mantle of physical means—is in a defective condition and cannot bear their manifestation. Rather, this world is beset with tests and trials, and its comfort and pain are both temporary and defective. Moreover, whatever a person experiences in this world is under the veil of physical means, from which the countenance of Master of recompense is veiled and concealed. Thus, it cannot be the Judgment Day in the true, perfect, and unconcealed sense; rather, the true, perfect and unconcealed Day of Judgment, meaning, the Day of Recompense, will be the world which will follow after the end of this world, and that will be the venue of the great manifestation of divine glory and grace. Since this worldly life is not designed to be the venue of recompense, but rather a venue of trials, all hardship or ease, comfort or pain, and sorrow or joy that is experienced by people in this world is not a conclusive indication of God Almighty’s pleasure or wrath.

For instance, someone’s wealth is not a conclusive indication that God Almighty is pleased with him, nor is someone’s poverty or privation an indication that God Almighty is displeased with him. Rather, both of these are trials so that a wealthy one may be tried in respect of his wealth and a poor one may be tried in respect of his poverty. These are the four verities which are set out in detail in the Holy Quran.

The study of the Holy Quran will show that the Quranic verses flow like a river in the exposition of these verities. Had I dealt with these verses here at length, many a juzw’29 of this book would have been expended by it. Considering that I shall, God-willing, soon set out all of these verses in detail at the time of presenting the arguments for [the excellences of] the Holy Quran, I have contented myself in these preliminary discussions with just the concise yet comprehensive words of Surah al-Fatihah.

I would now like to point out that these four verities, which are manifestly proven and self-evident, are incomparable and sublime because it is proven with conclusive arguments that, at the time of the advent of Hazrat Khatamul-Anbiya’ [the Seal of the Prophets], may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, belief in these four verities had totally disappeared from the world and there was no nation on the face of the earth that adhered to these verities in their purity without interpolation or omission. Then, when the Holy Quran was revealed, the Holy Word brought to light these lost verities out of obscurity, apprised those in error about the divine wisdom contained in them, propagated them throughout the world, and illumined the entire universe with their light.

As proof of the fact that all people were totally unaware and uninformed of these verities, suffice it to say that even today no religion, except the true faith of Islam, adheres fully and properly to these verities. Should anyone claim that such a religion exists, the onus of proof is on him. Besides this, the Quranic testimony which, having been widely spread among friend and foe, has clinched the argument against every adversary, is sufficient proof in itself. And these testimonies are found in abundance throughout the Glorious Furqan. Besides, no historian or other knowledgeable persons can be unaware that at the time of the advent of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, the misguidance and ignorance of all people had reached its nadir; and they did not adhere to any truth in a perfect manner.

If we first take the condition of the Jews, it would be evident that they had started harbouring doubts and misgivings about the perfect rububiyyat of God Almighty and, being dissatisfied with the One Lord of all the worlds, they had invented for themselves hundreds of different lords. In other words, the worship of creatures and deities ran rampant among them, as Almighty Allah has Himself described this condition in the Holy Quran and has said:

Meaning that, the Jews have taken their priests and monks, who are created beings and not God, as their lords and the providers for their needs. Moreover, a majority of the Jews had come to believe, like some naturalists, that the system of the world functioned by a set of regulated and fixed laws in which God Almighty did not have sovereign power and strength to intervene. In other words, both of His hands were tied and He could neither invent nor annihilate anything in contradiction with the operating law; and since the time that He had freed Himself from the creation of this universe, this mechanism was running by the inherent capacity of its components, and the Lord of all the worlds did not have control over, or involvement in, its operation. Rather, He did not have any power to manifest His rububiyyat on the basis of His pleasure or displeasure in respect of the different needs of the recipients, or to make any change or alteration by His special determination. In fact, the Jews believe that God Almighty is a corporeal being with a physical body and, as such, just like the physical world and a part of it. Their defective perception is permeated with the view that many of the things that apply to creation are equally applicable to God. Further, they do not believe that He is Holy in all respects, and their Torah, which has been interpolated and altered, contains references with diverse forms of impertinence about God Almighty. For instance, it is written in chapter 32 of Genesis that God Almighty wrestled with Ya‘qub [Jacob] through the entire night until morning, and could not overcome him. Similarly, in contravention of the truth that God Almighty is the Lord of all that exists in the universe, they have made some men into ‘sons of God’ and in some places women are called ‘daughters of God’, and at another place in the Bible it has been said, ‘you all are gods’.

The fact of the matter is that the Christians had also learnt the lesson of creature-worship from these very teachings, because when the Christians found that the Bible made many men and women sons and daughters of God, and even gods, they said, ‘Come, let us include our son of Mary among them so that he may not remain lower in status than the other sons.’ It is from this perspective that God Almighty has stated in the Holy Quran that by describing the son of Mary as ibnullah [the son of Allah], the Christians did not do anything new; rather, they only followed in the footsteps of the earlier disbelievers and polytheists.

In short, at the time of Hazrat Khatamul-Anbiya’ [the Seal of the Prophets], may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, the Jews were steeped in creature-worship and had deviated far from true beliefs, so much so that some of them shared with Hindus the belief in transmigration and some were in total denial of the Judgment [Day], and some believed that requital of good or evil was limited to this life only and did not believe in the resurrection; and there were yet others who followed the footsteps of the Greeks in holding matter and souls as eternal and self-existing, while some, like atheists, considered the soul mortal. Some believed, like the philosophers, that God Almighty is neither

[Rabbul-‘alamin] nor is He the Regulator by virtue of His will.

In short, all of their thinking had become diseased like the body of a leper and they had ceased to believe in God Almighty’s perfect attributes of rububiyyat [providence], rahmaniyyat [graciousness], rahimiyyat [mercy], and being Maliku-Yaumid-Din [Master of the Day of Judgment]—they neither believed that these were His exclusive attributes nor that they were found in God Almighty in perfection. Rather, their beliefs were vitiated with a variety of suspicions, disbeliefs, and impurities and, having totally disfigured the teaching of the Torah, they started spreading the stench of idolatry and vice. Thus, they are the foremost of the polytheists and are their forerunners in holding God Almighty as a corporeal being with a material body and in believing His rububiyyat, rahmaniyyat, rahimiyyat, and other attributes to be in abeyance, and shared by other beings.

Such was the condition of the Jews, but it is unfortunate that the Christians, in a very short period of time, made their own situation far worse. They did not uphold any of the above-mentioned verities and ascribed all of God’s perfect attributes to the son of Mary. The essence of their faith is that God Almighty is not the Lord of all that is comprised in the universe and that the Messiah is outside the scope of His rububiyyat and that the Messiah himself is the Rabb. According to their fallacious thinking, whatever came into existence in the universe is not, in principle, a creation and a new existence; rather, the son of Mary, in spite of coming into the world as huduth [i.e. a nascent existence] and thus being a creation, was [according to them] not a creation, but he was equal to God; nay rather, God Himself! His bizarre being has this oddity about him that although he is hadith [a nascent creation], yet he is eternal; and in spite of his own confession that he is subordinate to the Being of Necessary Existence and is His subject, he himself is of necessary self-existence, is absolutely independent, and not subject to anyone else. By his own admission, he is humble and powerless, yet according to the baseless assertion of the Christians, he is the Omnipotent and is not powerless. Again, according to his admission, he has no knowledge whatsoever of matters relating to the unseen, so much so that he does not even know when the Day of Judgment will come, and yet according to the fanciful belief of the Christians, he has full knowledge of the unseen. Though according to his own admission, and the testimony of the scriptures of the Prophets, he is a humble servant [of God], yet he is God in the eyes of the Christians, and in spite of his own confession that he is not good and sinless, according to the Christians, he is good and sinless.

In short, the Christians are a strange people indeed. They adhere to two contradictory beliefs and consider such contradiction permissible. Even though their doctrine exposes the Messiah to the charge of being a liar, they do not abandon their belief. They set up a lowly, humble, and unassuming servant as

[Rabbul-‘alamin], yet permit [their conceived]

[Rabbul-‘alamin] to undergo every type of humiliation and death, pain and suffering, incarnation and transmigration, change and alteration, and nascent creation and birth. These ignorant ones have made even God a plaything.

The Christians, however, are not alone in that respect. Many a humble person was deified before their time. Some say Ram Chandra is God, while another says, ‘No, Krishna’s divinity is more powerful than that of his [Ram].’ In the same way, some have installed Buddha as God while others have installed yet others as God. In like manner these simpletons of the Latter Days, following in the footsteps of the earlier polytheists, proclaimed the son of Mary to be God and the son of God. In short, the Christians do not believe the True God to be

[Rabbul-‘alamin],

[Rahman], or

[Rahim], nor do they believe that recompense [on the Day of Judgment] is in His hands. In fact, according to them the heavens and earth are devoid of the presence of the True God and that the son of Mary is all in all. He alone is the Rabb, he alone is

[Rahman], he alone is

[Rahim], and he alone is

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din].

Similarly, common Hindus and Aryas have also deviated from the truths expounded above. As for the Aryas, they do not accept God Almighty as the Creator and do not believe Him to be the Rabb of their souls, and those from among them who are idol-worshippers do not believe that the attribute of rububiyyat [providence] belongs exclusively to

[Rabbul-‘alamin] and they believe their 330 million deities are partners of God Almighty in the enterprises of His rububiyyat and they beg favours from them.

Both of these sects also deny the rahmaniyyat of God Almighty and, in accordance with their Vedas, maintain that the attribute of rahmaniyyat is not at all found in God Almighty, and that whatever God has made for the people of this world had to be made by Him in consequence of the good deeds of the people; otherwise, Parmeshwar of his own volition can do nothing good for anyone, nor did He ever.

Likewise, they do not consider that God Almighty is

[Rahim] in the perfect sense, because they believe that regardless of how sincerely a sinner repents and whatever long years he spends in humble and earnest supplication and righteous action, God will not forgive the sins he has committed until he has atoned for them by going through hundreds of thousand of births. Once a person commits a sin, he cannot avail himself of the benefit of repentance, worship, fear of God, love of God, or of any virtuous acts. In other words, he is as good as dead, though yet alive, and is utterly deprived of God’s rahimiyyat.

In the same way, these people do not truly believe in the Day of Recompense, by virtue of which God Almighty is called

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din]. They deny the attainment of perfect good fortune and the utmost misfortune, which are determined by the above-mentioned ways, following which man achieves his greatest bliss or [not following which] he suffers the greatest misfortune they consider final salvation as imaginary or delusory and, in fact, they do not even believe in eternal salvation. They allege that man can never have peace, neither here nor there. Moreover, in their false notion, this world is a place of absolute recompense just like the Hereafter; one who is given great wealth in this world is so rewarded for the good deeds he had done in a preceding life and is entitled to spend this wealth in seeking satisfaction of the desires of his nafs-e-ammarah [the self that incites to evil] in this very world.

