About the Mubahalah to Which I Invited Dowie Along with My Prayer Against Him, and the Details

of what Allah did in this contest after my announcement among the people

May Allah have mercy upon you! Know that among the many examples of the succour of God Almighty and testimonies of my truth is a Sign that God Almighty showed in my favour by destroying a man called Dowie. The detail of this illuminating Sign and great miracle is that Dowie was one of the wealthy Christians and arrogant clergymen of America. He had a following of approximately 100,000 who served him like slaves and bond-maids, as is the tradition among the Christians. He became so famous among his own people as well as other people that his name became well known in the far-off corners of the world. His magic spell won over a large number of Christians. Along with proclaiming the Ibn-e-Maryam [Son of Mary— Jesus] to be God, he claimed to be a Messenger and Prophet himself, and used foul and abusive language against our Most Noble Messenger(sa).

He claimed to possess a lofty station and a high rank. He considered himself more pious and virtuous than any other person. With each passing day he grew in fame, wealth, and the number of his followers. He started living like a king, whereas previously he was akin to a beggar. If a Muslim, who was weak in faith, had seen him ascending to such glory despite his falsehood and fabrication, he would have gone astray and been at a loss. Even if such a Muslim had been a learned scholar, he could not have saved himself from falling into error, the reason being that he [Dowie] was an enemy of Islam who used foul language against our Prophet(sa), the Best of Mankind, yet reached the pinnacle of fame and wealth. He used to say that he would soon wipe out all of the Muslims, without sparing so much as a single believer in the Oneness of God. He was one of those who say what they do not do. He transgressed in the earth like Pharaoh and was heedless of death. He devoted his days to plundering people’s money and his nights to drinking wine. The ignorant and foolish among the Christians gathered around him. They continued to drink from the goblets of misguidance and, being ignorant, testified to his claim of prophethood, whereas he was actually a slave to the world without freedom. He was like a shell without a pearl. Moreover, he was the Satan of his time, and a cohort of his Satan. But God gave him respite until the time that I invited him to a mubahalah [prayer duel] and prayed to the Lord of Honour against him.

I used to smell the stench of Satan in him. I saw that he had been completely overtaken by the Transgressor [Satan] and was an enemy of the servants of the Gracious God. He contaminated the Earth and polluted the breaths of its inhabitants with diverse types of filthy nonsense. I have never seen a person more deceptive and rebellious than him. He was a blind lover of the Trinity, an enemy of the Oneness of God, and a persistent follower of the unholy religion. He saw its evils as its excellences and sought solace in its faults. The ignorant from among the rich and the well-off gathered around him and supported him with riches not to be found except in the treasuries of kings and rulers.

He received piles of wealth, so much so that it was said that he was a king who, like kings, lived a life of pomp and show. When his riches reached their peak, he surrendered himself to nafsul-ammarah [his self that incites to evil] and did not purify it. Beguiled by Satan, he proclaimed he was a Messenger and Prophet and persisted in imposture, falsehood, and slander. He thought he would never be held accountable for this and would continue to live a life of luxury and ease, continually growing in prestige and renown. What is more, he became proud and arrogant and feared not the torment of the Lord of Honour.

There is not doubt that the impostors are eventually seized and precluded from prospering. The wrath of Allah tears them apart like a ferocious lion and confronts them with the day of ultimate ruin and destruction promised in the Book of the Almighty and Most-Loving God. Verily, those who fabricate lies against God and are guilty of falsehood live not but for a short period of time, after which they are seized. The curse of Allah pursues them in this world and in the Hereafter. They taste disgrace and dishonour and are not granted respect. Has the news not reached you of what became of the impostors of the earlier ages? Verily, God does not care for the end of those who fabricate lies against Him. He draws His sword against them and cuts them into pieces.

