Extraordinary Renown and Divine Succour

Let it be known that Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya is my book that was published in 1880, or 1297 AH. At that time, as is apparent from the contents of the book, I lived in a state of obscurity and very few people even knew that I existed. I was alone and no one was acquainted with me. I lived a life of solitude and was quite happy and contented, when out of Divine favour, I had this sudden experience. One day, towards evening, in this very house and at the exact spot where I am now standing writing these lines, I was overcome by a slight slumber and received this Revelation from God:

i.e., O Ahmad! God has blessed you. You did not shoot, when you shot, but Allah shot. The Gracious One taught you the Quran, revealing to you its true meaning, so that you might warn a people whose ancestors had not been warned, and so that the way of the guilty ones might become manifest and they may be held accountable for rejecting you. Tell them: I have been commissioned from God, and I am the first of the believers.

On receiving this Revelation, while I was moved to express my gratitude for the limitless favours of God Almighty in having chosen a man like me who had no ability in him for such a great mission, at the same time I was also assailed by the thought that, in keeping with the ways of God, everyone who is [Divinely] commissioned must have a community of followers, so that they may assist him and be his helpers. And it is also necessary to have financial resources to be spent for the needs of religion. And, in keeping with the ways of Allah, the presence of enemies is also essential, and it is also essential to overcome them, so as to be saved from their evil. In addition, it is also necessary that the preaching should be effective, so that it may serve as proof of the Truth of the claimant, and so that he may not fail in the mission that has been entrusted to him.

As I thought these matters over, a host of difficulties loomed large and a very frightful scenario appeared, for I found myself obscure and solitary. I was neither the successor of a saint, nor affiliated with a shrine, so that those who were devoted to my ancestors should rally around me and make my task easy, nor was I descended from some renowned scholar, thereby retaining the link with hundreds of his disciples, nor had I received formal education or certification from a scholar, so that I might have relied on my accumulated wealth of knowledge. I was not a monarch, nor a lord or ruler, so that the awe inspired by my governance might have made thousands of people my followers. Instead, I was a man without any means, living in a far-flung village, and completely cut off from the distinguished people, who are, or can be, the centre of people’s attention.

In short, I enjoyed no distinction, popularity or renown, which could have made it easier for me to accomplish the task of spreading the message. Naturally, I perceived this mission to be extremely difficult and apparently impossible. There were yet more difficulties in preaching this message, since it contained things which one could never hope that people would accept. In fact, one could not even expect them to believe that ‘non-law-bearing revelation’ has not been discontinued after the Holy Prophet (sas) and that this kind of revelation will continue to the Last Day. On the other hand, it seemed quite obvious that the claim of being a recipient of revelation would be rewarded with the charge of unbelief, and all the ulema would present a united front to persecute and destroy such a claimant, for, in their view Divine revelation had been cut off after our master, the Seal of Prophets and Messenger of Allahsa, till the day of judgement, and it is now impossible for anyone to experience Divine converse. In short, they believe that this blessed umma has been eternally denied the kind of blessings whereby God Almighty may honour them with His converse and spur the growth of their spiritual knowledge and inform them directly of His existence. Now, in their blind belief, they merely beat the drum that hangs from their necks. And they do not possess an iota of spiritual knowledge based on personal experience. True, some of them hold the absurd belief that, though revelation may be received by the pious, there is no way telling if it is from God or from Satan. Now it is obvious that a ‘revelation’ that can also be attributed to Satan, cannot be counted among the Divine favours that are beneficial to one’s faith. Instead, the dubious nature of such revelations, and their resemblance to the words of Satan, is a curse that can land someone in Hell. If God has accepted the prayer

2 from any one of His servants and has admitted him into the fold of the blessed, then, in keeping with His promise, He must also have granted him a portion of the spiritual reward, which necessarily includes Divine converse.

This was something which would have provided people in this blind world an occasion to express their fury and wrath. So, for a helpless and lonely person like me, the confluence of all these factors meant apparent failure. Rather it spelled absolute disaster, for no aspect of it was at all favourable. The first requirement was money, but at the time of this Divine revelation, all our [landed] property had been lost, and there was not a single person with me who could provide financial support. Secondly, I was not the scion of an influential family to have influence on anyone. I was helpless on all counts. It was but natural for me to have been overawed by this Revelation. At that time I stood in great need to be comforted by God’s glorious promises, lest I should die of unbearable sorrow. I have, therefore, no words to thank God, the Glorious and the All-Powerful, Who did support me with His glad tidings in my hour of helplessness and anguish, and subsequently fulfilled all His promises. If Divine help and succour had come about without prior prophecies, it could have been attributed to fortune or chance, but now they constitute such extraordinary signs that only a person of satanic nature will dare to deny them.

