POSTSCRIPT - Response to Some Critics’ Objections

In these trying times, there have appeared some people even among Muslims who do not consider it necessary for their salvation to believe in the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and to follow in his footsteps. They deem it sufficient simply to believe in God as One without partner to enter Paradise. And there are some who—through utter fabrication and inequity, or out of their own misunderstanding—raise different kinds of unwarranted objections against me. Some of these appear to be intended to make people weary of this Movement. There are still others who, on account of their disposition, are incapable of understanding the subtleties of faith. They are not evil by nature, but they lack intellectual depth or breadth of knowledge to enable them to deduce the truth of any matter. I have, therefore, thought it appropriate to dispel the doubts of all of them in this postscript.

It was not incumbent upon me to pay attention to the removal of these doubts, because these absurd objections have been refuted in various places throughout many of my books. Nevertheless, in these days, there is a man named ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan, an Assistant Surgeon in the state of Patiala, who was a member of my Movement, but remained unaware and deprived of religious verities because of infrequent meetings and lack of association [with me]. He was afflicted with arrogance, gross ignorance, conceit, and ill-thinking. On account of his own ill fortune, he left my Community and has become an enemy of this Movement. In an attempt to put out the light of God, he is trying, as far as it lies in his power, to blow toxic breaths into his foolish writings to extinguish the candle which is lit by the hand of God. It was, therefore, considered appropriate to briefly answer some of his objections as are worthy of response to inform the public, because due to negligence and preoccupation with the world, it is rather difficult for ordinary people to find these answers from my books by searching them all.

Firstly, the issue for which ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan has seceded from our Jama‘at is worth noting. The issue is that it is his belief that, to attain salvation in the Hereafter, it is not necessary to believe in the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Rather, anyone who believes God to be One without partner shall attain salvation (even if he rejects the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Obviously, according to him, one can attain salvation even after abandoning Islam, and it is unjust to punish him for this apostasy. For instance, an individual named ‘Abdul-Ghafur recently became an apostate, and joined the Aryah Samaj and was renamed Dharam Pal and has been busy day and night in insulting and refuting the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Even he, according to ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan, shall go straight to Paradise, for the Aryas eschew idol worship.

However, every sensible person would realise that such a doctrine reduces the advent of Prophets, peace be upon them, to be an exercise in futility and fruitlessness. If one could still attain salvation through belief in God being One even while refuting and opposing the Prophets, peace be upon them, would this not perforce mean that the Prophets were sent to the world in vain1 — even without them the task could be managed—and there was no great need for their advent? Were it true that a mere affirmation of the Oneness of God was enough, then by implication it would amount to a kind of shirk [association of partners with God] to require the addition of the words

[Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah] to

[There is no God but Allah]. The fact of the matter is that for those who think along these lines, it is a veritable shirk to pronounce

[Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah]. According to them, perfect Tauhid [Oneness of God] means that no other name should be joined with Him. Also, in their estimation, to be outside of the religion of Islam does not preclude salvation. For example, should all Muslims, in a single day, reject the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and, like misguided philosophers, consider Tauhid alone to be sufficient [for salvation] and imagine that they need not follow the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and reject them, even then—according to these people—all of them, despite being apostates, will attain salvation and, without a doubt, enter Paradise.

It is not hidden from even a person with minimal intellect that since the days of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, up to now, all sects of Islam agree that, indeed, the essence of Islam is that just as a person deems God to be One without a partner and believes in His Being, Existence, and Oneness, so is it obligatory upon him to believe in the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Furthermore, he must believe in whatever is laid down and recorded in the Holy Quran. Indeed this is the point that has been brought home to the Muslims since the very beginning; it was on account of their firm belief in it that the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, sacrificed their lives. Many sincere Muslims who had been captured by the disbelievers in the time of the Holy Prophet(sa), were repeatedly told that they would be released if they renounced the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, but they did not renounce him and laid down their lives in this very path. These things are so well known in the chronicles of Islam that anyone who has even a minimum acquaintance with Islamic history would not disagree with this statement of mine.

It should also be borne in mind that the wars of Islam were defensive in nature; that is, they were initiated by the disbelievers. The disbelievers of Arabia would not stop their attacks lest the religion of Islam should spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula. The Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was enjoined to fight them in order to deliver the persecuted from the clutches of those pharaohs. But, there is no doubt that, even then, so much bloodshed could have been averted if the disbelievers had been told that it was not incumbent upon them to believe in the prophethood of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; that belief in the Holy Prophet(sa) was not really a prerequisite for salvation; they may believe, in their own way, in God to be One without a partner even if they remain opposed and adversarial and inimical to the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; and that there was no need to acknowledge him as their chief and leader. In particular, what is the reason that the Jews, who acknowledged God to be One without partner, were fought against, so much so, that at times thousands of Jews were captured and killed in a single day? This clearly shows that if Tauhid alone was enough for salvation, then to needlessly fight against the Jews, and kill them in thousands, was an entirely unwarranted and unlawful act. If so, why did the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, do it? Did the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, not understand the teachings of the Holy Quran?

A close study of all the Scriptures revealed by God Almighty shows that all the Prophets have admonished the same thing: believe in God Almighty to be One without partner and, along with it, also believe in God’s Messengers. This is why the gist of Islamic teaching was taught to all of the ummah in these two sentences:

[‘There is no God but Allah. Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’].

It should also be borne in mind that it is only the Prophets, peace be on them, who demonstrate the existence of God and teach people that He is the One without any partner. If these holy ones had not appeared in the world, it would have been an implausible and impossible matter to find the straight path with certainty. Though a person of pure nature and sound mind can, by reflecting on the earth and heaven and observing their perfect and firm order, conclude that there ought to be a Creator of this work full of wisdom; but, there is a great difference between the statement that ‘there ought to be [a Creator]’ and ‘He really does exist’.

It is only the Prophets, peace be on them, who established through thousands of Signs and miracles that the Being, who is Transcendent and comprises all power, does in fact exist. Indeed, the degree of cognition that the need of a Creator may be perceived by the observation of the universe is also a reflection of the rays of Prophethood. Had there been no Prophets, peace be upon them, no one would have achieved even this degree of cognition. This may be illustrated by an example. Though there is water below the surface of the earth, the presence and maintenance of that water depends upon the water that descends from the sky. When it so happens that there is no rainfall, the underground water dries up too, and when the rain descends from the sky, the underground water also begins to well up. In the same way, with the advent of Prophets, peace be upon them, the faculties of reason become sharp, and reason, which is subterranean water, advances in its status. And when there is a long hiatus in the appearance of Prophets, the subterranean water of reason begins to decline and becomes polluted, and the world is steeped in idolatry, paganism, and every kind of vice. Thus, just as the eye possesses the faculty of sight, yet it needs the light of the sun to be able to see; in the same way, human reason, which resembles the eye, is always in need of the Sun of Prophethood. And as soon as that Sun disappears, reason immediately develops opacity and darkness. Can you see with the eye alone? Certainly not. Similarly, you cannot see anything without the light of Prophethood.

As the recognition of God has depended upon the recognition of a Prophet since antiquity and the inception of the world, it is not plausible and possible to find Tauhid without the agency of a Prophet. A Prophet is the mirror to behold the countenance of God; the face of God is revealed through this very mirror. When God Almighty desires to reveal Himself to the world, He raises a Prophet, who is a manifestation of His powers in the world, and sends down His revelation upon him and manifests His powers of Rububiyyat [Providence] through him. It is then that the world comes to know that God does exist. It is a part of Tauhid [belief in the Oneness of God] to believe in those individuals who have been appointed under the eternal law of God as the essential means for the recognition of God. Without this belief, Tauhid cannot become perfect; for, it is not possible to achieve absolute Tauhid, which is created from the fountain of perfect certainty, in the absence of heavenly Signs and wonders manifesting the Omnipotence of God, which are displayed by the Prophets and which lead to full cognition. They alone are the group that points to God and through whom God—whose Being is imperceptible beyond imperceptible and hidden beyond hidden and concealed beyond concealed—reveals Himself. That Hidden Treasure, whose name is God, has always been known through the Prophets. To realize without the agency of a Prophet that Tauhid—which is estimated as true Tauhid by God Himself and demonstrated in reality perfectly in all its glorious colours—is as much opposed to reason as it is contrary to the experience of the seekers after God.

The misconception that some ignorant people entertain that Tauhid is enough for salvation, and it is not necessary to believe in a Prophet—as if they seek to separate the soul from the body—is entirely due to the blindness of their hearts. It is obvious that whereas the true belief in the Oneness of God can only be established through a Prophet, and without him it is unimaginable and unattainable, it cannot possibly be attained without believing in a Prophet. If a Prophet, who is the root of Tauhid, is excluded from belief, how can Tauhid be sustained? A Prophet alone is the cause of Tauhid and is the creator of Tauhid and the father of Tauhid and the fountainhead of Tauhid and the perfect manifestation of Tauhid. It is through him that the hidden countenance of God is manifested, and it is realized that God exists.

