125. [One Hundred-Twenty Fifth] Sign

Let it be clear that the Sign of Pundit Lekh Ram’s death is among the awe-inspiring and majestic Signs. My books, Barakatud-Du‘a’, Karamatus-Sadiqin, and A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam are the basic sources of the fundamental prophecy about it, in which it was foretold that within six years Lekh Ram would depart from this world as a result of an assassination, and the day of his assassination would be the very next day after ‘Id; that is, it would be a Saturday. It was appointed this way so that the day of ‘Id which was a Friday should signify that the day when there will be two ‘Ids in the homes of Muslims, the following day would bring two mournings in the homes of the Aryas1. This prophecy is not only recorded in my books, but Lekh Ram himself quoted it in his book and, thereby, made it known to his own community prior to its fulfilment.

In response to this prophecy, he wrote in his book concerning me, that ‘My Parmeshwar has revealed to me that this man (meaning this humble one) will die of cholera within three years, for he is a liar.’2 This ‘revelation’ of Lekh Ram stipulating three years was quite like the one ‘Abdul-Hakim Khan has now published, stipulating three year period about my death.

Indeed, this prophecy of mine was against Lekh Ram and was in the form of a mubahalah [prayer duel]. The books by Lekh Ram are still available and are very well known among the Aryas wherein Lekh Ram has recorded the prophecy ascribing it to his Parmeshwar. Similarly, my own prophecy that stipulated Lekh Ram’s death within six years had become famous among hundreds of thousands of people. For example, this prophecy was recorded in my book Karamatus-Sadiqin, published in Safar 1311 Hijrah, which is an Arabic book; its translation is as follows:

After granting my prayer concerning Lekh Ram, God has informed me that he would perish within six years, and his crime is that he vilified the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and reviled him with blasphemous language.

Five years prior to Lekh Ram’s death, this book had been widely published in Punjab and [the rest of ] India. And then, in the public announcement of 22 February 1893 which forms part of my book, A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, I had prophesied unequivocally, long before his death, that Lekh Ram would be cut to pieces like the calf of Samiri, and this indicated the fact that the fate of Lekh Ram would be like that of the calf of Samiri that was cut to pieces on a Saturday. And it alluded to his assassination. Accordingly, Lekh Ram was assassinated on Saturday. Only a day before—on Friday—it had been ‘Id for the Muslims in those days. The calf of Samiri had similarly been cut to pieces on a Saturday, and that had been a day of ‘Id for the Jews. Just as the calf of Samiri was burnt after being cut to pieces, so was Lekh Ram burnt after he had been cut to pieces. His assassin first cut his intestines, and then the surgeon further opened up his wound, and he was finally cremated. His bones were then cast into the river just like Samiri’s calf. God Almighty likened him to Samiri’s calf because just as the calf was quite lifeless and was like the modern toys that produce sound when their button is pressed; a sound emanated from this calf too. Thus, God Almighty affirms that Lekh Ram was lifeless and devoid of spiritual life. His sound was quite like that of Samiri’s calf, and he was not endowed with true knowledge, true perception, true relationship with God, and true love for Him. It was the fault of the Aryas that they accorded to this lifeless person—who had no life of spirituality within him and was simply a corpse—a position that should have been accorded to a living person. Therefore, his end was like that of Samiri’s calf.

When I made this prophecy, some of newspapers mounted attacks against me too. The Editor of Anis-e-Hind of Meerut in its issue of 25 March 1893, had attacked me, saying that in case Lekh Ram happened to have a mild headache or fever, it would be claimed that the prophecy had been fulfilled. In response, I wrote in my book, Barakatud-Du‘a’, that I would be answerable if something so insignificant happened, but if its fulfilment took the form in which the wrath of God was clearly manifest, then know that it was from God. This answer was printed on the first page of Barakatud-Du‘a’. You can find it for yourself if you so desire.

As for the prophecies which establish that he [Lekh Ram] would be assassinated, let it be clear that there are three in number. The first is the prophecy which was published in Barakatud-Du‘a’ in the lifetime of Lekh Ram. It clearly foretells his assassination, namely:

Meaning that, Lekh Ram is Samiri’s calf. It is lifeless and is a mere noise which has no spirituality. He will, therefore, suffer the same punishment as was awarded to Samiri’s calf. Everyone knows that Samiri’s calf was cut to pieces, then cremated and then cast into the river. Thus, this prophecy clearly and evidently indicates Lekh Ram’s assassination, for he has been ordained to suffer the same punishment as was appointed for Samiri’s calf.

