Declaration of Truth1—No. 1

Charagh Din’s Declaration— when an Ahmadi

Remedy for Plague

[In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful. We praise Him and invoke His blessings upon His Noble Messenger.]

A Heavenly Sign

In Support of the Messiah of the Age

[Surely, Allah changes not the condition of a people until they change that which is in their hearts.]

It is no secret to the people of the Punjab and India how radical the changes are that have been brought about by the epidemic of the plague in the space of these few years. Whichever house, village, or town it enters, it does not depart it without wiping it out. Hearts tremble and bodies quiver at the sight of its terrifying onslaughts. Like lightning from the sky, it continues to consume the world. People are abandoning their homes and towns, and fleeing. Near and dear ones are being split apart. The world is totally enervated. Mankind is busy trying to discover possible means to safeguard themselves. The pity is that people are totally unaware of its true nature and remedy.

My heart is full of great concern and sympathy for mankind, because God Almighty has disclosed to this humble one the real, definitive, and absolutely certain remedy for it. Therefore, my heart, faith, and compassion for mankind compel me to reveal to the public this true remedy, which is a sure and sufficient treatment for this affliction and which contains within it all the necessary means for saving the world, so that those who are destined to partake of this heavenly bounty may be saved.

So let it be clear that for almost one year Allah the Exalted, has been revealing to me through spiritual visions that this age is one of spiritual resurrection. In other words, it is the harbinger and beginning of the age of peace and harmony which, in Islamic terminology, is called the victory of Islam and which, according to the Christians, means the glorious descent of the Messiah and his kingdom. It is the age in which satanic supremacy and the mischief of the Antichrist shall be lifted from the world. The earth shall be filled with the recognition of the glory of God as a bright day, and Allah’s true worship, eternal righteousness, peace, and goodwill shall be established throughout the world. Nations will no longer fight with nations, nor shall kings fight with kings, and religious disputes shall disappear from the whole world. The people of the world, by accepting the same faith and practices, will display a perfect example of peace and tranquility. All nations, enriched to the full by spiritual and material bounties, will display the perfect example of peaceful and harmonious coexistence. All wars and fighting, mischief and disorder, enmity and hatred, dis- belief and sinfulness, suffering and affliction, shall be removed from the world; so much so that the lions and the oxen, the wolves and the sheep shall drink water together from the same watering hole. The proof of this is present in the Holy Quran and other holy Scriptures.

Here I also want to make it clear that the Blessed Epoch, which has been so exalted, is the seventh millennium in the age of the world, which is destined to see the establishment of the divine kingdom in the world, and of peace and reconciliation like the day of the Sabbath. It has also been proven to me that this century constitutes the end of the sixth millennium. Therefore, whatever dramatic and wide-ranging changes are to take place in preparation for the spiritual resurrection shall come to pass in this very century. Thus, in preparation for this comprehensive and grand spiritual resurrection, God is pleased to make arrangements of two kinds: gracious and glorious. The gracious kind means that—in conformity with His age-old practice— just as He has been raising and commissioning His chosen ones for the guidance and reformation of the world in every age, in the present age, too, He has raised and appointed an elect of His own with the status of an Imam. His honoured name is Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian. The purpose is that the world, under his guidance and by submitting to him, may be able to produce in itself the light of that holy spiritual transformation which is the condition precedent to the preparation of spiritual resurrection so that it may be found worthy of entering and sharing that peaceful and blessed kingdom of God that has been mentioned above and into which no unholy and mischievous person can enter.