The fact of the matter is that on the one hand, the Being of the One True God of Glory is absolutely Independent and Self-Sufficient; He is not in need of anyone becoming guided or going astray. On the other, by His nature He desires that He should be known and people should benefit from His eternal mercy. Therefore, of all the hearts of earth’s dwellers, He manifests Himself to the heart which is charged to the highest degree with the natural ability of attaining love and nearness to the Holy One, and is endowed by nature with utmost sympathy for mankind; and God displays the light of His Being and eternal attributes to it. In this manner, the person who possesses such a special and superior nature, who is called a Prophet in other words, is drawn towards Him. Then the Prophet, because he is highly charged with sympathy for mankind, desires—through his spiritual inclination, supplication, and humility—that others too should know the God who has appeared to him so that they may attain salvation. He sincerely offers the sacrifice of his own self before God and, out of the desire that people may be revived, accepts many deaths for himself and puts himself through great hardships, as is indicated in the verse:

Thereupon, though God is Self-Sufficient and does not stand in need of His creatures, on account of the constant grief, sorrow, torment, and anguish; humility and humbleness; and extreme sincerity and purity of such a person, God manifests His countenance upon the eager hearts of His creatures through His Signs. As a result of the commotion caused by the earnest supplications of such a person, which create a tumultuous uproar in heaven, divine Signs descend upon the earth like rain and extraordinary phenomena are shown to the people of the world whereby the world gets to witness that God exists and the countenance of God is witnessed. Had that Holy Prophet not turned to God with so much supplication, entreaty, and earnestness, and had he not sacrificed his self and had he not accepted a hundred deaths at every step, the countenance of the Divine would have never been revealed upon the world, because God Almighty is absolutely independent owing to His Self-Sufficiency, as He says:

Meaning that, God, as such, is Independent of the entire world; and, It is Our law indeed for those who strive after Us and seek Us with the utmost effort, that We do show them Our way.

So the Prophets are first and foremost in offering sacrifices in the cause of Allah. Everyone strives for himself, but Prophets, peace be upon them, strive for others. People sleep, yet they stay awake for them; people laugh, yet they weep for them. They willingly bear every hardship for the deliverance of mankind. They do all this so that God Almighty may manifest Himself so that it should be proved to people that God exists, and His existence and His Tauhid may be clearly perceived by the eager hearts so that they might attain salvation. Thus, they die in their sympathy for their mortal enemies. And when their agony reaches its peak and heaven is filled with their tormented supplications (which are for the sake of the deliverance of mankind), then God Almighty exhibits the splendour of His countenance and manifests His Existence and His Tauhid to mankind through mighty Signs. Thus, there is no doubt that the treasure of Tauhid and godliness is attained by the world only from the mantle of the Prophet; without him, it can never be attained.

The highest example in this regard was set by our Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who uplifted a people out of the filth in which they were steeped and transported them to a garden. He served spiritual foods and sweet drinks par excellence to those who were languishing on the verge of death out of spiritual hunger and thirst. He transformed them from savages into human beings, and then from ordinary human beings to civilized people, and then from civilized human beings into perfect human beings, and exhibited so many Signs for them, that he manifested God to them, and brought about such a transformation in them that they began to shake hands with angels. None of the other Prophets were able to demonstrate such an effect in their ummah, for their companions remained imperfect.

Thus, I always wonder what a sublime Prophet this Arabian Prophet is, whose name is Muhammad (thousands upon thousands of blessings and peace be upon him). One cannot fathom the limit of his sublime status and it is not given to man to estimate the extent of his spiritual effectiveness.5 It is a pity that his rank has not been recognized as it should have been. He is the champion who restored to the world the Tauhid which had disappeared from the world; he loved God to the extreme and his soul melted to the extreme out of sympathy for mankind. Therefore, God, who knew the secret of his heart, exalted him above all the Prophets and all the first ones and the last ones and bestowed upon him all that he desired within his lifetime. It is he who is the fountainhead of every grace, and anyone who claims any superiority without acknowledging his grace is not a human being but is the spawn of Satan, because he (the Holy Prophet(sa)) has been bestowed the key to every exaltation and he has been given the treasure house of every understanding. He who does not receive through him is deprived forever. I am nothing and possess nothing. What am I and what do I amount to? I would be ungrateful if I were not to confess that I have found true Tauhid through this very Prophet. I have attained the recognition of the Living God through this same perfect Prophet and through his light. The honour of converse and communion with God, through which I behold His countenance, has been bestowed upon me through the same Great Prophet. The rays from this Sun of Guidance fall upon me like sunshine and I continue to be illumined only so long as I am facing towards it.

Those who adhere to the notion that one who does not believe in the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, or turns apostate but remains firm in Tauhid and considers God to be One without any partner will attain salvation and shall suffer no harm on account of his disbelief or apostasy—as is the belief of ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan—are indeed ignorant of the true meaning of Tauhid. I have pointed out a number of times that even Satan as such considers God to be One without partner. But mere belief that He is One is not enough for salvation; rather, salvation depends on two things:

This is true Tauhid that can never be achieved except through following our lord and master, Hadrat Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Why can it not be achieved? The answer is that the Being of God is unseen beyond the unseen, concealed beyond concealed, and extremely hidden. The reasoning faculties of humans cannot discover Him on their own. No rational argument can constitute an incontrovertible proof of His existence, because the reach and access of reason is limited to the extent of real- izing the need for a Creator by reflecting upon the created beings in the universe. However, to acknowledge the need for His existence is one thing, but it is quite another to arrive at the stage of ‘ainul-yaqin [certainty by sight] that God, the need for whose existence has been acknowledged, does indeed exist. However, since the methodology of reason is imperfect, incomplete, and doubtful, not every philosopher can recognise God through reason alone. Rather, most people who seek to discover God solely through reason become atheists in the end. Their reflections on the created things in the earth and heavens cannot benefit them at all. They ridicule and mock God’s elect, contending: ‘There are thousands of things throughout the world whose existence we do not find useful, and our research in them does not indicate any such creativity that would prove the existence of a Creator; on the contrary, the existence of these things is entirely pointless and useless.’ It is a pity that such ignorant people do not understand that lack of knowledge about something does not entail its non-existence. There are hundreds of thousands of such people in the world today who consider themselves superior intellectuals and philosophers, yet they vehemently deny the existence of God Almighty. It is obvious that if they had found any strong rational argument, they would not have denied the existence of God Almighty. Nor would they have repudiated the existence of God Almighty with extreme shamelessness, disdain, and ridicule, had they been proven wrong by an irrefutable rational argument for the existence of the Glorious Maker. So, no one can be delivered from the storm of doubts while sailing in the ark of the philosophers; rather, he would certainly drown and will forever be deprived of the elixir of pure Tauhid.

Now ponder how false and foul the notion is that Tauhid can be achieved, and salvation can be attained, without the medium of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. O ignorant ones! How can there be faith in His Tauhid until there is perfect certainty in the existence of God? Know for sure, therefore, that certainty of Tauhid can be achieved only through a Prophet, as our Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, convinced the atheists and pagans of Arabia of the existence of God Almighty by showing them thousands of heavenly Signs. Even to this day, true and perfect followers of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, present those Signs to the atheists. What is really true is that, until a person observes the living powers of the Living God, Satan does not depart from his heart, nor does true Tauhid enter into it, nor can he be convinced with certainty of the existence of God. This pure and perfect Tauhid is attained only through the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

Just as the mighty Signs manifested through a Prophet testify to the existence and Oneness of God Almighty, so do they establish His love and majesty in the hearts of people through a perfect and consummate demonstration of the divine attributes of grace and majesty. When, on account of these Signs—rooted as they are in mighty and overpowering prophecies—one comes to believe in the existence and Oneness of God Almighty and in His attributes of grace and majesty, one inevitably comes to believe in God Almighty to be One without partner in His Being and all attributes. One loses himself in His love when one considers His excellences and His spiritual beauty and grace. At the same time, he fears Him when he considers His grandeur, majesty, and self-sufficiency. In this way, he is drawn towards God Almighty with each passing day until, after severing all baser relationships, he is reduced to just the spirit. The entire expanse of his bosom is filled with the love of the Divine; through witnessing the Being of God, a death descends upon his person, and he receives a new life after this death. It is in that state of annihilation that one is said to have found Tauhid. Thus, as I have pointed out before, that perfect Tauhid which is the fountainhead of salvation cannot be found at all except by following the perfect Prophet.

It is evident from this discussion that to believe in God’s Messenger is a prerequisite of believing in Tauhid. Their mutual relationship is such that they are inseparable from one another. A person who claims to believe in Tauhid without following the Messenger, possesses only a dry bone which has no marrow and he is holding an extinguished lamp which has no light. If there is anyone who thinks that he who believes God to be One without partner yet does not believe in the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, will achieve salvation, know for certain that he has a leprous heart and is blind and has no knowledge whatsoever of what Tauhid is. Satan is better than him in the profession of such Tauhid inasmuch as Satan, though sinful and rebellious, is yet certain that God does exist,6but such a person does not even enjoy certainty about the existence of God.