It is obvious that the granting of wealth by God Almighty, in this very world, to someone who would truly consider it to be a reward for his deeds in a previous life, which he is entitled to spend as he pleases on eating, drinking, and in pursuing every kind of pleasure, is so inappropriate that it is blasphemy to attribute it to God Almighty. For, it would imply that the Parmeshwar of the Hindus deliberately incites people to immorality and vice and, before their souls are cleansed, opens the wide doors of self-indulgence and rewards them for the good deeds done by them in their previous lives with means of enjoyment in their later life so that in total obedience to their nafs-e-ammarah, they may once more go down to the nether regions.

It is obvious that anyone labouring under the impression that all of the wealth, property, prestige, and authority that he enjoys represent the rewards of his earlier deeds, would incline towards following his evil-inciting self to the extreme. However, if he were to realize that this world is Darul-Ibtila’ [the Abode of Trial] and not Darul-Jaza [the Abode of Recompense], and that whatever he has been granted is by way of test and trial so that it may be proven how he uses it, and that there is nothing that is his property or his right, he would, as a result of this realization, seek his salvation through investing it in virtuous undertakings and would, at the same time, be extremely grateful. For, only he can be grateful with sincerity of heart and love who realizes that whatever he has is pure bounty without any merit on his part. In short, according to the Aryas, God Almighty is neither

[Rabbul-‘alamin—Lord of all the worlds], nor

[Rahman—Gracious], nor

[Rahim—Merciful], nor has He the power to grant eternal, everlasting, and complete recompense.

Now I propose to examine the views of the Brahmu Samajists about the above-mentioned points of divine wisdom—namely, whether or not they fully subscribe to the above-mentioned four verities. So, let it be clear that the Brahmu Samajists do not base themselves firmly on them; indeed, they are not at all aware of the full significance of these four lofty points of wisdom. First, the concept of God’s being

[Rabbul-‘alamin], which denotes perfect rububiyyat [providence], is still obscure to the understanding and intelligence of the Brahmu Samajists. They believe that divine rububiyyat does not extend beyond God’s creation of this entire universe with all of its forces and capacities at a particular time, but since then all of those forces and capacities have been independently performing their functions and God Almighty has no power to intervene or to bring about changes and alterations therein.

In their false notion, the firm and permanent basis of the laws of nature has rendered the All-Powerful redundant and idle, with no way left for Him to intervene. He no longer remembers any way of restraining, for example, the heating properties of a hot object or the coldness of a frigid object, or to stop the manifestation of the burning quality of fire; and even if He remembers any such strategy, His knowledge in this regard is confined to the limits of human knowledge and nothing more. In other words, that which man has discovered, in a limited and restricted manner, about the properties and nature of the universe and which has come within the purview of human experience defines the limits of God’s powers, and His absolute might and universal providence cannot accomplish anything beyond those limits. That is to say, God’s powers and wisdom are only those that have been discovered so far by man. It is obvious that such a belief is a total negation of the concept of His universal providence and omnipotence. For, perfect rububiyyat and perfect omnipotence are as unlimited as His own Being and cannot be confined within the limits of any human law or regulation.

The path of the manifestation of the divine power is not limited;
To restrain God’s powers is tantamount to a claim to Divinity itself!

It should be known that a phenomenon which is unlimited and unrestrained cannot possibly fall within the scope of any law, because an object which is confined from beginning to end within a system of known and understandable laws, and not a single aspect of it is beyond their sphere, and which is neither unknown nor unfathomable, is a limited object. If, therefore, the perfect omnipotence and universal rububiyyat of God Almighty were conceived to be within the scope of limited and restricted laws, then that which has been accepted as being unlimited, would necessarily be deemed limited. It is a grave error of the Brahmu Samajists that they want to squeeze the unlimited powers and rububiyyat of God Almighty into the compass of their narrow and limited experiences, and do not understand that matters which fall within the purview of an established and fixed law, must necessarily be limited in their scope, while the wisdom and powers possessed by the Limitless Being must, by their very nature, be unlimited.

Can any sensible person claim that the Being of Absolute Power knows only one particular method of creation and has no idea beyond that? Are His infinite powers to be measured by the yardstick of human conjecture, or can His mighty and unlimited wisdom remain incapable of exerting its authority and control over the universe at any time? Undoubtedly, His mighty hand has control over every particle, and the existence and survival of any creation is not because of its own necessary existence but depends entirely on His support and protection. There are endless fields of divine powers in the exercise of His omnipotence—there being no internal limit nor external boundary.

Just as it is possible that God Almighty may create external agents to mitigate the intensity of a flaming fire, it is also possible that God Almighty might create agents within its own body to nullify its property of combustion, for there is nothing impossible for His limitless wisdom and powers.

Having agreed that His wisdom and powers are limitless, it is also incumbent upon us to accept that it is impossible and absurd for us to obtain knowledge of all of His wisdom and powers. We cannot, therefore, devise a law for His limitless wisdom and powers, and we cannot measure an object the boundaries of which are beyond our knowledge. We are an extremely limited and tiny sphere of the world of the sons of Adam [Adam] and we lack full knowledge of even this sphere. Given this, it would be our meanness and foolishness to seek to estimate, with this insignificant measure, the endless wisdom and powers of God Almighty.

In short, Brahmu Samajists deny the complete rububiyyat and perfect omnipotence of God Almighty which nourishes the existence and survival of every particle at all times and at every moment, and whose deeply profound methods of control are beyond any measure or count. Besides, the Brahmu Samajists do not regard the divine rububiyyat to be ultimate and perfect even in the spiritual realm, and they consider God Almighty to be helpless and feeble to reveal His luminous and unequivocal Word for the guidance of people by virtue of His perfect rububiyyat.

Similarly, they do not believe completely in the rahmaniyyat of God Almighty. For, perfect rahmaniyyat is that just as God Almighty brought into being through His unique might all of the means necessary for the development and sustenance of our physical bodies, and fashioned through His power hundreds of things like the sun, moon, air, and clouds for the transient comfort of this life; similarly, for the spiritual perfection and training and for the comfort of that life in which the misfortune and good fortune are eternal and everlasting, He should have sent the spiritual light that is His own pure and luminous Word, for the good end of the world. Moreover, He should have Himself bestowed upon eager souls all of the knowledge they required, thus delivering them from all doubts and misgivings that can cause their destruction. But the Brahmu Samajists do not accept this perfect rahmaniyyat. They imagine that although God provided every kind of help to fill the stomach of man and spared nothing to support it, He could not provide any help with the spiritual sustenance. In other words, God deliberately deprived man of spiritual sustenance, which is the true and real sustenance, and did not provide strong, powerful, and effective means for that purpose as He has created for physical sustenance. Rather, He left man to the mercy of his own defective intellect without providing a perfect light from Himself to aid human intellect, which would have illumined the clouded vision of that intellect, thus enabling it to adopt the right path and to safeguard itself against the fatal dangers of errors and omissions.

Similarly, they [Brahmu Samajists] do not have complete faith in the rahimiyyat of God Almighty either. For, perfect rahimiyyat is that God Almighty may fill to the brim the eager souls with clear and unveiled insights according to their natural zeal, wholehearted sincerity, and earnest efforts, and to open wide to them the heavenly gates corresponding to the opening of their hearts, and to give them water as their thirst for it increases until they are fully satiated with the sweet elixir of perfect certainty and may be completely saved from the death of doubts and suspicion.

The Brahmu Samajists reject this truth. According to them, man is so unlucky that no matter how much he yearns for union with the True Beloved, even with a river [of tears] flowing from his eyes, and even if he reduces himself to dust in his effort to meet that Precious Friend, he will never find Him. They believe that God is so hard-hearted that He shows no mercy to His seekers and offers no tranquillity through His special Signs to those who search for Him and does not heal the afflicted ones through His loving manifestations. Rather, He leaves them wandering in their own ideas and does not grant them any insight other than letting them indulge in their own conjectures and, having wasted their lives in these conjectures, die in their own state of darkness.

But is it true that the Benevolent God is so hard-hearted, cruel, and miserly, or that He is so weak and powerless that He leaves His seekers dazed and confused, and keeps His door shut for those who knock and does not have compassion on the weak condition of those who run towards Him with utmost sincerity, and refuses to hold their hand, letting those sincere seekers fall into the pit, and does not move forward a few paces by way of compassion, and does not cut short the long tale of their hardships through His special manifestation?

[Holy is He and far above that which they allege].

Similarly, the Brahmu Samajists are unaware of the attribute of God Almighty known as

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din]. For, the truth of being the Master of the Day of Recompense is that the perfect mastership of God Almighty, which depends on sublime manifestations, should make itself apparent and should then render to men their dues in the fullest measure, conforming to the dignity of His perfect mastership. That is, first, the evidence of the total sovereignty of that True Master should be at such a degree of perfect manifestation that all normal intermediary means should be totally removed and the interference of Person X and Person Y be completely eliminated and the presence of the One Supreme Master should be perceived clearly. When this perfect Divine cognizance has shown its splendour, the recompense should follow in its fullest measure. In other words, it should be perfect both in its appearance and its nature.

As to its appearance [it should be perfect], in a manner that every recipient should know and be certain, immediately upon the award of the recompense, that it is indeed the recompense of his deeds and should also be certain that the Executor of the recompense is, in truth, the Benevolent One who is

[Rabbul-‘alamin], and none other. In both of these respects there should be such certainty as to leave no room for doubt. As to its nature, it should be so complete that it should encompass, like a circle, the heart and soul, the exterior and interior, the body and life, and every spiritual and bodily faculty and should be everlasting, imperishable, and endless, so that one who had excelled in virtues may attain his supreme good fortune, which is the ultimate point of all good fortunes, and one who has excelled in vices may attain his great misfortune, which is the lowest point of all misfortunes, so that each group may attain to the highest degree of recompense that is possible for it. That is, it should attain to a complete and lasting recompense, which cannot manifest itself in this transient and deteriorating world, the pains and pleasures of which end with death. Rather, for its fullest manifestation the True Sovereign has, in order to manifest His complete compassion and His great wrath—in other words, in order to demonstrate the full splendour of His attributes of grace and glory—assigned another world which is eternal and imperishable, so that God Almighty’s attribute of recompense which cannot be fully manifested in this limited and mortal world, should be manifested in that eternal and vast world, and that through these perfect and complete manifestations man may achieve the highest level of perfect observation that is possible within the limits of human capabilities.