The second prophecy that foretells Lekh Ram’s assassination consists of a vision which is recorded in the footnote of the booklet Barakatud-Du‘a’. Its text runs as follows: ‘On 2 April 1893 CE, I saw a huge person with a terrifying visage, as if his face was dripping with blood and as if he was not a human being, but rather one of the terrifying and awe-striking angels. He came and halted before me. His presence filled hearts with terror. I beheld him as if he were in the shape of one who was out to kill. He asked me where Lekh Ram was. He also named another person, and said where was he.3 At this, I understood that this person had been appointed to punish Lekh Ram and the other person.’ See the title page of Barakatud-Du‘a’, published April 1893. Later Lekh Ram was killed by assassination on 6 March 1897. About five years before his death, this vision had been printed and published in the booklet Barakatud-Du‘a’. It should be remembered that the prophecy about Lekh Ram’s murder was not simply a prophecy; rather, I had prayed for his death and had been informed by God Almighty that he would be killed within six years.

Had he not trespassed all limits in vituperation and had he avoided publicly slandering our Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, he would have died after completing the stipulated six years. But his unbridled vituperation did not even allow him live that period to completion. There was yet one year remaining when he was seized by the jaws of death.

In contrast, Deputy ‘Abdullah Atham adopted a softer approach, so much so that whenever I visited Dr. [Henry] Martyn Clark’s residence for the debate, he used to stand up on seeing me as a mark of respect. The mean-spirited Christians used to dissuade him, but he would never fall short of this respectful demeanour. Not only this, he also publicly retracted from calling [the Holy Prophet(sa)] the Dajjal [Antichrist], and cared nothing about the Christians. As a result, God granted him respite beyond the stipulated time limit. Lekh Ram was the one who, on account of his insolence, could not even complete the originally stipulated period. ‘Abdullah Atham, on the other hand, was the one who, on account of his respect and politeness, lived for fifteen months more than the original time period, but in any case, died within the fifteen months. God granted him the reprieve and yet did not go back on His Word. In any case, the fifteen months period stipulated for his death, was upheld.

Addressing [Sir] Sayyed Ahmad Khan, I had written in my book Barakatud-Du‘a’: ‘I have prayed for Lekh Ram’s death and the prayer has been accepted. Therefore, this example of the acceptance of prayer should suffice for you, a disbeliever as you are in the acceptance of prayer.’ But this writing of mine was held up to ridicule, for Lekh Ram was still alive and fully healthy and extremely active in reviling Islam. In order that people might commit this prophecy to memory, I addressed Sayyed Ahmad Khan in verse. The following are those verses, as recorded in my book Barakat-ud-Du‘a’ which were published while Lekh Ram was still alive.

A letter in verse to Sayyed Ahmad Khan C.S.I. who denied the acceptance of prayer

The face of the Beloved is not veiled from seekers. It shines in the sun and is reflected in the moon.

But that Lovely Countenance is indeed hidden from the eyes of the heedless; It is only for a sincere lover that the veil is lifted.

Arrogance can lead no hand to reach the hem of His holy garment; There is no way to reach Him except through the door of humility, pain, and anguish.

Fraught with perils is the path to the Eternal Beloved; Abandon your ego if you value your life.

The understanding and wisdom of the unworthy cannot fathom His Word; Only he finds the right path who loses his self to find it.

The mysteries of the Holy Quran cannot be understood by the sons of the world; Only he can appreciate the true taste of that wine who partakes of it.

O ye who have not been granted enlightenment!
I care not for what you say about me.

I only say all this as admonishment and honest advice, So that this balm may heal your putrid wound.

With prayer remedy the loss you have incurred by rejection of prayer; If not yet intoxicated, more wine is the remedy.

O ye who say, ‘Show me if there is any power in prayer’! Hasten towards me; I will show you its power which is as clear as the shining sun.

Beware! Do not deny the wonders of Omnipotence of God;
In short, come now, witness from me the acceptance of prayer4 i.e., prayer about the death of Lekh Ram.

This entire quotation is the copy of the original and contains the explanation that this prayer was offered seeking Lekh Ram’s death. A couplet has been recorded in the book Karamatus-Sadiqin to the effect that Lekh Ram’s death would be close to the day of ‘Id. Thus ‘Id fell on Friday and Lekh Ram was assassinated on Saturday. That couplet runs as follows:

Meaning that, God gave me the tidings about Lekh Ram’s death and said: ‘You will recognise this event on the day of ‘Id, and ‘Id will be close to it.’ This prophecy that Lekh Ram’s death would occur close to the day of ‘Id has been published in some of the Aryah Samaj newspapers; for instance, in Samachar.