In short, those who hold the belief that a mere affirmation of Tauhid without believing in the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, will suffice for anyone’s salvation, are covert apostates. They are, indeed, enemies of Islam and they carve out for themselves a path to apostasy. It does not behove any pious person to support such people. It is a pity that our opponents, despite styling themselves as maulawis and men of learning, are pleased by such actions of these people. The fact of the matter is that these poor souls are always in search of some situation to arise that will humiliate and disgrace me, but due to their misfortune they ultimately fail in this. At first they composed an edict of kufr [disbelief ] against me. About 200 maulawis put their seals of affirmation on it and I was declared a kafir [disbeliever]. These edicts were so harsh that some of the clerics even declared that my followers and I are worse than the Jews and Christians in our kufr. In general, edicts were issued stating, ‘These people should not be buried in Muslim graveyards, nor greeted with the greeting of peace, nor should a handshake be extended to them.’ Also, they declared that since we are kafirs, it is not permissible to offer prayers behind us. Rather, we should not be allowed to enter the mosques because we are disbelievers; mosques become defiled by us and if we do enter, the mosque ought to be thoroughly washed. Moreover, it is permissible to steal our goods, and we deserve execution because we deny the coming of a murderous Mahdi and repudiate jihad [with the sword].

But what damage have they caused us despite these edicts? When this edict was published in the country, not even ten persons had entered into a covenant of allegiance with me, but today, by the grace of God, the number exceeds 300,000; seekers after truth are joining this Jama‘at with great vigour. Is this how God helps the ‘disbelievers’ when they confront the ‘believers’?

Moreover, look at their lie that they accuse me of declaring 200,000,000 Muslims who recite the Kalimah [the declaration of faith in Islam] as ‘kafirs’, whereas we did not take any initiative in this matter. Their scholars issued edicts of apostasy against us on their own and caused a furore in the Punjab and India that these people [Ahmadis] are kafirs. Because of these edicts, the ignorant people began to hate us to such an extent that they started considering it sinful to even address us politely.

Can any maulawi, or any other opponent, or any custodian of a shrine prove that we were the first to issue edicts of apostasy against them? Let them produce any document, announcement, or treatise published by me prior to their own edicts of apostasy against us, in which I had pronounced my Muslim antagonists to be kafirs; otherwise, they should consider how dishonest it is that they are the ones who declared us to be kafirs, yet accuse us of denouncing all Muslims as kafirs. How hurtful is such dishonesty, falsehood, and obfuscation of the facts. Any reasonable person can understand that now that they have declared us to be kafirs through their edicts—and are themselves agreed that if any person declares a Muslim to be a kafir, then this [false charge of ] kufr reverts to him—was it not our right to call them kafir in accordance with their own admission?

Therefore, for a few days they exulted in the false pleasure that we are disbelievers. When their exultations died down and God spread our Jama‘at across the entire country, they began seeking new plots against us.

Then, in those very days, someone killed Pundit Lekh Ram of the Aryah Samaj within the stipulated time frame in accord with my prophecy. Yet alas! It never occurred to any maulawi that a prophecy had been fulfilled and a Sign in favour of Islam had been manifested. On the contrary, some of them repeatedly reminded the Government to apprehend the one who made the prophecy, yet even in this desire they remained unsuccessful and frustrated.

A short while thereafter, Dr. Martyn Clark, the Christians missionary, filed a case of murder against me. What an occasion it was! They were so jubilant that their exultation knew no bounds. Some of them prostrated in mosques beseeching God that I may get capital punishment etc. in this trial. They cried so long for this desire in their prostrations as to rub [as it were] their noses off their faces. But in the end, in accordance with the promise of God Almighty that had been announced beforehand, I was acquitted with much honour and I was permitted to sue those Christians [for defamation] if I wished. In short, maulawis hostile to me and their sycophants remained frustrated even in this desire.

Then, after a short while, a maulawi named Karam Din filed criminal charges against me in Gurdaspur and the maulawis opposed to me appeared as witnesses in his support in the court of Atma Ram, the Extra Assistant Commissioner, and they spared no effort [to implicate me]. They had high hopes that they would succeed this time. To give them false pleasure, it so happened that Atma Ram, lacking as he was in discernment, did not thoroughly consider this case and resolved to sentence me to imprisonment. Thereupon God revealed to me that He would chastise Atma Ram with the death of his children. I communicated this vision to the members of my Jama‘at. Then it so happened that within the span of 20 or 25 days two of his sons died. In the end, Atma Ram could not sentence me to imprisonment despite the fact that he laid the foundation for imprisonment in writing his judgment, but God held him back from that design, yet he imposed a fine of 700 rupees. Subsequently, I was honourably acquitted by the court of the Divisional Judge.7 Karam Din’s sentence was maintained and my fine was remitted but Atma Ram’s two sons did not come back.

In short, the pleasure my opposing maulawis had wished to get in Karam Din’s trial remained unfulfilled and, in accordance with the divine prophecy which had already been published in my book Mawahibur-Rahman [‘Bounties of the Gracious God’], I was acquitted, my fine was remitted, and the issuing officer’s [i.e. Atma Ram’s] order was set aside. Moreover, he was reprimanded that the order was uncalled for. However, Karam Din, as I had already published in Mawahibur-Rahman, was punished and the judgment of the court put a seal of affirmation on his being a liar. All our opposing maulawis failed in the realization of their designs.

It is a pity that despite such repeated discomfitures my opponents did not realize at any time that there is a Hidden Hand with this person that protects him from every one of their attacks. If it had not been for their misfortune, they would have recognised the miraculous way in which God Almighty protected me from the harm they intended to inflict upon me. Not only did He save me but also informed me beforehand that He would save me. Moreover, on every occasion and in every litigation, God Almighty continued to inform me that He would save me. Thus, in keeping with His promise, He continued to protect me.8 Such are the Signs of God’s might! On the one hand, the whole world has come together to destroy me, and on the other is the Mighty God, who saves me from every one of their attacks.

Then my opponents came upon another occasion to rejoice when Charagh Din of Jammu, an erstwhile follower of mine, became an apostate. After his apostasy, in my book Dafi‘ul-Bala’i wa Mi‘yaru Ahlil-Istifa’ [‘Defence Against the Plague and a Criterion for the Elect of God’], I published a revelation which I received from God Almighty that, having been seized by divine wrath, he would be killed. At that, many a cleric allied with him out of sheer spite for me. He wrote a book that he named Minaratul-Masih [‘The Minaret of the Messiah’] in which he called me the Dajjal [Antichrist]. Also, he published his revelation that he was a Messenger from amongst the Messengers of God and that Hadrat ‘Isa [ Jesus] had given him a staff so that he might kill the Dajjal (referring to myself ) with that staff. In fact, nearly half the book is devoted to the subject that I am the Dajjal and that I will be destroyed at his hands. He further professed that this very news had been communicated to him by God as well as by ‘Isa. Nevertheless, people may have heard what happened in the end. This man attested to the truth of my prophecy with his own death, along with the death of both his sons, by the plague on 4 April 1906 in a state of utter hopelessness.

Only a few days before his death, he had drawn up a statement of mubahalah [prayer duel] in which, after mentioning his and my name, he prayed to God Almighty that of the two of us he who is false should be destroyed. The might of God! That paper was still with the copywriter who was occupied in writing its lithograph copy when Charagh Din departed forever—along with both his sons—that very same day.

Such are my opposing claimants of revelation who denounce me as the Dajjal. No one ponders over their fate. In short, the coterie of clerics failed to realize their heart’s desire even after allying themselves with Charagh Din, the apostate.

Then after this, yet another ‘Charagh Din’ appeared; namely, Doctor ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan. This man, too, calls me a dajjal and like the earlier Charagh Din counts himself among the Messengers. But it is not known whether or not he too has been given—like the first Charagh Din—a staff by Hadrat ‘Isa(as) with which to kill me.10 However, in his arrogance and conceit, he has greatly surpassed the earlier Charagh Din; he is better versed than him in abuse and excels him in slander.

At the apostasy of this blazing handful of dust, the clerics were overjoyed as if they had chanced upon a bounteous treasure. But they need not be so jubilant; instead, they ought to recall [the plight of ] the first Charagh Din. God, who has always denied them such pleasures still exists, and just as His prophecy foretold the end of the first Charagh Din, so also has the same Omniscient and All-Knowing God foretold the end of the second Charagh Din; that is, ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan. Hence, there is no reason to rejoice; be patient and wait for the final outcome. Besides, it is peculiar why they exult so much over the apostasy of an ignorant apostate! It is God’s grace upon me that if a person renounces on account of his own misfortune, thousands come to replace him.

What is more, can it be concluded from the apostasy of an apostate that the faith he forsook is not true? Are our opposing clerics unaware that many a wretch turned apostate in the time of Hadrat Musa, many defected from Hadrat ‘Isa, and, similarly, many wretched and unfortunate persons turned apostate in the days of our Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him? Thus, Musailimah Kadhdhab too was one of the apostates. Considering all this, only the foolish would dare gloat over the apostasy of ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan and consider it an argument against the truthful Movement. Of course, such people become the cause of a false happiness that lasts a few days but that joy soon dissipates.

This is the same ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan who had earlier mentioned me by name in his book and had written that a person did not believe in my claim to be the Promised Messiah. It was then shown to him [‘Abdul-Hakim Khan] in a dream that this denier would die of the plague which, in fact, he did. But now he himself, having turned apostate, insolently vilifies and abuses me and makes false accusations. Has the time of the plague expired now?