The other strategy of God Almighty is one of glory and wrath. It is symbolized by the plague and famine. The purpose is that those who fail to reform themselves by benefiting from the gracious arrangements may be warned or destroyed by this wrathful strategy. As is the age-old divine practice, Prophets have come for every spiritual revolution in the past. Whenever the people crossed the limit in disbelieving and rejecting the Prophets they were visited by chastisement. The Holy Quran and other holy Scriptures are full of such precedents. So, similarly, once again the same thing has happened now. When His Holiness made the argument clear, and fully conveyed it to the world at large, and duly and in every way established his claim to be the divinely appointed Imam—but the world did not desist from denying and denigrating him—God Almighty for His part, in keeping with His age-old practice, delivered this verdict from on high and He sent down a calamity for these present-day disbelievers just as He did in case of the dis- believers of the earlier Prophets. Therefore, this plague is that chastisement which, like the fire that consumes, is reducing the world to ashes. The hadith of the Holy Prophet(sa) positively records that in the Promised Messiah’s time the plague will be so rampant that the earth shall be filled with dead bodies. It is recorded in the Holy Gospel, the Book of Revelation, chapter 16, that at the time of the Messiah’s descent mankind will perish due to noxious and grievous sores by which is meant the plague. Besides, the Holy Quran emphatically warns that nations will perish in the Latter Days. For instance the Holy Quran says [‘There is not a township but We shall destroy it before the Day of Resurrection, or punish it with a severe punishment. That is written down in the Book.’] (Surah Bani Isra’il part 6) and also in Surah ad-Dukhan Meaning that, watch for the day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke that will envelop the people. This will be a painful torment; and . We shall seize you with the great seizure. Verily, We will exact retribution. Again in Surah al-Qiyamah, Allah says Meaning that, when the moon and sun are eclipsed in the same month—that is, in Ramadan—people will seek but will not find a place to escape.

In addition to all this, there are many prophecies in holy Scriptures about this age. See Isaiah chapter 4 and 66:15; Psalms 50:3; Daniel chapter 12; Ezekiel 37:15-28; Habakkuk chapter 3; Zephaniah chapter 3; Micah chapter 4; Matthew 13:40, 24:15–31; Revelation chapters 15 and 16. There is a complete and graphic description of this era within these Scriptures.

Of course if the question is asked how should we believe that this chastisement has overtaken us on account of our opposition to the Imam of the Age, the answer to it is based on the following Quranic verses 23 ‘We never destroy a town unless and until We first send our Messenger to it.’ Elsewhere God says meaning that, the verdict about the people of an age is delivered only when a Messenger is sent to them. Hence, when on the one hand a Messenger—that is, His Holiness the Imam of the Age—is present who invites the world towards truth and righteousness; and on the other hand, he is rejected with such vehemence; and thirdly, a terrible chastisement too is so imminently waiting at the door; can it not be understood that it is this very hostility and opposition of ours that we are mounting against the one commissioned by Allah that has manifested itself in the form of chastisement which is facing us today? In other words, the real cause of this chastisement is none other than the very same denial and rejection that is, in a symbolic shape, confronting the world with such destruction Meaning that, and that which they used to mock at shall encompass them.

We have seen with our own eyes4 and heard with our own ears that the opponents used to ridicule and mock the prophecy of His Holiness the Messiah of the Age, peace be upon him, regarding the plague which was to overtake the Punjab that had been published four years ago and would demand where the promised plague was. In addition to all this, when there are hundreds of precedents in the Holy Quran and other sacred Scriptures to the effect that in the earlier ages too, the end of those who rejected each and every appointee of God has invariably been death and destruction, and every people were visited by a different kind of affliction, then is there anything that can prevent us from believing that the present chastisement is also the result of the very same opposition? Not at all! Indeed, without the least shadow of any doubt, this too is the same weapon of glory and wrath of God Almighty that has always come into being to destroy the opponents of His true Messengers.

Now that we know the cause, we should try to apply the cure which is as follows: We should accept the claim of the Imam of this age, the Promised Messiah (peace and blessings be upon him); sincerely choose to put on the yoke of obedience to him and try to live, with all honesty, under the benign influence of his guidance and attain a holy and living spiritual transformation which is free from all sin and rebellion. As such each person, family, tribe, or residents of a town who choose to do so shall, by God’s grace, be saved from this affliction, because the door to divine acceptance is still open.