Since, based on rationality, the highest degree of recompense depends only upon the fact that the award being granted should encompass the exterior and interior, the body and life of man, fully and completely, perpetually and compulsorily. Moreover, the highest degree of faith in the existence of the True Sovereign is contingent upon His manifest appearance after total annihilation of all intervening means. This sublime truth which comprises the utmost limit of insight and utmost reward will be realized only when all of the above-mentioned matters, which reason endorses as its characteristics, have been established. For, according to reason, the highest degree of insight is not possible unless the beauty of the True Sovereign is observed with true certainty. In other words, the manifestation and appearance should be so complete beyond which no further increase can be imagined. By the same token, according to reason, perfect recompense is not possible unless both the body and the soul are granted the reward or seized with punishment just as they were together in their obedience or disobedience and rebellion during the worldly life, and the heaving ocean of the consummate recompense should encircle and encompass the exterior and the interior equally by its full enclosure.

However, the Brahmu Samajists reject this verity as well. In fact, they do not even accept the possibility of this ultimate reality, and according to their conception, man is not destined to attain the loftiest insight or to receive consummate recompense. In their view, recompense is a fanciful idea which has no more foundation than baseless imagination, and, in fact, no reward and no punishment will be meted out to man by God Almighty. Rather, only self-conceived ideas will assume the shape of prosperity or misfortune, and there will be no external or internal matter that will descend on good persons as bliss or on evil persons as chastisement by the special determination of God Almighty. Thus, it is not their faith that God is the Master in the matter of recompense and that He alone would, by His special will, favour His virtuous servants with prosperity and perpetual delight—the perfect delight which the fortunate ones will enjoy not only internally but also experience in an observable and palpable shape and not a single human faculty whether external or internal, shall be deprived of the pleasure, according to its condition, and the body and the soul shall both participate in the comfort or torment, as the case may be, of the Hereafter. In short, the doctrine of the Brahmu Samajists is altogether contrary to this verity and negates its full import. Because of their lack of spiritual insight, they go so far as to consider objectionable the physical means of attaining salvation in the Hereafter, as detailed in the Holy Quran, as necessary in reference to the physical faculties for the consummation of the sublime good fortune. Likewise, they object to the physical means of punishment in the Hereafter that will be meted out, as appropriate for the physical faculties, for the consummation of the ultimate misfortune mentioned in the Glorious Furqan. Woe upon such an intellect that considers an obvious and perfect verity as a defect! Alas! Why do these people not understand that the only way to achieve the sublime bliss or be subjected to the greatest misfortune is that God Almighty, with His special attention, may confer the matter of recompense in full measure. And conferring it in full measure means that the recompense should take full possession, both internally and externally, and that no external or internal capacity should be left that has not partaken its due share of this recompense. This is the highest degree of the great recompense which, in other words, has been called Heaven and Hell in the Glorious Furqan; and [He] has stated, in His perfect and illumined Book, that Heaven and Hell comprise both spiritual and physical types of perfect recompense and [He] has dealt with both kinds in detail in the blessed Book, and has fully elaborated the reality of the sublime bliss and the great misfortune. But as I have just stated the Brahmu Samajists are totally lacking any awareness of this great verity or of the other above-mentioned verities.

The sixth verity set forth in Surah al-Fatihah is,

31, the meaning of which is that, O Possessor of perfect attributes and Source of the four graces, we worship You alone and in the performance of worship and, in other needs and requirements as well, we seek Your help alone. That is to say, You alone are the One truly worthy of worship for us and in order to reach You we choose no other deity as our medium; we attach no value to any man, or any idol, or our intellect and knowledge; and in everything we implore help from Your Omnipotent Being.

This verity is also hidden from the eyes of our opponents. It is obvious that the idolaters worship a variety of objects other than the One Almighty God, and the Aryah Samajists, believing their own spiritual capabilities are uncreated, seek salvation through their power. The Brahmu Samajists, turning their faces away from the light of [Divine] Revelation, consider their intellect as their goddess which, in their false presumption, has the absolute power to lead them to God and encompasses all divine mysteries, and has control over them. Therefore, instead of worshipping God and seeking help from Him, these people address it [i.e. their intellect] with,

[Iyyaka nasta‘in—‘You alone do we implore for help’], and they are steeped in a hidden form of shirk [idolatry]. When they are advised to the contrary, they retort that intellect is among the divine gifts which has been bestowed so that man may use it for his livelihood and other enterprises, and that making use of a divine gift cannot be considered shirk.

So let it be known that this is their mistake. It has been repeatedly explained that the intellect cannot be the means of attaining the lofty objectives of perfect certainty and true insights, upon which our salvation depends. It can, however, understand the truth and reality of those insights after they have been attained. Nevertheless, that clear and perfect realization is attainable only through the pure and clear light which is present in the Being of God Almighty; and the murky and feeble light, which pertains to the human intellect is helpless here. The element of shirk arises when the Brahmu Samajists, turning their backs on the bright Word of God, upon which the true and perfect realization depends, make their imperfect intellect their sole guide and the foundation of their affairs. So, their diseased minds suffer from the delusion that their own intellect will lead them to the lofty goal to which divine powers and divine manifestations can lead. Now obviously, what would be greater shirk than considering their own intellectual capabilities to be equal to divine power or even better? So observe, is the fact not true that instead of imploring God with the prayer,

[Iyyaka nasta‘in—‘You alone do we implore for help’], they address it to their own intellect?

There is no need to even mention the state of the Christians. It is well known that, instead of devoting themselves to the whole-hearted worship of God Almighty, the Christians occupy themselves with the worship of Masih [the Messiah], and instead of seeking the help of God in their affairs, they continuously seek it from Masih. Their tongues are constantly uttering,

[Rabbunal-Masih, Rabbunal Masih—‘Our Lord is the Messiah, our Lord is the Messiah’]. Therefore, these people are deprived of acting upon the teachings inherent in the prayer,

32 [Iyyaka na‘budu wa iyyaka nasta‘in] and are thus rejected from the threshold of the Divine.

The seventh verity comprised in Surah al-Fatihah is

33 [Ihdinas-siratal-mustaqim], which means, ‘Guide us to that path—and make us steadfast and upright in following that path—which is straight and which has no perversity of any kind.’ The elaboration of this verity is that the only true prayer of man is to seek the straight path leading to God. For, to attain any objective, it is the natural law that those means should be acquired through which the goal is achieved. This is the natural rule that God has laid down in respect of achieving every objective: The means that are necessary for securing it should be attained and the ways by which the goal can be achieved should be adopted.

When man treads upon the straight path steadily and follows the paths that are necessary for achieving the objective, the objective is achieved automatically. But it can never happen that if the ways of leading to the objective are abandoned, it should be achieved. On the contrary, it is the eternal law that there is a fixed way for achieving every goal and until one adopts that fixed way, he cannot achieve that objective. Therefore, the object that must be sought through diligence, effort, prayer, and humility is

[sirat-e-mustaqim—the straight path].

He who does not strive to attain

[sirat-e-mustaqim], and attaches no value to it, is a misguided person in the sight of God. If he were to beg God for Paradise and the comforts of the Hereafter, Divine Wisdom would respond to him, ‘O ignorant one! Seek first

[sirat-e-mustaqim], and then all of this will be given to you easily.’ Hence, the primary prayer which the seeker after truth urgently needs is the prayer to seek the attainment of

[sirat-e-mustaqim].

Obviously, our opponents are bereft of adopting this verity as well. As for the Christians, they only ask for their daily bread in every prayer. Even if they come to church after eating to their fill, they still ask for bread, pretending to be hungry. In other words, their prime objective is bread, and nothing else. The Aryah Samajists and their idolatrous brothers recite various Vedic prayers to escape the cycle of life and death through reincarnation which is inevitable according to their false notions, but they do not pray to God for the straight path. Besides, Almighty Allah has used the plural in this verse, indicating thereby that not a single person is forbidden from seeking guidance and receiving divine bounties. But according to the doctrines of the Aryah Samajists it is not permissible for a sinner to seek after guidance; God will definitely punish him, and it is equal for him whether he be guided or not. The Brahmu Samajists do not have much of a belief in prayer; they constantly dwell in the pride of their intellect. They also maintain that it is not necessary to have a particular prayer for obedience and worship, and man is free to pray as he pleases. This, however, proves their sheer ignorance. It is obvious that although one is beset with a multitude of minor needs, the primary need one should be concerned with day and night, and at every moment, is only that one should seek deliverance from the various veils of darkness and reach the perfect cognizance of the Divine, so that not a trace of any kind of blindness, inner sightlessness, disinterest, or disloyalty should be left, and that one should recognize God fully and, being filled with His pure love, should attain the stage of union with the Divine, upon which depends one’s perfect bliss.

This is the prayer that man needs most and upon which depends his entire good fortune. In order to achieve it, the straight path is that he should supplicate,

34 [Ihdinas-siratal-mustaqim—‘Guide us along the straight path’]. For, this is the only means open to man to attain every goal; namely, that he should tread steadfastly along the paths that lead to that goal, and adopt only the way that takes him straight to the desired objective and abandon untrustworthy paths. It is obvious that God has appointed in His law of nature only one path which may be called the straight path. Unless that path is fully adopted, it is not possible that the desired objective can be achieved. As all of God’s laws have been fixed and determined since the beginning, so is there a special way, straight and direct, that has been appointed for attaining salvation and good fortune in the Hereafter. Therefore, the steadfastness in prayer consists of begging from God for the same straight path.

The eighth, ninth, and tenth verities that are mentioned in Surah al-Fatihah are,

35. Meaning that, guide us along the path of those devotees who followed such paths through which they were bestowed Your favours and safeguard us against the ways of those who, out of indifference, did not try to follow the right path and were, therefore, deprived of Your support and remained misguided.

These are the three verities. Their detail is that the children of Adam fall into three categories in respect of their sayings, activities, conduct, and motives. Some seek God with a sincere heart and turn to God with sincerity and humility. Then God also seeks them and turns towards them with mercy and favours. This state is called in‘am-e-ilahi [divine favours], which is conveyed in this blessed verse, as He has stated:

36. Meaning that, these people follow such a pure and straight path that qualifies them for the grace of divine mercy, and since there remains no barrier between them and God and they are juxtaposed directly to divine mercy with the result that the light of divine grace descends upon them.

The second category of people are those who deliberately adopt the way of opposition and, like enemies, turn their faces away from God. Then God also turns His face away from them and does not turn to them with mercy, the reason being that the hostility, disgust, anger, wrath, and displeasure embedded within their hearts against God become a barrier between them and God. This state is called ghadab-e-ilahi [divine wrath]. God Almighty refers to it in the words

37 [‘Not of those who incurred Your wrath’].

The third category of people are those who are indifferent towards God and do not seek Him with eagerness and effort. God, too, disregards them and does not lead them to His way; for, they themselves are slack in seeking the path and do not make themselves worthy of that grace that has been appointed in the eternal law of God for those who strive and work hard. This state is called idlal-e-ilahi [divine misguidance], meaning that God adjudges them to be misguided as they did not seek the ways of guidance through effort and hard work and, therefore, God, in accordance with His eternal law, did not grant them guidance and deprived them of His support. This indication is pointed out where He says:

[‘Nor of those who have gone astray’].

