Marriage and Righteous Progeny

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[A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 5, p. 578, footnote]

The Holy Prophet (sas) has already foretold, which means that the Promised Messiah will take a wife and have children. Obviously marriage and children have not been mentioned incidentally, because everyone normally gets married and has children, and there is nothing remarkable about it. Marriage here means an extraordinary marriage which would serve as a sign, and the children are the special children regarding whom I have already made a prophecy. In other words, the Holy Prophet (sas) has answered these dark-hearted deniers and has told them that these prophecies will surely be fulfilled.

[Anjam-e-Atham, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 11, p. 337, footnote]

Approximately sixteen years have passed since I informed Shaikh Hamid ‘Ali, Lala Sharampat Khatri of Qadian, Lala Malawa Mal Khatri of Qadian, the late Jan Muhammad of Qadian, and many others, that God had informed me through His revelation that He would arrange for me to be married in a noble family which would be Sayyed by caste; and that my wife would be blessed by God and she would bear children. I saw this dream when I was extremely feeble and weak as a result of some renunciations and illnesses, and it was not long after I had fallen ill with tuberculosis. Due to my life of solitude and renunciation, my heart was strongly averse to taking up the responsibilities of married life. Then, while I was contemplating this sorry state of affairs, I received the revelation:

Which means that you need not worry about this marriage, I take it upon Myself to fulfil your needs. I swear by the One in Whose Hands is my life that, in keeping with His promise, God always kept me relieved of every burden of marriage, and provided me with great comfort and peace. No father could have brought up his son as He did, and no mother could have taken such care of her child as He cared for me day and night. And He fulfilled His promise exactly as He had made it such a long time ago in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya:

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Not for a single moment did He let me worry about my livelihood, nor did He allow me to be anxious about the responsibilities of running a household.

[Tiryaq-ul-Qulub, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 15, pp. 201-203]

(Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, p. 558)

Translation: Be grateful to Me that you have found My Khadija.

This was a glad tiding given to me years ago regarding my marriage in a family of Sadat in Delhi, as a result of which, four sons were born to me, by the grace of God. My wife had been called Khadija because, in keeping with this prophecy, she was to be the mother of a blessed progeny, and it was also indicated that she would belong to a Sadat family.

[Nuzul-ul-Masih, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 18, pp. 524-525]

The following prophecy has been on record for the last eighteen years:

It is the True God Who made you son-in-law of a noble Sayyed family. He made your own lineage noble which is a blend of Persian and Sadat blood. This prophecy has been explained further in other revelations, and even the name of the city has been mentioned, which is Delhi, and the prophecy was communicated to many people...And just as it was written, so did it come to pass; for, without any prior ties of kinship, I was married in a noble and renowned Sadat family of Delhi. This family is descended from the daughter of Khawaja Mir Dard, who had been among the famous patriarchs of Sadat in Delhi…

Since it was God Almighty’s promise that, through my offspring, He would lay a great foundation in support of Islam, and would cause a person to be born into my family who would be blessed with a heavenly soul, He was pleased to give the daughter of this family in marriage to me, so that from her He may bring forth progeny that would help to spread the Divine light whose seed has been sown through me. It is a strange coincidence that just as the paternal grandmother of Sadat was named Shehr Bano, my wife, who shall be the mother of a future generation, is similarly named Nusrat Jahan Begum3. This seems to signify that God has laid the foundation of my future family to help the whole world. It is a Divine practice that at times even names contain prophecies.

