The Prophecy made by Mian Gulab Shah, as related by Mian Karim Bakhsh under oath

COMMUNICATION OF A TRUE TESTIMONY BY KARIM BAKHSH OF JAMALPUR FOR THE INFORMATION AND BENEFIT OF ALL MUSLIMS

Let it be clear to all Muslim brethren, that it is solely out of compassion and goodwill which I have for them, that I want to relate in full the testimony which I had mentioned earlier and which is printed on page 707 of Izala Auham, in respect of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian(as), so that the people may be specifically informed and I may be acquitted of the responsibility of conveying the testimony.

Before I relate the testimony, I call Allah, the Almighty, to be my witness that my statement is true and entirely free from every doubt and uncertainty. If in this statement, which I am about to relate, there should be any additions or omissions made by me, then may God punish me in this very world! I fully understand that if I say anything that is contrary to the facts and forge a lie against Allah, I will be counted among the chief inmates of Hell and incur His curse and wrath both in this world and the hereafter. The testimony I am now going to relate is well preserved in my memory—not so by my own effort, but with help from God—so that it might be conveyed at its proper time. I have been well aware from the beginning that I shall greatly displease my dear people by giving this testimony and shall also get a liberal share of the edicts of disbelief that are being distributed by the Ulema. I know that my brethren will boycott with me and I will become the butt of taunts and abuse and sneers. But, I am also certain that if I conceal this evidence at this time of trial and tribulation, I will displease my God and will be guilty of a grave sin and will be thrown into the bottomless pit of blazing fire. I have, therefore, weighed both kinds of loss and have come to the conclusion that the former outcome—that the notables among my brethren might desert me or the Ulema might write edicts against me and declare me an infidel—is too trivial and unimportant. I am now an old man and my end is near. It would be most unfortunate of me if, at this age, I were to fear anyone but Allah. I am indeed terrified of committing what constitutes transgression and disbelief in the sight of Allah and I truly fear the fire of Hell, which I can not bear at all. Why should I then, for the sake of this transient world and out of fear of the Ulema and my community, earn for myself shame and disgrace on the Day of Judgement? I pray to Allah, the Exalted that I may die a believer. I will never tell a lie. If He is pleased with me, then every worldly disgrace is to me an honour and every suffering a joy. I am not afraid of being separated from my brethren for the sake of Allah, for I am now in the latter part of my life. Death has separated me from many of my relatives and very soon I too will leave this transitory world and bid farewell to my remaining loved ones. I shall deem myself very fortunate indeed if I am separated from them for the sake of Allah and in order to please Him.

O my brethren, believe me! If I did not have this testimony with me, and if, about thirty-one years ago, a godly saint had not dissolved the mystery concerning the Promised ‘Isa(as) (Messiah) and told me who would it be, today, I too, like my brethren, would be one of the bitterest opponents of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian(as). It would have been impossible for me to accept Mirza Sahib as the Messiah(as) and to renounce, even on pain of death, my old beliefs, which, in my opinion, were shared by Ahli Sunnah wal Jama‘at, all the pious predecessors, and were universally accepted by all the Ulema.

It was by the sheer mercy of God, the Exalted, that about thirty years ago, a godly man, a wanderer of the desolate places, a Majdhub, told me things that have now become magnificent signs for me. These Prophecies have convinced me of the truth of Mirza Sahib(as) so firmly that even if someone were to cut me to pieces, I would care the least for my life.

Just as the day dawns and no one has any doubts about it, so did it become clear to me that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian(as) is undoubtedly the same Promised Messiah(as) whose advent had been foretold and who was named ‘Isa(as) (Jesus) in the scriptures. My heart is full of the certainty that the Prophet Jesus(as), is dead and will never return, and the one whose advent was foretold by the Holy Prophet(sa), is this very Imam who was born in this Ummah. Hence, I wanted to convey this truth to others as well and to help the ignorant ones take to the right path. God is aware of what is in my heart and He knows that I am truthful. May God ruin me if I do not tell the truth. Brethren! Fear God and do not reject your brother's evidence on account of unwarranted suspicion, because for all of us the day from which there is no escape, is near. The testimony which I possess is that in my village Jamalpur in District Luddiyana, there lived a godly and holy man named Gulab Shah. I used to keep his company and derive spiritual benefit from him. Although I was born in a Muslim family and called myself a Muslim, I cannot help admitting that it was actually he who taught me the ways of Islam and put me onto the holy path of Tauhid. That revered saint once said to me: 'Jesus(as) has come of age now and he will come to Luddiyana and point out the errors in the Qur’an and will make judgments according to the Qur’an.' He then said: 'He will judge according to Qur’an and the Ulema will not accept him.' Again he said: 'The Ulema will reject him vehemently.' I said to him, 'The Qur’an is the Holy Word of God. Do you mean to say that it also contains errors?' He replied that commentaries have been written upon commentaries and free use of poetic language has led to misunderstandings, (that is, facts have been concealed by excessive exaggeration as is done by poets). When ‘Isa(as) comes, he will point out all these errors and give his ruling according to the Holy Qur’an.' He again said: 'He will give his ruling according to the Holy Qur’an.' I said to him that the Ulema are the heirs to the Qur’an, why would they reject him?' He answered that the Ulema would strongly reject him. I repeated my question, 'Why would the Ulema deny him when they are the heirs to the Qur’an?' At this he became greatly annoyed and incensed and answered: 'You will see what the Ulema will do. They will oppose him vehemently.'