Thereafter God fulfilled all the promises He had made to me a long time ago in the form of prophecies. He helped and supported me in every way. He removed all difficulties and dispelled all anxieties, the mere thought of which was enough to break my back, and because of which I was afraid I would die. And as He had promised, so did He bring forth. Although He could have shown me His help and support without informing me beforehand, He chose not to do so. Instead, He granted me prophecies about His support and help at a time of hopelessness that could be likened to the period of the Holy Prophet’ssa life when he would walk about the streets of Mecca all alone, with no one by his side, and with no apparent sign of success. The prophecies that were made during the days when I was so unknown were regarded by people as ludicrous, unreasonable and like the ravings of a maniac. Who could then have known that, in keeping with these prophecies, it would actually come to pass that thousands would come to visit me in Qadian, several hundred thousand would enter into the fold of allegiance with me, and I would not remain alone as I had been at the time. God gave me these tidings when I was unknown and solitary, so that they should stand out as great signs in the sight of a man of understanding and a seeker after truth, and so that the seekers may become convinced in their hearts that this enterprise is not, and cannot be, of human origin.

My purpose in writing the book Dafe‘-ul-Bala, which was about the plague, was to warn people so that they may purify their hearts and keep their tongues, their eyes, their ears and their hands from all that is not worthy of saying, seeing, hearing, or doing, and that they may fear God so that He may have mercy on them and may remove the terrible epidemic that has broken out in their country. Alas! presumptuousness increased even further and tongues wagged more than ever. In their pamphlets they spared no effort to hurt and revile me. They used all means, except those which were beyond them, to persecute me. They went to such lengths in cursing and abusing me that they left the Shias far behind, for the Shias seem to think that it is they who have perfected the art of cursing from Alif to Ya i.e., from Abu-Bakr to Yazid. But these people who are called Ahl-e-Hadith or Hanafi seem to regard the work of the Shias as incomplete. In order to complete the circle of curse-mongering, they hurled abuse at the one whom God has pronounced as ‘the manifestation of all the Prophets’ from Adam to Yesu Masih—from Alif to Ya—and then God had completed the circle from Alif back to Alif, by making him the perfect manifestation of the attributes of all Prophets, from Adam (as) to Ahmad (sas).

But they must remember that all the abuse that issues from their mouths, and the insults that dwell upon their lips, and the filthy papers which they publish in opposition to the truth, all this furnishes the material for their spiritual chastisement which they have prepared with their own hands. No life is more cursed than the one spent in lying. Do they imagine that by their designs, their baseless lies, their allegations, their ridicule and their mockery, they can frustrate the Will of God? Or can they, by deceiving the world, put on hold what God has willed in heaven? If ever in the past the opponents of truth succeeded through these means, then they too shall succeed, but when it is an established fact that those who oppose God, and oppose the purpose which He has willed in heaven, are always humiliated and defeated, then there must come a day when these people too shall meet with defeat and humiliation. The word of God has never remained, nor will it ever remain, unfulfilled. He says:

It means that God has ordained from the beginning and has declared it to be His law and His practice, that He and His Messengers shall always prevail. Since I am His Messenger, who has been sent by Him, though without any new shariah or any new claim or any new name, rather I have come in the name of the Noble Prophet (sas)—the Seal of Prophets—and through him, and as his manifestation, I therefore proclaim that, just as this verse has been proven true from the time of Adam to the time of the Holy Prophet (sas), so will it prove to be true in my case. Do these people not notice that at the time when these Maulavis and their camp followers had launched a campaign of rejection and vilification against me, there was not a single person in my Bai‘at, and all I had were a few friends who could be counted on fingertips. But now, by the grace of God, the number of those who are in my Bai‘at has reached nearly seventy thousand. This has not come about due to any effort on my part, it is in fact the wind blowing from heaven that has made them rush towards me. Let these people think for themselves, how they strived to destroy this Jama‘at and how they used all kinds of deceit and went to the extent of giving information to the authorities and appearing before courts as witnesses in falsely instituted murder cases, and thus incited the Muslims against me. And how they wrote thousands of posters and pamphlets, and issued edicts of disbelief and proclaimed verdicts of death against me, and how they met in committees to devise schemes against me. But did all these efforts end up in anything other than failure? Had this mission been man-made, it would certainly have been annihilated through their strenuous efforts. Can anyone cite a single precedent in which so much effort was deployed against an impostor, but, instead of being destroyed, he grew a thousand-fold? Is this not a great sign that, despite all efforts to destroy this seed and to leave no trace of it on the face of the earth, it germinated and burgeoned and grew into a tree and its branches spread far and wide and it has now grown so big that thousands of birds are resting upon it!