The summary and gist of these three verities is that just as man has three states [of relationship] with God, so does God treat them differently, in accordance with each state. As for those who are pleased with Him and seek Him with true love of heart and sincerity, God is also pleased with them and sheds the light of His pleasure upon them. Those people who turn away from Him and deliberately choose to oppose Him, God also treats them like opponents, and those who are slack and neglectful in seeking Him, God is also indifferent towards them and leaves them in misguidance.

In short, as man observes his face in a mirror and beholds it as it really is, similarly, the One True God, who is free and pure of every kind of impurity, loves those who love Him, is angry with those who are angry with Him, disregards those who disregard Him, withholds Himself from those who keep away from Him, inclines towards those who incline towards Him, likes those who like Him, and hates those who hate Him. Just as a mirror portrays the very expressions you portray in front of it, so does God adopt the same attitude that people adopt towards Him. The garments a person chooses for himself are the very seeds of the harvest he reaps.

When a person purifies his heart of all barriers, impurities, and defilement, and the expanse of his breast is emptied of all worthless matters and has nothing in it except Allah, he is like a person who opens the door of his home, which faces the sun, and the sunlight pours into his home. But when a person himself adopts untruthfulness, falsehood, and different kinds of defilement, and discards God by deeming Him unworthy, he is like one who dislikes light and has such an aversion towards it that he shuts all of the doors of his house lest the rays of the sun should find their way into his house from any direction. And when—because of personal desires, consideration of honour, prestige, or for the sake of following other people—a person becomes involved in various kinds of errors and filth, and makes no toil and effort to cleanse himself of these defilements on account of indolence, negligence, and carelessness, his case is like that of someone who finds the doors of his house closed and finds his entire house plunged into darkness, but makes no effort to open the doors and just sits idle, and says within his heart, ‘Why should I get up and bother about it?’

These three descriptions illustrate the three conditions of man that are the product of his own activity or inactivity. Of these, as explained before, the first is called the state of in‘am-e-ilahi [divine favour], the second state is called ghadab-e-ilahi [divine wrath], and the third condition is called idlal-e-ilahi [divine misguidance]. Our opponents are also unaware of these three verities. For, the Brahmu Samajists have no idea at all of the verity that makes God Almighty treat the rebellious and the indignant wrathfully. In fact, one of the Brahmu Samajists has recently published a pamphlet on the subject, in which the writer raises the objection against Divine Books as to why the attribute of retribution has been ascribed to God Almighty. [He asks,] Does God get irritated by our shortcomings? Now, it is obvious that if the writer knew anything of this verity, he would not have unnecessarily wasted his time in composing such a pamphlet, which exposes his ignorance to everyone. In spite of his claim to be wise, he has failed to realize that God’s wrath is but a reflection of man’s own attitude. When someone becomes distant from God on account of some opposing evil and turns his face away from God, can he still remain worthy of possessing the same favours of mercy that the true lovers and the truthful receive? Indeed not! On the contrary, the eternal law of God which has existed since time immemorial and which the righteous and truthful have been experiencing throughout—and still continue to witness it through true experiences—is this very same law that the one who, emerging from dark veils and turning his soul straight towards God Almighty, prostrates at the threshold of God Almighty, becomes the recipient of the favours of the special mercy of the Divine. And the one who adopts some other way contrary to this, inevitably experiences the wrath of God which is against [divine] mercy.

The true reality of [divine] wrath is that when a person deviates from the right path, which according to the divine law is the path of receiving the grace of divine mercy, he deprives himself of the favours of [divine] mercy. This condition of deprivation is called ghadab-e-ilahi [divine wrath]. Since man’s life, comfort, and tranquillity are due to the grace of God alone, those who discard the way to the favours of mercy are afflicted with sufferings of different kinds in this life or in the Hereafter, for the simple reason that one who does not enjoy divine mercy inevitably draws upon himself different types of spiritual and physical afflictions. Since it is part of the divine law that special grace is bestowed upon only those who adopt the path of attaining mercy—that is, prayer and Tauhid [Oneness of God]—therefore, those who disregard that path are afflicted with various kinds of calamities. Allah the Exalted has indicated this in:

Meaning that, tell them, ‘What would my God care for you if you do not pray nor wish to seek His favours?’

God has no need at all for anyone’s life or existence; He is Absolutely Independent.

The Aryah Samajists, and Christians too, are unaware of the first and third of these three verities. Some among them raise the objection as to why God Almighty does not guide all people, while some others object as to why God has the quality of idlal [misguiding others]. Those who raise such objections concerning the guidance of God Almighty do not realize that divine guidance is accorded only to those who strive to find guidance and tread the paths which need to be followed to achieve the favours of mercy. And those who object to idlal-e-ilahi [divine misguidance] do not reflect that, in conformity with His eternal law, God Almighty treats everyone according to his own condition. Since the beginning, His law for such people, who stop striving towards Him because of indolence and carelessness is that they are deprived of His support, and He shows His path only to those who strive for these paths sincerely and earnestly. How can it be possible that one who is lazy due to his negligence should be blessed with divine favours in the same way as one who searches for Him with all wisdom, strength, and sincerity? Allah the Almighty refers to the same at another place in the words:

Meaning that, as for those who strive in Our way—We shall surely guide them in Our ways.

It must be noted how lofty and unparalleled the ten verities mentioned in Surah al-Fatihah are, which all of our opponents have failed to discover. It should further be noted how God Almighty has comprehended them in the most concise text with such brevity and beauty. And it should also be noted that, in addition to these verities set out with such consummate brevity, there are other verities with which this blessed surah is embedded. If I were to give an exposition of all these verities, this composition would turn into a voluminous work.

Only a few of these beauties are set out here as a sample. The first beauty is that God Almighty has taught such an excellent way of prayer in Surah al-Fatihah that a better way is not possible, and which comprises all of the matters necessary for inspiring heartfelt eagerness in prayer. To elaborate, it is necessary for the acceptance of prayer that there should be zeal in it. For, the prayer that lacks zeal is mere chatter and is not a true prayer. It is obvious that developing zeal in prayer at all times is not possible for every person. Rather, it is extremely necessary that at the time of prayer the matters that inspire zeal should be present in the mind of the supplicant. It should be clear to every sensible person that heartfelt zeal is inspired by only two things. First, that the worshipper contemplates God as Perfect, Powerful, and the Possessor of all perfect attributes, and to consider His mercies and benevolences as essential from beginning to end for his own existence and preservation, and to consider Him as the Fountainhead of all grace; second, to consider himself and all his fellow human beings weak, poor, and dependent upon God’s help. These are the only two things which create zeal in prayers, and are the perfect means of inspiring zeal. The reason is that zeal is inspired only when the supplicant finds himself altogether weak, powerless, and dependent upon divine help, and he believes with utmost certainty about God that He is, in the highest degree, All-Powerful,

[Rabbul-‘alamin],

[Rahman],

[Rahim], and Master of the affairs of recompense, and that all human needs can only be fulfilled by Him. Thus, in the very beginning of Surah al-Fatihah, it has been stated concerning Allah the Almighty that He is the only Being who is worthy of all perfect praises and comprises all excellences and He is the only Being who is the Lord of all the worlds and is the Source of all mercies and the Bestower of the reward to everyone for their actions. By setting out these attributes, Almighty Allah has proclaimed that all power is in His hand alone and that all grace proceeds from Him. He has proclaimed His greatness to the degree that He is the Judge of all affairs in this world and the Hereafter, and that He is the Cause of all causes and that He is the Source of all grace. He has also indicated in this that without Him and His mercy, the life, comfort, and ease of an animate is not possible. Then He taught humility to the supplicant and said:

41 [Iyyaka na‘budu wa iyyaka nasta‘in]. This means: O Source of all bounties! We worship You alone, and implore You alone for help. That is, we are helpless and can achieve nothing on our own unless we are bestowed ability and support by You.

Thus, God Almighty has set forth two motivators that inspire zeal in prayer: One, His greatness and His all-embracing mercy and, the other, the humility and unworthiness of human beings. Now it should be known that these are the very two motivators that must absolutely be kept in mind by supplicants at the time of prayer. Thus, those who have some experience with the zeal for prayer know very well that without these two motivators there can be no prayer and without them the flames of the fire of divine love do not arise in prayer. It is obvious that a person who does not keep in mind the greatness, mercy, and perfect power of God cannot by any means turn to God, and that the soul of a person who does not acknowledge his own humbleness, helplessness, and destitution, cannot incline towards the Benevolent Master.

In short, this is a verity whose understanding does not call for any deep philosophy. Rather, when the greatness of God and one’s own humility and helplessness are truly imprinted upon the heart, this special condition itself makes a man understand that it is the means of offering true prayer. True worshippers know very well that, in reality, contemplation of these very two aspects is essential for prayers: First, the conception that Almighty God has the power to foster, develop, and bestow mercy and reward, and that these perfect attributes of His are always in operation, and secondly, the conception that man can achieve nothing without the help and support of the Divine. Without a doubt, both of these conceptions, when established in the heart at the time of prayer, work such a sudden change in the condition of the worshipper that, having been moved, an arrogant one falls to the ground weeping, and tears start running from the eyes of a haughty and hard-hearted one. This is the mechanism that puts life in a deadly heedless person. Every heart is drawn towards prayer through the conception of these two facts.

In short, this is the spiritual means through which the soul of a person turns towards God and observes its own weakness and dependence upon God’s help. Through it, a person is transported to such a world of self-negation that no sign of his own opaque existence remains therein and only the glory of the Great Being shines forth and that very Being appears as the All-Merciful, the Support of every being, the Remedy of every ailment, and the Source of every grace. At last, a condition of fana fillah [self-annihilation into Allah] manifests itself in consequence of which a person is left with no inclination towards created objects, his own self, or his own designs, and is totally lost in the love of God. Through the manifestation of that True Being, one’s own being and the being of all other created objects become non-existent. God has named this condition as

[sirat-e-mustaqim] and to seek which, God has instructed His servants to supplicate and has said,

42, meaning that, bestow upon us that path of fana [total annihilation of one’s ego for the sake of God] and of Oneness of God and love of God which has been pointed out in the above-mentioned verses, and cut us asunder altogether from everything besides You.