[Tiryaq-ul-Qulub, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 15, pp. 272-275]

God, the Merciful, the Noble, the High, the Exalted, Who has power to do all that He wills, (glory be to Him and exalted be His name), has granted me the following revelation:

“I confer upon thee a sign of My mercy according to thy supplications. I have heard thy entreaties and have honoured thy prayers with My acceptance through My mercy and have blessed this thy journey (to Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana). A sign of power, mercy, nearness to Me is bestowed on thee, a sign of grace and beneficence is awarded to thee and thou art granted the key of success and victory. Peace be on thee, O victorious one. Thus does God speak so that those who desire life may be rescued from the grip of death and those who are buried in the graves may emerge there from, and so that the superiority of Islam and the dignity of God’s word may become manifest unto the people, and so that truth may arrive with all its blessings and falsehood may depart with all its ills, and so that people may understand that I am the Lord of Power, I do whatever I will, and so that they may believe that I am with thee, and so that those who do not believe in God and deny and reject His religion and His book and His holy Messenger, Muhammad, the chosen onesa, may be confronted with a clear sign and the way of the guilty ones may become manifest.

Rejoice, therefore, that a handsome and pure boy will be bestowed on thee, thou wilt receive a bright youth who will be of thy seed and will be of thy progeny. A handsome and pure boy will come as your guest. His name is Emmanuel and Bashir. He has been invested with the holy spirit, and he will be free from all impurity. He is the light of Allah. Blessed is he who comes from heaven. He will be accompanied by grace which shall arrive with him. He will be characterised with grandeur, greatness and wealth. He will come into the world and will heal many of their disorders through his Messianic qualities and through the blessings of the holy spirit. He is the Word of Allah, for Allah’s mercy and honour have equipped him with the Word of Majesty. He will be extremely wise and intelligent, and will be meek of heart, and will be filled with secular and spiritual knowledge. And he will convert three into four (of this the meaning is not clear). It is Monday a blessed Monday. Son, delight of the heart, high ranking, noble; a manifestation of the First and the Last, a manifestation of the True and the High; as if Allah has descended from heaven. His advent will be greatly blessed and will be a source of manifestation of Divine Majesty. Behold a light cometh, a light anointed by God with the perfume of His pleasure. We shall pour Our spirit into him and he will be sheltered under the shadow of God. He will grow rapidly in stature and will be the means of procuring the release of those held in bondage. His fame will spread to the ends of the earth and people will be blessed through him. He will then be raised to his spiritual station in heaven. This is a matter decreed.”

[Majmu‘ah Ishtiharat, Vol. 1, pp. 95-96]

Then, God Almighty gave me a glad tiding and said:

“Thy house will be filled with blessings and I shall perfect My favours unto thee and thou wilt have a large progeny from blessed women, some of whom thou wilt find later and I will cause a great increase in thy progeny and will bless it; but some of them will die in early age and thy progeny will spread greatly in different lands. Every branch of thy collaterals will be cut off and will come to an end soon through childlessness. If they do not repent they shall come to an end. Their houses will be filled with widows and God’s wrath will descend upon their walls. But if they turn to God He will turn to them in mercy. God will spread thy blessings and will revive a deserted house through thee and will fill a dreaded house with blessings. Thy progeny will not be cut off and will flourish till the end of days. God will maintain thy name with honour till the day when the world comes to an end and will convey thy message to the ends of the earth. I shall exalt thee and shall call thee to Myself but thy name will never be erased from the face of the earth. It will so happen that all those who seek to humiliate thee and to cause thee to fail and wish to ruin thee will be frustrated and will die, being brought to naught. God will bestow every success upon thee and will grant thee all that thou dost desire. I will cause an increase of thy true and sincere friends and shall bless their lives and their possessions and they will grow in number and they will always prevail over the other Muslims who are jealous of thee and are hostile to thee. God will not forget thy supporters and will not overlook them and they will have their reward according to the degree of their devotion. Thou art to Me as the Prophets of Bani Isra’il (that is: thou dost resemble them as a reflection). Thou art to Me as My Unity. Thou art of Me and I am of thee. The time is approaching; indeed it is near when God will put thy love in the hearts of kings and nobles till they will seek blessings from thy garments. O you who deny and who oppose the truth, if you are in doubt concerning My servant, if you deny the grace and bounty that I have bestowed upon My servant, then produce some true sign concerning yourselves like this sign of mercy, if you are truthful. If you are unable to produce it, and be sure you will never be able to produce it, then be mindful of the fire which has been prepared for the disobedient, the liars and the transgressors.”

