Beholding His countenance is, in fact, the real objective;
Paradise, indeed, consists only of meeting the Beloved Friend.
by Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul-Masih V,
may Allah the Almighty help him with His powerful support
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian published Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Parts I, II, III, and IV during 1880–1884 to prove the superiority of Islam over all other faiths. The Promised Messiah (as) documented the revelations which he received from Allah the Exalted in these Parts. This led to much criticism, which only increased when God further informed him in 1890 that Hazrat ‘Isa (as) (Jesus)—who was generally believed to still be alive in the heavens—had in fact died and that the long-awaited Messiah of the Latter Days was none other than himself.
While the Promised Messiah (as) continued to publish books on various matters of religion to propagate the faith of Islam, it was after a period of twenty-three years that he wrote Part V of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya. He called it the ‘rebirth’ of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya.
Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V is filled with the same themes that permeate the entire life and mission of the Promised Messiah (as): love and cognition of Allah the Exalted, divine origin and perfection of the Holy Quran, truthfulness of the Holy Prophet (sas) and his exemplary status as a role model, and the need for respect and tolerance in interfaith dialogue. He also announced that the Latter Day prophecies about the second advent of Hazrat ‘Isa (as) and Imam Mahdi were fulfilled in his person.
Below are some excerpts from this book that highlight these aspects.
The Promised Messiah (as) explains that—first and foremost—the purpose of religion is to so vividly prove the existence of God through divine Signs as to behold the countenance of God Himself. He writes:
Beholding His countenance is, in fact, the real objective;
Paradise, indeed, consists only of meeting the Beloved Friend.
It is only through [divine] Signs that the countenance of that Hidden One is manifested;
Truth be told, every proof of Godhood, lies in divine Signs.
the true religion is, indeed, that religion which succeeds in curing man’s spiritual blindness and bestowing upon him heavenly blessings to such a degree that the evidence of their affirmation of the existence of God and sympathy for mankind is prominent in their practical lives. That alone is the true religion and that alone can carry its sincere devotee to the desired goal, the thirst for which has been ingrained in his soul.
The Promised Messiah (as) writes that the aim of any seeker of Truth should not merely be to achieve an imperfect knowledge of the existence of God through rational arguments, but to achieve what he calls ‘perfect cognition of God Almighty’. This happens when God Himself reveals His mysteries to people who strive and purify themselves.
Only a perfect religion can lead to that perfect cognition of God. The Promised Messiah (as) gives two reasons for why Islam is that perfect faith:
First: That such a religion should be so comprehensive, perfect, complete, and free from defect in its doctrines, teachings, and commandments, that reason should fail to propose anything better; and no defect or deficiency be seen in it. And, in this perfection, it should triumph over all other religions; that is to say, no other religion should be its equal in these excellences. This is the claim that the Holy Quran itself has put forward:
Meaning that, today I have perfected My religion for you and have completed My favour upon you, and I have chosen Islam to be your faith…
Second: Then, the second kind of supremacy found in Islam, and not shared by any other religion, which puts the absolute seal of certainty upon its truth, is that it manifests living blessings and miracles, which other religions are entirely deprived of. These are the kind of perfect Signs through which Islam not only triumphs over other religions, but also—by showing its perfect light—draws hearts to itself.…
These perfect teachings bring about a miraculous transformation in the life of a seeker after Truth, who becomes the embodiment of the proof of the existence of God.
What is Islam? Self-annihilation for the sake of God;
To relinquish one’s own desire for the pleasure of God.
Regarding the miracles evidenced throughout the life of a single righteous person, the Promised Messiah (as) writes:
Bear in mind that the miraculous life of one righteous person evidences greater proof of the existence of God Almighty than the [entire] heavens and the earth insofar as no one has ever seen God creating the heavens and the earth with His own hand.
The Promised Messiah (as) offers his own example of such a miraculous life blessed with divine Signs and intimation of the unseen.
In this book, therefore, the Promised Messiah (as) recounts the many favours of God Almighty bestowed upon him and the many miraculous events from his life which demonstrate that God has appointed him as the Promised Messiah of the Latter Days. One such Sign is the prophecy of the earthquake.
The Promised Messiah (as) received a revelation from God Almighty:
Shock of earthquake
This was followed by another revelation:
Temporary residences and permanent ones will be wiped out.
This prophecy was fulfilled when a major earthquake struck in Kangra Valley, India on April 4, 1905. Subsequently, he received repeated revelations that another earthquake would strike in the form of a severe calamity akin to Doomsday. Thereafter, he prayed that the appearance of this severe earthquake might be delayed. Allah had accepted this supplication and had postponed the earthquake accordingly.
In time, this mighty prophecy would be fulfilled when the entire world was shaken up by the ‘earthquake’ of World War I—a calamity the like of which had never been witnessed before. In addition to the graphic description that the Promised Messiah (as) had given about this calamity, was included the fall of the Czar which was also manifestly fulfilled. In one of his Urdu couplets he writes:
Men, high and low, will be consumed with fear;
And the Czar himself will, at that hour, be in a pitiable state.
In our present age, religion is all too often used to divide and disrespect; however, a true faith promotes civility in conduct and healthy debate for the general betterment of humanity. The Promised Messiah (as) writes:
Bear in mind that mere dry disputation, abusiveness, harsh words, and vulgarity is perpetrated out of selfishness under the name of religion. Such failings to remove one’s own inner evils; failing to develop a sincere bond with the True Beloved; one party attacking another party, not with civility, but rather like dogs; and displaying all kinds of evil of the ego in the guise of defending the Faith—all this filthy conduct which is merely bone [without flesh]—is not worthy of being called ‘religion’.
The Promised Messiah (as) acknowledged the delay of twenty-three years in writing Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part V as divine decree to manifest the fulfilment of the Signs and prophecies that he had recorded in the earlier Parts of the book for the entire world to witness. Many of the Signs of the truthfulness of the claims of Promised Messiah (as) continue to manifest even to this day. This includes the establishment of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in 1889 and the system of Successorship, or Khilafat, which continues the mission of the Promised Messiah (as)—to propagate the faith of Islam throughout the world so that others might attain spiritual life.
As the Fifth Successor of the Promised Messiah (as), I urge all fair-minded people to objectively study the message of the Promised Messiah (as) and reflect upon it in light of the Signs of the time as revealed in all major faiths. This is a message the world cannot afford to dismiss. May the Benevolent Lord enlighten the hearts and minds of those who read and reflect upon the message contained within this book. Amin.
Mirza Masroor Ahmad
Khalifatul-Masih V
London
July 2018
1 Surah al-Ma’idah, 5:4