In short, God Almighty has bestowed such true means upon man for creating zeal in prayer, which create such a heartfelt fervour in the supplicant that he is transported from the world of self-conceit to the world of self-negation and nothingness. It should be borne in mind that Surah al-Fatihah is not merely one of the many means for seeking guidance; rather, as has been established by the above-mentioned arguments, it is the only means upon which depends the offering of prayer with a heartfelt zeal and which the nature of man desires to follow under the urge of its natural demand. The truth is that just as God has appointed rules for other matters, there is a specific rule for prayer and that rule pertains to those very motivators that are set out in Surah al-Fatihah; unless these two motivators are present in one’s mind, it is not possible to offer prayers with zeal. Thus, the natural way of prayer is that which is set out in Surah al-Fatihah. Hence, it is one of the excellent beauties of this blessed surah that prayer has been explained along with its motivators,

[so ponder].

Another beauty of this surah is that it comprehensively expresses the means of persuading others to accept guidance; for, perfect persuasion expressed in a rational manner makes a powerful impact. In terms of rational assessment, perfect persuasiveness must consist of three elements. First, the inherent beauty of the object towards which persuasion is desired should be described. This account has been provided in the verse

; that is, guide us in the path which is inherently characterized by the attributes of steadfastness and rectitude, and which has no crookedness.

So in this verse the inherent excellence of this path is mentioned to create eagerness for its attainment. The second element of persuasiveness is that the benefits of the object of persuasion should be stated. This element has been stated in the verse

43; that is, guide us along the path which the devotees of earlier times followed to earn their reward and favours. Thus, by referring to those who have succeeded by travelling along this path, He generates enthusiasm for it. The third element of persuasion is to describe the depravity and misery of those who do not follow the object to which they are being invited. This element has been mentioned in the verse,

44. Meaning that, safeguard us against the paths of those who abandoned the right path and adopted other paths and incurred divine wrath and went astray. Thus, He warns us in this verse against the harm that would befall us in the event we deviate from the right path.

In short, God has stated in Surah al-Fatihah all three elements of persuasion in a beautiful manner. He refers to the inherent excellence [of the right path], its benefits, and the failure and misery of those who abandon it, so that the right-minded may incline towards it by learning about its inherent beauty and those who are desirous of benefits may cultivate a desire in their hearts to attain them on learning about its benefits, and, upon finding the evil consequences of abandoning it, they may fear the afflictions that will befall them upon abandoning it. Thus, this too is the perfect beauty which is mentioned in this manner.

The third beauty of this surah is that, in spite of its highest standards of fluency and eloquence, it demonstrates perfection by mentioning the clauses about prayers etc. in perfect correlation after mentioning the divine praises, which is very difficult to accomplish while adhering to all norms of eloquence and fluency. Those who appreciate the art of speech understand very well how delicate and profound the accomplishment of such perfect correlation is. The explanation of this is that God Almighty has first described the four types of grace in respect of divine praises and said that He is (1)

[Rabbul-‘alamin—Lord of all the worlds], (2)

[Rahman—Gracious], (3)

[Rahim—Merciful], and (4)

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din—Master of the Day of Judgment]. After that, the sentences for rendering worship, seeking help, performing prayers, and begging recompense have been paired [with those types of grace] with such beauty that the expression having the utmost correlation with each type of grace is mentioned in correspondance with the same. Accordingly,

[iyyaka na‘budu—‘You alone do we worship’] is mentioned in correlation to

[Rabbul-‘alamin—Lord of all the worlds], for the right to be worshipped originates in rububiyyat and

[iyyaka na‘budu] thus befittingly and appropriately is mentioned in parallel to it. Then

[iyyaka nasta‘in—‘You alone do we implore for help’] is mentioned in correlation to

[Rahman—Gracious], because divine help for a man, which is needed for acquiring the capacity to worship God, and the provision of all requirements, upon which his welfare in this world and the Hereafter depends, is not a consequence of any of his actions, but the result of the attribute of rahmaniyyat. Hence, there is a very close relationship between seeking help and the attribute of rahmaniyyat. Then

[ihdinas-siratal-mustaqim—Guide us in the straight path] is stated in correlation with

[Rahim] because prayer is a striving and effort and the reward that proceeds from effort is a result of the attribute of rahimiyyat. And,

45 [siratalladhina an‘amta ‘alaihim, ghairil maghdubi ‘alaihim waladdallin] is mentioned in correspondence with

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din] because matters of recompense pertain to

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din]. Therefore, the phrase in which the request is made for seeking rewards and security from chastisement is most appropriately stated under it.

The fourth beauty is that Surah al-Fatihah succinctly encapsulates all of the objectives of the Holy Quran as though this surah is a beautiful summary of all Quranic objectives. Alluding to this, Allah the Almighty states:

Meaning that, O Messenger! We have bestowed upon you the seven verses of Surah al-Fatihah which succinctly comprehend all Quranic objectives, and, along with it, the Great Quran has also been bestowed, which sets out religious purposes in detail.

For this reason, this surah is known as Ummul-Kitab [Mother of the Book] and Suratul-Jami‘ [the Comprehensive Surah]. It is Ummul-Kitab because all objectives of the Holy Quran can be derived from it, and it is Suratul-Jami‘ because it comprehends all types of Quranic teachings in a succinct manner. It is for this very reason that the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said that whosoever recites Surah al-Fatihah, it is as if he has recited the whole Quran. In short, it is proven from the Holy Quran and the ahadith of the Holy Prophet sas that the blessed Surah al-Fatihah is a mirror that reflects the Quran.

The explanation of this is that one of the objectives of the Holy Quran is to explain all of the perfect praises of the Exalted Maker and to clearly state the complete perfection that His Being possesses. This objective is succinctly expressed in

[alhamdulillah—all praise belongs to Allah] because it means that all types of perfect praise are established for Allah, who is comprehensive of all excellences and is worthy of every type of worship.

The second objective of the Holy Quran is that it manifests God as the Perfect Fashioner and Creator of all the worlds, sets forth the circumstances of the origin of the universe, and proves as created all that is included in the sphere of the universe, and proves the falsehood of those who are opposed to this. This purpose is set forth succinctly in the phrase

[Rabbul-‘alamin].

The third objective of the Holy Quran is to establish the grace of God that is bestowed without any merit or striving, and to set forth His general mercy. So this purpose is succinctly conveyed in the word

[Rahman].

The fourth objective of the Holy Quran is to establish the grace of God which is granted in consequence of striving and effort. This objective is set forth in the word

[Rahim].

The fifth objective of the Holy Quran is to set forth the reality of the world of the Hereafter. This purpose is comprehended in

[Maliku-Yaumid-Din].

The sixth objective of the Holy Quran is to set forth the subjects of sincerity, servitude, self-purification from that which is besides Allah, healing of spiritual ailments, reformation of unworthy morals, and upholding Tauhid in worship. This purpose is succinctly mentioned in

[iyyaka na‘budu].

The seventh objective of the Holy Quran is to establish that God is the real Doer of all affairs, and the Source of all strength, benevolence, help and steadfastness in obedience, defence against sin, acquisition of all means for good, and reform of this world and the Hereafter; and to emphasize the need of seeking His help in all matters. So, this purpose is set forth succinctly in

[iyyaka nasta‘in].

The eighth objective of the Holy Quran is to explain the subtleties of the right path and then to emphasize seeking it through prayer and humility. So this purpose is concisely expressed in

47 [ihdinas-siratal-mustaqim—Guide us in the straight path].

The ninth objective of the Holy Quran is to explain the way and manner of those who became the recipients of God’s bounty and grace so that the hearts of seekers after truth might be comforted. This purpose is included in

48[siratalladhina an‘amta ‘alaihim—the path of those on whom You have bestowed Your blessings].

The tenth objective of the Holy Quran is to explain the dispositions and practices of those who incurred God’s wrath or of those who went astray and fell into all sorts of innovations, so that seekers after truth may shun their ways. So this purpose is included in

49 [ghairil maghdubi ‘alaihim waladdallin—Those who have not incurred displeasure, and those who have not gone astray].

These are the ten objectives that are set out in the Holy Quran and are the fundamental basis of all truths. All of these objectives are succinctly expressed in Surah al-Fatihah.

The fifth beauty of Surah al-Fatihah is that it comprises the most complete and perfect teaching which is essential for a seeker after truth and which constitutes a perfect code of conduct for making progress in nearness and cognition [of God]. The beginning of progress towards nearness is at the point of journey when the devotee, by accepting death for his ego and submitting to hardships and suffering, purely for the sake of Allah, discards all of those carnal desires which separate him from his Benevolent God and which turn his face away from God towards personal pleasures, emotions, habits, thoughts, inclinations, and created beings, and entangle him in their fears and hopes. The intermediary stage of progress occurs when all of this suffering—whichever hardships were suffered in the beginning stage for the annihilation of the ego and all the pain that was endured in discarding engrained habits—appears as a reward, toil is perceived as joy, grief is felt as comfort, and distress is appreciated as delight and cheerfulness. The highest stage of progress is when the devotee cultivates such union, love, and accord with God and His will and designs that his self ceases to have an identity and influence of its own. The Being and attributes of Allah are reflected in the mirror of his own being without any shadow of darkness and without the least consciousness of state and situation, so that through the mirror of total annihilation, which puts the utmost distance between the devotee and his carnal desires, the reflection of the Being and attributes of the Divine is clearly visible. In this statement there is not a single word that endorses the false theories of Wujudis50 or Vedantists51, because they fail to recognize the eternal distinction between the Creator and the created. They have been grievously misled by their dubious visions which are often experienced in a condition of imperfect devotion, or result from austerities which induce a type of insanity, or when someone who, in a condition of intoxication or ecstasy—which is a type of insanity—overlooks the difference between the spirit of God and spirit of man in respect of powers, faculties, perfections, and holiness. Otherwise, it is obvious that the Omnipotent God—from whose eternal knowledge not even the smallest particle is hidden and to whom no defect or detriment can be attributed and who is free from every type of ignorance, impurity, weakness, sorrow, grief, pain, hurt, and embarassment—can never be identified with the one who is subject to all these afflictions. Can man, whose spiritual progress is subject to infinite contingencies, be the same or identical with the Perfect Being, who possesses every excellence and is not subject to any contingency? Can he who is mortal and whose soul suffers from the obvious deficiencies of creation—with all his stains, weaknesses, impurities, defects, and shortcomings—be the equal of the Lord of glorious attributes, who is eternally complete and perfect on account of His excellences and holy attributes?

What we mean by this third type of progress is that the devotee becomes so lost and consumed in his love of God, and the Peerless and Timeless Being approaches so close to him with all His perfect attributes, that the manifestations of Divinity overcome his personal desires and draw him towards themselves to such a degree that a complete estrangement and intrinsic enmity is generated against his selfish desires, and even against anyone who is a slave of their selfish inclinations. The difference between this and the second type of progress is that even though complete accord is also established with the will of one’s Lord in the second type and any pain from Him appears as a bounty, his relationship with Allah is not such as to charge him with personal enmity towards everything besides Allah, and from which the love of Allah should not merely be the goal of the heart but should become the very nature of his heart.

