3. Third Sign [190]

Among other Signs is the death of Sa‘dullah of Ludhiana, which took place in accordance with a prophecy, the detail of which follows.

When Munshi Sa‘dullah of Ludhiana exceeded all limits in his foul and abusive diatribes, and hurled so much abuse upon me, employing prose and poetry, that I believe he had the filthiest tongue from among my foul-mouthed enemies in the Punjab, it was then that I prayed to God Almighty that he may die a death of disappointment1 during my own lifetime and may his death be disgraceful. His verbal abuses were not the solitary cause of this prayer; rather, its main cause was that he was desirous of my death and used to heap curses upon me in verse and prose.

On account of his foolishness and ignorance, he desired my death and destruction from the very bottom of his heart, and it was his habit to pronounce [‘The curse of Allah be upon the liars’] upon me. He ardently wished that I may die and perish within his own lifetime and that this Movement may suffer loss and decline so that I may be proven to be an impostor and thus become the target of curses by the people.

Although all my enemies harbour similar designs—to see me die and that I should die within their lifetime—but this man exceeded them all and fully participated in all the evil design which my unfortunate opponents tried to hatch. I do not believe that anyone has ever heaped such filthy abuse upon any Prophet and Messenger [of God] since the creation of this world as he has hurled upon me.

Anyone who might have come across his hostile poems, writings, and announcements would know how eager he was for my death and destruction, and how deeply desirous he was to see me humiliated and disappointed, and the extent to which his heart had become filthy on account of his hostility to me. It was because of all this that I had prayed for a death of frustration and disgrace for him within my lifetime. God was pleased to decree accordingly and he died within a few hours during the first week of January 1907 from the pneumonic plague and left this transient world along with all his manifold frustrations.

Maulawi Thana’ullah, editor of Ahl-e-Hadith newspaper, has indicated the anguish and frustration in the death of Sa‘dullah on page four of his paper, and writes that his son had become engaged to Haji ‘Abdur-Rahim’s daughter and the marriage ceremony was about to take place, but Sa‘dullah died. Sa‘dullah was not even bestowed the opportunity to witness the wedding of his son. He only had one son, and he had gotten together all the things needed for the wedding and he was ready to take this inauspicious event to its conclusion within a few days, but the Angel of Death intervened and took hold of him.

This observation on the part of Maulawi Thana’ullah is quite understandable because some of my followers had repeatedly reproached him by saying, ‘Some thirteen years ago, the Promised Messiah had received the following revelation about you:

Meaning that, your foul-mouthed opponent Sa‘dullah’s lineal succession shall be cut off. Then, why do you not marry your son with someone to allow your lineal succession to continue?’

It is, therefore, quite probable that in the face of such persistent reproaches, Sa‘dullah might have made some wedding arrangements for his son. But the arrangements for the wedding were still being made when Sa‘dullah’s time arrived to depart for the next world. Hence, the death of Sa‘dullah as soon as he started talking of [his son’s] ‘marriage’ is, indeed, a disappointment. Therefore, there can be no doubt that he died a death of disappointment in accordance with my prophecy. And without a doubt, this is a disgraceful death and he could not ward off— try as he did—the intent of the prophecy that his lineal succession would not continue; nor was he able to defy the prophecy through any power [of his own] that he would die during my lifetime; and that, too, after witnessing my multifaceted progress.

As for Maulawi Thana’ullah’s excuse published in his newspaper dated 8 February 1907 in which he asserts that since Sa‘dullah had left behind a son, how can he be called ‘issueless’, this is the kind of statement that exposes that he is either suffering from self-deception or is deliberately trying to deceive others; for any sensible person can easily comprehend that what Allah the Exalted had disclosed to me through His revealed Word is not a statement about Sa‘dullah’s pre-existing condition. Also, everyone knows that at the time when the prophecy was announced Sa‘dullah’s fifteen or fourteen year old son was alive but despite the existence of the boy, God had designated him [abtar], i.e. issueless, and had declared that ‘it is not you but your slanderer who shall be issueless.’

Since in his writings, Sa‘dullah repeatedly alleged that this person [i.e. me] is an impostor and would quickly be destroyed and that nothing would remain of him; therefore, in response to his words, which were full of sheer insolence and mischief, Allah the Exalted said, that, in the end, he himself would be destroyed and that no trace of his would be left behind. The prophecy should, therefore, be interpreted keeping in mind the context of the prophecy itself, for it forecasts the termination of lineal descent by declaring null and void the currently alive and existing boy and indicates that his existence or non-existence are equal.

In this context, therefore, quoting the Qamus2 etc. on the meaning of the word [abtar] is sheer nonsense and stupidity. The premise of this case is not that the boy was born after the prophecy. On the contrary, the boy who is present now was fifteen or fourteen years old at the time the prophecy was made, and he should be about thirty or twenty-nine at the present moment. Since he was very much alive when the prophecy was announced, an intelligent person can understand clearly that in the context of the prophecy, he is as good as non-existent and that after him succession comes to an end. This is what Allah the Exalted had made me to understand from it. No one can understand the meaning of a revelation better than its recipient, nor does anyone have the right to oppose his interpretation. Thus, since God Almighty has disclosed this to be the very meaning of the prophecy that this boy is as good as non-existent that Sa‘dullah’s succession will not go beyond him— and upon him the progeny of Sa‘dullah would end, then how utterly obstinate it is to go on insisting that Sa‘dullah was survived by a son subsequent to his own death!

O foolish one! This boy was very much alive when the prophecy was made. A close study of the Arabic idiom would show that the term [abtar] does not indicate that someone having children should die in a situation that all his children die in his lifetime. The actual indication of the term is the termination of the lineage. In the Arabic lexicon the term [batr] means —meaning that, [batr] is said of something that is cut down to the very root, to eradicate something completely.

Thus, it is clear that this prophecy was about the future generation; that is to say, that lineal descent would terminate with the present boy and no future progeny would come from the existing boy as we shall discuss in detail in the following pages. In short, anyone possessing a nature endowed with the slightest of sense and shame would understand that when Allah the Exalted prophesies with respect to a particular person that his lineal succession would be cut off, the prophecy does not necessarily require that all his progeny should die in his very lifetime. Were it so, how would one designate the abolition of lineal succession when a person dies leaving behind one or two sons and sometime later these two boys also die, leaving no progeny behind? Is there any word in the Arabic lexicon to describe such a situation other than [abtar]? And would it be permissible to say that such a person is not issueless and the meaning ‘total eradication’ does not apply to him? Obviously this kind of thinking is nothing short of senseless stupidity. And in the Arabic language there is no other word except [abtar] to describe the condition of this kind of end to lineal succession. In fact, Arabs call a person [abtar] whose offspring die during his lifetime or after his death, leaving him with the title of having no sons and his succession is cut off. In any case, in every country a person is invariably described as [abtar] who happens to be issueless and whose line of succession has been terminated. No renowned scholar of the Arabic lexicon has ever stipulated that the binding condition precedent to being [abtar] is that a person’s offspring should also die in his own lifetime. Furthermore, if a person’s offspring do not die in his own lifetime but do so after his death and cut off his bloodline, does the Arabic language describe him by a name other than [abtar]? Indeed, as stated before, the etymology of this word has a very wide connotation, for [batr] in Arabic means to cut the very root.

