“Essence of Islam” is an English rendering of extracts from the writings, speeches, announcements and discourses of the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (as). Hazrat Ahmad (as) claimed, in 1889, that he was the same Messiah and Mahdi whose advent had been prophesied for latter days not only in Islam but also in other faiths.
Hazrat Ahmad (as) announced his claim at a time when religious strife was at its worst. In India, the British rule had brought division between the Muslims and the Hindus, who were always at daggers drawn and their divines were constantly debating. The Christian missionaries entered the fray to convert India to Christianity. As a result, India became the hotbed of religious debate and controversy.
Islam seemed to be on the losing ground in this battle. It had neither the numerical superiority of the Hindus, nor the resources of the Christians. Its divines had lost the spirit of truthfulness and religious uprightness and had succumbed to lowly morals and materialistic desires in the guise of religion. Indeed, the world of Islam was a demonstration of the prophecy of the Holy Prophet (sas) that “A time will come when nothing will remain of faith except rituals and nothing shall remain of Qur’an except its words…”
At this time of desolate need was fulfilled the grand prophecy of the Holy Prophet (sas) that even if faith leaves the world altogether and ascends to Pleiades, a man, or some men, from among the Persians would bring it back to earth.
Hazrat Ahmad (as) claimed to be that man.
For Muslims, the claim of Hazrat Ahmad (as) is important, because the Holy Prophet (sas) had prophesied about the coming of the Messiah and Mahdi to rejuvenate Islam; indeed, he admonished the Muslims: “Even if you have to crawl on ice to reach him, go to him and convey my greetings of peace (salam) to him.”
For non-Muslims, the writings of the Promised Messiah (as) provide a wake up call to all those who believe that the revelation and signs of God are a matter of old forgotten history. His writings are replete with the themes of establishing a living relationship with Allah, the role of revelation in achieving that purpose, and the critical importance of following the Holy Prophet (sas) and acting upon the teachings of the Holy Qur’an.
This volume sets out, in the words of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) himself, a summary of his exposition of four outstanding topics, namely, Islam; Allah, the Exalted; the Holy Prophet (sas); and the Holy Qur’an.
The original compilation, in Urdu, Arabic and Persian, from which these extracts have been rendered into English, was collated with great care and diligence by Syed Dawud Ahmad, may Allah reward him for his great labour of love. He published his selection in the form of a book, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani, alaihissalato wassalam, apni tehrirun ki ru sey, or ‘Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian, according to his writings.’
The original English translation was done by Hazrat Chaudhry Muhammad Zafrullah Khan (ra), a companion of the Promised Messiah (as) who achieved great distinction as a statesman, jurist and scholar of comparative religious studies. The revered translator meticulously rendered many difficult terms into English with great skill and precision. May Allah the Most High reward him. Volume one and two were published by the London Mosque in 1979 and 1981 respectively. The manuscripts of volumes three and four were also prepared by him but could not be published for some reason. The present publication will insha’Allah add volumes three and four to the two published by the London Mosque and we hope to add further selections later.
Preparations for the publication of the present edition started under the guidance and auspices of Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad (may Allah have mercy upon him), the fourth successor to the Promised Messiah (as). Huzoor (rta) took special interest in this project and readily responded to many questions that Mr. Munawar Ahmed Saeed— who has revised the present edition—had during the preparation of this volume. Huzoor (rta) also set the standards of translation and editing during the preparation of this work, which are now being incorporated in the publications of the Jama‘at. May Allah reward him abundantly. He was particularly anxious that the translation be as close to the original as possible. He also took personal interest in the translation of the Urdu poems and couplets, which had not been included in the first edition.
No translation can capture the force, the beauty, the depth and the spiritual power with which the words of the Promised Messiah (as) are charged. Moreover, a selection cannot be a substitute for the full works studied in the context in which the divinely guided writer placed them. Serious scholars and sincere followers of the Promised Messiah (as) need to study this treasure chest in its original beauty. We sincerely hope and pray that this presentation will acquaint the reader with these works so that a zest for reading the original may be developed (Amin).