In short, in the second type of progress, accord with God and opposition to all besides Him is the goal of the devotee and he attains pleasure by achieving that goal; however, in the third type of progress, complete accord with God and enmity towards others becomes an integral part of his very nature from which he cannot depart under any circumstances; for, stripping something from its own self is impossible. On the contrary, such stripping is possible in the second type. So long as the walayat [being a friend of God] of a wali [friend of Allah] does not reach the third type, it is not permanent and is not secure against dangers, the reason being that so long as the love of God and enmity to all besides Him does not become a part of the nature of man, some traces of darkness linger in him because he has still not fully discharged his obligation to rububiyyat [providence] as it was required and still falls short of perfect liqa53. But when the love of Allah and accord with Allah completely saturate his nature, so much so that God becomes his ears by which he hears, his eyes with which he sees, his hands with which he grips, and his feet with which he walks, then no trace of darkness remains in him, and he becomes secure against every danger. It is this stage which is indicated in Allah’s words:

It should be realized here that these three stages of progress, which are the fundamental principles of all knowledge and divine insights—nay rather, the quintessence of all religion—are expressed in Surah al-Fatihah with the utmost beauty, pithiness, and elegance of form. Accordingly, the first [stage of] progress, which is the initial step in the field of nearness to God, has been taught in the verse where He says:

55. Since adopting the straight path by relinquishing every kind of perversity and error, and turning wholly towards Allah, is the steep ascent which is described in other words as fana—insofar as [it is] a sudden departure from habitual and customary activities, and immediate abandonment of all personal desires which have developed into habits over a lifetime, and turning straight to God by abandoning all honour, reputation, haughtiness, and hypocrisy—deeming everything besides Allah as non-existent is, in fact, an undertaking that is tantamount to death; this death is the pivot of spiritual birth. Until a seed mingles with dust and loses its identity, it is impossible for a new grain to come into being. In the same way, the body of the spiritual birth develops from this fana. As the ego of man gradually breaks down and its actions, desires, and inclination towards creatures are progressively obliterated, so do the limbs of spiritual birth go on being fashioned until, when complete fana of self is achieved, he is granted the robe of the second being and the time comes of:

Since such a complete fana is not possible without the help, grace, and special attention of the All-Powerful, this prayer was taught:

57. Meaning: O Allah! Establish us along the right path and deliver us from every type of distortion and misguidance.

This perfect steadfastness and rectitude, which we are commanded to seek, is an extremely difficult undertaking and at first it appears to a devotee like the attack of a lion and a confrontation with death. But if the devotee is steadfast and accepts this death, there is no fatal death for him after that, for, God is far too Noble to expose him to this burning hell again.

In short, this perfect steadfastness is the annihilation which totally vanquishes man’s structure of life and makes him withdraw suddenly and totally from desire, lust, intention, and every single act of selfishness. This is the stage from among the stages of spiritual journey and pilgrimage where human efforts play a great part and human striving is at the forefront. At the same stage, the struggles of the auliya’ullah [friends of Allah] and the devotees reach their culmination. Thereafter, special heavenly bounties follow in which human efforts are not involved; rather, a hidden vehicle and heavenly buraq58 is provided by God Almighty Himself for a tour of heavenly wonders.

The second [stage of] progress, which is the next step in treading in the fields of the nearness [to God], has been taught in the verse where He says:

59 meaning that, Guide us along the path of those on whom You have bestowed Your favours and bounties.

It should be remembered here that those who are the recipients of divine favours and receive the overt and covert bounties of God are not exempt from suffering. On the contrary, in this realm of trials, they are afflicted with such hardships and difficulties that if someone else were afflicted with them, the foundation of his faith would have shattered. They have been named mun‘am ‘alaihim [the recipients of divine favours] on account of their overwhelming love [of Allah] they consider pains as favours, and from every pain or comfort which comes to them from the True Friend, they derive pleasure, on account of their being intoxicated with [Allah’s] love. Thus, this is the second type of progress in nearness [to Him], in which everything that proceeds from the Beloved is a source of delight and whatever is granted from Him is counted as pure bounty.

The real reason that brings about this condition is the perfect love and sincere bond which is acquired with the Beloved. It is a special gift which has nothing to do with design and planning; rather, it is granted by God alone. When it is received, the devotee is totally transformed and is relieved of all of his burdens and every pain is perceived as a favour, and no trace of complaints remains. This state is akin to a man being revived after death, because he is relieved from all tribulations which he was experiencing in the first stage, whereby he seemed to be facing death at all times, but now [in this condition] he encounters favours from every direction. From this very perspective, it was appropriate that he should have been called mun‘am ‘alaih.

This condition, in other words, is called baqa, inasmuch as in this condition the devotee feels that he was dead and he has been given life. He experiences a great felicity and cheerfulness in him and all his corporeal constraints are dissolved and the fostering light of the Divine pours down on him like favours. In this very stage, the door of every favour is opened to the devotee and divine favours are addressed to him in their perfection. This stage is also called sair fillah [the sojourn in Allah] inasmuch as in this stage the wonders of rububiyyat are revealed to the devotee and he sojourns into the divine favours which are hidden from others. He is favoured with true visions, honoured with the Word of the One True God, informed of the delicate mysteries of the Hereafter, and given an abundance of knowledge and insights. In short, he becomes the recipient of many overt and covert bounties, so much so that he arrives at that stage of perfect certainty as if he sees the True Planner with his own eyes. Such perfect knowledge of heavenly mysteries that is granted to him is called sair fillah. This is the stage in which divine love is bestowed on man, yet it is not established in him as part of his nature; that is to say, it has not yet become a part of his nature, rather, it only dwells in it securely.

The third [stage of] progress, which is the highest step in treading the fields of nearness [to God] has been taught in the verse in which He says:

60. This is the stage when the love of God and the enmity to all besides Him penetrate into man’s nature and are established in him as his temperament. The one who attains this stage loves the divine qualities as naturally as they are dear to the One True God, and the personal love of the Benevolent God so grips his heart that it becomes impossible to be driven out of it. If his heart and soul were crushed and wrung in the machinery of severe tests and trials, nothing but the love for God emerges from them. He seeks pleasure in pining for Him alone and regards Him alone as the Real and True Beloved of his heart. This is the stage when all progress of nearness culminates into its end and man attains the ultimate climax for which human nature was ordained.

These are the five beauties that I have described as a small sample out of many. However, the intrinsic wonders of this surah, and its other verities and insights, are so numerous that it would take a large volume to describe even a tiny fraction of them. And the spiritual qualities of this blessed surah are so sublime and so wonderful that a seeker after truth is forced to confess that, without doubt, it is the Word of the Omnipotent God.

Accordingly, one of these lofty spiritual characteristics of Surah al-Fatihah is that reciting it in one’s prayers with full attention and establishing its teaching in one’s heart, believing it to be really true, plays a major role in the illumination of one’s soul. That is to say, that by it one’s bosom is opened, the darkness of human nature is dispelled, the grace of the Holy Source of grace starts descending upon man, and he is encircled by the light of the acceptance of God until, by making continuous progress, he is honoured by the converse of God and derives immense benefits from true visions and clear revelations. He joins the rank of those who are close to the Divine and such wonders of inspirations of the unseen, the Indubitable Word, acceptance of prayers, the disclosure of hidden matters, and support of the Reliever of all needs are manifested by him, the like of which cannot be found among others.

And if the opponents deny it, and they likely will, then [take note that] the proof of it has been set out in this book. And my humble self is ready to satisfy every seeker after truth, not only from among our opponents, but also those who agree with me nominally and superficially and who are Muslims on the outside but are covered with veils [of disbelief ] and are bodies without souls. In this dark age they do not have certainty of faith in heavenly Signs and regard the revelation of the One True God as impossible and assign it to the category of illusions and evil inspirations. They have formed a very narrow and constricted concept of human progress which is confined to intellectual conjectures and flights of fancy. Moreover, they consider God Almighty to be extremely weak and powerless. My humble self submits respectfully to all these gentlemen that if they still deny the Quranic effectiveness and are adamant to hold on to their old ignorance, then this is a good opportunity in that this most humble servant [of God] can fully satisfy every denier from my personal experiences.

It is proper, therefore, that they should turn towards my humble self as seekers after truth and should observe for themselves the attributes of the Divine Word which have been mentioned above, and, emerging out of gloom and darkness, should enter true light. So far this humble one is still alive, but how uncertain is physical existence and what trust can be placed on the mortal body! It is proper, therefore, that on hearing this public announcement, attention should be paid to the establishment of truth and the removal of falsehood so that if the claim of my humble self should not be proven, a reasonable cause for denial and rejection may be discovered. But if the truth of my claim is proven, as it needs to be, they may renounce their false beliefs out of fear of God and should hold firmly to the true path of Islam and so that they may be delivered from humiliation and disgrace in this world and chastisement and torment in the next.

Therefore, O brothers! O dear ones! O philosophers! O pundits! O padres! O Aryas! O naturalists! And, O followers of the Brahmu faith! I hereby proclaim clearly and openly that if anyone has doubts and is hesitant to acknowledge the above-mentioned attribute [of the Holy Quran], he should turn to me without delay and, by keeping company with me for some time with steadfastness and sincerity, should witness the truth of the above-mentioned statements with his own eyes, lest after my passing away some unjust one might assert: ‘When was I openly invited so that I might have investigated, and when did anyone make a claim with personal responsibility that I could have sought proof from him?’

Therefore, O brothers and O seekers after truth! Look here, my humble self openly says, trusting in my God, whose light I see day and night, that I assume the responsibility that if you seek the truth with sincerity of heart and keep company with me for some time with steadfastness and good intention, it will become manifestly obvious to you that the spiritual attributes that have been mentioned here are truly found in Surah al-Fatihah and the Holy Quran. How blessed, then, is the one who, cleansing his heart of bigotry and rancour and being ready to accept Islam, should pay attention in sincerity and good faith for achieving this purpose, and how unfortunate is the one who pays no attention, even after hearing such an open declaration and deliberately becomes the object of the curse and wrath of God Almighty.