Let it be clearly understood that the Arabic term [abtar] has a very wide import. Lisanul-‘Arab3 says:

[abtar] means to root out, to eradicate, to cut from the very root. A second meaning of [batr] is to cut off the tail etc.

1. [abtar] is said of the one whose tail has been cut off.

2. A particular species of snakes is also called [abtar]. This kind of snake is called Satan. If a pregnant woman happens to look at it, a miscarriage takes place.

3. And it is stated in the ahadith that every major action which is not commenced with glorification of Allah is [abtar].

4. And [abtar] is also said of one who has no successor, i.e. he has no son, or whose son has no son.

According to Lisanul-‘Arab: [‘aqib] means a son, as well as the son of a son. As such, anyone without a son is [abtar] and one whose son is without a son is also [abtar]. But, a person cannot be called [abtar] if any son from among his several sons becomes the cause of the continuity of his lineal succession. Thus, the person who dies and leaves no such child behind is also called [abtar]. The following words of God Almighty have been interpreted accordingly:

4

This verse was revealed about ‘As bin Wa’il when he came across the Holy Prophet(sa) who was sitting [somewhere]. Pointing at the Holy Prophet(sa), he said, ‘He is [abtar]’, meaning that he has no son or a son’s son. At this, addressing the Holy Prophet(sa), God Almighty said, ‘O Muhammad, your detractor is in fact the one who is [abtar].’ In other words, it has been so ordained that the progeny, of which he is so proud, shall be destroyed, in his own lifetime or soon after his death, and his lineal succession will be cut off.

It is quite clear that ‘As bin Wa’il had children at that time. For, if he himself had been [abtar without an heir], it would have been baseless on his part to abuse the Holy Prophet(sa) as [abtar]. In short, it was a prophecy of God that his bloodline would be cut off in his own lifetime or thereafter. In fact, this was exactly what happened. It seems that he did leave some offspring behind who were wiped out after his death. Had his progeny died in his own lifetime it would certainly have been mentioned.

The translation of the remaining part [of the definition in Lisanul-‘Arab] is that here the term ابتر [abtar] can also be legitimately translated to mean one who is deprived of all that is good and is unfortunate. Furthermore, according to a hadith reported by Ibn-e-’Abbas, when Ibn-e-Ashraf came to Makkah, the Quraish said to him, ‘You are the best of the Medinites and their chief ’; he replied, ‘Yes, I am exactly that.’ At this the Quraish replied: ‘Don’t you see that this man’— meaning the Holy Prophet(sa)—‘is weak, frail, and unimportant? He has no son, no brother; nor is he accompanied by any group of friends. He is alone, single-handed and cut off by his people who, on account of their religious hostility, have expelled him from their community and issued the edict that no one should interact with him or show any sympathy to him; and despite the fact that this man is neither held in any esteem nor does anyone know who he is, he still believes that he is better than us. But we are an honourable group of people, all those who have performed the Pilgrimage are from among us; we are their chiefs and we are the custodians of the Ka‘bah and those responsible for its service. We also have the exclusive honour of offering drinking water to the pilgrims. This man on the contrary amounts to nothing.’

Upon hearing all these things, the unfortunate Ibnul-Ashraf replied, ‘Of course you are better than this fellow who claims to be a Prophet.’ It was then that God Almighty revealed about him and about the entire group of Quraish who used to say [abtar], and said:

5

Meaning that, Ibnul-Ashraf who said the Holy Prophet(sa) was [abtar] and the disbelievers among the Quraish who also called him [abtar] are in fact [abtar]; that is to say, their lineal succession would be cut off and every one of them would die deprived of any good and devoid of all blessings.

Now, no one can prove that all the Quraish who called the Holy Prophet(sa) [abtar] lost all their sons in their own lifetime or that they did not have any children. Were it so, they would never have designated him—the Holy Prophet(sa)— [abtar]. No intelligent person can ever accept that despite being [abtar] himself a person should denounce another as [abtar]. Therefore, one has to acknowledge that the Quraish did indeed have offspring. The second possibility that all their offspring died in their own lifetime is simply unthinkable. Reason can never accept such a possibility because there were not just one or two evil-minded and unholy people who used to say this about the Holy Prophet; such people ran into hundreds, and their offspring numbered into the thousands, and had they all died in their parents’ lifetime, surely it would have raised great hue and cry in the land because such miraculous deaths of thousands of children and the deaths of their fathers who later died in an issueless condition was not the kind of miracle that could have remained a secret. Furthermore, it was but necessary that this should have been mentioned in the books of ahadith and history. For a certainty, therefore, it shows that after their death most of them were survived by their offspring and later in the course of time, in conformity with the prophecy, their lineal descent gradually petered out.

Hence, the Quranic prophecy about the infidels of Quraish, namely:

6

is exactly like the one I made regarding Sa‘dullah of Ludhiana on the basis of revelation of God Almighty and its fulfilment too will be sim- ilar. Let those who have ears that hear, listen!

The translation of the remaining part of Lisanul-‘Arab is that the word [abtar] is applied also to a pauper and to a person suffering from loss, and also to implements like waterskins and leather buckets that are without a handle. All this shows that the term [abtar] is not exclusively meant to describe the condition of being without sons; rather [abtar] applies to every unfortunate and ineffectual one who is unsuccessful and ever in a state of loss. For instance, Sa‘dullah died in a state of frustration in achieving his schemes. He had certain plans against me which he absolutely failed to carry out. These will be discussed later. The foregoing investigation also proves that to be [abtar] one doesn’t have to die a childless death. Even if his line of succession is cut off after him and does not go beyond his grandson, even then he is called [abtar]. As it has been pointed out before, hundreds of the evil-minded Quraish had designated the Holy Prophet(sa) [abtar] and these people possessed offspring. Islamic history does not prove that their sons and grandsons had died in their own lifetime. Rather, it was later that their line of succession was gradually cut off. Hence, the sole purpose of the prophecy which God Almighty revealed to me was that in the end, Sa‘dullah’s bloodline would be ter- minated; consequently, its signs too became so manifest that despite the fact that since [the announcement of ] the prophecy some twelve years have passed but neither he nor his son have been granted any son. Does this state of affairs not give at least some fragrance of the impact of the prophecy? Sa‘dullah remained alive for about twelve years after the prophecy and all the while he did have a wife, but the process of having children was blocked very much like a dam is built to block a flood. And the son, who was present, and fifteen years of age at the time of the prophecy, came to be thirty years old, but could not even get married. Sa‘dullah was a robust young man, and was capable of having quite a number of sons born into his household after the prophecy, but no son was born to him who survived from the time of the prophecy until the day of his death, nor did his son have any children. Indeed, he is still deprived of marriage and it is said that he is perhaps thirty years old or even older.

