4. Fourth Sign [Sign 191]

Among the Signs of Allah the Exalted which appeared in my support is the Sign pertaining to Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan, a Minister in the State of Bhopal, and it is as follows: Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan had written in some of his books that when the Promised Mahdi would appear, monarchs belonging to other faiths would be arrested and brought before him. In this context, he also said that since this country was under the British rule, it was quite possible that when the Mahdi appeared, the Christian monarch of this country would also be brought before him. These were the words that he used in his book and are still to be found therein, and these words were taken as evoking rebellion. It was an error on his part that he wrote such a thing because no authentic hadith is proven about such a blood-shed- ding Mahdi. On the contrary, the scholars of hadith are unanimous that not a single one from among the ahadith about a warrior Mahdi is beyond critique. All of them are spurious and fall below the standard of authenticity. On the other hand, there are a large number of ahadith about the coming of the Promised Messiah; they are accompanied with the words that he would not engage in jihad and would not wage war against the disbelievers and that his victory would be exclusively based on heavenly Signs. Thus, the hadith

[Yada‘ul-harb— ‘He will stop warfare’] is present in Sahih Bukhari with reference to the Promised Messiah. It indicates that when the Promised Messiah’s advent takes place, he will abolish the practice of war and jihad. He will not engage in any battle and will spread Islam with the help of heavenly Signs and the manifestation of divine powers.1 As a result, these Signs are making their presence felt throughout the world in my time. This, in sum, is the truth of the matter. And I—whom Allah the Exalted has sent as the Promised Messiah—have not been commanded by God to engage in jihad and wage wars for the sake of the Faith. On the contrary, I have been commanded to be kind, to seek help from God for the spread of the Faith, and to ask for heavenly Signs and heavenly assaults. And God Almighty has promised that great Signs shall be manifested in my support. As opposed to my God who helps me from on high, no nation shall have the power to demonstrate any sign from their false gods. Accordingly, my God has, in fact, already shown hundreds of Signs in my support.

Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan, therefore, was wrong to think that people would be forced to become Muslims during the time of the Mahdi. Allah the Exalted says:

It is true that there was a time when Christians used to force people to adopt Christianity. Islam, on the other hand, since the very beginning, has been opposed to compulsion. Compulsion is the resort of those alone who have no heavenly Signs in their support. But Islam is a veritable ocean of heavenly Signs. No Prophet has shown such a large number of miracles as were shown by our Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, because the miracles of earlier Prophets died along with their deaths. But the miracles of our Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, continue to manifest themselves even through today and will continue being manifested until the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, all things that are manifested in my support are miracles of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, but where are those Christians or Jews or other people; can they show signs that can equal these Signs? Certainly not! Certainly not!! Certainly not!!! Even if they toil to the end of their days, they will never succeed in showing even a single sign. It is so because they have adopted artificial gods as deities. They are not followers of the True God. Islam is an ocean of miracles. It has never resorted to coercion, nor does it have any need for coercion.

Earlier on, the sole basis for fighting was that the Quraish of Makkah had perpetrated grave atrocities against the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in Makkah; many of his companions were murdered. The Holy Prophet, may peace and bless- ings of Allah be upon him, himself was exiled from Makkah. Thus, owing to their extreme degree of wickedness and atrocities, they had become deserving of punishment for their crimes. Therefore, those who had drawn the sword were killed by the sword. However, out of extreme compassion, they were offered the option that if they chose to become Muslims their crimes would be forgiven. This was not compulsion; they were left to decide as they wished. Can anyone prove that the sword was raised prior to their heinous crimes and mischief ?3 The ignorant Christian missionaries and the Aryas, who harbour baseless malice against Islam, utter such things sheerly by way of fabrication, while the ignorant maulawis aid and abet them on account of their own ignorance. It is absolutely false to say that Islam spread by force of the sword. Islam spread by dint of the intrinsic beauties of its perfect teaching and mighty Signs. If Islam and Christianity were to be compared, it would be clearly seen that the God who Islam presents is Absolutely Perfect in His power, His majesty, and His holiness. He is One, Unique, and without equal; whereas the ‘God’ who Christianity presents is himself a weak and helpless created being who suffered a variety of cruelties at the hands of the Jews, was incarcerated and put behind bars for about an hour, and, according to the Christian doc- trine, was crucified in the end. What distinction does such a ‘God’ possess when compared with the fabricated deities of the other poly- theists? Furthermore, how can reason accept that all hope for God’s mercy rests on that very ‘God’ being crucified! And if once ‘God’ dies, his very existence becomes uncertain, and what argument can there be to think that he will not die again? It is meaningless to worship a being who, despite being ‘God’, can yet die. How can he save others if he cannot save his own life? The idol worshippers of Makkah were also of the same mindset. How can reason accept the idea than an idol be carved with one’s own hands and then be worshiped? The ‘God’ of the Christians could not demonstrate any powers beyond those of the idols of pagans. But the God of Islam is the One who reigns supreme over all of them. [As the saying goes:]

[‘Befriend the Supreme that you might be granted supremacy’]. The magnificent miracles of our God—who is the Living God—have convinced people with a visible demonstration that the God of Islam alone is the True God. Consequently, up to this day, no one has been able to show the like of the miracles that the God of Islam has manifested.

However, since Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan was under the influence of extreme Wahhabism, he threatened non-Muslims with merely the sword the Mahdi, and was eventually caught. He was stripped of his title of Nawab and he wrote very humbly to me, requesting me to pray for him. Considering his situation pitiable, I prayed for him and God Almighty addressed me saying:

I informed him of this through a letter and I also informed many others who were then my opponents. Among them were Hafiz Muhammad Yusuf—a district irrigation officer, presently a pensioner, and a resident of Amritsar—and Maulawi Muhammad Husain Batalavi. After some time, the Government issued orders to the effect that Siddiq Hasan Khan’s title of ‘Nawab’ would be restored, as if it was understood that what he had said was only an antiquated religious belief which dwelt in his heart and that he did not intend to be seditious.4

1 It also makes sense that as the consequence of the Promised Messiah’s breath—i.e. his attention—disbelievers will continue to die on their own, it would be quite irrational to resort to the sword in the presence of such a miracle. Obviously, when Allah the Exalted Himself goes forth destroying the enemies, what need is there to raise the sword? (Author)

2 Surah al-Baqarah, 2:257 [Publisher]

3 Indeed the sword was never raised. Instead, for as many as thirteen years, patience was demonstrated in the face of a variety of wanton cruelties and murders. After this, when they [i.e. the Makkans] exceeded all limits, permission was granted to confront them. It was, therefore, a defensive war waged to punish the habitual criminals and to rid the earth of murderous mischief-mongers. (Author)

4 This misfortune encountered by Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan was also the result of a prophecy of mine, which is recorded in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya. He had torn up this book of mine and sent it back to me. I had then prayed that his reputation might be torn apart. And so it came to pass (Barahin-e- Ahmadiyya). (Author)

4. Fourth Sign [191]