Death is near and the game of life is almost over. Unless you quickly direct your attention to my words with the fear of God, and take steps with sincerity and good intention to find comfort and satisfaction in this matter, I fear that your end may be no different from that of Pundit Dayanand, the leader of Aryas. For, quite some time before his death, my humble self had invited him towards the right path and reminded him of the humiliation of the Hereafter. I also made clear to him the utter falsity of his religion and doctrines through conclusive arguments, and, with utmost courtesy, I proved to him through the most solid and perfect arguments that, after atheism, there is no faith worse than the Aryah Samaj in the entire world. For, these people show disrespect to God Almighty to an extreme degree by not believing Him to be the Creator and Lord of all the worlds, so much so, that they consider the universe—even every particle of the universe—to be His associate in the attributes of eternal and true existence. And if you ask them whether their Parmeshwar can create any soul, or bring any physical particle into existence, or similarly fashion another earth and heaven, or grant everlasting salvation to his true lover and save him from being reincarnated repeatedly as a dog or a cat, or whether he can accept the repentance of his devout servant, their answer to all these questions is ‘never’. That is, he does not have the power to create even a single particle on his own, nor does he possess the attribute of rahimiyyat, so that he may grant eternal salvation to an avatar, rishi, or muni, or even to one upon whom the Vedas were revealed, so that he is not expelled from the house of deliverance on account of his status, nor can He safeguard the one whose heart is imbued with His love from being reincarnated continuously as a dog or cat [etc.].

Alas, the Pundit did not rid himself of this despicable creed, and he accepted the humiliation and debasement of his elders, avatars, et al., but did not abandon this unholy doctrine. To his last breath, he held on to the conjecture that no matter how great an avatar, or Ram Chandar or Krishna, or even the one to whom the Vedas were revealed, Parmeshwar is not pleased to grant them eternal grace; rather, having once made them avatars, He will continuously turn them into worms and insects. He is so callous that He has no regard for adoration and love, and is so weak that He does not have the slightest power to create anything Himself. This was the Pundit’s cherished belief which was refuted with powerful arguments and it was proven to him that God is in no way deficient or imperfect; indeed, He is the Source of all grace and comprehends all excellences, combines in Himself all perfect attributes, and is One without partner in His Being, attributes, and being worthy of worship.

Thereafter, he was also admonished of the divine origin of Islam through two registered letters containing vivid arguments. In the second letter, he was told that Islam is the faith which perpetually possesses twofold proof of its divine origin: (1) rational arguments which prove that the wall of Islam’s true principles is as strong and impregnable as a fortified rampart; and (2) heavenly Signs, divine support, disclosure of the unseen, divine revelation and discourse, and other supernormal phenomena that are manifested by the true followers of Islam and which bring true salvation to a true believer in this very world. These two types of proof are not possessed by those outside Islam, nor do they have the power to compete with them, but their existence is established in Islam. [I wrote to him] that if he was in doubt about any of these kinds of proof, let him come here to Qadian and satisfy himself. I even wrote to the Pundit that I would be responsible for the normal travel costs and reasonable expenses for food. This letter was also shown to some of his fellow Aryas and the receipt of the two registered letters signed by him was also received; but, on account of his love for the world and worldly prestige, he did not pay any heed to this matter until he ultimately left behind, with hundreds of regrets, the world that he so loved and befriended and, having been forced to abandon all of his wealth, he departed from this mortal world carrying on his head many a mountain of heedlessness, darkness, misguidance, and disbelief.

God the Benevolent gave me the news of his death, which took place on 30 October 1883, about three months before it occurred. Accordingly, this information was also conveyed to some Aryas. Anyway, everyone has to undertake this journey. Sooner or later, everyone will have to depart from this temporary abode. But it is a pity—a great pity indeed—that God provided the Pundit such an opportunity to find guidance that He sent me during his lifetime, but he departed bereft of guidance in spite of my announcements of all kinds. He was called to light but he did not accept the light on account of his love for this wretched world and he remained steeped in darkness from head to toe. A man of God invited him towards himself several times for his own good, but he did not take even a single step towards that direction and, having wasted away his life in unjust prejudice and arrogance, disappeared like a bubble. Even though he was the primary addressee of my 10,000 rupee challenge, and for this reason an announcement was also addressed to him once in the newspaper Baradar-e-Hind, but no response was forthcoming from him until he turned into dust and ashes.

So, O brothers! Learn a lesson from the plight of the same Pundit and do not wrong your selves. Seek true salvation so that you may be the recipients of its blessings in this very world. True and real salvation is that whose blessings are manifested in this very world, and the Holy Word of the Powerful and the Mighty is that which opens the heavenly ways for the seekers right here. Therefore, do not deceive yourselves and do not tarnish your hearts with darkness by turning away from that Holy Faith, the divine origin of which is being observed in this very world. However, if you have the ability to compete and oppose, then produce some other composition matching the excellences of Surah al-Fatihah. What this humble one has written about the spiritual qualities of Surah al-Fatihah is not just hearsay; rather, this humble servant of Allah affirms on the basis of personal experience that Surah al-Fatihah is, in truth, a manifestation of divine light. Such marvels have been witnessed during the course of its recitation which illustrate the dignity and eminence of the Holy Word of Allah. By the blessings of this blissful surah and through its regular recitation, disclosure of the unseen has reached a point that hundreds of hidden events have been, by divine favour, disclosed before their occurrence and solutions to every single difficulty have been unveiled in a marvellous manner. This humble servant of Allah recalls some 3,000 clear visions and true dreams that have been conveyed to me and have found clear fulfilment like the break of dawn and on more than 200 occasions, I have experienced the vivid signs of the acceptance of prayer at such critical moments that there appeared no way out of the difficulty.

In the same way, through the regular recitation of this surah, I have experienced kashf-e-qubur [opening of graves in a vision and disclosing of matters of the unseen] and so many wonders of diverse types that even if a minute reflection of them were to affect the heart of a Christian priest or a Hindu pundit he would immediately cast off all of his love of the world and would be ready to lay down his life to accept Islam. Similarly, the number of prophecies that have been disclosed to this humble one through true revelations, and some of which have been fulfilled in the presence of the opponents and continue to be fulfilled, is so great that, in the estimate of this humble one, it is no less than two volumes of the Gospel. And my humble self, by virtue of obedience to the Noble Messenger, has been blessed by an abundance of favours in the discourses of the One True God, a brief sample of which has been set out in the Arabic revelations etc. comprised in Sub-Footnote Number Three. The Benevolent God has, on account of the blessings of my obedience to, and love of, His beloved Messenger and as a consequence of following His Holy Word, especially favoured this humble one with His discourses and has honoured me by bestowing upon me spiritual knowledge and understanding and has disclosed many hidden mysteries filling the bosom of this insignificant one with many verities and divine insights.

It has been made clear to me repeatedly that all of these gifts and favours, all of these bounties and benefactions, all of this kindness and attention, all of these blessings and support, and all of this converse and discourse are due to my obedience and love for Hazrat Khatamul-Anbiya’ [the Seal of the Prophets], may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

The beauty of my companion has made its imprint upon me;
Otherwise, I am the same dust that I have always been.

Now where are the Gospel preachers and misguided priests who, with great obduracy, solely out of rancour, enmity, and by way of Satanic nature, tried to mislead the simple-minded masses by saying that the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, manifested no prophecies. So now the just and truth-loving people can reflect themselves that when thousands of prophecies are manifested, and wondrous miracles are demonstrated by the humble and lowly servants of Hazrat Khatamul Anbiya’, what sheer impudence and shamelessness it is for any spiritually blind person to deny the prophecies of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

The padres became worried about the prophecies of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, because in the Torah, chapter 18, verse 22 of Deuteronomy, it is written that the sign of a true Prophet is that his prophecies are fulfilled. So when the padres realized that the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, prophesied thousands of events before their occurrence, and that the Holy Quran is similarly filled with so many prophecies, and all of those prophecies were also fulfilled at their proper time, they became perturbed that the study of these prophecies evidently proves the prophethood of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Alternatively, one will have to admit that the sign of a true Prophet written in the Torah, Deuteronomy chapter 18, verses 21–22, is not true. Therefore, confronted with this dilemma they had to brazenly declare that those prophecies are, in reality, clairvoyance which just happened to come true by chance.

However, since a strong, firmly rooted tree always bears fruit, likewise, the prophecies and other miracles of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, were not limited to that age alone; rather, they continue to manifest themselves to this day. If any padre or any other has any doubt or suspicion about it, he is duty-bound to attend to this matter with honesty and good intention, and then see how abundantly the fulfilment of the prophecies of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, continues to pour down like rain. Nevertheless, the bigoted padres of this age may very well-nigh be determined to commit suicide, but there is very little hope that they, like a true seeker, will be intent upon seeking this sign with complete sincerity and in good faith.

Anyway, let it be clear to everyone that—in view of the fact that the blessings of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, continue to shine as brightly as the sun to this day, and no signs of the blessings of any other Prophet are to be found—if they come across such bigoted and worldly padres in any bazaar, any city, or any village trying to misguide people in opposition to this true fact, then it is necessary that this very part of the book should be opened in front of them, for it contains a challenge of 10,000 rupees which anyone who counters its arguments can win.

Thus, it is far from decency and modesty that those who deny the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be uponhim—betheypunditsorpadres, Aryas or Brahmus—should resort to useless talk and not direct any attention to replying to the conclusive arguments that proclaim the Prophethood and Messengership of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. This humble one does not unjustly force them to accept Islam, but if they fail to compete and contest the heavenly Signs and rational arguments in support of the divine origin of Islam or produce similar arguments for their own religion, it is incumbent upon them to abandon falsehood and accept the true faith.

Now, returning to the original subject, I reiterate that all of the beauties, divine insights, and attributes of Surah al-Fatihah, outlined by me so far, are manifestly without parallel and equal. For instance, anyone who honestly reflects upon the exalted status of the verities contained in Surah al-Fatihah, and then ponders over the beauties and fine points that the blessed surah comprises, and then studies the beauty of its composition and brevity of its text as to how vast meanings have been encapsulated in very few words, and then looks at the text as to how splendid it is and how it possesses such fluency, clarity, and delicacy that it is like pure and limpid water flowing ever so smoothly, and then contemplates its spiritual effectiveness that miraculously transforms hearts, purifying them of mortal darknesses and making them recipients of the light of Allah the Almighty which I have proven at its appropriate place in this book61, the exalted status of the Holy Quran, which is beyond the reach of human capacities, will become manifest to such a one to a degree that cannot be surpassed. But if, despite witnessing these excellences, the peerlessness of the Holy Word remains doubtful to an inwardly blind person, the Holy Quran has a remedy even for such deniers against whom it brings its argument to completion. And that is:

Meaning that, if you doubt that this Word is from Allah, then write a composition like any surah in it. But if you cannot do it—and, bear in mind, never shall you be able to do it—then guard against the Fire, which is prepared for the disbelievers and the fuel of which is disbelieving men and their idols who are stoking up the fire of Hell with their sins and mischief. This is the conclusive verdict which God Almighty Himself has provided in order to indict those who deny the miracle of the Quran. Now if there is anyone who, in spite of being confuted and indicted, still denies the peerless eloquence of the Holy Quran and does not desist from idle and obscene talk, then such a shameless and crooked nature cannot be treated in this world; their only remedy is the one promised by God in His conclusive verdict.