This means that the opponents will desire to extinguish the Light of Allah with the breath of their mouths, but Allah will perfect His Light even though the disbelievers hate it.

This prophecy dates back to the time when I had no opponents, in fact, no one even knew my name. Then, in accordance with the prophecy, I became known in the world with honour and respect and thousands accepted me. This was followed by fierce opposition. People of Mecca were told misleading things about me and an edict of disbelief regarding me was acquired from Mecca. A universal cry of heresy was raised against me, edicts were issued urging my assassination, the authorities were provoked against me, and the common people were alienated from me and my Jama‘at. In short, every effort was made to destroy me. But, in keeping with the Divine prophecy, all the Maulavis and their ilk completely failed in their efforts. How blind are my opponents, for they do not see the grandeur of these prophecies: they do not realize how far back these prophecies were made, and with what majesty they have been fulfilled! Can this be the work of anyone but God Himself? If it can, then please come forward with a precedent. Do they not realize that had this been the work of man and against the Will of God, they would not have been frustrated in their efforts? Who was it that frustrated them? It was the same God Who is with me.

i.e., Allah will shield you from all calamities, even though people do not wish to see you saved from them. This prophecy goes back to the time when I lived in obscurity, and no one had any relationship with me, either of Bai‘at or that of enmity. Subsequently, when I claimed to be the Promised Messiah, all the Maulavis and their ilk flared up like fire. In those days a clergyman, by the name of Dr. Martyn Clark, instituted a case of murder against me, which brought home to me the fact that the Maulavis of the Punjab were thirsty for my blood, and that they considered me even worse than a Christian who is the enemy of the Holy Prophet (sas) and abuses him. This was because some Maulavis appeared in court against me and testified in favour of the clergyman, while others were busy praying that he may win. I have it on good authority that they would pray in the mosques crying: ‘O God, help this clergyman and grant him victory.’ But God, the All-Knowing, heard none of their supplications. Neither the witnesses succeeded in their testimonies, nor the supplicants in their prayers. So much for the ulema, the so-called defenders of the faith, and so much for the so called umma! They tried their utmost and used all means at their disposal to send me to the gallows, and supported one who was an enemy of God and His Messenger (sas).

Here the question will naturally cross one’s mind as to how I was saved from this blazing fire while all the Maulavis and their followers had become my mortal enemies, and eight or nine witnesses had already appeared before the court to secure my conviction? The answer is that I was protected by the One Who had promised me twenty-five years ago that though my nation will not protect me and will even try to destroy me, He shall protect me. It was also in accordance with what God had foretold twenty-five years ago and what had been recorded in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya,

i.e., God cleared him of the charge brought against him, and he has a high standing with Allah.

Among the great signs which God Almighty has shown in my support and which resemble the signs of Prophethood, is this prophecy recorded in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya:

This prophecy pointed to the time of trials and tribulations when everyone would turn away from me, and would conspire to destroy or assassinate me. And this is what came to pass after I made my claim of being the Promised Messiah and Mahdi. All at once everyone stood up against me, and began to find ways to denounce me with reference to the Holy Quran and Hadith. But when they failed in this, and it was established from the explicit verses that the Messiah had in fact died, then the Maulavis started issuing edicts urging my assassination, and began inciting the general public through pamphlets and books by telling them that they could earn great spiritual reward by assassinating me…In a frenzy of animosity, they started thinking up every possible scheme that one can think of in order to destroy one’s enemy. They conspired secretly and spared no effort in executing their plans. They exerted all their power and, just like the infidels of Mecca, left no stone unturned to humiliate and destroy me. But twenty years ago God Almighty had clearly told me in the above Revelation, ‘I will protect you from the evil of the enemies.’ In keeping with His true promise, He protected me …