Thus, the prophecy has manifested its truth, because, subsequent to the prophecy, Allah the Exalted put a stop to the birth of offspring in Sa‘dullah’s household. Anyone possessing a grain of decency and dignity can understand that the cessation of the process of childbirth for the next twelve years starting immediately with the prophecy, and [ending with] the death of Sa‘dullah in this very condition, is no ordinary event that can be overlooked, particularly in view of the ill-fated Sa‘dullah’s declaration against me that I would be destroyed together with all my children and that nothing would remain of me, and that my Jama‘at would disperse in utter disarray. God revealed to me concerning him that:

Meaning that, it will not be you who will become [abtar] but it will be your maligner who shall remain [abtar]. So now we should see what the end result of this prophecy was!

It is quite evident that the result was that the ill-fated Sa‘dullah became the target of wrath and anger, and became [abtar] in every meaning attached to the word in the lexicons. He was frustrated and thwarted in his designs, which is one meaning of the term [abtar] and I have just written out this meaning. Secondly, this meaning also proved true in his case that, in the end, he took up employment under Christian missionaries who are ever busy trying to malign the reli- gion of Islam and thus he opted for a life of humiliation and became deprived of the goodness and blessing which is the lot of anyone who honours Islam. This was the consequence of his dedicated opposition against truth out of sheer mischief and mundane motives. Therefore, he suffered the regression that he did not accept the yoke of obedience to me, but accepted the yoke of obedience to the Christian missionaries. Thus, in this sense also he is adjudged to be [abtar]. Furthermore, as I have already stated, he also became ابتر [abtar] in the sense that, from the moment that God pronounced about him:

[It is not you but your slanderer who shall be issueless.]

Allah the Exalted put a seal on his wife’s womb. This revelation was communicated to him in very clear words that from now until death no children would be born to your household; nor shall your lineal succession continue afterward.

For a certainty, he must have tried very hard to have children to falsify this revelation; but all these efforts were to no avail, and in the end he died in frustration with every meaning of [abtar] proving true about him. While on the other hand he repeatedly supplicated against me, that this man is an impostor, he shall perish, his progeny too will die, and his Jama‘at will disintegrate, but the result of it was that three sons were born in my household after receiving this revelation:

[It is not you but your slanderer who shall be issueless.]

And the membership of my Jama‘at increased to more than 300,000 and hundreds of thousands of rupees poured in and many Christians and Hindus became Muslims through my preaching. Is this not, then, a Sign? Has this prophecy not been fulfilled? To allege that Sa‘dullah’s son is now engaged to ‘Abdur-Rahim’s daughter and will soon be mar- ried and that children will be born, is wishful thinking and is just idle talk7 which is worth a laugh.

And the answer to this also is that the promises of God can never remain unfulfilled. This point should be made after marriage takes place and a child is born too. As of now, integrity demands that they should ponder seriously how this prophecy which Allah the Exalted manifested through me has been fulfilled in the same manner as the prophecy:

8

made by the Holy Quran, was fulfilled. As I have already stated, twelve years ago, God revealed to me about him that:

[It is not you but your slanderer who shall be issueless.]

And the door to the birth of children for Sa‘dullah was closed after this revelation. And Allah the Exalted, smiting his face with his own curses, granted me three sons after this revelation, and caused tens of millions of people to hold me in great esteem. The financial victories I was bestowed, both in cash and in kind, and the variety of gifts that I received, were so many that if put together they would fill up a number of rooms.

Sa‘dullah desired that I should be abandoned and left alone with no one to keep me company. Hence, Allah the Exalted frustrated him in his design and caused many hundreds of thousands of people to become associated with me. He desired that people should not help me, but Allah the Exalted made him witness in his own lifetime how an entire world had turned to me to be of assistance to me. And Allah the Exalted helped me financially in such a manner as none else had been helped for hundreds of years. He had desired that I should remain deprived of every honour, but God caused thousands belonging to every echelon of society to submit to me with their heads bowed. He desired that I should die in his very lifetime and that my children too should die, but Allah the Exalted caused him to die in my lifetime and in the period from the day of this revelation He bestowed upon me three more sons. Thus he died a death of frustration and disgrace. This, indeed, was what I had prophesied and it was fulfilled by the grace of Allah the Exalted.

And this prophecy in which I had written that he would die a death of frustration and disgrace during my lifetime, has been described in the following Arabic verses which form part of my book Anjam-e-Atham:

9

From among the sinners, I perceive one who is rebellious— A devil condemned and the spawn of fools.10

He is evil-tongued, evil-minded, a mischief-monger, and a glib liar; An accursed one whom the ignorant have named Sa‘d.

O ye who invokes God’s curse upon me! [Beware,] God is watching you! Fear the wrath of God, who is my All-Powerful Master.

I see that you walk with conceit and arrogance— Do you not fear the day when you will die by the plague that wounds?

Be not the unfortunate victim of your selfish desires; Your self-admiration will drop you down a dark pit.

Your ego is a wicked horse—Fear the height of this horse’s back; Fear lest its wild gallop thrust you down upon the earth.

Poisons are the worst of all that exists in the world; And the enmity of the virtuous is worse than all poisons.

By your wickedness you have caused me great pain; I would not be the truthful one, if you do not die in disgrace.

God will not only disgrace you—He will disgrace you along with your followers, yet He shall bestow honour upon me, So much so that people will come into submission under my flag.

Our Lord! Settle this affair between me and Sa‘dullah; that is, cause the liar to die in the presence of the truthful one. O [Ye All-Seeing One] who sees my heart, and sees what is concealed within me!

O my God! I see the doors to Your grace ever open, For those who pray, therefore accept my prayer regarding Sa‘dullah and do not reject it—that is, make him die the death of disgrace in my own lifetime.

I have provided a translation of all these couplets below each couplet, the reading of which will clarify that I had engaged in a mubahalah [prayer duel] through them with Sa‘dullah. And just as he had sought my death during his own lifetime by way of the mubahalah in his book Shahab-e-Thaqib [‘The Piercing Flame’], so did I, challenging him, seek from my God the death of whichever one of us two is the liar, within the lifetime of the one who is truthful. This is why in the eighth couplet given above, I have said that, O Sa‘dullah, you have given me immense pain; thus, if you did not die a shameful death—that is, if in accordance with the aforesaid mubahalah, you fail to die a death marked by frustration during my own lifetime—I would be proven to be a liar. And in the fourth couplet, it also has been indicated clearly that Sa‘dullah would die of the pneumonic plague. The term ta‘nah indicates the term ta‘un, that is, plague, and najla’ in Arabic means a vast wound. And this indeed is exactly what happens in the case of pneumonic plague, the lung becomes sore and bursts, resulting in a vast lesion. Even more remarkable is the fact that this prophecy was made when there was no trace of the plague in this country. This is, indeed, an example of the utmost depth and profundity of the knowledge of the Omnipotent and Omniscient God, that He intimated the very nature of Sa‘dullah’s death at a time when this entire country was free from the plague.