I have already explained that the entity called Tauhid, which is the basis of salvation and which is something distinct from satanic Tauhid, cannot be attained except through belief in, and submission to, the Prophet of the time; that is, the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Without submission to the Prophet, barren Tauhid is nothing. Rather, it is like a corpse without the soul. What remains to be explained is whether, in conformity with my statement, the Holy Quran has made submission to the Holy Prophet(sa) an essential condition for human salvation or if the Quranic teaching is in contravention of it. In order to make this truth understood, I cite the following verses:

It is an established and manifestly evident truth that any violation of divine injunctions is a sin and cause for consignment to Hell. Here, just as God enjoins obedience to Himself, so does He enjoin obedience to the Prophet. Therefore, whosoever turns his back on His commandment is guilty of committing a crime the punishment for which is Hell.

(Translation): O ye who believe, do not say anything beyond the commandment of God and His Messenger—in other words, scrupulously follow the commandments of God and His Messenger—and fear God lest you disobey Him, for He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

It is quite clear that anyone who exclusively relies upon his own barren Tauhid (which, in fact, is not even Tauhid), considers himself absolved from obeying the Messenger, and severs his ties with the Messenger, detaches himself completely from him, and insolently oversteps him; he is disobedient to God and bereft of salvation.

(Translation): Meaning that, whosoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His Messengers, and Gabriel and Michael, then surely, Allah Himself is an enemy to such disbelievers.

Now it is evident that one who believes in barren Tauhid, but rejects the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is, in fact, the enemy of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Thus, in accordance with the purport of this verse, Allah is his enemy and in His sight, he is a disbeliever. How can he then hope to merit salvation?

(Translation): O ye believers, believe in Allah and His Messenger, and in the Book which has been revealed to His Messenger—i.e. the Holy Quran—and in the Book revealed before it; namely, the Torah etc. And whoso disbelieves in Allah and His angels and His Messengers and the Last Day has strayed far away from the truth; that is to say, remained deprived of salvation.

(Translation): It is not permissible for a believing man or a believing woman to have the right, when God and His Messenger issue a command, to reject that command. Whoever disobeys God and His Messenger has strayed far from God, the True; namely, remained deprived of salvation, for salvation is for those who are the people of God, the True.

(Translation): Whoso disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits, God shall make him enter Hell; he shall abide in Hell forever, and a humiliating punishment shall descend upon him.

Now consider! What can be a greater warning with regard to severing one’s ties with the Messenger than the God of Honour and Glory declaring that whosoever disobeys the Messenger is promised eternal Hell? Yet Miyan ‘Abdul-Hakim says: ‘One who rejects and disobeys the Holy Prophet, if he be established upon Tauhid, shall, without doubt, go to Paradise.’ I know not what kind of Tauhid has permeated his being that can lead to Paradise despite disobeying and opposing the Holy Prophet, who is the fountainhead of Tauhid

[The curse of God be on the liars.]

(Translation): We have sent every Prophet so that he should be obeyed by the command of Allah.

It is obvious that, in keeping with the purport of this verse, it is obligatory to obey the Prophet. Hence, how can a person, who is not obedient to the Prophet(sa), attain salvation?

(Translation): Say to them, ‘If you love Allah, then come follow me so that Allah may love you too and forgive your sins. And Allah is Most Forgiving and Merciful.’ Say to them, ‘Obey Allah and His Messenger’, but if they turn away from obedience, then [remember that] Allah does not befriend disbelievers.

It is patently clear from these verses that forgiveness of sins and love of God Almighty are dependent upon the belief in the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and those who do not believe in him are disbelievers.

(Translation): Those people who reject Allah and the Messenger and seek to create a divide between God and His Messengers, saying, ‘We believe in some and not in others’—in other words, belief in God alone or belief in some Messengers is enough and it is unnecessary to believe in the Messenger(sa) or all the Prophets in conjunction with the belief in God—and they seek to discard divine guidance, adopting an incomplete religion instead; such indeed are confirmed disbelievers, and We have prepared a humiliating punishment for the disbelievers. And those who believe in God and the Messenger, and do not create discord between God and His Messengers—that is, do not adopt this divisive belief in God alone and not His Messengers, nor do they like the schism of believing in some of the Prophets while rejecting others—God shall give such people their reward.

Now where is Miyan ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan, the apostate, who was estranged from me on account of such writing of mine? It would be better for him to ponder with an open mind how God has linked belief in His existence to belief in His Messengers. The secret underlying this is that man has been invested with the capacity of believing in Tauhid in the way that fire is latent within a stone. The person of a Messenger is like a flint who strikes the stone by focussing his attention upon it and brings out that latent fire in the stone. It is not possible, therefore, that without the flint of a Prophet, the spark of Tauhid may be ignited in any heart. It is only a Prophet who brings down Tauhid upon the earth and it is achieved only through him. God is Hidden and He displays His countenance through a Messenger.20

Translation: O mankind, the Messenger has come to you with the truth; therefore, believe in that Messenger. Your betterment lies in it, but if you choose to disbelieve, then Allah is not in need of you. The heavens and the earth all belong to Him and all are subservient to Him; and Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.

Translation: When a host of disbelievers will be cast into Hell, its guardian angels will ask them, ‘Did no Warner come to you?’ They will reply, ‘Yes, he did come, but we rejected him, and we said that God had sent nothing.’

Now take note that these verses clearly prove that the dwellers of Hell would be cast into it because they did not accept the Prophets of the age.

Translation: It is nothing except that the believers are those who believed in Allah and the Messenger and thereafter remained steadfast in their belief and did not fall into doubts and suspicions.

Note how Allah the Almighty has specified in these verses that, in His sight, they alone are believers who believe not just in God alone, but believe both in God and the Messenger. How then can there be salvation without belief in the Messenger and of what use is Tauhid without belief in the Messenger?

Translation: The sole reason why the alms of the unbelievers are not accepted is that they deny God and His Messenger.

Now note how these verses make it quite clear that the deeds of those who do not believe in the Messenger go to waste; God does not accept them. How can there be salvation if deeds come to naught?25

Translation: As for those who believed and performed righteous deeds and believed in that discourse which has been revealed upon Hadrat Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—and that indeed is the truth—God will forgive the sins of such people and will set their hearts aright.

Note how much God Almighty expresses His pleasure on account of their believing in the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that He forgives their sins and takes upon Himself the charge of purifying them. Then how unfortunate is the one who says that he has no need of believing in the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; vanity and arrogance having made him think of himself as something special? How true are Sa‘di’s words:

O Sa‘di! It is impossible to tread the path of purity except by following the Chosen One [the Holy Prophet(sa)].

Love for that sovereign Prophet(sa) takes one towards Paradise, The fragrance of which is denied to those who are estranged from him.

Translation: Are they not aware that the one who opposes Allah and the Messenger shall be cast by God into Hell wherein he shall abide forever? This is a great humiliation.

Now let Mr. ‘Abdul-Hakim state his opinion. Will he submit to this verdict of God, or will he be audacious enough to confront the warning contained in these verses?

Translation: And remember the time when God took a covenant from all the Messengers: ‘When I shall give you the Book and Wisdom and then, in the Latter Days, shall come My Messenger who will testify to the truth of your Books, you will have to believe in him and will have to help him.’ Then He asked, ‘Have you agreed and become firm on this covenant?’ They said, ‘We have agreed.’ At this, Allah said, ‘Now be witness to this covenant of yours and along with you, I too am a witness over it.’

Now it is obvious that the Prophets died at their appointed times. This injunction that ‘when that particular Messenger appears they must believe in him, otherwise they will be held accountable,’ applies to the followers of all Prophets. Now Miyan ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan— who possesses imperfect knowledge, and is a danger to faith—should explain: Were salvation possible through belief in barren Tauhid alone, why would God hold such people accountable who are convinced of Tauhid, but do not believe in the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him?

In addition to this, in the Torah, Deuteronomy chapter 18, there is the verse that whosoever will not believe in the Prophet of the Latter Days, ‘I will require it of him.’ Hence, were Tauhid alone sufficient, then why would this demand be made? Will God forget His Word?

I have, for brevity, quoted only these verses from the Holy Quran; otherwise, the Holy Quran is full of verses to this effect. In fact, the Holy Quran opens with verses of this kind as He says:

Meaning that, O our God! Guide us along the path of the Messengers and the Prophets who have been the recipients of Your favours and bounties.

It is evident from this verse, which is recited in the prescribed Prayer five times a day, that the spiritual reward from God—namely, cognition and love of God—is received only through Messengers and Prophets and not through any other means.

I do not know whether or not Miyan ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan offers his prescribed Prayer. Had he done so, it would have been impossible for him to remain unaware of the meaning of these verses. Nevertheless, since belief in Tauhid alone is sufficient according to him, what is the need for prescribed Prayer! Prescribed Prayer is just a form of worship taught by the Messenger. One who is not concerned with following the Messenger would have no concern for the prescribed Prayer. According to such a person, even the muwahhid [believers in the Oneness of God] Brahmus have attained salvation. Do they offer the prescribed Prayer? In his opinion, a person, after renouncing Islam, can still attain salvation because of his belief in barren Tauhid,31 and so can anyone from among the Jews, Christians, and Aryas who is a muwahhid even if he reject Islam and be antagonistic to the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who must be of the view that the prescribed Prayer earns no reward and fasting is futile. However, for a believer, just the above verse is enough to show that Prophets and Messengers alone are the owners of spiritual wealth and it is through following them that everyone partakes of his share.