Then I asked him, "‘Isa(as) has come of age, but where is he?" He said, "In Qadian." At this I said to him, "Qadian is but three leagues' distance from Luddiyana. Surely there is no ‘Isa(as) there!" To this he did not reply then, but at another occasion he did answer my question. I have not been able to relate it earlier because it happened such a long time ago. Now I can recall that in the end he told me several times that ‘Isa(as) was in Qadian, which is near Batala.

When he had said to me that ‘Isaas was in Qadian, and had come of age, I said, "‘Isa, son of Maryam(as), is in heaven and he is supposed to descend at the Ka‘ba. Who then is this ‘Isa(as) who you say is in Qadian and has attained manhood?" To this he answered with great kindness and compassion and said: "‘Isa, son of Maryam(as), has died. He will never come back. I have thoroughly researched this matter. ‘Isa son of Maryam(as) is dead, he will not come back. God has called me a king. I speak the truth. I never utter falsehood." Then, on his own accord, he repeated three times that the name of the ‘Isa(as) who is to come is Ghulam Ahmad(as). Although I had witnessed a number of Gulab Shah's predictions come true, in respect of this prophecy that the ‘Isa(as) awaited for was living in Qadian and that his name was Ghulam Ahmad(as), I remained a sceptic until I saw it all come true. Though I believed that he was a holy and godly man, I was by no means willing to accept this Prophecy because I believed that it was contrary to the belief of the Ahl-e-Sunnahwal Jama‘at. Therefore, I reacted passionately when I first heard it, but later on, because of the great regard I had for him, I stopped arguing with him though I still remained doubtful. This was because, like other Muslims, I firmly believed that ‘Isa(as) had not died, that he was alive and would come down from heaven. Once, he also told me that when ‘Isa(as) would visit Luddiyana, there would be a severe famine. And I have witnessed this with my own eyes that when Mirza Sahib(as) came to Luddiyana, there was a severe famine. To cut a long story short, the news that this holy man had given to me about thirty or thirty-one years ago, has now proved to be true and I have seen with my own eyes the fulfilment of what Gulab Shah told me thirty-one years ago.

In this connection, I must also mention that I have repeatedly found him to be a holy man of extraordinary spiritual powers and miracles. Once he marked a certain spot—and I am myself a witness to this—in the forest near Rampur, and said that a river would flow in that place. At that time there was no sign of a river there, so we did not believe him, but, sometime later a canal was dug and it ran through the very spot which he had marked. Once he saw some men who were sinking a well and it was almost complete. He said to them, 'You are wasting your time, this well shall never be completed.' This seemed so illogical since the well was all but finished, but at that very instant the well collapsed and disappeared leaving no trace.

Once he told a man, ‘Ali Bakhsh by name, who was sitting on the roof, to leave that place and come over to the other side. But ‘Ali Bakhsh was reluctant to do so. At last Gulab Shah made him get up. No sooner had ‘Ali Bakhsh left that place than the roof collapsed.

Once he asked me whether my father had a broken tooth. I replied that he had. He said, 'He has entered Paradise.' My father had died a long time ago, before Gulab Shah had even come to live in our village, so he could not have known that my father had a broken tooth. He must have learnt about this through a vision and he gave me the glad tidings that my father had entered Paradise.

It must also be mentioned that Gulab Shah was a man of God, and a pious Muwahhid. Being in the state of spiritual ecstasy, a fountain of Tauhid flowed from his lips. From him I learnt the ways of Islam and manners of practising Tauhid. I remembered Allah in the manner that he taught me till my heart underwent a metamorphosis and I began to relish my prayers. I was like the dead given a new life. I began to have true dreams and every dream I had would come true. I was also vouchsafed true revelation. All these blessings were due to his spiritual attention. He often used to say that every blessing lies in obedience to Allah and His Holy Prophet(sa). The four schools of thought and the four religious orders that men have created should not be given any importance at all. In all circumstances, our goal should be the obedience of God and His Holy Prophet(sa). Whatever is not proved from the Qur’an or the Holy Prophet(sa) is not right, no matter who believes in it. He used to say that the Conformists of the four schools of thought who believe that obedience to their respective Imam takes precedence over obedience to the Holy Prophet(sa), are just like the student who insists that he will only obey his teacher and none else. Only those are truly on the right path, who ponder over the Holy Qur’an and the Ahadith of the Holy Prophet(sa), and search for Truth in the Word of Allah and then act upon it. He also used to say that it does not behove the faithful to act against the commandments of God in order to adhere to the four schools of thought, or to think and believe that the blessings of God are confined to these four religious orders only. Such wishful thinking is only motivated by the ego. The true faith is the one which was revealed through the Holy Qur’an and which the Holy Prophet Muhammad(as) taught.