The prophecy of God Almighty contained in the foregoing poetic verses indicated that Sa‘dullah would die in disgrace and humiliation in my very lifetime. The prophecy was fulfilled in its entirety and the pneumonic plague did away with him completely in a few hours and he passed away from this world in the very first week of January 1907. But here the question naturally arises as to why such a prophecy was made and why patience was not exercised in the face of such abuse? The answer is that Sa‘dullah had published his prophecy about my death and about the apostasy and disintegration of my Jama‘at four years before this prophecy in his book Shahab-e-Thaqib. In this book he had written categorically that this man is a liar and an impostor and, therefore, he would die an ignominious death and that his Jama‘at would disintegrate and scatter. He had employed the most abusive language in conveying this news. Therefore, Allah the Exalted, whose indignation is aroused when the honour of the truthful is threatened, caused his prophecy to recoil upon him. The ill-fated Sa‘dullah had named his book Shahab-e-Thaqib bar Masih-e-Kadhib which means that fire shall descend upon this false Messiah11 and destroy him. The prophecy he made about me consists of some Persian couplets and it is as follows:

Couplets of Sa‘dullah

The translation of these verses—which he addresses to me in his book—is the following:

It has been ordained by God that He would seize you and cut your jugular vein and then, after your death, this, your false Movement, will be destroyed. And although you people say that trials do indeed come, on the Day of Judgment and even in this world you will die a death of loss and frustration.

And then after writing the Quranic verse 12 he says:

You will suffer humiliation everywhere and there is no honour for you here or in the Hereafter.

It is evident from these words what he desired for me and he carried all these manifold regrets and frustrations in his heart with him to the grave. This is a point worthy of great attention for the just-minded people that these parallel prophecies were by way of a mubahalah. In other words, he had given the news that I would die and he thought it would be a death of extreme frustration and that it would take place in his own lifetime. And he used to pray for my death with great fervour and he was sure that this is what would happen. On the other hand, four years after his prophecy [about my death] God informed me that he would indeed die an ignominious death in my own lifetime, and that his death would be caused by a certain kind of plague. And I, for my part, used to pray for his death in order that my prophecy may be fulfilled. In the end, God proved me right and in conformity with my prophecy, he died in the first week of January, during my own lifetime. And who is there who can gauge the manifold frustration and humiliation with which he died? Is this humiliation and disgrace not enough that he died leaving behind him the very person whose death he had sought and publicly prophesied, and witnessing hundreds of thousands of people following this person? As for the Jama‘at whose destruction and extinction he had prophesied—he died having seen its extraordinary and miraculous progress with his own eyes. But that was not all. He used to pray very fervently that he would live to see a great number of his progeny in contravention to the revelation:

[It is not you but your slanderer who shall be issueless.]

But in fact his offspring continued to die at birth. This was indeed a heart-rending pain which he experienced again and again. In fact no son was born to him after the revelation:

[It is not you but your slanderer who shall be issueless.]

The lone survivor was the son who had been born prior to the prophecy. He has attained old age but there is no mention at all of his marital intentions, let alone the possibility of any children.

The supplicatory couplets written by him [Sa‘dullah] entitled Qadiul-Hajat [‘The Provider of all Needs’] adequately portray his sense of deprivation; they are the following:

Couplets of Sa‘dullah

O my Self-Sufficient Lord! You bestowed upon me the darlings of my heart,
But some of them you snatched back.
God my Lord! Grant me a better substitute, and help me, by Your grace, to eradicate worries and distress.
O my Gracious Lord! Each one of my wives and children is the delight of my eyes.
My heart is full of acute pain and grief,
On account of the death of my dear ones!

By just glancing over these painful poetic verses anyone can gauge how many regrets must have filled his heart over the death of his children and of being left issueless himself, and the regrets from which he could not save himself. And, as is clear from his book, for as many as sixteen years he continued to pray for him to be bestowed many offspring and for me to die and be destroyed. In the end, in the first week of January 1907, he died within a span of a few hours afflicted by pneumonic plague, deprived of the acceptance of all his prayers.

He did not want his death to take place during my lifetime; rather, he wished that I should die during his own lifetime. To this end, he had also announced a prophecy. He did not want me blessed with children or my Jama‘at to enjoy progress; rather, he longed for an abundance of his own progeny and he did not want anyone to help my Movement. But he died a most disgraceful death, deprived of the fulfilment of all his wishes.13

And I had informed him again and again about the will of God Almighty in using the term [abtar] in the revelation:

[It is not you but your slanderer who shall be issueless.]

The intent of Allah the Exalted was that in future no children would be born to him and that his son, too would die [abtar] or issueless. Thus, he witnessed it for himself that although he survived for as many as twelve years after the prophecy and throughout this period he continued to pray also, yet he was not bestowed any progeny with the only exception of his son who was already some fifteen years old at the time of the prophecy. Furthermore, he took the unfulfilled wish of his to the grave that he could not even arrange his son’s marriage. Thus was it his lot to suffer from the aggregate of all this humiliation in full accord with the prophecy. It was also in regard to Sa‘dullah that after receiving the revelation from God Almighty I wrote the following announce- ment promising a reward of 3,000 rupees which was published on 5 October 1894, on page 12 of my book Anwarul-Islam. It is as follows:

Go on quarrelling with the truth. Ultimately—O corpse!— you will behold what will be your end. O enemy of Allah! You are not fighting with me; you are fighting with God. I swear by God that just now on 29 September 1894, I have received this revelation about you:

The translation of this revealed phrase is that Sa‘dullah, who designates you [abtar] and claims that your line of descent and other blessings will be cut off—this will certainly not come to pass; indeed, he himself shall remain [abtar]—issueless.

It must be borne in mind that in the Arabic language, the expression is never used except in the case of a confrontation. Use of this expression is permitted only when someone else has already pronounced one as [abtar] and then in rebuttal, such a one may be pronounced as [abtar]. So this expression bears witness to the fact that Sa‘dullah used to call me [abtar—issueless] and desired that I should die in his presence, bereft of all bounties and blessings—issueless and without any lineal descendant. Thus, God made him suffer that which he petitioned God for me.

I was not the first to wish that he should die [abtar] and unsuccessful, nor did I desire that he should die in my lifetime, but when he became the first to spew such things and blatantly published his prophecy about my death in his book Shahab-e-Thaqib, and caused me immense pain and exceeded all limits in agonizing me, then after four years when I prayed to God about him, He informed me of his death. And God said:

Sa‘dullah who prophesies that you will remain [abtar], will himself suffer this fate, but I shall cause your progeny to prosper until the Day of Resurrection, and you will never be deprived of blessings.

I shall bless you so much that kings will seek blessings from your garments;

And I shall turn an entire world’s attention towards you, but Sa‘dullah, bereft of all bounty and blessing, shall die an ignominious death in your own lifetime.