Some mischievous and malicious people, who have taken a firm stand upon obstinacy and egotism, and who have been utterly blinded by the whirlwind of bigotry, try to mislead people by saying that all of the beauties and fine points that Muslims attribute to the Holy Quran and all of its wondrous beauties mentioned in Muslim books are the product of the acute intelligence and inventions of their own natures; whereas in reality, the Quran is devoid of such beauties, fine points, and wondrous characteristics. However, such people can do nothing to hide the Quranic light; rather, they only expose their own foolishness and depravity. It should suffice to say in response to them: If Muslims have indeed invented, through the exercise of their own intellect, all forms of beauties, fine points and qualities of the Holy Quran which were not actually present there, then you, too, should, as against them, produce beauties, fine points and qualities relating to your revealed books or, for that matter, any other book; and if you cannot compete with the whole of the Holy Quran, then at least, by way of specimen, try to produce from any other book the excellences contained in Surah al-Fatihah alone, some of which have been described in this very footnote.

Alas! From where have these congenitally blind ones come up, whose darkness is not dispelled even after seeing such profusion of light? How putrid and stinking is the substance of their inner diseases that it has rendered useless all of their outer and inner senses. They do not consider in the least that the Holy Quran is the Book which has itself proclaimed its own greatness, its wisdom, its truths, its eloquence, its subtle verities and its fine points and its spiritual light, and it has proven its own incomparability. It is not at all true that the Muslims have put forward these excellences on their own. On the contrary, it itself sets out its own beauties and excellences and puts forward its matchlessness and peerlessness as a challenge to the whole of creation and is loudly blowing the trumpet: ‘Is there any contestant?’ And its fine point and verities are not confined to two or three which would leave room for doubt on the part of an ignorant person; rather, its subtleties are surging like a swelling ocean and are shining bright in every direction like the stars of the sky. There is no verity that lies outside of it and there is no wisdom that is not comprised inside of its all-encompassing words, and there is no light that cannot be obtained through following it. These things are not without proof and are not mere verbal statements. On the contrary, it is an established and clearly proven verity which has been manifesting its brightness continuously for the last 1,300 years. And I have also set out this verity in great detail in this book of mine and have expounded the subtleties and insights of the Quran in such detail as to constitute a surging ocean for the satisfaction of a seeker after truth. How then could anyone trivialize this great light by mere verbal nonsense? However, if someone really entertains the misgiving that all these subtleties, insights, beauties, and qualities which have been proven to exist in the Holy Quran can also be derived from some other book, then the straightforward manner of debating it would be for him to present those beauties, divine insights, and qualities in keeping with the conditions laid down above.

He should prove that, as the Holy Quran refutes all false beliefs, and just as this Holy Word establishes every true doctrine with rational arguments, and just as these Holy Scriptures63 contain divine insights and verities, and wonderful qualities and unique effects relating to the enlightenment of the heart as I have amply proven in this book, he should demonstrate that all of them are also contained in his book. Until he has done so, his howling at the moon will not deprive it of any of its light. Rather, pitiable indeed is the state of the person who is still deliberately traversing the path of misguidance to remain deprived and devoid of self-evident truth. There are many famous and renowned gentlemen among our opponents whose knowledge and understanding, in my estimation, is such that—as far as I can tell—they would readily understand these verities, provided they reflect upon them with a fair mind. It is not at all my intention to dispute out of self-conceit, and I have no objective other than to spread truth and righteousness in the world. Hence, I request fair-minded and knowledgeable persons to make use of their sincere intentions for a moment. In view of the fact that their open-heartedness and integrity is established in their respective communities, how can I lose hope and how can I believe that this good disposition cannot be further broadened? Therefore, although I have not yet seen any of my opponents take a fair step in this regard, my opinion until now has been based on firm certainty and I believe with a strong conviction that when our fair-minded opponents will turn their close attention to this issue with deep and profound insight, then in their eyes these doubts of theirs would be sufficiently removed.

When Part III of this book was published, I had hoped that the intellectuals among the Brahmu Samajists and Aryah Samajists would learn of their error and hasten thirsting for the real truth. But alas, I now realize that I was wrong in my judgement. Indeed, I was disheartened to find out that Brahmu and Aryah gentlemen did not read my book with care. Especially when I saw the review [of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya] by Pundit Shiv Narayan, I realized how vast is the world of prejudice that has engulfed the nature of the Aryas. (May God have mercy.) It is a pity that the Pundit failed to derive any benefit from the divine verities that shine bright like the sun, and the light of such strong and powerful arguments could do nothing to diminish the darkness of the Pundit’s prejudice. It is really surprising that such intelligent and knowledgeable people should hesitate in accepting a perfect proof after it has been demonstrated. In rejecting it, the Pundit has not only trespassed the boundary of justice, but by deliberately concealing the truth, he has deprived himself of the goodwill for his people and has even deserted God. I need not explain here as to how the Pundit’s denial is full of injustice; for it will become apparent to anyone who first reads my book—in which I have given proof of the need for divine revelation and its existence—and then looks at the Pundit’s writing and sees what he has written in response to me and how he has answered my arguments. The Pundit cannot put a veil upon the souls of the people of his religion who read this book carefully, provided their natures are not already covered by veils.

1 And We will try you with something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth and lives, and fruits; but give glad tidings to the patient, who, when a misfortune overtakes them, say, ‘Surely, to Allah 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 guided (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:156–158). [Publisher]

2 Islam recognizes three stages in man’s spiritual journey towards God: The first stage is (fana—passing away), which is the total annihilation of one’s ego for the sake of God; the second stage is (baqa—subsistence), which denotes a new spiritual life; and the third stage is (liqa—meeting), which is the state of achieving union with God. [Publisher]

3 And also in your own selves. Will you not then see? (Surah al-Dhariyat, 51:22) [Publisher]

4 In the first English translation of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part III, published in 2014, this referenced text appears on pages 115–117. [Publisher]

5 Sat Jug literally means ‘Age of Truth’, and according to Hindu belief, Sat Jug refers to the golden period of the human race, which was a time of purity and virtue. [Publisher]

6 In the first English translation of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part III, published in 2014, this referenced text appears on pages 143–147. [Publisher]

7 Please see Sub-Footnote Number Three on pages 273–424. In the original Urdu edition of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, the Promised Messiah as presented this sub-footnote along with Footnote Number Eleven. For the ease of English readers, Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih V aba decided that it should be presented as its own section after Footnote Number Eleven. [Publisher]

8 In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds, the Gracious, the Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgment. You alone do we worship and You alone do we implore for help. Guide us in the straight path—the path of those on whom You have bestowed Your blessings, those who have not incurred displeasure, and those who have not gone astray (Surah al-Fatihah, 1:1–7). [Publisher]

9 The verse is often referred to as . [Publisher]

10 Surely, We sent it (i.e. the Quran) down on the Night of Destiny (Surah al-Qadr, 97:2). [Publisher]

11 Surah al-Hadid, 57:18 [Publisher]

12 In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful (Surah al-Fatihah, 1:1). [Publisher]

13 In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful (Surah al-Fatihah, 1:1). [Publisher]

14 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:217 [Publisher]

15 In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful (Surah al-Fatihah, 1:1). [Publisher]

16 The Suspended Odes, or Mu‘allaqah, are reportedly seven famous masterpieces of Arabic poetry that were hung in the Ka‘bah during pre-Islamic times. [Publisher]

17 Surah al-An‘am, 6:165 [Publisher]

18 All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds (Surah al-Fatihah, 1:2). [Publisher]

19 All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds, the Gracious … (Surah al-Fatihah, 1:2–3). [Publisher]

20 Surah al-Furqan, 25:61–64 [Publisher]

21 Surah al-A‘raf, 7:157 [Publisher]

22 Surah al-Anbiya’, 21:43 [Publisher]

23 Surah al-Mulk, 67:20 [Publisher]

24 The Gracious, the Merciful (Surah al-Fatihah, 1:3). [Publisher]

25 Surah al-Ahzab, 33:44 [Publisher]

26 Surah al-A‘raf, 7:57 [Publisher]

27 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:219 [Publisher]

28 Surah al-Mu’min, 40:17 [Publisher]

29 A juzw’ comprises sixteen pages. [Publisher]

30 Surah at-Taubah, 9:31 [Publisher]

31 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:5 [Publisher]

32 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:5 [Publisher]

33 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:6 [Publisher]

34 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:6 [Publisher]

35 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:7 [Publisher]

36 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:7 [Publisher]

37 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:7 [Publisher]

38 Surah al-Furqan, 25:78 [Publisher]

39 Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, 3:98 [Publisher]

40 Surah al-‘Ankabut, 29:70 [Publisher]

41 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:5 [Publisher]

42 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:6 [Publisher]

43 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:7 [Publisher]

44 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:7 [Publisher]

45 The path of those on whom You have bestowed Your blessings, those who have not incurred displeasure, and those who have not gone astray (Surah al-Fatihah, 1:7). [Publisher]

46 Surah al-Hijr, 15:88 [Publisher]

47 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:6 [Publisher]

48 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:7 [Publisher]

49 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:7 [Publisher]

50 Those who believe that God and the material world are one and the same thing. [Publisher]

51 Believers in the Vedic doctrine of the eternity of souls. [Publisher]

52 Holy is He and exalted far above what they attribute to Him! (Surah al-An‘am, 6:101) [Publisher]

53 Islam recognizes three stages in man’s spiritual journey towards God: The first stage is (fana—passing away), which is the total annihilation of one’s ego for the sake of God; the second stage is (baqa—subsistence), which denotes a new spiritual life; and the third stage is (liqa—meeting), which is the state of achieving union with God. [Publisher]

54 Those who believe and mix not up their belief with injustice—it is they who shall have peace, and who are rightly guided (Surah al-An‘am, 6:83). [Publisher]

55 Guide us in the right path. (Surah al-Fatihah, 1:6) [Publisher]

56 Then We developed it into another creation (Surah al-Mu’minun, 23:15). [Publisher]

57 Guide us in the right path. (Surah al-Fatihah, 1:6) [Publisher]

58 The heavenly mount on which the Holy Prophet sas ascended to Heaven. [Publisher]

59 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:7 [Publisher]

60 Those who have not incurred displeasure and those who have not gone astray. (Surah al-Fatihah, 1:7) [Publisher]

61 Please see Sub-Footnote Number Four. In the original Urdu edition of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, the Promised Messiah as presented this sub-footnote along with Footnote Number Eleven. For the ease of English readers, Hazrat Khalifatul-Masih V aba decided that it should be presented as its own section after Sub-Footnote Number Three. [Publisher]

62 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:24–25 [Publisher]

63 The ‘Holy Scriptures’ is a term used in Surah al-Bayyinah, 98:3 for the Holy Quran. [Publisher]