List of the Witnesses Who Heard the Prophecy of 28 February 1907 About the Severe Earthquake Before Its Occurrence

It should be noted that there is a fine point related to the prophecy that there will be a terrible earthquake and that it will also rain today; which is that the earthquake emanates from within the earth and the rain descends from the heavens above. Thus, this is a prophecy in which the heavens and the earth are both joined so that the prophecy may see its fulfilment in both these aspects, for it is beyond human power to make such a prophecy on one’s own in which both the heavens and the earth should be so brought together. Indeed, such a matter is beyond the capability of a human being that exactly when the sun is shining brightly and rain has ended, he should prophecy that it will rain today, and then it actually rains!

O readers! I have recorded here, by way of illustration, all those divine Signs1 related to my claim which I had intended to write down. God, the Lord of Glory, be thanked a thousand times, for He demonstrated these Signs in my support solely out of His grace and benevolence. I did not possess the power even to produce a shred of evidence in my support be it from earth or from heaven, but He, who is the Lord of heaven and earth and the yoke of whose obedience is borne by every particle of this universe, caused a sea of Signs to flow in my support. He demonstrated such support for me as I could not even imagine. As for me, I testify that I was not worthy of such honour, yet the God of Honour and Glory manifested these miracles for my sake purely and solely out of His limitless mercy. I regret that I was unable to achieve the level of obedience and piety in His path which was my heart’s desire, and I could not serve His Faith as much as I would have liked to. I will carry the anguish with me that I could not accomplish all that I should have accomplished. However, the Gracious God dis- played such wonders of His might in my favour and established my truth in the manner that is exclusively displayed for His chosen ones. I know only too well that I was not worthy of the esteem and honour which my Lord accorded me. When I look at my own weakness, I feel compelled to admit that I feel more an insect than a man, and more dead than alive. Nevertheless, glory be to His wondrous power that such a humble and insignificant man as myself was preferred by Him. Other preferred people attain eminence by virtue of their deeds, but I was a mere nothing. It is only because of His infinite mercy that He approved of someone like me. I can never thank Him enough for this grace. There are thousands in the world who claim to be the recipients of divine revelation and converse with Him, but the mere claim of divine converse is nothing unless what is thought to be divine converse is accompanied by the supporting action of God; i.e. a miracle. Ever since the universe came into being the divine word has always been recognized by the supporting action of God; otherwise, how can one know whether such a word is that of God or of Satan, or perhaps a prompting of one’s own self ? The Word of God and the supporting Work of God must proceed together, one with the other. In other words, for the sake of one who is indeed the recipient of the Word of God, the Work of God also makes its presence felt in his support. That is to say, through his prophecies, wonders of providence are manifested in such abundance as to practically reveal the countenance of God. This is done so as to prove that the revelation he receives is indeed the Word of God.

Sadly, in this age, many such people are found everywhere who are fond of being called a mulham [recipient of divine revelation]. And they readily believe all that emanates from their tongue is the Word of God without attempting to assess their own condition or carrying out any self-appraisal. This, despite the established fact that the tongue from which the divine word may issue forth, can also be the recipient of the words of Satan. Also, it could very well be the prompting of one’s own self. Therefore, any word that issues forth from the tongue is definitely not worthy of being called the Word of God, until two testimonies certify it to be from Allah.

The First Testimony is that the condition of the person who claims to be the recipient of divine revelation should be such as shows that he is worthy of receiving divine revelation; for, one hears the voice of the one whom he is close to. Thus, the one close to Satan hears the voice of Satan, and the one near to Allah the Exalted hears His voice. Only such a one can be said to be the recipient of divine revelation who, in order to attain the veritable pleasure of God, abandons his own will and desires and adopts a bitter death in order to please Him completely and fully. He makes God foremost over all else so that when Allah the Exalted looks upon his heart He finds it totally cut off from the world and lost in seeking His pleasure. Each and every particle of his being becomes sacrificed for the sake of Allah the Exalted such that if confronted with a trial, nothing can hold him back from Allah the Exalted; neither wealth and possessions, nor wife, son, and honour. As a matter of fact, he totally erases all signs of his own existence, and the love of God Almighty so overwhelms him that he never lets Him go even if he were carved into pieces or his children slaughtered, or he himself cast into the flames and exposed to every kind of bitter hardship—even then he would not abandon his God. And in the face of attack by any affliction, he does not move away from his God. He is true and faithful. He views the entire world and the kings of the world as nothing more than a dead moth. Even if he were told that he would be sent to Hell, he still would not abandon the bond with his True Beloved, for his love of God becomes his Paradise. He himself cannot understand why he has such a connection with God so that no failure or trial can ever diminish the intensity of this connection. This being the situation, we can say that he is close to God and not to Satan. Such men indeed are friends of the Gracious God; God loves them and they love God. It is these upon whom the Word of God descends and such people belong to the category of the people [described in the Quranic verse]:

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The second testimony necessary for the recipient of divine rev- elation is that the Word of God that descends upon him should be accompanied by the supporting Work of God. For, when the sun rises it must also be accompanied by the sun’s piercing rays. Similarly, divine revelation never descends alone, for it is also invariably accompanied by the supporting action of God; namely, it is accompanied by a variety of miracles and a variety of succour and blessings. Otherwise, how could a humble man recognize that it is indeed the Word of God? Therefore, he who claims to be the recipient of the revelation from God but does not have the manifest miracles and Signs of divine support should fear God and should renounce such a claim. Furthermore, a claim of this kind cannot be considered authentic on the basis of just one or two solitary Signs which happen to turn out to be true. Instead, its authenticity would stand verified only if 200–300 such unambiguous and clear Signs testify to its truth. What is more, any revelation that is claimed to be from God must not contradict the Holy Quran.

Everyone needs to ponder and determine which misguided religious group would be dominant at the time of the Promised Messiah. And, apart from this, what else will the Promised Messiah be required to do? Sahih Bukhari, which is said to be the most authentic book after the Holy Quran, does not mention anywhere that the Promised Messiah will appear in order to kill the Dajjal. On the contrary, it is only written therein that the Promised Messiah will break the Cross and kill the Swine. From this it becomes clear that the Promised Messiah will appear at the time of the dominance, power, and enormity of the Christian missionaries. That is to say, when their deception, manipulation, and adulteration will have reached its ultimate extreme and they will exert their utmost to widely publish interpolated books, it would be then that the Promised Messiah would appear. His real mission will be to break the Cross. However, Sahih Muslim does mention the killing of the Dajjal, and it is written therein that the Promised Messiah will kill the Dajjal and that he will appear for this very purpose, but it is also written that the Dajjal will emerge from the Church. It might be perceived that these two books—namely, Bukhari and Muslim— differ in a very significant way, because according to Sahih Bukhari the real purpose of the appearance of the Promised Messiah is to break the Cross but Sahih Muslim states that the true purpose for which the Promised Messiah shall appear will be to kill the Dajjal. Perhaps the answer may be given that at the time of the Promised Messiah’s advent, a portion of the earth will be dominated by the Dajjal and another portion will be under the sway of the worshippers of the Cross, quite like two distinct kingdoms. But this answer is not correct for it is accepted doctrine that, except for Makkah and Madinah, the Dajjal will run rampant across the entire earth. In other words, the Dajjal will dominate everywhere, and this is what the authentic ahadith bear witness to. Will then—God forbid—the Cross come to dominate in Makkah and Madinah because some part of the world at least must be accepted as the place where the Cross will be dominant? Thus, since the entire earth—with the exception of Makkah and Madinah—will be under the sway of the Dajjal, then only the lands of Makkah and Madinah would remain whereupon the Cross could dominate! These are the ahadith that make mention of the Dajjal’s domination. On the other hand there are also ahadith that state that at the time of the Promised Messiah’s advent, Christian temporal power will rule almost the entire globe with great power and majesty. In fact, the hadith [‘He will break the Cross’] also indicates this very point. Moreover, the following verse also proclaims this fact very loudly:

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Therefore, the interpretation that some part of the earth will be dominated by the Christians while another part will be dominated by the Dajjal during the advent of the Promised Messiah, loses all credibility. Perhaps a counter reply to this may be voiced that first the Christians will dominate and then the Dajjal will break the Cross and in the end the Messiah will kill the Dajjal, but this is a belief that has never been entertained by any sect from among the entire body of Muslim sects to this very day. On the contrary, we find written in Sahih Bukhari that it is the Promised Messiah, and not the Dajjal, who will break the Cross.4

When we turn to the ahadith for a resolution of this dispute, we find that the very same Sahih Muslim which makes mention of te Dajjal, also testifies that the Promised Dajjal shall issue forth from a church, or in other words, will emerge from among the Christians. Thus, Sahih Muslim pronounces the Christian missionaries to be the Dajjal. And circumstantial evidence also testifies in favour of this point of view and clearly shows that the last mischief that appeared—due to which hundreds of thousands of Muslims turned apostate—is none other than the mischief of Christianity, of which we are all eyewitnesses. Hence, it is evident that the difference here is nothing more than semantics. The mischief that Sahih Bukhari designates as the mis- chief of the Cross and declares the Promised Messiah to be the breaker of the Cross, Sahih Muslim designates that very mischief to be the mischief of the Dajjal and refers to ‘the breaking the Cross’ as ‘the killing of the Dajjal’.