The events were manifested exactly in the same manner.

These are prophecies of God that cannot be averted. Had these been mere verbal declarations, which of my opponents would have acknowledged this prophecy of mine [to be true] today? However, since all these statements had been published twelve years ago as part of my books and announcements, no opponent has been left any path to escape them with the sole exception of someone like Abu Jahl, who abandons dignity and decency and declares the bright sunny day to be night and the shining sun to be devoid of light. Similarly, if Sa‘dullah had not published his prophecy about my death and disgrace and the destruction of my Jama‘at in his book, Shahab-e-Thaqib, who would have believed me now? But God be thanked that on each side, the two prophecies were published in the shape of a mubahalah, and in the end, it was as clear as a bright sunny day as to which side was favoured by God Almighty’s verdict.

It should also be borne in mind that some harsh words about Sa‘dullah will be found in my books. You might wonder why such harshness about him was resorted to. However, just one look at his filthy prose and poetry would immediately dispel all such misgivings. This unfortunate man had transgressed so much in the use of abusive and filthy language that I cannot imagine that Abu Jahl could have ever hurled this much abuse upon the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Indeed, I say with full certainty that of all the Prophets of God who came to this world, none can be proven to have ever faced as evil-tongued an opponent as Sa‘dullah. He left no stone unturned in his opposition and hostility towards me. And even the lowest of society did not know the crude etiquettes of abuse known to him. It was as though he was fueled by his abuse. He clamoured such harsh and filthy words with such cheek and disdain as is impossible except for the one who is evil at birth. The harshest of harsh words and the filthiest of filthy abuse issued forth from his mouth with such audacity and shamelessness that no man could possess such a filthy nature unless he was already born with it, endowed from his mother’s very womb. Such men are even worse than a brood of vipers.

I exercised great restraint in the face of his foul language. I tried my best to restrain myself, but when he transgressed all extremes and the dam holding back his innate filth burst, then I, out of scrupulously good intent, used such words about him as were appropriate for the occasion. Although such words, as in the writing above, appear to be somewhat harsh, they cannot be categorized as any form of abuse. Rather, they are factually appropriate for the occasion and were written exactly as and when they were needed.

Every Prophet was lowly, meek, and humble, but there were occasions when they all had to use such words for their opponents. Thus, look how mild the teachings contained in the Gospels are claimed to be and yet, the same Gospels contain such expressions about the scribes, the Pharisees, and the Jewish scholars that portray them as being wicked, deceitful, mischief-mongers, a brood of vipers, wolves, unholy in nature, inherently vicious and that prostitutes would enter Paradise before they would enter therein. The Holy Quran also contains words like —zanim [i.e. of doubtful birth]. Hence it is clear that an expression which is in keeping with facts cannot be categorized as abusive and no Prophet was the first to use harsh words. On the contrary, they used such words only when the blasphemous language of the evil-natured unbelievers had crossed all limits. It was only then that they used such words either upon divine direction or under divine revelation.

This has also been my practice concerning all opponents. No one can ever prove that I was the first to use any harsh words about my opponents before any one of them used foul language. When Maulawi Muhammad Husain opened his mouth and so brazenly labelled me a

dajjal [deceiver], and got an edict drafted condemning me as an apostate, causing hundreds of Muslim clerics in the Punjab and India to hurl abuse upon me; denounced me as being worse than Jews and Christians; and designated me a liar, a mischief-monger, a dajjal, a slanderer, an impostor, a swindler, a miscreant, a transgressor, and an embezzler; it was then that God made my heart incline towards defending myself against these writings with scrupulously good intent. I do not oppose anyone out of personal motives and I desire to do good to all, but what am I to do when someone exceeds the limits of all decency? I seek jus- tice from God. All these maulawis have hurt me, indeed hurt me very deeply, and have made me the target of their ridicule and derision in everything. What can I say except:

14

Bear in mind that Sa‘dullah has been the target of a mubahalah by confronting me twice. First, in the Arabic verses that I had previously recorded in Anjam-e-Atham, I had prayed by way of a mubahalah that God should destroy the liar. Of the couplets pertaining to the mubahalah one is as follows:

Meaning that: O our Lord! Settle this affair between me and Sa‘dullah; You know only too well the condition of my heart.

And then another couplet about Sa‘dullah is as follows:

Meaning that: You have caused me great pain because of your inherent wickedness; Thus shall I not be held truthful unless you die a disgraceful death in my own lifetime.

Then again, on page 67 of my book Anjam-e-Atham I have given the details of the second time I targeted Sa‘dullah for a mubahalah. This invitation addressed a number of other maulawis as well, whose names have been listed on pages 69–72 of my book Anjam-e-Atham. The ini- tial paragraph of the mubahalah prayer is recorded on page 67 of the book Anjam-e-Atham and it is as follows:

Witness, O earth and O heaven! God’s curse be upon the very one who, after receiving this booklet, neither presents himself for a mubahalah, nor stops denouncing and insulting me as an unbeliever, and does not part company with those who ridicule me. O true believers! Do all of you, for the sake of God, say, ‘Amin’.

Furthermore, all those who are my bitterest enemies are listed and invited to a mubahalah in the book Anjam-e-Atham. In the first line on page 70, the name of this unfortunate Sa‘dullah appears as:

Sa‘dullah—a new convert to Islam and teacher in Lodhana.