It was only by the grace of God that, even though these people hatched all kinds of plots to kill me, their efforts came to naught. And God Almighty fulfilled His promise which is recorded on page 510 of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, i.e., God Almighty would protect me from every evil design of the enemies even though they might want to destroy me. It was, therefore, a grand prophecy and was in keeping with the norms of Prophethood, for all past Prophets and Messengers had to face this trial; evil people would surround them like dogs, and they would not rest content with ridicule and derision but would want to tear them apart and cut them to pieces. Yet the Hand of Almighty God saved them. The same thing has happened in my case. In their opposition to me, the Maulavis have even forgotten their mutual differences, and, as far as possible, they have got pundits and padres from other faiths to make common cause with them. As a result, the earth has been filled with animosity towards me, like a cup that is filled with poison. But God Almighty protected my honour from the attacks of these people, just as He has always protected His holy Prophets. This was a grand prophecy published twenty years ago in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, which has now been fulfilled in full glory. Let him who has eyes see whether this is the work of God or of man!

Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, which was distributed twenty-five years ago in all countries, and was sent to all parts of the Punjab, India, Arabia, Syria, Kabul and Bukhara, and to all Islamic countries, contains the prophecy:

This Divine revelation contains this prayer on my behalf: O, my Lord! leave me not alone as I am now, and You are the Best of inheritors. True, I have children and father and a brother, but in the spiritual sense I am alone, and I seek from You such people who may become my spiritual heirs. This prayer contained a prophecy about the future, when God Almighty would grant me a community that would have a spiritual relationship with me and would repent at my hand. God be thanked that this prophecy has been so clearly fulfilled. Thousands of pious people have entered into Bai‘at at my hand from the Punjab and other parts of India. Similarly, a large number of people have pledged allegiance to me from the dominion of the Amir of Kabul. It is enough for me that thousands of people have repented of all kinds of sins at my hand. The transformation that I have seen among thousands of people, after they have pledged Bai‘at to me, cannot come about except through the Hand of God. I can declare on oath that thousands of my true and faithful followers have attained such pure transformation that each one of them is in himself a sign. True, they had the potential of wisdom and virtue already ingrained in their nature, but it did not find expression until they had entered into my Bai‘at. Thus, Divine testimony proves that I was alone to begin with, and there was no Jama‘at with me, but now no opponent can hide the fact that thousands of people are with me. Divine prophecies are such that they are accompanied by Divine help and succour. Who can disprove my statement that when God granted me this prophecy—which was written and published in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya—I was alone, just as God had testified, and there was none with me except God. Even in the eyes of my kith and kin I was of no consequence, for we followed different paths. Even the Hindus of Qadian, despite their strong opposition to me, cannot but testify that in those days I lived a life of obscurity. There was no sign whatsoever at the time that people would join me, who would have great devotion and love for me and would be ready to lay down their lives for my sake. Now see for yourselves, is this prophecy not a miracle? Can a man be capable of such a thing? If so, produce any precedent from the past or present.

The hundredth sign is the prophecy recorded on page 241 of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, which reads as follows:

(Translation) Despair not of the mercy of Allah. Hearken, the help of Allah is near. It will come to thee by every distant track. People will come to thee by every distant track. Allah will help thee from Himself. Men will help thee whom We shall inspire from heaven. Be not arrogant towards Allah’s creatures and be not tired of receiving visitors.