And when we turn to the Holy Quran—the arbiter of all disputes—for further details, we find that it does not even mention the name Dajjal, but declares the mischief of Christianity to be so grave as to be the enemy of all Islamic principles and proclaims that the heavens might well-nigh burst asunder and the earth shatter into pieces [because they ascribe a son to God (Surah Maryam, 19:91-92)]. It denounces the same Christian group as being guilty of distorting and adulterating the revealed Word of God. It ascribes to this group the act indicated by the term dajal [i.e. deceit, imposture] in its proper sense. Furthermore, in Surah al-Fatihah it teaches the Muslims to seek refuge with God from the mischief of Christianity. And this is what all commentators of the Holy Quran have interpreted the phrase 5 to mean. From this Quranic verdict it is clearly proven that the mischief of which the ahadith forewarn us is none other than the mischief of the Cross. Thus, if a person can legitimately be called a dajjal on account of a slight deception or dajal on his part, why can an entire group that is guilty of changing an entire shariah and teaching, not be described as the Dajjal? And when we see Allah the Exalted Himself testifying to deceit on the part of the Christians, why then can they not be collectively called by the name Dajjal? Of course, they could not be called the greatest Dajjal at the time of the advent of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, as their deceit and dishonesty had not yet reached the extreme; only the foundation of becoming the Dajjal had yet been laid. But after this, in our own age, with the advent of printing machines, the Christian missionaries have disseminated distortion and corruption to the extreme. They have spent tens of millions of rupees to publish those distorted books and have left no stone unturned in their efforts to lead people to apostasy. It was then that the prophecy of God came true and—as subsequent events bear out—they became worthy of being called the greatest Dajjal. Unless and until someone appears to surpass them in opposing truth and in distortion and adulteration, all must concede that this group is indeed the greatest Dajjal whose emergence was prophesied. The Jews too were guilty of distortion but they became the target of such humiliation as was tantamount to death. This was the only group that went from height to height and devoted all their energies to deception and distortion. But that was not all. They also wanted to make the rest of the world like themselves. On account of their material power and prestige they were able to acquire all the requisite means and thus they accomplished such feats of deception and distortion, the likes of which cannot be found throughout the history of the world from its inception until today. They tried to make people turn their backs on the One and Only God and accept instead Ibn-e-Maryam [the Son of Mary] as ‘God’. In our own times this misconduct on their part peaked to its ultimate height. And they made so many interpolations in the Books of Allah the Exalted as if they themselves were Prophets in their own right. This is why the term Dajjal was applied to them; that is to say, those who distort the Books of God to the extreme and those who make falsehood appear as truth. In the ahadith the Promised Dajjal’s coming is described frequently as khuruj [i.e. emergence] whereas in reference to the Promised Messiah the term nuzul [i.e. descent] is used; the two words being opposites. By this what is meant is that the Promised Messiah will descend on behalf of Allah the Exalted, and that God will be with him whereas the Dajjal will forge ahead with the help of material means, deception, and fraud. Indeed, just as the Holy Quran mentions the mischief of Christianity, so too does it mention Gog and Magog. There is an indication of their [material] dominance which would extend across the entire earth in the verse:

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Now, if the Dajjal, Christianity, and Gog and Magog are taken to mean three different peoples who would appear at the time of the Promised Messiah, the contradiction becomes even more pronounced. However, a reference to the Bible shows for a certainty that the mischief of Gog and Magog is actually the mischief of Christianity, for the Bible names it Gog. Thus, as a matter of fact, the same people have been addressed by three different names on account of their different circumstances.