Let it be clear that the prophecy about Lekh Ram’s death has reached haqqul-yaqin [true certainty]. Anyone who wishes to acquaint himself fully with this prophecy, should first read the leaflet about my book A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam and then carefully read that passage of my book Barakatud-Du‘a’ in which I had addressed Sayyed Ahmad Khan: ‘Be informed that I had prayed for Lekh Ram’s death. Therefore, note for certain that he will die within the stipulated time frame.’ Then, the seeker after truth should read my note that forms part of the leaflet about the book A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, in which addressing the Aryas, I have written the following: ‘My prayer regarding Lekh Ram’s death has been accepted, now if your faith is true, do beseech your Parmeshwar and pray that he may be spared this certain death.’ The seeker after truth should also study a vision of mine recorded at the end of Barakatud-Du‘a’, in which I have written thus: ‘I saw an angel with blood dripping from his eyes. Accosting me, he asked, where is Lekh Ram?5 He also named another person and enquired his whereabouts.’

Then, the seeker after truth ought to study the verse contained in Karamatus-Sadiqin which says that Lekh Ram will die on the day close to ‘Id. He should then study the revelation recorded in A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, which says about Lekh Ram:

Meaning that, he is a lifeless calf which is devoid of spiritual life; it is nothing but noise. Therefore, He will be cut to pieces like the calf of Samiri.

Bear in mind that the clarification of is according to the understanding given by God, and this is exactly what happened. As I have already stated that there are three revelations about Lekh Ram’s assassination: (1) A bloodthirsty angel appeared to me and asked where Lekh Ram was; (2) This very revelation meaning that Lekh Ram is Samiri’s calf and will be cut into pieces like Samiri’s calf; and (3) The couplet that was divinely revealed to me and was published beforehand; that is, five years before the death of Lekh Ram. It reads as follows:

Meaning: ‘O Lekh Ram! Why do you revile Hadrat Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him? Why are you not afraid of the sword of Hadrat Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that will cut you down to pieces?’

Here I reproduce all the verses of which the above-mentioned revealed couplet forms part. Below them I will reproduce the photograph of Lekh Ram’s corpse, as was published by the Aryas themselves. Indeed, I am deeply saddened at Lekh Ram’s plight that he, after vilifying Islam for a few days, died so young in the end. He had stayed in Qadian in company with me for about two months. At first he did not have this disposition but wicked people spoiled his disposition. He had agreed with great eagerness to accept Islam if he found Islam to be the faith in which the Signs of God Almighty are manifested and matters of the unseen are revealed. But some wicked residents of Qadian led him astray. Those unworthy Hindus told him false stories about me to make him loathe my company. As a result of this bad company, he deteriorated to a decadent state by the day. To my mind, his condition was not so decadent in the beginning; he only had religious zeal and every believer in religion is entitled to argue in support of his faith abided by truth and justice. A year before his assassination, he met me once in a small mosque at the Lahore Railway Station. I was performing ablution at the time. After doing Namaste [traditional greeting of Hindus], he stayed for a few minutes, and then left. I regret that I could not talk to him at that time due to Salat. I deeply regret that the Hindus of Qadian did not give him the chance to listen to me and out of sheer mendacity incited him. I know for a fact that his blood is upon them. Despite all his zealotry, he did have a certain naivety in his disposition as he would let himself be swayed by the remarks of mischievous people, without scrutiny or investigation. This is why God Almighty compared him to a calf.

At any rate, I cannot help feeling sad at his sudden death. But what could I do? That which was decreed by God Almighty was bound to be fulfilled. Underneath the verses reproduced below we will show a photograph of Lekh Ram’s corpse published by the Aryas. It shows Lekh Ram after he had been murdered and placed on a bier surrounded by a large number of people. I have reproduced it in this treatise so that it may possibly serve as a lesson for others and help them avoid the course that displeases God in religious debates.

God knows that I bear no malice against anyone. Although I am happy to see the prophecy of God Almighty come true in the case of Lekh Ram; on the other hand, I am sad that he had to die in the prime of his life. Had he turned towards me, I would have prayed for him so that this calamity would have been averted. He did not have to become a Muslim to avert this calamity; all he had to do was refrain from using abusive and foul language. It was rank injustice on his part to call our Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, a liar and an impostor without full knowledge and information. He also used to vilify other Prophets, peace be upon them.

As for the Chosen Prophet of God, he appeared at a time when the whole of Arabia, Persia, Syria, Rome, and the whole of Europe were engrossed in creature worship. And by Pundit Dayanand’s own admission, the entire land of the Aryas was steeped in idol worship during that time. In no part of the earth had Tauhid [belief in the Oneness of God] remained inviolate. This Prophet alone re-established Tauhid through his advent, and established the awe of the majesty and glory of God on earth, and demonstrated his own truthfulness through thousands of Signs and miracles and his miracles continue to manifest up until now.