Announced by:
Ghulam Ahmad,
Author of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya,
Hoshiarpur
At the house of the Nobleman, Shaikh Mehr ‘Ali

[Majmu‘ah Ishtiharat, Vol. 1, pp. 96-97]

In my announcement of 20th February, 1886 … there is a prophecy of the birth of a righteous son possessing the qualities mentioned in the said announcement … Such a son, according to the Divine promise, will surely be born within nine years. Whether he is born soon or late, he will certainly be born within this period…

This is not only a prophecy but also a grand heavenly sign which has been manifested by God to demonstrate the truth and greatness of our noble Prophet, the compassionate and merciful, Muhammad, the Chosen One (sas). This sign is in fact hundreds of times superior and more potent and majestic and glorious than the sign of bringing a dead person back to life.

[Majmu‘ah Ishtiharat, Vol. 1, pp. 98-99]

As written in the announcements of 10th July and 1st December, 1888, God had graciously promised that, after the demise of the first Bashir, a second Bashir— who will also be called Mahmood—will be given to me. God had addressed this humble one and said: He shall be a person of high resolve and will be like thee in beauty and benevolence. God is Almighty and He creates whatever He wills.

Today, Saturday 12th January, 1889, which conforms to 9th Jamadi-ul-Awwal, 1306 AH, a son was born to me. He has been named Bashir and Mahmood in anticipation. An announcement will be made after the matter has become clear, for I have not yet been given to understand whether this son will grow up to be the Promised Reformer or there will be another. I know, however, and I know it for a certainty, that God Almighty will deal with me according to His promise, and that, even if it is not yet the time for the birth of the Promised Son, he will certainly appear at some other time. If there should remain only one day out of the time specified, God will not let that day come to an end till His promise has been fulfilled. Once, in a dream, I found myself reciting the following verse with regard to the Promised Reformer:

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If it had been the Divine will that the 'delay' was only until this son—who has been named Bashir-ud-Deen Mahmood in anticipation—was born, then it would be no wonder if this same son should prove to be the Promised Son. Even if not, he is sure to come at some other time.

Those who harbour feelings of jealousy against me must remember that I have no personal desire for offsprings, nor do I associate any happiness with their long lives. Thus it was a great error on the part of the opponents to express joy and make merry on the death of Bashir Ahmad. They must remember that even if I had as many offsprings as there are leaves in the world, and all of them had died, their death would not in the least interfere with my true peace and contentment. The love of the One, compared to the love of the dead, so overwhelms my heart that I would readily sacrifice any of my dear sons with my own hands, just like Khalilullah [Abraham (as)], if this was indeed the desire of the True Beloved. The fact is that I have no beloved, except Him, glory be to Him and exalted be His name. [All praise be to Allah for His beneficence.]

[Majmu‘ah Ishtiharat, Vol. 1, pp. 160-161, footnote]

The Promised Reformer has been named Fadl in the revelation. His second name is Mahmood, and his third name is Bashir Thani [Bashir the Second]. In another revelation, he has been named Fadl-e-‘Umar.

[Sabz Ishtihar, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 2, p. 467, footnote]

My first son, who is alive and is named Mahmood, was not yet born when I was given the glad tidings of his birth through a vision. I saw his name Mahmood written on the wall of a mosque. Thereupon I published an announcement on green paper, and it was issued on 1st December, 1888.

[Tiryaq-ul-Qulub, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 15, p. 214]

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[Durr-e-Thamin, p. 50]

The words of the Prophecy regarding the birth of my second son, whose name is Bashir Ahmad. are:

i.e., The Moon of Prophets shall come, and your task shall be accomplished. A son will be born to you and Divine grace shall be brought closer to you. In other words, he will be the source of Divine Grace. In keeping with this prophecy, this son was born on 20th April, 1893, and was named Bashir Ahmad, as is evident from the Announcement published on 20th April, 1893.