Every effort has been made to compare the translation with the original works in an effort to keep the translation as close as possible to the original. We have added headings within the text and an Index at the end. Except for the Ishtiharat (announcements), the headings are generally not included in the writings of the Promised Messiah (as). However, every effort has been made to use wordings from within the original text.
Translation of Urdu, Arabic and Persian couplets and poems have been added in this volume. Poems in Arabic were translated after consulting several translations made previously by Ahmadi scholars and those in Persian were translated with the help of Durr-e-Thamin Farsi (translation by Hazrat Mir Muhammad Isma’il (ra). Several scholars assisted in translating Persian couplets and in checking references.
The publishers would like to express their gratitude to Mr. Munawar Ahmad Saeed, for the revision of the translation and greatly appreciate the help and support provided by Maulana Munir-ud-Din Shams, Additional Wakil-ut-Tasnif, who provided the vital link with Huzoor (rta) and was himself a great source of encouragement and inspiration in carrying out this task.
In Rabwah, Wakalat-e-Tasnif, headed by Professor Chaudhry Muhammad ‘Ali Sahib, helped finalize the manuscript by revising the manuscript, comparing it with the original text, checking the references, inserting verses of the Holy Qur’an, as well as Arabic and Persian texts, and transliterating non-English words. Chaudhry Sahib was assisted by Zulqarnain, Raja ‘Ata-ul-Mannan, Tahir Mahmood Mubashar and Kashif Imran.
The publishers also acknowledge with gratitude the help given by the followings to prepare the second edition for publications:
Abdul Quddus Fouzi, Abdul-Wahab Mirza, Ahmad Saeed and Hannanah, Ata-ul-Aziz, Hamed Saeed, Anser Ahmed and Uzma, Dr. Fazal Ahmad, Fouzan Pal, Imran Hye and Hifza, Dr. Karimullah Zirvi, Masood Toor, Mazher Ahmad and Maryam, Muhammad Dawood Khokhar, Nur-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, Salman Muhammad Sajid, Syed Saadat Ahmad, Rizwan Khan, Tariq Amjed, Usama Malik, Usman Khan and Usman Nasir Choudhary.
All references, unless otherwise noted, are from the Holy Qur’an. In the text, the references to the Holy Qur’an are given exactly as they were given in the original writings. In the footnotes, references are given using the name of the Surah followed by the modern numerical system. In these references, we have counted Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim as the first verse and have used the numerical system in which the first number refers to the Surah and the second number refers to the Ayah.
References to the Books of the Promised Messiah (as) are based on the London Edition of the Ruhani Khaza’in published in 1984. An exception is Tasdiq-un-Nabi, which was published in the form of Three Questions of a Christian Answered by Anjuman Himayat-e-Islam. This predates the Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya and is not included in the Ruhani Khaza’in. References to Malfuzat and Ishtiharat are also based on the London edition.
The following abbreviations have been used in this book. Readers are requested to recite the full salutations when reading the book.
SAS: An abbreviation for sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, meaning “May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,” is written after the name of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sas).
AS: An abbreviation for alaihis-salam, meaning “May peace be upon him,” is written after the name of Prophets other than the Holy Prophet (sas).
RA: An abbreviation for radiyallahu ‘anhu/‘anha/‘anhum, meaning “Allah be pleased with him/her/them” is written after the names of the Companions of the Holy Prophet (sas) and of the Promised Messiah (as).
RTA: An abbreviation for rahmatullah ‘alaih/‘alaiha/‘alaihim, meaning “Allah shower His mercy upon him/her/them” is written after the names of deceased pious Muslims who are not Companions.
In transliterating Arabic words, we have followed the system adopted by the Royal Asiatic Society.
The Publishers