Was it, then, in keeping with the norms of decency and civility to use vulgar obscenities for such a grand Prophet who manifested God’s majesty on earth, obliterated idol-worship, and re-established Tauhid; and to never relent [from this vilification]? He was vilified in marketplaces, in ordinary assembly [of people], and in every street and alley. God is slow to wrath, and He is Most Benevolent and Most Merciful, but in the end, He seizes the rebellious and the shameless.

The Hereafter as yet belongs to the realm of the unseen, but one has to admit that a religion that demonstrates living Signs of the Living God has to be from God. Man can duplicate every good teaching, but cannot duplicate the Signs of God. Hence, in accordance with this criterion, Islam alone is the living religion on the face of the earth. Yet, despite all this, we cannot say that the sages and avatars of the Hindus were liars and deceitful, nor do we abuse them, God forbid. On the contrary, God Almighty teaches us that there is no human habitation or country to which He has not sent a Prophet, as He Himself says:

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Meaning that, there are no people amongst whom a Prophet of God did not appear.

But we cannot comprehend the belief that, since the beginning of time, God’s interest was confined only to the territory of the Aryas despite the vast habitations and countries that stood in need of His guidance, and [the belief that] all are His creation yet the other nations were deprived of His direct guidance. We also find the existing Law of God contradicting it as well for He discloses Himself even now through His word and revelation in other countries. Such partisanship and partiality cannot be imputed to God. He inclines with mercy to everyone who turns to Him heart and soul. Indian or Arab, He wants no one to lose. His mercy is universal and is not restricted to any particular country. We similarly observe that, physically speaking, God’s bounties are found everywhere. There is water in every country just as there is in the land of the Aryas; there is grain in every country just as there is in land of the Aryas. Every country is blessed with the same bounties that are found in the land of the Aryas. While God has not discriminated between peoples and countries in His physical bounties, how can one possibly think He has done so spiritually? Black, White, Indian or Arab; all people are His creation. Therefore, God, who has limitless attributes, cannot be restricted to any limited sphere; to try to limit Him is nothing but narrow-mindedness and folly.

Below I record the verses that contain the prophecy about Lekh Ram’s assassination. As pointed out earlier, these verses were printed and published throughout the Punjab and [the rest of ] India. They are given below with a photograph of Lekh Ram’s corpse attached at the end.

Verses

How wonderful is the light in the person of Muhammad(sa); And marvellous indeed is the ruby in the mine of Muhammad(sa).

The heart is cleansed of all darkness When it joins the lovers of Muhammad(sa).

Alas for the hearts of those unworthy ones, Who turn their backs upon the hospitality of Muhammad(sa)!

I know of no one in both the worlds Who has an exalted station equal to Muhammad(sa).

God is most displeased with the person Who bears a grudge against Muhammad(sa);

God Himself burns that worthless worm, Which is among the enemies of Muhammad(sa).

If you wish to be delivered from the stupor of the lower self, Come and join the ranks of the lovers of Muhammad(sa).

If you desire that God should praise you, Become a true admirer of Muhammad(sa).

If you desire a proof [of his truthfulness], be his lover; For Muhammad himself is the proof of Muhammad(sa).

My body craves to be sacrificed for the dust of Ahmad’s feet; My heart is ever eager to die for Muhammad(sa).

By the tresses of the Prophet of God, I would die for the illumined countenance of Muhammad(sa).

Cut me to pieces or burn me to death, I will not turn away from the court of Muhammad(sa).

How easy it is to renounce the world When one contemplates the beauty and grace of Muhammad(sa)!

Every particle of my being has been sacrificed in his path; For, I have witnessed the latent beauty of Muhammad(sa).

I know not the name of any other teacher; I have studied at the school of Muhammad(sa).

I have no affiliation with any other beloved; I have fallen prey to the loving ways of Muhammad(sa).

I crave but just a single glance; I need nothing but the garden of Muhammad(sa).

Search not for my anguished heart in my bosom, For I have surrendered it to the lap of Muhammad(sa).

I am the merriest among the birds of Paradise, Who have built their nests in the garden of Muhammad(sa).

You have illumined my heart and soul with love; My life is an offering to you, O Muhammad(sa).

Were I to sacrifice my life for him a hundred times—Alas! It would still be unworthy of the high station of Muhammad(sa).

So awe-inspiring is the station granted to this champion; No one can even dare to compete with Muhammad(sa).

The path to God—which mankind has lost—Search for it in the progeny and helpers of Muhammad(sa).

Beware—O foolish and misguided enemy—Beware of the sharp sword of Muhammad(sa)!

Beware, O denier of the status of Muhammad(sa), And of the manifest light of Muhammad(sa)!

Even though miracles are no more, Come and witness them among the devotees of Muhammad(sa).7