[Tiryaq-ul-Qulub, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 15, p. 220]

The prophecy regarding the birth of my third son, whose name is Sharif Ahmad, is recorded in the footnote on page 39 of my book Anwar-ul-Islam. This book was published in September 1894 …Thus this son, Sharif Ahmad, was born on 24th May, 1895, which conforms to 27th Dhul Qa‘da, 1312 AH, as published on the back cover of my book Dia’-ul-Haq.

[Tiryaq-ul-Qulub, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 15, pp. 220-221]

The name of my fourth son is Mubarak Ahmad. The prophecy about his birth was made in an Announcement published on 20th February, 1886. Subsequently this Prophecy appeared on page 183 of Anjam-e-Atham, on 14th September, 1896, and this book was circulated far and wide in the country during the month of September 1896. Then again this Prophecy was recorded on page 58 of the Appendix to Anjam-e-Atham, with the condition that ‘Abdul Haq Ghaznavi, who lived in Amritsar and was amongst the followers of Maulavi ‘Abdul Jabbar Ghaznavi, would not die until this fourth son had been born. It was also stated on page 58 that if ‘Abdul Haq Ghaznavi was right in opposing me and did indeed enjoy Divine support then let him avert this Prophecy through his prayers. This Prophecy was also recorded on page 15 of the Appendix to Anjam-e-Atham. Thus, in order to testify to the truth of my claim and to belie all my opponents, and also to warn ‘Abdul Haq Ghaznavi, God Almighty fulfilled the Prophecy about this fourth son of mine on Wednesday, 14th June, 1899, which conforms to 4th Safar, 1317 AH, when the fourth blessed son was born.

[Tiryaq-ul-Qulub, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 15, p. 221]

God Almighty gave me the glad tidings of a daughter during a pregnancy, and said about her: i.e., she will be brought up in ornaments. This means that she will not die in infancy, nor will she experience deprivation. A daughter was accordingly born and she was named Mubarakah Begum…

I was informed through Divine revelation that another daughter would be born, but would not live. This revelation was communicated to many people beforehand. A daughter was then born and she died a few months later…

Thereafter, the glad tidings of another daughter was given in these words Dukht-e-Kiram [the noble daughter]. This Revelation was published in either one or both the newspapers Al-Hakam and Al-Badr. A daughter was then born, who was named Amat-ul-Hafiz, and is still alive.

[Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 22, pp. 227-228]

These are the four sons regarding each of whose birth God Almighty informed me beforehand. And each of these four Prophecies was not only communicated to people verbally, but was conveyed to hundreds of thousands of people through announcements and books. No precedent for such magnificent foretelling of the unseen is to be found in the Punjab, or India, or even the whole world. You will never find such a prophecy whereby God Almighty should first give the glad tidings of the birth of four sons; and then, prior to the birth of each, should intimate through revelation that he is about to be born. What is more, these Prophecies were publicized among hundreds of thousands of people beforehand. Seek out the whole world, and try to produce a precedent if you can…

A man can never dare to formulate such a scheme whereby he should first publicize a prophecy about the birth of four sons—as I did in the announcement of 20th February, 1886—and should then go on to make prophecies before the birth of each and every son, and the sons should continue to be born in keeping with these prophecies until the figure of four— which was mentioned in the initial prophecy—is reached. And all this despite the fact that person who makes these prophecies falsely claims to be from God. Is it possible that God Almighty should continue to help an impostor for fourteen long years—from 1886 to the end of 1899? Has God ever favoured an impostor in this manner, and can such a precedent be found on the face of the earth?

[Tiryaq-ul-Qulub, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 15, pp. 218-222]

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[Durr-e-Thamin, p. 49]