Twenty-five years have now passed since this prophecy was published in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya. It dates back to the time when I was hidden in obscurity and none of these people, who are now with me, even knew me. Nor was I one of those who are renowned for their status. I was a mere non-entity, completely solitary and unknown. With the exception of a few people, who already knew my family, there was none who had anything to do with me. This is a fact, and none of the inhabitants of Qadian can testify against it. Thereafter, in order to fulfil this prophecy, God Almighty caused His servants to turn towards me and people came to Qadian in droves and continue to do so; they have given, and continue to give, so many gifts to me, in cash as well as in kind, that I simply cannot count them. The Maulavis did create obstacles, and did exert all their power to stop the people from visiting me, so much so that religious edicts were secured from Mecca and about two hundred Maulavis issued edicts of unbelief against me, and they even publicized edicts urging people to kill me, but they were frustrated in all their efforts, and my Jama‘at spread in all the towns and villages of the Punjab, and took root everywhere in India. In fact, even some Europeans and Americans embraced Islam by joining this Jama‘at. So many people flocked to Qadian that at several places the road was rutted by the sheer number of yakkas. One must think about this prophecy, and reflect that had it not been from God, this storm of opposition and the people of Punjab and India who had turned against me and wanted to trample me under their feet, would certainly have succeeded in their arduous efforts and would surely have brought about my destruction. But they failed one and all. I do know that all the uproar and all the efforts that were made to destroy me, and the raging storm of opposition against me, was never meant by God to destroy me. All this happened so that the signs of God might appear, and the Lord of Power, Who cannot be subdued by anyone, may demonstrate His might in response to these people, and so that He may manifest the sign of His power. And so He did. Who would have known and who would have thought that I, who had been sown as a tiny seed—and was trampled under the feet of thousands, and storms and tempests blew against me, and opposition swept over me like a flood—would have survived these calamities? By the grace of God, this seed did not go to waste, and it sprouted and flourished and is today a giant tree under whose shade three hundred thousand human beings are resting. These are the works of God which are beyond the comprehension of man. God cannot be subdued by anyone. O people! Will you not, for once, be ashamed before God? Can you show anything like this from the life of an impostor?

You can see that despite your fierce opposition and your prayers against me, God has not forsaken me, and has defended me in every field. He protected me with His own hand from every stone that was hurled at me. Every arrow that was shot at me was returned by Him to the enemy. I was helpless, He gave me shelter. I was alone, He took me into His bosom. I was a mere nothing, He brought me renown and honour and caused hundreds of thousands to become devoted to me. He further says in the same holy revelation that when My help reaches you, and My words are fulfilled—when My servants turn to you and all kinds of financial help reaches you—then will it be said to the disbelievers, ‘Look, has everything not been fulfilled, concerning which you used to show such impatience?’ Today all those things have come to pass. There is no need to mention that God kept His promise and caused hundreds of thousands of people to turn towards me, and gave me such financial support as was beyond anyone’s imagination. O, my opponents! May God have mercy on you, and may He open your eyes. Just think, can all this be a result of human trickery? These promises had been made at the time when I wrote Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, and it was ridiculous even to speak of these things at that time, and my own worth was no more than that of a mustard seed. Is there anyone among you who can belie this statement? Who among you can prove that even a single one of these thousands of people was with me at that time? I was completely unknown when Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya was published. This book was printed in a press in Amritsar which was owned by a Christian clergyman named Rajab ‘Ali. I would travel all alone to Amritsar to check the proofs and come back alone, and no one would even ask me who I was, nor did anyone know me, nor did I enjoy any honourable position. Even the Aryas of Qadian are witness to these things, and one of them, Sharampat by name, still lives in Qadian. He would at times accompany me to Padre Rajab ‘Ali’s press in Amritsar where my book Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya was being printed. All the prophecies were transcribed by Rajab ‘Ali’s scribe, and he himself would read those prophecies, soliloquising and wondering all the while as to how it could be possible that a whole world would turn towards such an ordinary man. But because those words were from God, and not of my own making, they came true in their own good time and continue to do so. At one time people’s eyes regarded them with astonishment, and at another time they beheld their fulfilment.

Look, God has caused a whole world to turn towards me;
He found me a non-entity, and gave me universal fame.

There is none among the bounties of this world,
That He has not granted me through His grace.

His bounty has transformed a single drop into a river;
I was mere dust, He turned me into the Pleiades.

I was destitute, helpless, unknown, and without any ability;
No one even knew where Qadian was.

Now, you see, how the world has turned this way!
This very Qadian has become focus of every eminent person.

1 I am the lamp of Truth, in the Chamber of Holiness,
His hand is my protector against every fierce and cold wind. [Publisher]

2 [Guide us on the path—]the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings.—Al-Fatihah, 1:7 [Publisher]

3 And the wrongdoers will soon know to what place of return they shall return.—Al-Shu‘ara’, 26:228 [Publisher]

4 Al-Mujadalah, 58:22 [Publisher]

5 Allah shall shield thee, even though the people will not; and even if the people do not protect thee, Allah shall protect thee. [Publisher]

6 But if you do not [produce something like it]—and never shall you do it—then guard against the Fire, whose fuel is men and stones, which is prepared for the disbelievers.—Al-Baqarah, 2:25 [Publisher]