Therefore, repentance on anyone’s part, if sincere, will be accepted. But a time is about to come when people will repent but their repentance will not be accepted. Nations will cry before God but will not be heard. The world shall turn to God, but the outcome will be despair, as is said [in the Holy Quran] There will come a time when this affliction will spread throughout the world. This catastrophe shall be worldwide. No town or village, except as Allah wills, shall be immune. Rather, the plague shall be rampant even in the rivers and forests. At that time people will try to find a place to flee but will find none. As is said [in the Holy Quran] [‘On that day man will say, “Whither to escape?” Nay! There is no refuge!’] Because it is the fire of God’s wrath, it will not die down until it fulfils its purpose and wreaks vengeance on the opponents of God. Therefore, out of sympathy for mankind of which my heart is full, I hereby warn all of God’s creation that before this calamity assumes worldwide proportions and decimates with its poison even the jungles and the rivers, and before this fire of the wrath of God gets ready to reduce the world to ashes, repent and implement what will safeguard you, which is as follows:

Believe God to be One; repent of all shirk [association of partners with God], disbelief, and sin. Demolish all apparent and hidden images and idols from your heart and place your reliance only on the One God.

Believe in all the true Prophets and all the heavenly Scriptures in general, and in the Arabian Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the Holy Quran in particular, and engage yourself, with sincerity of heart, to follow Islam—the perfect and living religion of Allah the Exalted.

By sincerely accepting the claim of His Holiness the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, to be the divinely appointed Imam and by entering into his peaceful and blessed Jama‘at try to obtain that perfect light of spiritual existence, which delivers a person from this affliction and chastisement of God.

Everyone should be sincerely penitent in the presence of God and abandon all sin and misdeeds of which one is guilty. He should be ever busy offering the five daily Prayers and otherwise remain engaged in prayer and seeking forgiveness, and always remember death. He should ever remain sincerely busy dis- charging his obligations to God and to His creatures. Also, to the best of his capacity, he should be compassionate to the poor, the weak, and the helpless; and as far as possible, devote his life and property in earnest submission to God with a view to earning His pleasure and in the service of humanity.

He should sincerely remain obedient and grateful to this kind Government and should never even think of disturbing the peace or becoming involved in any manner of rebellion.

All residents, whether of towns or villages, should observe the fast and whole communities should go out to the jungles and open spaces and supplicate God with great humility and pathos that He may ward off this imminent catastrophe and during this prayer seek the intercession of all the Prophets and saints in general and of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and of the Imam of the Age, the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, in particular.

Every nation and group, after earnest penitence and with faith in God, in His Perfect Messenger, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and in the Imam of this age, make earnest requests to His Holiness, the Imam of the age, peace be upon him, to pray that this calamity may be removed. If the world acts in accordance with my submission, I declare with full certainty that this ominous visitation will, by God’s grace, be removed from that specific person, home, nation, city, or that part of the country where an exemplary kind of pure transformation is brought about because the real cause of it all is sin and the opposition to the Imam of the Age.

Therefore, as long as the real cause of this affliction is not removed and the fire of God’s wrath, which has been lit due to opposition and sin, is not eradicated, this chastisement will not be averted from the world. But I am afraid the world—taking this submission of mine lightly and ignoring it—will lose the opportunity of acceptance of prayer, closing the door of repentance. This happens when mischief crosses the limits and the time for the final verdict arrives. Then, even the prayer [for mercy] of the Prophets in favour of the opponents is not accepted. Look, Hadrat Nuh(as) [Noah] prayed for his son Kan’an who was one of the deniers and disbelievers at the time of the deluge, but his prayer was not accepted (See Surah Hud, Ruku’ 25). Similarly Pharaoh, when he was on the verge of being drowned, expressed belief in God but it was not accepted.

Of course, repentance is accepted [by God] if one repents prior to that specific time. The Holy Quran says meaning that, repentance is accepted when there are only the slightest of signs of impending chastisement. I, therefore, remind people again and again that this is merely the beginning of the divine chastisement of the world that has become manifest. Its peak and end is most terrible. Therefore, people ought to turn to God before that hour of death and destruction. They should obey God, the Holy Prophet(sa), and the Imam of the Age. They should try to repent and abandon sinfulness and seek to ward off this calamity with the help of prayer and seeking forgiveness and by bringing about a virtuous and pure transformation in themselves so that they may remain secure against this cataclysmic chastisement, because there is this firm promise of Allah the Exalted that on such occasions He always bestows protection only to those who believe, as He says 6 [‘It is incumbent upon Us to save believers’]. Now I close this subject with the prayer that may Allah save us and indeed all believers from this calamity and guide us to the right path and enable us to achieve mutual peace and amity. Amin, again Amin!

