71. Seventy-First Sign

Is that, as I have written in the book Sirrul-Khilafah, page 62,1 I had prayed against my opponents—that is, such of the opponents as are destined not to attain guidance—to suffer from the plague. Hence, years after this supplication, the plague prevailed in this country and many staunch opponents perished. The following was the supplication I made:2

And the following prophecy is on record in the book I‘jaz-e-Ahmadi:3

When We are angry—God punishes him who crosses all limits and intends egregious evil.

The time is nigh when He will destroy everyone unjust and cruel. Only they will die who have [already] been murdered by their own sins.

I would be the worst of the worst, if the reward for their insolence is not their own humiliation.

God has decreed that ta‘n [piercing reproach] should beget ta‘n [piercing illness—the plague]. Hence this ‘plague’ is what would overtake them.

4

Only when pernicious impiety exceeded all limits, did I wish for the devastating plague.

After this, I received the following revelation:

[How many homes there are of the enemy that You have destroyed].

It was published in Al-Hakam and Al-Badr. And then all the above-mentioned supplications, which were made only after suffering extreme persecution from my enemies, found acceptance in the presence of Allah, and, in accordance with the prophecies, the chastisement of the plague rained down upon them like fire and thousands of enemies, who rejected and reviled me, perished. I will mention here some bitter opponents by way of illustration.

Thus, first, Maulawi Rusul Baba, resident of Amritsar is worth mentioning who wrote a book in my refutation; he used very abusive language and lied out of love for this temporary life. Eventually, in keeping with the promise of God, he was destroyed by the plague. After him, there was another person named Muhammad Bakhsh, a Deputy Inspector at Batala, who girded up his loins for hostility and persecution. He too died of the plague. After him another person, named Charagh Din of Jammu, arose. He claimed to be a Messenger. He referred to me as the Dajjal [Antichrist] and claimed that during a dream, Hadrat ‘Isa had given him his staff that he might kill this Dajjal with the staff of ‘Isa. He, too, along with both of his sons died of plague on 4 April 1906 in accordance with my prophecy that was specifically about him and was published during his lifetime in my booklet Dafi‘ul-Bala’i wa Mi‘yaru Ahlil-Istifa’. Where did the staff of ‘Isa go with which he sought to kill me? And what happened to his ‘revelation’, namely [‘I indeed am of the Messengers’]? Alas! Most people pronounce their egoistic suggestions to be revelation prior to self-purification. This is why they eventually die in ignominy and disgrace. Besides these, there were many others who had crossed all limits in inflicting injury and insolence and did not fear the wrath of God Almighty. Day in and day out, they were busy hurling ridicule, taunts, and abuses at me. In the end, they all fell prey to the plague. For instance, Munshi Mahbub ‘Alam Ahmadi writes from Lahore: ‘I had an uncle named Nur Ahmad who was a resident of village Bhiri Chatha, Tehsil Hafizabad. One day he asked me why Mirza Sahib did not demonstrate any Sign in support of his claim of being the Messiah? I replied, “Among other Signs in his favour there was the plague, which broke out after the prophecy. It continues to devour the world.” At this, he blurted, “Plague will not touch me. Rather, this plague has come in order to kill Mirza Sahib instead.5 It will have no effect on me at all. It will affect Mirza Sahib alone.” The conversation ended at this much discussion. One week later, when I reached Lahore, I received the news that my uncle Nur Ahmad had died of plague. A number of the residents of that village are witness to this conversation and it is an incident which cannot be concealed.’

Miyań Mi‘raj Din writes from Lahore: ‘Maulawi Zainul-‘Abidin, who had passed his exams with Honours in Arabic and Persian, and was related to Maulawi Ghulam Rasul of Qila, had graduated in theological studies and was a popular teacher in the Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam, Lahore. At a shop in the Kashmiri Bazaar, he entered into a mubahalah [prayer duel] with Maulawi Muhammad ‘Ali of Sialkot regarding the truth of Your Holiness’s claim. Then, a few days later, he died of plague. Not only he but his wife, too, died of plague, and his son-in-law, who was an employee of the Accountant General’s Department, also died of plague. Similarly, seventeen members of his family died of plague after the mubahalah.’

How peculiar! Can anyone understand the mystery behind these people believing me to be the liar, impostor, and Dajjal, yet they are the ones who die when there is a mubahalah? Could there possibly be—God forbid—a misunderstanding on the part of God? Why is the wrath of God being inflicted on such ‘pious’ people who are subjected to death, suffering from humiliation and disgrace on top of it? Further, Miyań Mi‘raj Din writes: ‘Similarly, Karim Bakhsh, a contractor in Lahore, used to be very insolent and offensive to Your Holiness and behaved like that most of the time. I remonstrated with him a number of times but he would not desist. Eventually, his life was cut short in his prime.’

Sayyed Hamid Shah of Sialkot writes: ‘Hafiz Sultan of Sialkot was a bitter enemy of Your Holiness. He is the one who intended to throw ashes at you in Sialkot as your ride passed by. In the end, he died of plague in this very year of 1906, along with nine or ten members of his family. Similarly, it is common knowledge in the city of Sialkot that Hakim Muhammad Shafi‘ who had become an apostate after entering into the covenant of allegiance and had founded Madrasatul-Quran, was your bitter enemy. This unfortunate one, due to his selfish motives, could not hold fast to the covenant of allegiance and joined hands in animosity and opposition with the residents of the sub-division Loharan of Sialkot who were bitterly opposed to you. In the end, he too became a victim of the plague. His wife, his mother, and his brother all died of the plague one after the other. Furthermore, the donors of his seminary also perished.’

Similarly, Mirza Sardar Baig of Sialkot, who had exceeded all limits in inflicting insolence and vituperation and whose constant practice entailed ridicule and derision, would say everything with sarcasm and impertinence. He was afflicted with severe plague and perished. Once, addressing a member of Jama‘at-e-Ahmadiyya, he said, ‘Why are you always blabbing about the plague? I will only believe if I contract the plague!’ Consequently, two days later, he died of the plague.