Translation: This Book, which is free from doubt and confusion, is guidance for the righteous. And the righteous are those who believe in God (whose Being is hidden beyond hidden), establish Prayer, spend a portion of their wealth in the cause of God, believe in the Book that has been revealed to you and also in those Books that were revealed before you—they alone enjoy guidance from God and they alone will attain salvation.

Now wake up and open your eyes, O Miyan ‘Abdul-Hakim, the apostate! For in these verses God Almighty has delivered His verdict and restricted salvation only to the consideration that people should believe in His Books and worship Him. There can be no contradiction or discrepancy in the Word of God. Allah the Glorious has made obedience to the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, an essential precondition for salvation. Therefore, it would be dishonest to deviate from these verses of decisive import and run towards the mutashabihat [verses that are susceptible to different interpretations]. Only those whose hearts are afflicted by hypocrisy hasten towards the mutashabihat.

The point of wisdom concealed in these verses is that God Almighty has said in the verses above:

Meaning that, this is the Book that has come into existence out of the knowledge of God Almighty. Since His knowledge is free from ignorance and forgetfulness, this Book is free from every doubt and confusion. And since the knowledge of God possesses the perfect power to make human beings perfect, therefore, this Book is perfect guidance for the righteous.34 It elevates them to the station that is the highest pinnacle for the progress of human potential. God says in these verses that the righteous are those who believe in the Unseen God, establish Prayer, spend a portion of their possessions in the way of God, and believe in the Holy Quran and the earlier Scriptures. They alone stand firmly rooted in right guidance and they alone shall attain salvation. These verses show that salvation cannot be attained without belief in the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and without obedience to his instructions regarding Prayer, etc. False are those who forsake the Noble Prophet and seek salvation through mere barren Tauhid.

However, the question remains to be solved that, if these people are so virtuous as to believe in the Unseen God, observe Prayer, keep the Fast, spend a portion of their wealth in the cause of God, and believe in the Holy Quran and the earlier Scriptures too, then what does it mean when He says 35

[‘guidance for the righteous’] meaning that, this Book will give guidance to them; for, such people, by implementing all these commandments, are already rightly guided? To help attain what has already been attained appears to be a useless exercise.

The answer to this is that such people, despite their faith and virtuous deeds, stand in need of perfect steadfastness and perfect progress to which God alone can guide; human effort has nothing to do with it. Steadfastness means that the heart is suffused with such faith as makes it impossible to stumble in the face of any trial, and virtuous deeds are performed in such a manner and in such a fashion that pleasure arises in them and labour and hardship is not felt. It becomes impossible to survive without them, as if those deeds become the nourishment for their souls—the bread for it and sweet water for it—such that they could not stay alive without them. That is to say, such circumstances come into existence with regard to steadfastness that cannot be created by a person merely through his own effort; rather, just as the soul is a gift of God, so is such extraordinary steadfastness created by God.

Progress means that, in addition to the maximum extent to which human effort regarding worship and faith can reach, other circumstances are created which can come into existence only by the hand of God. It is obvious that, in the matter of belief in God Almighty, human effort and reason can help no further than to believe in the Unseen God, whose face has not been seen. This is why the Shariah [Islamic Law]—which does not require of man beyond what lies in his power—does not compel man to believe, through his own effort, beyond the belief in the Unseen. Of course in this very verse 36

[‘guidance for the righteous’] the righteous are promised that, after they become firmly grounded in the belief of the Unseen and do on their own what they possibly can, then God shall move them forward from the condition of belief to that of enlightenment, and shall cause their faith to acquire a new colour. It is a Sign of the truth of the Holy Quran that it does not want those who approach it to remain at the level of belief and practice which they attain through their own effort. Were it so, how would one know that God actually exists? Rather, He ordains a reward on human efforts from Himself—a reward that contains divine splendour and divine power. For instance, as I stated, what more can man do about his belief in God than to believe in the Unseen God, whose existence is attested by each particle of this universe? But man does not have the power on his own—through his own effort and his own exertion—to succeed in attaining knowledge of the radiant light of God, graduating from a state of belief to the state of enlightenment, and generating within himself the state of witnessing and beholding [God].

In the same way, regarding Prayer, what can human effort and exertion possibly do except be clean and pure as best as possible and then stand in Prayer after repelling the perils [to concentration] and trying not to allow the Prayer to stay in a derelict condition, and, with genuine fervour, offering all its components—namely, praise and glorification of God Almighty, repentance, seeking forgiveness, supplication, and invoking blessings upon the Holy Prophet? But it is simply not within human power that an extraordinary personal love, personal reverence, fervour, and eagerness imbued with total effacement and attentiveness, that is free from any distraction, should develop in his prescribed Prayer as if he is beholding God. And it is evident that unless and until this state develops in the prescribed Prayer, it is not free from deficiency. For this very reason, God Almighty said that the righteous are those who make their prescribed Prayer upright, for only that is made upright which has a propensity to fall. Hence, the verse 37

[observe Prayer] means that, as far as they possibly can, they strive to make the Prayer stand upright and employ extra effort and hard work.

The fact, however, remains that human efforts are futile without the grace of God Almighty. This is why the Benevolent and Merciful God says

meaning that: ‘As far as possible, they should strive to establish Prayer with sincerity. After this if they have belief in My Word, I shall not relegate them merely to their own effort and labour. On the contrary, I shall Myself assist them. Then, their Prayer shall assume a different complexion and an exquisite state will develop in them which they never thought or imagined.’ They would be blessed with this grace only because they believed in the ‘Word of God’, the Holy Quran, and, as far as it lay within their power, they remained engaged in acting in accordance with its injunctions. In short, the additional guidance that has been promised regarding Prayer is that one should be able to attain a state of natural fervour, personal love, reverence, and full concentration to the extent that the human eye opens to behold his True Beloved, and an extraordinary state to witness the beauty of God be provided which is totally suffused with spiritual delights and makes the heart averse to mundane vices and the variety of sins of speech, conduct, sight, and sound. In this context God says:

Similarly, the utmost that a person can do on his own effort, in terms of financial sacrifice, is to offer a portion of his favourite possessions for the sake of Allah, as God Almighty says in the same chapter [of the Holy Quran]:

It is obvious that it is no great accomplishment if man performs worship vis-à-vis his wealth only to the extent of giving something from his cherished and favoured possessions in the path of God. Rather, greatness lies in totally surrendering everything, so that whatever he has no longer belongs to him but belongs to God, so much so that he is prepared to lay down his life in the path of God because that, too, is included in

[‘out of what We have provided for them’]. God Almighty does not mean just dirham and dinar by His Word

[‘out of what We have provided’]. Rather, this term has a far wider connotation which is inclusive of every bounty that has been bestowed upon man.

In short, by using the words 41

[‘guidance for the righteous’], God Almighty implies that with every kind of bounty which has been bestowed upon man—for example his life, health, knowledge, strength, wealth, etc.—one can demonstrate one’s sincerity through his own effort only to the extent of 42

[‘and spend out of what We have provided for them’]. Human faculties are incapable of going beyond that. In the context of the verse

,God promises that even in such forms of worship, He shall help those who demonstrate their sincerity to the extent of

to the attainment of perfection. And perfection means that the person shall be granted such strength of selflessness as to fully realize with firm conviction43 that whatever he has belongs to God. He will not let anyone feel that the objects with which he served mankind belonged to him. For instance, he does not oblige anyone when he gives his personal belonging to someone—that would be an imperfect state because he would feel this way only if he considered it to be his own.

Thus, in keeping with the verse

God Almighty will grant progress to the believer of the Holy Quran from this state until he considers every possession of his to belong to God to such an extent that even the affliction of making others feel grateful to him will depart from his heart, and a kind of motherly compassion for mankind—or something greater still—will arise within his heart. Nothing remains his; everything becomes God’s. This will happen when he sincerely believes in the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, but not without it.

Therefore, how misguided are those who consider barren Tauhid alone, without submission to the Holy Quran and the Noble Prophet(sa), to be the means of salvation? In fact, experience testifies that such people neither have true belief in God Almighty nor can they be cleansed of worldly temptations and desires—let alone progress to any kind of perfection. It is also an utterly false and unsubstantiated fancy that a person can achieve the blessing of Tauhid on his own. The fact is that Tauhid is realized through the Word of God. Whatever else one personally believes is not free from idolatry.

Similarly, human effort regarding belief in Scriptures revealed by God is limited to the extent that one should, with sincerity, believe in His Book and follow it with patience. Man has no power beyond this, but God has promised in the verse 44

[‘guidance for the righteous’] that whosoever believes in His Book and Messenger, such a one shall be entitled to further guidance; God shall enhance his vision and bless him with His converse and discourse,45 and shall demonstrate great Signs to him until he will behold His countenance in this very world and realize that his God does indeed exist, and will attain full satisfaction.