As of today, twelve years, three months, and a number of days have passed since the announcement of this mubahalah. Following this mubahalah most of them fell silent. Of those who did not desist from maligning me, there would be only a few who escaped tasting death or suffering humiliation. For example, Nadhir Husain of Delhi, who was a leading figure in my opposition and was at the forefront of those invited to join in a mubahalah, after witnessing the death of his very competent son, himself died leaving behind no progeny. Rashid Ahmad of Gangoh, whose name is recorded on page 69 of the invi- tation to the mubahalah, became blind after my praying for his ruin and then died from a snake bite. Maulawi ‘Abdul-‘Aziz of Ludhiana and Maulawi Muhammad of Ludhiana, who are similarly named on this very page 69, also departed from this world soon after this invitation to the mubahalah. And similarly, Maulawi Ghulam Rusul, alias Rusul Baba—whose name occurs on page 70 of the invitation to the mubahalah—died at Amritsar of the plague after the invitation to the mubahalah and [after] my praying for his ruin mentioned above. Similarly, Maulawi Ghulam Dastagir of Qasur, mentioned on page 70 of this same book, Anjam-e-Atham, and who had published a mubahalah of his own in his book Faid-e-Rahmani,15 died one month after the publication of that book. He did not die simply because I had invoked God’s curse and sought God’s chastisement upon him and other opponents who neither desist from mischief-making nor engage in the mubahalah as documented in my book Anjam-e-Atham on page 67, line number seventeen; but also his own mubahalah was, in fact, also the cause of his death for after mentioning my name and his own name, he had sought from God the complete eradication of the one who was unjust in the sight of Allah. As a result, his eradica- tion became effective only a few days later. On the same page, number 70, is entered the name of Maulawi Asghar ‘Ali. He, too, did not desist from using abusive language against me until he lost an eye on account of the wrath of God. In like manner, the name of Maulawi ‘Abdul- Majid of Delhi is included in the list concerning the mubahalah, and he died of cholera in Delhi during February 1907.16 Similarly, many others who styled themselves as ulema and custodians of shrines, did not desist from their invectives and abuse even after the invitation to the mubahalah. As a result, God made some of them taste the cup of death, while others fell victim to all kinds of humiliation, yet others succumbed to the filthy past-time of deceit, fraud, and mundane pur- suits to the extent that they were deprived of faith. Not a single one escaped the impact of this curse. And because Sa‘dullah had surpassed all others in abusive language, not only did he die full of frustration, but he also partook of every kind of humiliation, and despite lifelong employment, he still hungered for more. In the end, when he was at death’s door, he took up employment in a Christian school and, in addition to suffering much humiliation, he was forced to suffer this last ignominy and accept employment with the Christian missionaries—a group who are the enemies of Islam and in whose schools a condition of employment is that one must lecture against Islam and where it is the practice to pronounce on a daily or a weekly basis such teachings about the ‘divinity’ of Hadrat ‘Isa [ Jesus Christ] as are a source of misguidance. In Arabic, [abtar] also means [mu‘dim] i.e. a pauper who has lost all his savings. Thus, he qualified himself to being an [abtar] of this kind too, because had he been financially blessed he would not have knocked upon the door of Christian missionaries in the last days of his life seeking employment—like a beggar—from those who perforce teach against Islam in their schools and colleges. It is certainly not the way of a true Muslim to seek their employment.

It is indeed a great pity that this man named Sa‘dullah, who had died, had listened to some of my oral discourses and had an ample opportunity to study my books, yet prejudice and bias are such a curse on account of which nothing was of avail to him. Hadrat ‘Isa having suffered death was not anything doubtful. Allah the Exalted had spelled it out in the Holy Quran and His Prophet(sa) had seen him in the company of the deceased Prophets during the night of mi‘raj; while, on the other hand, it is also proven from the Holy Quran and hadith that all Islamic Khulafa’ [Successors to the Holy Prophet; spiritual leaders] will come from among this very ummah. Indeed, the ahadith also state that the ‘Isa who is to descend will be from among this very ummah. Despite all this, that unfortunate one failed to understand. Also, according to the earlier Scriptures and authentic ahadith, the great Sign of the last Messiah that had been given was that his coming would be simultaneous with the appearance of the Dajjal. Moreover, the Holy Quran has shown that the Dajjal17 means the band of Christian missionaries whose lifelong pastime is to distort and tamper with [the original text]; because dajjal means none other than one who hides the truth by distorting the original and tampering with it, and it is to this very point that Surah al-Fatihah draws our attention. Also the Quranic verse:

18

Proves that the Dajjal will not be any group other than the Christians. Since prevalence and dominance until the Day of Judgment is destined either for the Christians or for the Muslims who are the true followers, how can anyone with faith ever imagine that someone else who is opposed to Hadrat ‘Isaas and denies his Prophethood will establish his dominance over the world? Such a thought is in clear contradiction to the inconvertible intent of the Holy Quran. Likewise, the hadith pertaining to the prophecy contained in Sahih Muslim that the Dajjal will issue forth from a church supports the verse of the Holy Quran just mentioned. And events also make this apparent, for the great tribulation that had been prophesied was ultimately brought about at the hands of the Christian missionaries. One hallmark of a man’s wisdom is that he should keep an eye on events and reflect upon the aspects that are supported by the events as they unfold. God has likened this world to a single day in which the epoch of the Holy Prophet(sa) is likened to ‘Asr [late afternoon]. Then, if the age of the Holy Prophet was likened to ‘Asr, how should we, after the year 1324 [of Hijrah], designate the present age? Is this age then not close to sunset? If so, and if this is still not the time for the advent of the Messiah, then there would surely be no time left for his coming after this.

Similarly, in authentic ahadith, some of which are found in Sahih Bukhari, the epoch of the Holy Prophet is likened unto the time of ‘Asr, so one has to accept that our own age is close to the time of the Resurrection. It is also learnt from some other ahadith that the age limit of the present world is 7,000 years. This sense is also supported by the following Quranic verse in which God says:

19

Meaning that, verily, a day with your Lord is as 1,000 years of your reckoning.

Thus, since we learn from the Word of Allah the Exalted that there are but seven days, there emerges an indication that the lifespan of the human species is 7,000 years. God has also revealed to me that the numerical value of the letters in Surah al-‘Asr according to the Juma system,20 is the number of lunar years lived by the human species until the blessed time of the Holy Prophet(sa). Because God has used the lunar calendar, in accordance with this reckoning, our human species thus far has lived out 6,000 years of its life and now we are into the seventh millennium. It was, therefore, necessary that the like of Adam who, in other words is referred to as the Promised Messiah, should be born at the end of the sixth millennium which is symbolized by Friday, the day on which Adam was born. So was I brought into being by God.

Thus, according to all this, I was born in the sixth millennium. And this is a strange coincidence that I was born on a Friday according to the calendar in use. Also, just as Adams [the progenitors] were born male and female, so was I born as a twin. A girl was with me who was born first and then I was born after her. These are the facts of my life which provide the seeker after truth with clear evidence. In addition, there are thousands of other Signs some of which have already been recorded by way of illustration.

It must be borne in mind that upon hearing my Signs, it is the habit of Maulawi Thana’ullah, under the impulse of his Abu Jahl-like nature, to present half-baked excuses to justify his rejection of these Signs. On this occasion he had also demonstrated this same habit of his and, based on sheer falsehood, he had written concerning me in his paper, Ahl-e-Hadith, dated 8 February 1907 that the revelation I had received regarding Maulawi ‘Abdul-Karim’s health, that he would certainly recover, was false for he died in the end. I give to such falsehood except to say [‘The curse of Allah be upon the liars’]? Will Maulawi Thana’ullah kindly explain that if the above-mentioned revelation was in fact received about Maulawi ‘Abdul-Karim recovering his health, then about whom were the following revelations that had been published in the Badr and Al-Hakam newspapers?

Was wrapped up in a shroud. Forty-seven years of age. Surely, to Allah we belong and to Him shall we return. He was not destined to recover. The arrows of death cannot be averted.