When the day of his destruction came near, I invited him to a mubahalah and wrote to him that: Your claim is false and you are naught but a lying fabricator, merely feeding on the carrion of the condemnable world. ‘Isa was nothing more than a Prophet and you are simply an impostor. You are a man with no extraordinary merit from among those who are in error and you mislead others into error; therefore, fear Him who sees your imposture. I invite you to Islam, the True Faith, and to turn to Allah, the Possessor of Power and Honour, for repentance. If you decline to accept my invitation and move away from it, then let us engage in a mubahalah and invoke the curse of Allah upon the one who has forsaken truth and claims to be a Messenger and Prophet by way of imposture. Verily, Allah will decide between you and me and will destroy the liar during the lifetime of the truthful so that people should know who [between the two of us] is the truthful and who is the liar, and so that, after this judgment, the dispute is settled once and for all.

I swear by God that truly I am the Promised Messiah whose advent was prophesied to occur in the Latter Days and the time of the spread of misguidance. Surely, ‘Isa has died and the doctrine of the Trinity is false. By claiming to be a Prophet, you are guilty of imposture against Allah; for prophethood came to an end after our Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and there is no Book after al-Furqan [the Discrimination; i.e. the Holy Quran] which is superior to all earlier Scriptures, neither is there any new shariah after the Muhammadan Shariah. However, the Best of Mankind declared me to be a Prophet, and this is a matter of being his reflection due to the blessings of complete submission. And I find no excellence within me; all that I have obtained is through his holy soul. By calling me a Prophet, Allah means only [that I receive] abundant revelations and converse [with God]. May the curse of Allah be upon the one who aspires to anything beyond that, or considers his own person as something special, or frees his neck from the yoke [i.e. complete submission] of the prophethood [of the Holy Prophet(sa)].

Surely, our Messenger is Khatamun-Nabiyyin [the Seal of the Prophets] and the chain of Messengers has ended with him. Therefore, no one has the right to claim prophethood after our Messenger, the Chosen One, in an independent manner, and nothing has remained after him except dialogue [with Allah] in abundance. Even this is conditional upon following [the Holy Prophet(sa)] and is not granted unless one is a true follower of the Best of Creation. I swear by God that I have been blessed with this spiritual station only by following the radiant rays of the light of the Chosen Prophet(sa).

I have been granted the name ‘Prophet’ by Allah, not in its original sense [of being raised independently], but as a subordinate Prophet. This does not in the least undermine the honour and dignity of God Almighty or of His Messenger(sa), for I am being raised under the blessed wings of the Holy Prophet. I walk in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet. What is more, I never said anything on my own; I have only followed the revelation which my Lord granted to me, and thereafter, I fear not the threats of the people against me. On the Day of Judgment, everyone will be held accountable for what they did. Certainly, there is nothing that is hidden from Allah.

I had told the impostor [Dowie] that:

If you do not come forward for the mubahalah after my invitation, and also do not repent of your claim of prophethood that you have made by way of sheer fabrication against Allah, then you should not imagine that this strategy would spare you; rather, Allah would destroy you by inflicting utter humiliation and a harsh punishment. He will disgrace you and make you taste the punishment of your imposture.

Hence, he waited for my death and I for his. I put my trust in Allah, the Helper of the truth and Supporter of this religion [of Islam].

Having done this, I fully and completely published all over the United States my statement that I had sent to Dowie, so much so that they were published in most of the newspapers of the United States. I believe that thousands of newspapers published my message and its publication reached such a great number that I am unable to count it, and the papers [at my disposal] do not hold the capacity for me to provide details. As for the American newspapers that were sent to me and which mentioned my point of view, my invitation to Dowie for a mubahalah, and my prayer against him in which I sought judgment, I consider it appropriate to mention the names of some of those newspapers in the footnote so that the people might come to know that there was nothing hidden or secret about the mubahalah; rather, it was a matter well advertised all over the world—in the east and in the west, in the north and in the south.

The reason for such [large-scale] advertisement was that Dowie was like the great kings in renown. In America and Europe there was not even a single person in the upper and lower classes of society who did not know him well. In fact, the people in those countries held him in great honour and revered him as a king. Moreover, he travelled extensively and used mesmerizing speeches to lure people into his trap, like a hunter traps his prey. This is why no newspaper editor ever refused to publish the material sent to them regarding the mubahalah. Instead, they were eager to publish it out of a strong curiosity to see the end of this contest. There are a large number of American newspapers that published the news of my invitation to Dowie for a mubahalah and my prayer against him. Here, however, by way of specimen, I will mention the names of only a few of them in the footnote below.1

In short, Dowie was the worst of people, whose heart was accursed and who was like the sneaking whisperer [i.e. Satan]. He was an enemy of Islam; indeed, the worst of all enemies.