To say that there is no mention of the Promised Messiah in the Holy Quran is totally wrong. Actually, Allah the Exalted has declared in the Holy Quran that the great mischief is the mischief involving the worship of ‘Isa and has warned that the earth and the heavens may well- nigh burst asunder due to it. Concerning the same time period, the Holy Quran has prophesied the occurrence of the plague, earthquakes, and other calamities, and explicitly announced that the various terrible catastrophes that will appear in the heavens and the earth during the Latter Days will be the chastisement for the worship of ‘Isa. And then on the other hand, it is laid down in the Holy Quran that:

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This verse, therefore, manifestly proves that the Holy Quran prophesies about the Promised Messiah. Anyone who reads the Holy Quran with diligence and integrity will realize that in the Latter Days when most parts of the earth will be demolished and turned upside down on account of terrible calamities, the pandemic plague will break out, and death will reign supreme on every front, it is essential that a Messenger [of God] should come as Allah the Exalted says:

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Meaning that, We never punish people unless we first send a Messenger. Thus, as is borne out by events in the past, when even minor chastisements were preceded by the coming of Prophets, how then is it possible that at the time of this most terrible chastisement—which is the chastisement of the Latter Days and which shall envelope the entire earth, and about which all the Prophets had warned—a Messenger of God should not appear? This would amount to an outright negation of the Word of God. Hence, this Messenger is none other than the Promised Messiah. Since the cause of these chastisements, without the least doubt, is the mischief of Christianity, so was it but necessary that a Messenger—appropriate to the situation created by the mischief rife in the world—should appear with the purpose of putting an end to the said mischief. This is why this Messenger is called the Promised Messiah. This proves that the Holy Quran does mention the Promised Messiah and this is exactly what we had wanted to establish.

Everyone can appreciate that if—according to the Holy Quran—at the time of the great Christian mischief, the coming of a punishment was necessary, then the coming of the Promised Messiah was also necessary. And it is clear that the coming of this chastisement during the peak of Christianity’s mischief is proven from the Holy Quran. Thus, the coming of the Promised Messiah is also proven from the Holy Quran. Similarly, it is generally proven from the Holy Quran that Allah the Exalted says that when We decide to visit a people with chastisement, We permit their hearts to become filled with sinfulness and immorality and, as a result, they exceed all limits of indulgence in their carnal desires and shamelessness. It is then that divine chastisement overtakes them. It is obvious that these matters, too, have reached a cli- max in Europe, thereby inviting chastisement which, in its own right, requires the [simultaneous] presence of a Messenger of Allah—and the same is the Promised Messiah. Thus, it is indeed surprising that these people should allege that the Holy Quran makes no mention of the Promised Messiah. Furthermore, this Quranic verse:

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also requires that in the fourteenth century one like ‘Isa [ Jesus] should make his appearance in the Ummah, quite like Hadrat ‘Isa, who appeared fourteen centuries after Musa [Moses], so that a similar- ity should be maintained between the beginning and the end of both orders.

Furthermore, the following verse of the Holy Quran also contains this prophecy:

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Meaning that, there is not a town but We shall destroy it before the Day of Resurrection or punish it with a severe punishment. This means that a terrible chastisement shall descend upon the world in the Latter Days. While on the other hand God says:

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This also shows that a Messenger will appear in the Latter Days, and he it is who will be the Promised Messiah.

And this same prophecy is contained in Surah al-Fatihah, for God Almighty has designated the Christians as —‘those who have gone astray’. This contains the indication that although hundreds of religious groups exist in the world who have gone astray, the Christians shall transgress all limits to the extent that they alone will stand out as the misguided ones. And when the misguidance of a people becomes extreme and they do not desist from committing sins, it is the established practice of Allah that such a people are overtaken by divine chastisement. Thus, from this too it becomes necessary that the Promised Messiah must appear; that is, in keeping with the requirement of the verse:

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And it is rather extraordinary that just as in the ahadith of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, there is a prophecy about the Promised Messiah who would appear in the Latter Days, so also is there a prophecy regarding a man of Persia who would come in the Latter Days s to restore and reestablish lost faith. As is written meaning that, even if the faith had left [the earth] for the Pleiades, a man of Persia would bring it back. Now it is clear that in this hadith, the Man of Persia has been given such precedence and ascribed the performance of such a great task that one has to say that the Man of Persia is superior to the Promised Messiah because the Promised Messiah—as alleged by my opponents—will only kill the Dajjal, whereas the Man of Persia will bring the faith back from the Pleiades. It is also mentioned in another hadith, that in the Latter Days, the Holy Quran will be taken up into the heavens. People will recite the Holy Quran but it will get stuck in their throats. Thus will it be time for the Man of Persia and for the Promised Messiah— both would be contemporaneous. But in comparison to the special function that the Man of Persia would discharge of bringing faith back from the heavens, any service to the Faith for the killing of the Dajjal is at best the negation of mischief, which alone cannot serve as the basis of salvation. On the other hand, to bring faith back from the skies and to transform people into perfect believers amounts to the acquisition of virtue which is the criterion for salvation. Negation of mischief bears no comparison to the acquisition of virtue. What is more—in regard to whosoever accomplishes the immense virtuous feat of bringing faith back from the Pleiades to earth—how could anyone with reason believe that such a person would be incapable of dispelling mischief ?