Let it be clearly known that all these revelations were about Maulawi ‘Abdul-Karim except that I had once seen him in a dream as if he had recovered, but dreams are subject to interpretation. If you consult books about interpretation of dreams, you will find that death sometimes means health, and health sometimes means death. It often happens that in a dream one sees the death of a person and the interpretation is an extension of his life. This is the state of those maulawis who are renowned as being highly ‘trustworthy’. There is no evil deed worse than lying in the world. God compares such lying to filth yet these people do not avoid such filth. I have so clearly demonstrated Sa‘dullah’s death in accordance with the prophecy, but will Maulawi Thana’ullah accept and acknowledge it? No, not at all. He will instead try to reject it one way or another. These people are at war with God Almighty. They fail to see that had this been a man-made scheme, it would not have been attended by such blessings. Can any honest person ascribe such actions to the God of Honour and Glory that He should grant a reprieve lasting thirty to thirty-two years to a person after his claiming to be the recipient of revelation, and bestow upon his movement prosperity and progress day by day?

At a time when he did not have even a single follower, He gave him the glad tiding that: Hundreds of thousands of people shall be made to enter your movement and people will give you hundreds of thousands of rupees and a variety of gifts and presents. Thousands of people will flock to you from distant places so much so that the roads they travel on will develop ruts in them and become scarred with ditches. You should not become weary on account of the abundance of visitors; be not impolite to them. God will spread your fame throughout the world and He will show manifest magnificent Signs in your support. God will not rest content until He has made truth distinct from falsehood. Your enemies will try hard and resort to all kinds of fabrication, deceit, and stratagems, but God will frustrate them in their designs; God shall be with you at every step and He will grant you success in every field. He shall consummate His light at your hands. A Warner came into the world, but the world did not accept him, but God shall accept him and manifest his truth with powerful assaults. I shall demonstrate My light and shall raise you with a demonstration of My power. I shall protect you from every attack of your enemies even if the people do not save you. Even if people show no regard for your safety, I will certainly protect you.

These are the revelations from more than thirty years ago and all of them have been published in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya more than twenty-six years ago. This was a time when nobody knew me. I had no friend nor enemy, for I was, at that time, a mere nothing, just one from among the ordinary people, concealed in anonymity and obscurity. Then gradually things began to improve and all that had been prophesied some thirty to thirty-two years earlier came to be manifested. And so far several hundreds of thousands of people have come to Qadian and have joined the system of bai‘at [pledge of allegiance]. And in reality people came to Qadian to perform the bai‘at in such large numbers that meeting them all would have exhausted me, had I not remembered this revelation:

[Do not turn away from Allah’s creatures and be not tired of people.]

I would have failed to adequately discharge the requirements of good, high morals, had Allah the Exalted, in His kindness and mercy, not informed me of these events some thirty to thirty-two years ago. God has helped me financially too. This can be verified from the records of the money orders I have received through the Post Office. I have so far received several hundred thousand rupees. In addition, there is the money people offer in person or otherwise send by post in the shape of currency notes. The different departments of my Community also cost approximately 3,000 rupees per month. It is evident from this that the current monthly income is about the same, whereas at the time when the prophecy pertaining to financial victories was published in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, no one contributed even a single penny per year, nor was there any hope of any such income. And thirty to thirty-two years have elapsed since this prophecy was made and it belongs to a time when not a single penny would come from anyone and no one as yet had entered into my Jama‘at. I was rather like the seed that lay hidden beneath the soil as God Almighty Himself testified about me in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya published twenty-six years ago and the revelation reads as follows:

Meaning that, pray: ‘Lord, do not leave me alone [and You are the Best of inheritors]’.

From this it is clear that at the time when this prophecy was made, I was all alone. And then, there is another revelation about me recorded in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya which is as follows:

Meaning that, I was like the seed sown in the earth.

In addition to these revelations, all the residents of this town and thousands of others know that at that time, I was—in fact—like a corpse that had been buried for centuries within a grave… and no one knew whose grave it is! Subsequently, Allah the Exalted manifested such wondrous glimpses of His power as constitute clear proof of His existence.

And then Allah the Exalted did not stop at this. He granted acceptance to hundreds of my supplications, some of which are recorded in this book by way of examples. In every legal case filed against me, I alone was victorious and God informed me in advance of each verdict that your enemy would be defeated. And everyone who entered into the mubahalah with me, God Almighty either caused him to die, or a life of humiliation or paucity of means became his lot, or his lineal descent was cut off. And those who sought my death and abused me, ultimately died themselves. And God manifested so many Signs in my support that they cannot be counted. Let any wise person who fears God and is moved by His majesty and is reasonable enough to have regard for decency and honour, judge for himself whether the way of God is such that He treats anyone whom He knows to be an impostor and who lies in His name, the way He treats me. I assert with absolute truth that I was young when I started having these revelations and now I am old and almost seventy years of age, but over this period of thirty-five years, my God did not separate Himself from me even for a single day.

In accordance with His prophecies, He caused a large part of the world to incline toward me. I was poor and penniless—He gave me hundreds of thousands of rupees and informed me beforehand of these great financial victories. He granted me victory in every mubahalah, accepted hundreds of my prayers and blessed me with innumerable bounties. Is it therefore conceivable that God would show such grace and kindness to a person who He knows lies in His name? Also, in the opinion of my opponents, I have been fabricating lies in the name of God for the last thirty to thirty-two years and that what I fabricate during the night, I present in the morning as the Word of God. And yet, as a result, God still grants me victories over those who style themselves ‘true believers’; moreover, on the occasion of a mubahalah, He either causes those who are opposed to me to die or disgraces them with humiliation. Additionally, in keeping with His prophecies, He is bringing people towards me and manifesting thousands of Signs. He helps me in every conflict, in every way, and at the time of every difficulty. He never vouchsafes such help to anyone unless they are truthful nor does He manifest such Signs in their support.21 Even then, if Maulawi Thana’ullah, who nowadays exceeds the other clerics in deriding, ridiculing, and abusing me, does not stop this foul behaviour, I would happily accept an offer to enter into a mubahalah with him. But this mubahalah will not be held in Amritsar. I still have not forgotten the treatment meted out to me by the Ahl-e-Hadith of that area when I rose to describe the beauties of Islamic teachings there in a gathering—as everyone knows—they prevented me from delivering my address by raising a clamour and violating all norms of decent behaviour, and when I boarded my carriage to leave, it was pelted with stones, with no regard even to the authorities. Such a place is, therefore, not fit for holding a mubahalah; Qadian, on the other hand is entirely suitable. Here I shall be personally responsible for the honour and safety of Maulawi Thana’ullah. I also undertake to pay all the travelling expenses incurred in his journey from Amritsar to Qadian and back. But the condition precedent will be that for two hours I shall explain to him why I claim to be truthful.

In case he dislikes the idea of coming to Qadian, a mubahalah can still be held in the following manner: First I shall make sure that Maulawi Thana’ullah has read all the arguments I have recorded in the book Haqiqatul-Wahi. I shall ask only ten questions based on differ- ent parts of this book—Haqiqatul-Wahi—with a view to determining whether or not he has studied the book with complete attention. Then, if he answers these ten questions in accord with the contents of this book, the written text of a mubahalah between the two sides will be published. If he agrees to this method, I will send him a copy of my book Haqiqatul-Wahi and thus we will settle this long drawn-out daily controversy once and for all. He will, of course, have the option after receiving the book to request a couple of weeks’ grace with the view to prepare for the aforementioned examination.