God’s Word says, ‘If you have perfect belief in Me, I shall descend upon you, too.’ It is on account of this that Hadrat Imam Ja‘far Sadiq, may Allah be pleased with him, says, ‘I read the Word of God [the Holy Quran] with such sincerity, love, and eagerness that it flowed from my tongue in the form of revelation too.’ But alas! People do not comprehend what converse with God is and in what circumstances it can be said that God Almighty speaks to a particular person. On the contrary, most ignorant people begin to take satanic suggestion as the word of God, and are unable to distinguish satanic revelations from the revelation of the Gracious God. Therefore, it should be noted that the first prerequisite for revelation from the Gracious God is that its recipient should become wholly God’s and there should remain no part of Satan in him; for, dogs will invariably gather where there is carrion. That is why God Almighty says:

But Satan cannot attack the one in whom he no longer has any part and who has departed from the low life as if he had died and has become a righteous and faithful servant [of God] and has come to Him, as God Almighty says:

Satan, indeed, runs towards those who belong to Satan and possess satanic habits, for they are his prey.

Moreover, it should be remembered that God’s words inherently possess a special blessing, majesty, and delight. And, as God is All-Hearing and All-Knowing and Merciful, He replies to the queries of His sincere, righteous, and faithful servants. Such supplication and response can extend over several hours. When a servant asks a question in a dignified and humble manner, he is overcome by a kind of faintness within a few minutes and he receives the response in the veil of this faintness. Then if he submits another question, he again experiences faintness within a short time and finds His response in its veil in the same fashion. God is so Benevolent, Merciful, and Forbearing that if a servant asks questions a thousand times, he receives the answers. But as God Almighty does not stand in need of anything and has regard for wisdom and appropriateness, disclosure of the outcome to some questions is not granted in reply. Should it be asked how one would know that those answers are from God Almighty and not from Satan, this I have just answered.

Besides, Satan is dumb and his speech is not eloquent and articulate. Like the dumb, he lacks the capability of eloquent and prolific speech. He only injects a sentence or two into the heart in a foul-smelling way. Since eternity, he has not been given the ability to express himself in palatable and majestic words. Nor can he maintain a conversation in answering questions over a few hours. He is also deaf and cannot answer every question. He is also feeble and cannot exhibit any power or ability to reveal any hidden matter of high import in his revelations.48 Also, his voice is hoarse and he cannot speak in a commanding and majestic voice. His voice is inferior like that of eunuchs. You will recognize satanic revelation by these very features. But God does not resemble a dumb, deaf, or feeble person. He hears and continuously responds. His speech has majesty, awe, and lofty expression. His speech is moving and pleasant. Satan’s speech is faint, effeminate, and dubious; there is no grandeur, majesty, or loftiness in it. Nor can it continue in duration as if to get tired very soon; and that, too, is evidence of weakness and timidity.

In contrast, God’s speech does not suffer fatigue and possesses every kind of power and comprises of hidden matters and majestic promises of some very great import and has the scent of divine glory, greatness, power, and holiness. Satan’s speech does not possess this quality. In addition, divine speech possesses mighty effectiveness; it penetrates the heart like an iron peg. It has a holy effect upon the heart and draws the heart to itself and transforms its recipient into a valiant man, so much so that even if he were to be cut into pieces with a sharp sword, or hoisted upon the gallows, or subjected to every kind of torment that is possible in this world, and sullied and insulted in every way, or put into a blazing fire or incinerated, he would never deny that what descends upon him is the word of God, because God bestows upon him absolute certainty and makes him the lover of His own countenance. To him, life, honour, and property are no more than a straw. He does not let go of the raiment of God even if the whole world tramples him under its feet, and he is incomparable in his trust [in God], courage, and steadfastness. Those who receive satanic revelation do not attain this strength. They are cowards because Satan is a coward.

In the end, I wish to point out that the reason for ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan’s misguidance that has caused him to think that there is no need to follow the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is a misunderstanding of a Quranic verse. This misunderstanding occurred in him because of insufficient knowledge and reflection. The said verse is as follows:

(Translation): Meaning that, those who have embraced Islam or are Jews, or Christians, or who submit to the stars; whoever from among them will believe in Allah and the Last Day and will perform good deeds, God will not allow him to go to waste; the reward of such persons is with their Lord, and no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve.50

This is the verse from which—on account of ignorance and perverse thinking—it has been concluded that there is no need to believe in the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. It is a great pity that these people follow the dictates of their evil self and oppose the decisive and manifest verses of the Holy Quran and, in order to get away from Islam, seek refuge in verses that are susceptible to different interpretations. They should remember that they cannot benefit from this verse at all, for belief in Allah and belief in the Last Day necessitates belief in the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. The reason is as follows. In the Holy Quran, defining the term Allah, God Almighty says that: ‘Allah is the Being who is

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

[Rahman—Gracious], and

[Rahim—Merciful]. He created the earth and heavens in six days. He created Adam, sent Messengers and Scriptures, and last of all He raised the Hadrat Muhammad, the chosen Prophet of God, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, Khatamul-Anbiya’ [the Seal of the Prophets] and Khairur-Rusul [the Best of the Messengers].’ The Last Day, according to the Holy Quran, is when the dead would be raised, then one group would be admitted to Heaven which is the abode of physical and spiritual blessing and one group would be cast into Hell which is the abode of spiritual and physical torment. God Almighty says in the Holy Quran that only those who believe in this Book believe in this Last Day.

Thus, since God Almighty Himself has clearly defined the word ‘Allah’ and the ‘Last Day’ in a way which is exclusive to Islam, therefore, whosoever believes in Allah and the Last Day will have to believe in the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. And no one has the authority to change these meanings nor do we have the right to invent any meaning of our own which contradicts and opposes the meanings described by the Holy Quran itself. I have closely studied the Holy Quran from beginning to end, and have studied it carefully and studied it over and over and have keenly deliberated over its meanings. I have realised with utmost clarity that the name ‘Allah’ has been given to the Being who possesses all divine attributes and can enact all those divine acts mentioned in the Holy Quran. For instance, it has been stated that:

There are many other similar verses to the effect that Allah is the One who revealed the Holy Quran; Allah is the One who sent Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Since it is included in the concept of Allah, according to Quranic terminology, that Allah is the One who has sent Hadrat Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, therefore, it is necessary that whosoever chooses to believe in Allah, must also have belief in the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; only then shall the belief of the person be considered authentic and genuine. In this verse, God Almighty did not say

[‘Whosoever believes in the Gracious God’] or

[‘Whosoever believes in the Merciful God’], or

[‘Whosoever believes in the Benevolent God’]. Instead, He said, 52

[‘Whosoever believes in Allah’] and ‘Allah’ means the Being who comprehends all perfect attributes, and one sublime attribute of His is that He revealed the Holy Quran. In this context, only that person can be said to have belief in Allah who also believes in the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, as well as the Holy Quran. If someone were to ask, ‘What, then, is the meaning of 53

, then, be it known that it only means that the faith of those who only believe in Allah lacks credibility unless they believe in the Messenger of Allah, or until they perfect that faith.

It must be remembered that there is no contradiction in the Holy Quran. Therefore, how can it be possible that [on the one hand] God Almighty says in hundreds of verses that Tauhid alone is insufficient, and that belief in His Prophet(sa) is also necessary for salvation except when a person remains uninformed about this Prophet; while on the other, He says the opposite in some verse that salvation is possible simply through Tauhid, and there is no need to believe in the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him? The interesting part of it is that this verse makes no mention of Tauhid at all. If Tauhid were meant, it should have read:

[‘whosoever believes in Tauhid’]. Instead the wording of the verse is:

[‘whosoever believes in Allah’]. Hence, the statement

[‘whosoever believes in Allah’] makes it obligatory upon us to ponder over the sense in which the term ‘Allah’ has been used in the Holy Quran. Honesty on our part should demand that when the Holy Quran itself informs us that implicit in the word ‘Allah’ is that Allah is the One who sent the Holy Quran and sent the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, then we should accept the Quranic interpretation of the word, and should not follow our whims.

Furthermore, I have stated earlier that, in order to attain salvation, it is essential that one should cultivate perfect conviction in the existence of God Almighty—and not only cultivate conviction but also resolve to obey Him and recognize the paths that lead to His pleasure. Ever since the beginning of this world, both these objectives have been attained only through the Prophets of God. Therefore, how absurd is the notion that even such a one will attain salvation who, while believing in Tauhid, does not believe in the Messenger of God? O ye ignorant one, bereft of understanding! How is it possible to achieve Tauhid except through the Messenger? It is like a person who detests daylight and flees from it, yet proclaims, ‘For me the sun alone is enough, what is the need for the day?’ The foolish one does not even know that the sun is inseparable from the day. Alas! These ignorant people fail to understand that the Being of God Almighty is Hidden beyond the hidden, Unseen beyond the unseen, and Transcendent beyond the transcendent. No intelligence can discover Him as He Himself says:

That is, no eyesight and no insight can find Him. He knows the ultimate extent of their reach and is Dominant over them.

Hence, the understanding of His Tauhid is impossible through reason alone; for, the essence of Tauhid is that just as one shuns the false extrinsic deities—i.e. gives up worshipping idols, humans, the sun, the moon etc.—so should one avoid the false intrinsic deities; i.e. he should safeguard himself from relying on his physical and spiritual abilities and being captivated by the curse of conceit that arises from them. It is thus clear that perfect Tauhid is not attainable except through self-abnegation and obedient submission to the Messenger(sa).