Once I said to him, "I would like to become your disciple. Please permit me to bring you some sweets." He replied, "Did the Holy Prophet(sa) ever demand sweets from his Companions? Every blessing is attained through love only."

Many a time, in a state of ecstatic rapture, he would say, "Mu‘inuddin Chishti and Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki were mendicants but I am a king." He had a strong dislike for the rich and loved the poor. He did not build a house for himself. He had a free nature and lived wherever he liked. He treated the sick and never asked anyone for anything. He was filled with the love of God.

Of the blessings that were bestowed upon me because of his companionship, the one I consider the greatest is that at this time, when great Ulema have stumbled and gone astray, Allah the Gracious has saved me from stumbling with regard to the claim of Hazrat Mirza Sahib(as). But this steadfastness is not the result of my own spiritual power. It is due to the great influence of the prophecy that I had heard a long time ago. He had told me, 'You will see how the Ulema will behave when ‘Isa(as) appears.' In this statement he was also predicting that I would live a long life. It had meant that I would live for another thirty years and that he would not be alive at that time but I would be.

It is not possible for me to relate in detail all the true dreams that I had because of his blessed companionship. I had relations of love, sincerity and sympathy with most Ulema. Once he Gulab Shah said to me, 'Do you really know these Ulema?' After some time I saw some of the Ulema in a dream. Their garments were extremely filthy and their bodies emaciated. They were in a wretched and degraded condition. And they were all from Luddiyana. I knew them all and many of them are still alive. There were some Ulema whose company he did not forbid, instead he encouraged me to keep their company. In my dreams, they always appeared in a favourable condition. For instance, I often used to visit Maulawi Muhammad Shah, the revered father of Maulawi Muhammad Hassan, the Great Chief of Luddiyana. Once, in a dream, I saw him with a group of men. He was wearing a fine and elegant white dress, as were all the men who were sitting around him. It was then intimated to me that Maulawi Muhammad Shah is steadfast in matters of religion and Sharia, that is why he was shown to me wearing such a dress.

Once in a dream I saw someone saying that seventy faiths had been bestowed on me. When I related this dream to Maulawi Muhammad Shah Sahib, he said that 'faith' is always single, but this indicates perfection of faith and the number seventy denotes strong faith and a good end. So, Allah be praised, for in this time of trial I have recognized the Truth and He has saved me.

I know well that all these blessings are the fruit of keeping company with the revered Gulab Shah. He often used to say that the least benefit one could gain from his company was sweetness and acceptance of prayer, which means that such a person will never be deprived of faith. So God Almighty has protected me in time of mischief from stumbling and strengthened my faith in the truth of Mirza Sahib(as).

Finally, let it be clear, that although I have made this Announcement on the oath of Allah, Glory be to Him, just as I related it in Izala Auham, a large number of people in these environs know my moral character very well. They know well that I have spent my life in piety and fear of God and that God Almighty has safeguarded me from the sinful ways, falsehood and deceit. Hazrat Maulawi Muhammad Hassan Sahib, who is the leader of the Muwahhidin of Luddiyana, and with whose family I have had relations of devotion and love since the time of his grandfather, and I also have the honour of belonging to the same race, knows me well. Despite our differences of opinion, he can swear upon the Qur’an that I, Karim Bakhsh, have always led a pious life and am reputed to be a pious man; that falsehood or calumny—characteristics of the wicked and the licentious—have I never perpetrated. If my patron, Maulawi Muhammad Shah, were living, he would also have vouched for my piety and righteousness. Moreover, any reasonable person can see that I would have nothing to gain but the curse and wrath of the Creator and the people by uttering unwarranted falsehood and calumny regarding Mirza Sahib(as). My connections with a distinguished Muslim family, the family of Maulawi Muhammad Hassan Sahib, a nobleman of Luddiyana, are very old. Considering that the said Maulawi Sahib was antagonistic towards Mirza Sahib(as) and many people had even began to dub Mirza Sahib(as) as 'Kafir', what could I possibly have gained by accepting Mirza Sahib(as), except to ruin my life here and in the hereafter, and to part company with my brothers, kith and kin? That which has inclined me towards Mirza Sahib(as) and led me to offend my old benefactors and bear the censure and taunts of my brethren and the people at large, is the truthfulness of Mirza Sahib(as), which the prophecy of Gulab Shah has made clear upon me.

I insist that inquiry should be made about my character and conduct and Hazrat Maulawi Muhammad Hassan Sahib should be asked to testify it on oath. I know that he is a descendent of the righteous, noble, highly esteemed, learned and pious people. He knows me very well and I am well aware of his ancestral civility and nobility of character, and I have known him since the time of his father.

I have written down all this for the sake of Allah and because of the falsehood that is raging like wildfire. Even if one man takes to the right path because of my testimony, I shall, God-willing, be rewarded for it. I have grown old and death is approaching fast. Maybe, Allah, the Generous, Who appreciates the smallest act of goodness, will also bless me for this one good deed of mine, just as He blessed the one about whom He says in the Holy Qur’an:

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because He is Most Gracious and Ever Merciful.

I have now said what I wanted to say and here I end my announcement.

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