I say it truthfully that he and his ulema brethren, in attempting to contradict me, pay scant regard to the Shariah. Rather, they man- ufacture a new shariah of their own. Whilst claiming to be maulawis are they yet unaware that prophecies of warning can be averted? If a person against whom Allah the Exalted reveals a prophecy containing a warning, repents and exhibits remorse and humility, and no longer shows arrogance, the fulfilment of the prophecy can be averted. For instance, the Prophet Yunus’s prophecy concerning his people was averted on account of their crying and wailing and showing remorse. This even became a great trial for Prophet Yunus and he was unable to understand why the prophecy had been averted. That is why God put him into the belly of a whale. If a dear Prophet of God earned His displeasure on account of his failure to fully understand the prerogative of God, the Sovereign Lord, and landed himself at death’s door, how much more dreadful would the plight be of those who are not only guilty of denying such divine prerogative with great audacity, but also of doing so with great temerity and disrespect? With great daring they repeatedly allege that the prophecy about Atham was not fulfilled but take pains not to mention the condition precedent to its fulfilment. Can this be called honesty? There was not even a condition specified in the prophecy made by Prophet Yunus, yet God, at the sight of the repentance and remorseful cries of his people, warded off the immi- nent chastisement. In the same vein, Maulawi Thana’ullah repeatedly mentions Ahmad Baig’s son-in-law, insisting that he did not die as was prophesied, yet he is quite aware that the prophecy consisted of two parts. One part was about Ahmad Baig. As a result, Ahmad Baig died in strict conformity with the prophecy and within the prescribed time frame. The pity is that Thana’ullah and the other opponents of mine take precaution to avoid any mention of the death of Ahmad Baig, and mention only the second part of the prophecy; that is to say, that his son-in-law is still alive.22

This, in sum, is the so-called ‘integrity’ of these people. They con- ceal the truth that has been manifested, yet present the part that is awaiting manifestation as an objection. They know very well that the prophecy about Ahmad Baig and his son-in-law was conditional, just like the prophecy about Atham. The text pertaining to the condition has already been published and is as follows:

Meaning: ‘O woman, repent! Repent, for the calamity is on your daughter and daughter’s daughter.’

This is the Word of God and had been published beforehand. Subsequently, when Ahmad Baig’s death, which was one part of the prophecy, cast extreme fear in the hearts of his relatives and they thought that the second part of the prophecy would be similarly ful- filled—for, when one part of the prophecy had been fulfilled within the prescribed time frame, they were terror-stricken, preoccupying themselves in almsgiving, penitence, and remorsefully seeking forgive- ness—the result was that Allah the Exalted delayed the fulfilment of the prophecy. And as I have already pointed out, these people were so awe-stricken because this prophecy was not only about Ahmad Baig’s son-in-law but also about the death of Ahmad Baig himself. Indeed the prime target of the prophecy was none other than he himself. Thus, when Ahmad Baig died within the prescribed time limit, and the prophecy was fulfilled with total clarity, the hearts of his relatives were filled with extreme fear. And they wept and cried so much that their wails could be heard from the ends of the town. They would quote the prophecy again and again and to the best of their capacity busied themselves in remorseful penitence, istighfar [seeking forgiveness], and almsgiving. It was then that God the Benevolent too delayed the fulfilment of the prophecy.23

How shameful it is then to go around shouting that a certain prophecy has not been fulfilled despite the knowledge that prophecies of forewarning can be averted and have always been averted!24 It seems that these people have no faith in Allah the Exalted. There is certainly a limit [to such audacity and denial] and to cross this limit is a sure Sign of impending chastisement from Allah the Exalted. I keep wondering how the plague is running rampant throughout our environs, how God has warned of very serious earthquakes, and how Signs of the Day of Judgment are being manifested, but I cannot understand why these people are still not fearful.25 This is why I was impelled to write today, that if Maulawi Thana’ullah of Amritsar does not desist from his audacity, the only remedy is that he should ask for a mubahalah. It is also his misfortune that, arrogantly relying on some contradictory ahadith, he denies the fresh Signs of God Almighty.26 and in order to mislead the public, repeatedly quotes prophecies of warning while he knows himself that sometimes averting or delaying a prophecy of warning is part of Allah’s laws and practice. Moreover, who does not know that an impending affliction can be warded off by charity, almsgiving, humility, and prayer? The Prophets are unanimous on this. Thus, if a prophetic warning of an impending affliction cannot be averted, what meaning would the term radd-e-bala [warding off an affliction] have?

It should be borne in mind that, consistent with the age-old practice of Allah, prophecies of this type are never free from some form of test and trial. Such prophecies are susceptible to interpretations. This is why one can misunderstand their true meaning before they actually happen. Their real import is unfolded only in the end. This is why despite the presence of the prophecy about the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, the Jews were not fortunate enough to believe in him. Had this prophecy contained the elucidation that the name of this last Prophet would be Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, that the name of his father would be ‘Abdullah, that his birthplace would be Makkah, that he would migrate to Madinah, that he would be born at such a specified period of time after Prophet Musa [Moses] and that he would belong to the House of Isma‘il (and not to the House of Israel), then the unfortunate Jews would not have gone to Hell on account of their rejecting the Holy Prophet(sa). Similarly, had it been stated in the prophecy concerning Hadrat ‘Isaas in clear words that Prophet Ilyas [Elijah]—whose descent from the heavens was a prerequisite— would be none other than Yahya [ John] himself, son of Zakariyya [Zechariah], and that no one would descend from the skies, then why would the unfortunate Jews have entered Hell by refusing to accept Hadrat ‘Isa? Thus, since the prophecy concerning our own Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was not free from a test—the elucidation of which would have been very beneficial and was very necessary for mankind at large—and people committed mistakes in interpreting even this prophecy, then it is very likely that other prophecies may be misinterpreted too. Similarly, the prophecy about Hadrat ‘Isaas was not free from a test and trial. As such, how could the prophecy about the Promised Messiah and Mahdi be free from such trials? Did Prophet Ilyas come back into the world before the Messiah as was the general presumption and belief of the Jewish scholars, and as it—indeed, remains so today? How then is it possible to entertain the hope for the second coming of Hadrat ‘Isaas? The hall- mark of a believer is that once a certain belief has been proven false, they should never mention it again for the rest of their lives. Have the expectations of the Jews about the second coming of Ilyas been fulfilled so that now those of the Muslims should also be fulfilled? [As recorded in a hadith:] ‘A believer is not bitten from the same hole twice.’ The truth is that the reality of such immensely glorious prophecies are manifested by the age in which these prophecies are fulfilled. Prior to that, the righteous and God- fearing keep faith in the prophecies of Allah the Exalted, but they leave their details in the care of God. Meanwhile, those who meddle with them beforehand and insist upon their own interpretation are the ones who stumble and make errors.