How can a person be called a muwahhid—[a believer in the One God]—if he considers any of his own faculties to be at par with God the Maker? This is why the Holy Quran, at several places, ties perfect Tauhid to following in the footsteps of the Messenger, because perfect Tauhid means a new life. It is not possible to attain salvation unless and until one brings death upon one’s baser life by becoming the follower of the Messenger of God. What is more, on account of what these ignorant people say, the Holy Quran is exposed to the charge of self-contradiction; for, on the one hand, it repeatedly says that except through the medium of the Messenger, it is not possible to attain Tauhid, nor can salvation be attained, while on the other hand, it appears to proclaim it to be attainable; whereas the fact is that the Messenger alone is the Sun of Tauhid and salvation as well as its exponent. It is his light that reveals Tauhid; hence, such a contradiction cannot possibly be ascribed to the Word of God.

The egregious error of this ignorant man is that he has not understood the essence of Tauhid at all. Tauhid is a light which arises within the heart after negating outer and inner [false] deities, and it permeates every particle of the person. How can it be acquired by anyone on his own, without the medium of God and His Messenger? Man’s obligation is only that he should impose a death upon his ego and should discard the satanic vanity that he is well-versed in knowledge. He should deem himself ignorant and should remain occupied in supplication. Then the light of Tauhid would descend upon him from God, bestowing a new life upon him.

In the end, I deem it necessary to point out that even if, for the sake of argument, I accept that the term ‘Allah’ carries a general import which translates as ‘God’, and ignore the connotation which we learn by reflecting on the Holy Quran—that included in the meaning of ‘Allah’ is that He is the One who sent the Holy Quran and appointed the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—even then this verse cannot benefit the opponent, for it does not imply that belief in the Almighty alone is sufficient for salvation. Rather, its real connotation is that whosoever believes in Allah—which is the Supreme name of God Almighty and is the compendium of all the perfect attributes of the Holy One—God will not allow him to go to waste, but will, inexorably, draw him towards Islam, for one truth is helpful in recognizing the other, and those who have genuine belief in Allah the Exalted, ultimately discover the truth.

It is promised in the Holy Quran that anyone who sincerely believes in God Almighty, God shall not allow him to go to waste and He shall reveal the truth to him and show him the right path, as Allah the Exalted says:

Thus, this verse would mean that the believer of God Almighty is not wasted. In the end, Allah the Exalted grants him perfect guidance. The saints have cited hundreds of examples to the effect that when some people belonging to other faiths chose to believe in God Almighty with great sincerity and busied themselves in doing good works, the reward God Almighty gave them for their sincerity was that He opened their eyes and, purely through His guidance, revealed to them the truth of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. This indeed is the meaning of the latter part of this verse:

So long as the reward of God Almighty is not manifested in this world, it is not manifested in the Hereafter either. The reward of belief in God Almighty in this world is that God blesses such a person with complete guidance and does not let him go to waste. The same is also indicated in the following verse:

Meaning that, those who are truly the People of the Book and sincerely believe in God and His Scriptures and act upon them will ultimately end up believing in this Prophet. This is exactly what happened. Of course, evil people who should not be called the People of the Book do not believe. A number of such instances are also found in Islamic history which show how Benevolent and Merciful God Almighty is, for if a person does even a tittle of good, He causes him, by way of reward, to enter Islam as is also stated in a hadith that a Companion(ra) enquired of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, ‘When I was a disbeliever, I gave away largesse to the needy with the sole intention of pleasing God, will I get the reward for that too?’ He replied, ‘Those alms are what drew you towards Islam.’ In the same way, therefore, if anyone belonging to any other religion, believes God Almighty to be One without any partner, and loves Him, God Almighty causes him ultimately to enter Islam, in consonance with the verse:

This is what happened in the case of Bava Nanak when he, discarding idol worship in all sincerity, adopted Tauhid and fell in love with God. The same God who declares in the above-mentioned noble verse

[‘they shall have their reward with their Lord’] appeared to him and, with His revealed Word, guided him to Islam. Thereupon, he became a Muslim and performed the Pilgrimage too.

Similarly, it is stated in the book Bahrul-Jawahir [‘The Ocean of Gems’] that there was a Jew named Abul-Khair. He was a pious-natured and truthful man, and believed God Almighty to be One without partner. Once, when he was passing through the bazaar, he heard a boy in a mosque reciting the following verse of the Holy Quran:

Meaning that, do people imagine that they will attain salvation merely by pronouncing the statement that they believe while they have not yet been tested in [treading] the path of God as to whether or not they possess steadfastness, truthfulness, and loyalty like those of the believers? The verse had a profound impact on Abul-Khair’s heart and moved his heart. He stood by the wall of the mosque and cried profusely. At night our lord and master, Muhammad Mustafa [the Chosen One], may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, appeared in his dream and addressing him said

meaning: ‘O Abul-Khair, it surprised me that a person like you should deny my Prophethood despite your excellence in virtue and nobility.’ Therefore, the very next morning Abul-Khair became a Muslim and made a proclamation of his Islam.

In short, it is beyond my comprehension that a person believing in God and considering Him to be One and without partner, should be delivered by God from Hell, but not from [spiritual] blindness; whereas salvation is rooted in spiritual insight, as Allah says:

Meaning that, whosoever is [spiritually] blind in this world, shall be blind or even worse in the Hereafter.

It is absolutely true that he who does not recognize God’s Messengers, does not recognize God either. The mirror of God’s countenance are His Messengers. Everyone who sees God sees Him through this mirror. Then what kind of salvation is this: A person rejects and denies the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, throughout his entire life, rejects the Holy Quran, God Almighty does not bestow eyes upon him nor a heart, remains blind and dies blind, yet attains salvation? Strange indeed is this salvation!

It is my observation that when God Almighty desires to bestow mercy upon someone, He first bestows sight upon him and bestows knowledge upon him from Himself. There must be hundreds of people in my Movement who have joined it in consequence only of a dream or revelation. The Being of God Almighty is all encompassing Mercy. If one advances towards Him one step, He comes two steps; if a person hastens towards Him, He comes running towards him and opens the eyes of the blind. Then how can it be accepted that a person believes in Him and accepts Him with a true heart to be One without partner and loves Him and joins the company of His friends and yet God keeps him blind and he remains so blind that he cannot recognize God’s Prophet? This point is supported by the hadith:

Meaning that, he who dies without recognizing the Imam of his age dies the death of ignorance and is deprived of the straight path.

1 Were it true that those who reject the Prophets, peace be upon them, and are their enemies would manage to get salvation on account of their imaginary Tauhid, then on the Day of Judgment, instead of those disbelievers, the Prophets, peace be upon them, will be suffering a kind of torment when they see their detractors and those who used to insult them seated on the thrones of Heaven and, like them, being in a state of bliss. Then, ridiculing the Prophets(as), these people might well remark, ‘We rejected and insulted you; but what harm did that do to us?’! Then the stay in Heaven would become bitter for the Prophets. (Author)

2 (Translation) Meaning that, will you grieve yourself to death because these disbelievers do not believe? [Surah ash-Shu‘ara’, 26:4] (Author)

3 Surah Al-e-‘Imran, 3:98 [Publisher]

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

5 How wonderful it is that even as the world nears its end, the rays of grace of this perfect Prophet(sa) continue to shine incessantly. If the Word of God, the Holy Quran, had not precluded it, he would be the only Prophet about whom we could assert that he is still alive with his mortal body in Heaven because we find clear effects of his being alive. His religion is alive; one who follows him becomes alive; and one discovers the Living God through him. I have witnessed it that God loves him, his faith, and the one who loves him. And it should be borne in mind that he is indeed truly alive. His is the highest station in Heaven, but it is not with the material body which is mortal—rather, it is with a different spiritual body which is everlasting—that he is in Heaven in the company of his All-Powerful God. (Author)

6 If someone were to ask, why does Satan disobey God Almighty when he is certain about His existence and Oneness? The answer to it is that his disobedience is not like the disobedience of man; he has been created for the trial of man with this very habit. This is a mystery the details of which have not been disclosed to man. It is the character of man that, mostly and overwhelmingly, he is guided aright by acquiring perfect knowledge about God Almighty, as Allah the Exalted says in the Holy Quran [‘Only those of His servants who possess knowledge fear Allah,’ (Surah Fatir, 35:29)]. However, those who have a satanic nature are outside this rule. (Author)

7 The Divisional Judge of Amritsar, who was an Englishman, carried out a thorough investigation into this litigation, and in accordance with the requirements of justice, delivered the judgment that was required by comprehensive inquiry and the norms of justice. He wrote in his judgment in his own words that the words used by the defendant-appellant regarding Karam Din, the respondent-plaintiff—words of ‘liar and malicious’—were supposed to have warranted the defamation suit, but even if the appellant had used harsher words about Karam Din, he would still have been deserving of them. (Author)

8 All of these prophecies have been published from time to time. Our opponents will be answerable to God as to why they ignored all these Signs. (Author)