Now I would like to submit for the attention of my spiritual brethren of our Jama‘at that we have two kinds of means to save ourselves from the fire of divine wrath and this terrible chastisement; one is faith, and the second is righteousness.

Faith means to believe with absolute certainty that there is no way to escape from this divine chastisement except by having perfect faith in and sincerely following our Guide and Master, His Holiness, the Imam of the Age, peace be upon him. If we will be saved, we will be saved only by sincerely following His Holiness and if we will perish, we will do so only because of opposition to him. Indeed our life and our death lie in submission or in opposition to him.7

Righteousness means that we always remain fearful and be ever on our guard lest, in any matter, we fall short of the guidelines prescribed by our Guide and Master or lest we remain outside the peace-giving obedience to him such that we suddenly become the victims of the chastisement of God, because there is no safety or refuge from this chastisement except submission to Ahmadiyya. Whosoever remains within it, will certainly survive. Because we firmly believe that this calamity, which is leading the world to annihilation by killing people, is due only to the opposition to His Holiness the Imam of the Age, peace be upon him, so it would be contrary to the way of Allah for this calamity to adversely affect the sincere followers of His Holiness in any way.

This is an established truth borne out by hundreds of precedents recorded in the Holy Quran that, in the earlier ages, the sincere believers of the Prophets, peace be upon them, had been saved at the time of chastisements. This is not something that was operative in the past alone. It is still in operation today as says the Holy Quran 8 but with the condition that one must be a sincere believer; for, if one is not a believer, one cannot escape simply because of a physical familial nearness of relationship as is illustrated by the case of the wife of Prophet Lut [Lot] and the wife and son of Prophet Nuh [Noah].

Therefore, it is incumbent upon each and every believing Ahmadi brother that he keep himself engaged in praying and seeking forgiveness, always trembling and fearful lest he be guilty of any major or minor opposition to His Holiness the Imamas of the Age, so that we continue to redeem ourselves from all the defiance that is frequently committed by us due to our ignorance in subtle matters and that God Almighty may save us from His retribution. And as far as we know, we must safeguard ourselves from every disobedience to our Guide, the Imam of the Age, peace be upon him, because this chastisement is destruction for the opponents and a warning and an object lesson for us. Therefore, every one of our brothers should take heed from observing the fate of others. [So take a lesson, O ye who have eyes!] And keep oneself busy in trying to protect oneself from this calamity.

I urge this because it has been disclosed to me that no one who sincerely belongs to this Jama‘at shall die of this ailment except the one who lives in hypocrisy. Let it be known, therefore, that if anyone belonging to our Jama‘at falls victim to this calamity, the condition of his belief and conduct was not commendable for which he has been awarded this punishment.9 This is so because Allah the Exalted does not allow His sincere believers to be included in the chastisement meant for His opponents. [Is he, then, who is a believer like one who is disobedient? They are not equal.] Therefore every believer should be ever apprehensive lest, on account of any kind of defiance, he should be counted among the transgressors having suffered this calamity of divine chastisement.

In addition to this, I also submit to my worthy brethren that those who receive this announcement should try, with all their heart and soul, to promote its circulation for the sake of discharging their duty to support our Guide and Master, the True Imam, peace be upon him, and to have sympathy for mankind. If possible, let these words be reprinted by the funds collected from the Jama‘ats of your towns and its copies be sent to villages and smaller towns too.

Because, barring the obstinate and the prejudiced, naive people are succumbing to this divine retribution simply on account of their ignorance and negligence. Therefore, our Jama‘at is duty-bound to try to invite mankind to the right path and to save them from this deadly chastisement so that the existence of this holy Jama‘at proves to be beneficial to the welfare and good of humanity and so that the members of this Jama‘at may be judged by God Almighty to be deserving of a great reward. [And Allah alone grants the ability].

With many greetings of peace,
The author of this announcement, the humble one,
Charagh Din Ahmadi of Jammu
9 February 1902, Mufid ‘Am Press Sialkot