He desired to uproot Islam, leaving no trace of its name under the heavens. In his own accursed newspaper, he repeatedly prayed against the Muslims and the believers in the Oneness of God and said: ‘O God! Destroy all Muslims with no trace of them left in any of the countries of the world. Show me their decline and destruction, and cause the Trinity and belief in the [three] persons [in godhood] to be disseminated to every part of the Earth.’ Also, he said: ‘I hope to see the death of all Muslims and the uprooting of the religion of Islam, and these are the greatest objectives of my life and I have no other aim greater than this.’ All these statements are present in his newspapers in the English language that are still in my possession. Anyone who reads these newspapers will surely come to know of what he said. Hence, O ye who wish to reflect! These statements are sufficient to judge how filthy the mind of this impostor was.

Due to this, our Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, has named him Khinzir [the Swine], because pure things are detested by this evil one and the filth of polytheism and fabrications please him. Indeed, the readers of his writings have come to find his statements full of extreme irreverence against Islam, and witnesses have testified to his accursedness exceeding every accursed person, so much so that he became notorious among the people for abusing and cursing; he would not desist from it when prevented or asked to stop.

When I invited him to a mubahalah so that the Glorious God may demonstrate the truth of the one who was true in his claim by inflicting death upon the one who lied, one of the Americans made a witty and amusing comment and published it in his newspaper, in the matter of Dowie and his personality. He said: Dowie would accept the invitation to mubahalah only when he is offered some changes in the conditions laid down for this purpose. He would not agree to the kind of mubahalah he has been invited to; instead, he would like to compete with others in vituperation and abuse, for, to him [Dowie], one who can prevail over others in abuse and vituperation is the real winner and his opponent would be deemed by him to be a liar.

This was said by the editor of a newspaper who investigated Dowie and his character intimately. He has first-hand knowledge of the kind of language Dowie uses and the offence it causes. The editors of certain other newspapers too have written similar comments about Dowie. These editors are well respected and honoured people of America. I myself had a chance to look into his moral behaviour when I invited him to the mubahalah. Upon receipt of my letter, he became rather incensed and infuriated with arrogance and, displaying the canine teeth like the hyenas of the wild, said:

I consider this man to be a mere gnat, nay, worse than a gnat. This gnat has not invited me, but has in fact invited his own death.

He published a statement to that effect in his newspaper. For you [worthy readers], this should suffice to illustrate how haughty and arrogant he was. Indeed, it was this arrogance of his that led me to pray eagerly against him, putting all my trust in Allah, the Possessor of Honour and Glory. Before I invited him to a mubahalah, he was a man of great wealth. I prayed against him that God may cause him to die in utter humiliation, poverty, and grief.

Prior to my prayer, he lived majestically and enjoyed power, glory, and fame encompassing the entire earth like a complete circle. He owned a number of lofty buildings as well as palatial mansions. He had not seen any misfortune during his life and had seen daily increase in his congregation. He possessed all the worldly bounties and comforts that one can imagine and was heedless of times of distress and hardship. He clothed himself in silk garments and rode swift and luxurious mounts. He had completely forgotten the arrow of death and believed he would be bestowed a long life. He consumed his days as people who are prostrated to, worshipped, and held in great esteem; at night, he slept in soft and velvety beds.

But, when Allah made His decree manifest in order to testify to what I had foretold about his end, the time of jubilation and happiness changed for him, and Allah showed him the days of pain and hardship. It was then that he was bitten by his own snakes; that is, the snakes of his misdeeds and evil conduct.