9 So take a lesson, O ye who have eyes! (Surah al-Hashr, 59:3) [Publisher]

10 Given that Hadrat ‘Isa(as) gave the staff to Charagh Din to kill me, it is not known why this fury and anger was roused in his heart. If he became displeased because I publicized his [ Jesus’] death throughout the world, then it is his error. I did not publicize it. Rather, it was publicized by Him whose creation Hadrat ‘Isa is, like we are. If there is any doubt about it, look at this verse [Muhammad is only a Messenger. Verily, all Messengers have passed away before him, (Surah Al-e-‘Imran, 3:145)] and also the verse [But since You did cause me to die, You have been the Watcher over them, (Surah al-Ma’idah, 5:118)]. The surprising part of it is that the one to whom he gives his staff, he himself perishes. Some staff that is! I have heard that this second Charagh Din i.e. ‘Abdul- Hakim Khan too has, like the first Charagh Din, made some prophecy about my death, but it is not known whether there is any mention of the staff in it or not. (Author)

11 Surah an-Nur, 24:55 [Publisher]

12 Surah al-Hujurat, 49:2 [Publisher]

13 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:99 [Publisher]

14 Surah an-Nisa’, 4:137 [Publisher]

15 Surah al-Ahzab, 33:37 [Publisher]

16 Surah an-Nisa’, 4:15 [Publisher]

17 Surah an-Nisa’, 4:65 [Publisher]

18 Surah Al-e-‘Imran, 3:32–33 [Publisher]

19 Surah an-Nisa’, 4:151–153 [Publisher]

20 On one occasion it so happened that I remained very much occupied with calling down blessings on the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, for a long time, for I believed that the ways leading to God are very fine and cannot be discovered except through the agency of the Holy Prophet, as Allah says too [And seek the way of approach unto Him, Surah al-Ma’idah, 5:36]. After a time I saw, in a vision, that two water carriers came and entered into my house, one by the outer entrance and the other by the inner entrance carrying on thٰeir shoulders water-skins full of divine light and they said .[This is on account of the blessings you invoked upon Muhammad]. (Author)

21 Surah an-Nisa’, 4:171 [Publisher]

22 Surah al-Mulk, 67:9-10 [Publisher]

23 Surah al-Hujurat, 49:16 [Publisher]

24 Surah at-Taubah, 9:54 [Publisher]

25 All these verses apply to those who come to know of the person of the Messenger, and the invitation of the Messenger reached them. We cannot say anything about those who remained totally unaware of the existence of the Messenger nor did his invitation reach them. God knows about their circumstances. He will deal with them in keeping with His mercy and justice. (Author)

26 Surah Muhammad, 47:3 [Publisher]

27 Surah at-Taubah, 9:63 [Publisher]

28 Surah Al-e-‘Imran, 3:82 [Publisher]

29 It points to the fact that when a person follows the true faith, he receives a special reward from God Almighty on account of performing righteous deeds. Such indeed is the way of Allah that one who has true faith is not restricted to the highest point to which he walks by his own effort and advances by his own striving. Rather, when his effort reaches its maximum limit and the work of human capabilities ends, then the bounty of God operates in him; and guidance from Allah helps him further advance in knowledge, good deeds and understanding to a level which he could not have attained on his own. God says so elsewhere too: [Surah al-‘Ankabut, 29:70]. Meaning that, those who strive in Our path and do whatever they and their capabilities can do, then the grace of the One True God holds their hand and does what they could not have done by themselves. (Author)

30 Surah al-Fatihah, 1:6–7 [Publisher]

31 As far as one can understand from his writing, according to ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan, there is another justification for a person to renounce Islam; namely, that a person who has not found, in his opinion, adequate arguments in favour of the truth of Islam, can attain salvation even after renouncing Islam because he is not satisfied with the veracity of Islam. But he should have defined what, according to him, constitutes the completion of the argument. (Author)

32 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:3-6 [Publisher]

33 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:2-3 [Publisher]

34 Unless a book is perfect in all its four causes, it cannot be called perfect. This is why, in these verses, God Almighty has mentioned all the four causes of the Holy Quran, namely: (1) the efficient cause, (2) the material cause, (3) the formal cause, (4) the final cause, and all four are at their perfection. Thus, refers to the perfection of the efficient cause. It means: i.e. I am God, Knower of the unseen. I have sent down this book. Since God is the efficient cause of this book, the Maker of this book is stronger and more perfect than any other maker. The perfection of the material cause is indicated to by the verse means that this book which has adorned the cloak of existence from the knowledge of God. There is no doubt that the knowledge of God Almighty is more perfect than all knowledge. The perfection of the formal cause [of the Holy Quran] is indicated to by the verse meaning that this book is free from every error, doubt, and confusion, and what is there to doubt that the book which has originated from divine knowledge is unmatched and beyond comparison with respect to its authenticity and being free from every flaw. It is most perfect and absolute in being free from every error, doubt, and confusion. The perfection of its final cause is indicated to in the verse meaning that this book is the perfect guidance for the righteous and provides the greatest possible guidance for human nature. (Author)

35 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:3 [Publisher]

36 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:3 [Publisher]

37 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:4 [Publisher]

38 Surely, good works drive away evil works (Surah Hud, 11:115). [Publisher]

39 And [they] spend out of what We have provided for them (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:4). [Publisher]

40 Never shall you attain to righteousness unless you spend out of that which you love (Surah Al-e-‘Imran, 3:93). [Publisher]

41 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:3 [Publisher]

42 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:4 [Publisher]

43 The reason is that, on account of innate human weakness, miserliness is also a part of man’s nature. For instance, even if one possesses a mountain of gold, he still retains a bit of miserliness in him and does not wish to give up his entire possession. But in the context of the verse when a person is accompanied by a gifted strength, he obtains such resignation that all miserliness and all selfishness is eliminated. It is then that seeking the pleasure of God looks dearer to him than all of the riches and he no longer wants to hoard ephemeral wealth here on earth; rather, he stores his treasure in the heavens. (Author)

44 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:3 [Publisher]

45 In fact, perfect submission is indeed that one should acquire the very same colour [i.e. condition] and that very same light should descend upon the heart. [As is said] [‘I entered into the fire until I became fire myself’]. (Author)

46 Shall I inform you on whom the evil ones descend? They descend on every great liar and sinner (Surah ash-Shu‘ara’, 26:222–223). [Publisher]

47 Surely, you shall have no power over My servants (Surah al-Hijr, 15:43). [Publisher]

48 The answer to the question whether a satanic dream or revelation can contain any news of the unseen or not, is that a satanic dream or revelation, as is clear from the Holy Quran, may occasionally contain news about the unseen, but it is accompanied by three features: (1) First, such knowledge of the unseen is never authoritative like revelation from God that He shall destroy a specified person who does not desist from mischief; that He shall bestow such and such honour on a specific person who shows sincerity; that He shall demonstrate such and such Signs in support of His Prophet, and no one shall be able to compete with them; that He shall visit the disbelievers with chastisement of a distinct type; and that He shall grant the believers success and triumph of the specified type. These are unseen of the authoritative kind that possess the might of divine sovereignty. Satan is incapable of making such prophecies. (2) Second, the satanic dream or revelation is paltry. It does not convey accounts of the unseen in abundance. In a competition, such a person flees before the recipient of divine revelation for, in comparison to the latter, his knowledge of the unseen is as meagre as a drop before the ocean. (3) Third, it [i.e. satanic inspiration] is mostly dominated by falsehood, whereas a dream or a revelation which emanates from the Gracious God is dominated by Truth; that is, if viewed as a whole, the majority of His revelations are true, whereas the reverse is the case of satanic ones. I have not used the word ‘all’ with regard to dreams and revelations from the Gracious God because, among them too, some revelations or dreams are allegorical in nature, or an error can be made in interpretation. The ignorant ones come to consider such prophecies to be false. In fact, the existence of such prophecies is only by way of trial. Moreover, some prophecies of God are by way of warning in which case non-fulfilment is permissible. Also keep in mind that satanic revelation maintains an affinity with a sinful and impure person. On the contrary, abundance of the revelations from the Gracious God are vouchsafed only to those who are pure of heart and have become lost in the love of God. (Author)

49 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:63 [Publisher]

50 If this verse was taken to mean that mere Tauhid is enough, then the following verse would prove that, all sins, shirk [associating partners with God] etc., shall be forgiven without repentance, which is manifestly not the case. The verse reads thus [Say, ‘O my servants who have committed excesses agaisnt their own souls! despair not of the mercy of Allah, surely Allah forgives all sins’, Surah az-Zumar, 39:54]. (Author)

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

52 Whoso believes in Allah (Surah al-Ma’idah, 5:70) [Publisher]

53 They who believe (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:83) [Publisher]

54 Surah al-An‘am, 6:104 [Publisher]

55 And as for those who strive in Our path, We will surely guide them in Our ways (Surah al-‘Ankabut, 29:70). [Publisher]

56 [They] shall have their reward with their Lord (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:63). [Publisher]

57 Surah an-Nisa’, 4:160 [Publisher]

58 [They] shall have their reward with their Lord (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:63). [Publisher]

59 Surah al-‘Ankabut, 29:2–3 [Publisher]

60 Surah Bani Isra’il, 17:73 [Publisher]