In short, it is simply irrational to think that in the Latter Days, the Man of Persia will be responsible for the attainment of virtue while the Promised Messiah will only negate mischief! Why can’t the one capable of reaching out to the heavens, ward off mischief upon the earth? Thus, the error on the part of the present-day Muslims is piti- able for they consider the Promised Messiah and the Man of Persia to be two different persons. As many as twenty-six years ago, Allah the Exalted fully laid bare this belief in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya. On the one hand, He pronounced me as the Promised Messiah and named me ‘Isa [ Jesus]. For instance, He said in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya:

And on the other, He designated me the Man of Persia and—again and again—addressed me by this very name. For instance, He said:

Meaning that, [in relation to] the Christians and their brethren who hold people back from Islam, this Man of Persia—meaning my humble self—has written their refutation and that God is pleased with him for this, his service.

It is quite clear that the real function of the Promised Messiah is to challenge and compete with the Christians. Thus, if the Man of Persia is not the Promised Messiah, then why has his—the Promised Messiah’s—official function been delegated to this Man of Persia? This proves that this Man of Persia and the Promised Messiah are two names of one and the same person. Accordingly, the Holy Quran indicates this fact and says:

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Meaning that, from among the Companions of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, there is yet another group which has not yet made its appearance. It is true that those alone are entitled to be called ‘the Companions’ who are the contemporaries of a Prophet, and have the honour of being in his company as believers and have been guided and trained by him. From this it stands proven that from among the future people there will be a Prophet who would be a buruz [a reflection] of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. This is why his Companions will be called ‘the Companions of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him’. And just as the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, had served the Faith in the path of Allah in their own way, these too will also serve the cause of Allah in their own way. In any case, this verse constitutes a prophecy about the coming of a Prophet in the Latter Days; otherwise, there is no reason why such persons should be designated as the Companions of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who were to be born after him and had, in fact, never seen him. In the verse referred to above, God did not say —‘And among others from among the Ummah’—instead He said 14 —[‘And among others from among them’]. And everyone knows that the pronoun [minhum] is indicative of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Thus, only such a sect would fall under the pronoun [minhum] who have a Messenger among them who is the true reflection of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. And twenty-six years ago, Allah the Exalted had named me Muhammad and Ahmad in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya and designated me a spiritual reflection of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. This is why in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya people were told:

[Say, ‘If you love Allah, then follow me’; meaning that, be sincere followers of the Chosen Prophet so that Allah may also love you.]

[Every blessing is from Muhammad, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; so, highly blessed is he who taught and he who has been taught.]

And if someone asks, ‘How is it to be determined whether the hadith [“Had faith ascended to the Pleiades, a man from among the Persians would have brought it down”] refers to me, and why it might not have reference to someone else from among the Muslims?’, the reply is that in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, divine revelation has repeatedly pronounced me as the person referred to in this hadith, and emphatically declared that He stands with me. I call God Almighty to witness that this is the Word of God Almighty that descended upon me. He who denies this should be ready to come forth for a mubahalah and may the curse of Allah overtake him who denies the truth or fabricates a lie against the Lord of Honour. No one else from among the Muhammadan ummah has, up to this day, made this claim that Allah the Exalted has given him this name and that he alone is entitled to make this claim on the basis of divine revelation. To charge me with having claimed to be a Prophet on my own is the height of folly and ignorance and is utterly opposed to the truth.

O ignorant people! My claim to Prophethood does not mean that—God forbid—I claim to be a Prophet as against the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, or that I claim to have brought a new shariah. My Prophethood means the frequent experience of divine converse and address that has been granted to me on account of my obedience to the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. You people also admit the possibility of divine converse, so our difference is only over the interpretation of terms. What you regard as the divine converse, I, in obedience to God’s commandment, denote its occurrence with great frequency as Prophethood. [‘Everyone is entitled to define his terms’].

I swear by God, in whose hands my life is, that it is He indeed who has sent me, and He indeed has named me a Prophet, and He indeed has called me the Promised Messiah, and He has manifested great Signs in my support, the number of which extends to 300,000, some of which have been incorporated by way of illustration in this book. If His miraculous works and manifest Signs which number into the thousands had not openly testified to my truth, I would never have disclosed to anyone the honour of my divine converse; nor could I have declared with certainty that it was indeed the revelation of God. But for His part, God manifested such Works in support of His revealed Word that they served as a clear and bright mirror for beholding His countenance.