So, the himlaj’2 turned into a qatuf.3 Silk brocade was replaced by rough wool. Similarly, in other matters too he experienced such a reversal of fortune that he was expelled from the very town he had built by squandering enormous treasures. He was deprived of the palatial homes he had erected and solidified by spending huge sums out of his hoarded wealth. But that was not the end of what God did to him; divine providence overpowered him in every respect by destroying all such means that enabled him to live in glory and honour. All of his possessions were surrendered to the control of someone else. The air of arrogance he wore smote him with such misery and darkness that he lost every hope of regaining his previous wealth. He was forced to nurse from the infertile chest of this world and to ride on the back of malnourished poverty. Then it so happened that some of his relatives snatched his remaining wealth from him like debt collectors. On top of this, his wife, friends, and sons treated him in an extremely disgraceful manner to the extent that his so-called father published an announcement in certain American newspapers that Dowie was not his legitimate son, that he was born out of wedlock and was not his seed.

This is how the storm of adversity and misfortune uprooted him from his very foundations. Life cast upon him all kinds of humiliation, rendering him like a rotten bone buried beneath the surface of the earth or like a snake-bitten person who met a horrible end.

[Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian
The Promised Messiah & Mahdi(as)]

This is a sketch of Dr. Alexander Dowie’s portrait when he was in his days of health

Sketch of Dr. Dowie afterwards in a state of affliction

Despite all the fame he had acquired, he became an unknown nobody. Everyone who was with him from among his followers went their own ways. He lost all his accumulated wealth, land, and perishable property. He became like a person who is miserable, destitute, lowly, and wretched. A curse fell on his lakes, lavish gardens, vine shoots, and stately home that he had built. The lamp of his [luxurious life] was put out and his wailing and crying was heard aloud. He was deprived of the orchards and streams that ran through them and the horses he rode. The land, both hard and soft, became too narrow for him. Vales and dales turned against him. The keys of the riches he possessed were taken away from him. He faced disputes with his enemies and suffered extreme pain at their hands.

Finally, having endured all this abasement and disgrace, he suffered paralysis from head to toe so that it might end his filthy existence and bring him into non-existence. He was carried upon the backs of people when it came to transporting him from one place to another and he was dependent on being administered an enema by other people whenever he felt like emptying his bowels. Thereafter, he suffered lunacy, as a result of which nonsense pervaded his speech and restlessness characterized his activity and movement.

That was the last humiliation he suffered. Thereafter, death overtook him in a state of diverse unfulfilled wishes. He died on 9 March 1907. There were no lamenting ladies for him, nor were there any mourners for him to eulogize his good deeds. Before I heard the news of his death, my Lord sent a revelation to me and said:

I convey the news of a liar’s death. Allah is with the truthful.

This made me realize that God had informed me of the news of the death of someone who wished to engage in a mubahalah with me and was my enemy, as well as the enemy of my faith [i.e. Islam]. After this unambiguous revelation, I attentively awaited its fulfilment. This prophecy was published in the newspapers Badr and Al-Hakam before it was actually fulfilled so that it might further strengthen the faith of the believers at the time of its fulfilment.

Later, when the time for the fulfilment of the promise of my Lord came, Dowie died suddenly. Falsehood vanished and truth prevailed. All praise, therefore, belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. God is my Witness, if I had been gifted an entire mountain of gold or pearls or rubies, it would not have pleased me as much as the death of this mischief-monger and liar did. So, is there anyone who is fair-minded enough to reflect upon this great victory bestowed upon me by Allah the Great Bestower?

This is the painful torment that descended upon the ignoble enemy. As for me, God Almighty fulfilled all my desires after this mubahalah and showed a number of Signs in my favour to perfect His argument, caused a whole army of righteous people to be attracted towards me, and bestowed heaps of gold and silver upon me. He granted me overwhelming victory each time someone from among the innovators and disbelievers had a mubahalah with me, and manifested a countless number of radiant Signs4 for me, which I am unable to count, nor do I possess the [enormous] capacity to document [all of ] them. You should, therefore, enquire from the people of America about the end that God Almighty inflicted upon Dowie after my prayer. Come to me so that I may show you the Signs of my Lord and Master. My concluding prayer is that all praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.

The Exponent
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah,
From the place of Qadian, District Gurdaspur,
Punjab 15 April
1907 CE