Purani Tahrirein

Early Writings

Note: This is a collection of Huzoor’s writings covering the period 1878-1880.

Background

Much before the writing of the books, like Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Hazrat Ahmad(as) had been busy in replying to attacks on Islam through articles published in various journals of his time in the province. The Aryah Samaj and Brahmu Samaj had been spreading ideas about the soul’s transmigration and the superiority of the Vedas. To refute these ideas, Hazrat Ahmad(as) started contributing articles to various journals of his day mainly owned by Christian and Hindu publishers.

The Book

It is the collection of a number of articles, which appeared in 1879, in the Manshur-e-Muhammadi of Bangalore, Safir-e-Hind of Amritsar, Brother Hind and Hindu Bandu of Lahore.

In his article, which he contributed to the Manshur-e-Muhammadi, Hazrat Ahmad(as) declared that truthfulness, in all human relations, was the foundation of human virtue and this virtue has been stressed only by Islam. He offered a prize of Rs. 500 to the followers of any other religion, who could prepare a list of quotations from their scriptures which might exceed, equal or even amount to one-half or one-third of the quotations on truth contained in the Holy Quran.

In Safir-e-Hind of Amritsar, he wrote a series of articles from February 9 to March 9, 1878, defending the glory and majesty of God, demolishing the widespread belief of the Aryah Samaj that souls are so infinite that even God does not know their numbers, and, therefore, they continue to exist independently, attaining salvation through the process of transmigration.

Hazrat Ahmad(as) wrote a long article in refutation of this doctrine of transmigration which was published in the Hindu Bandu of Lahore in the issues of February, March and April of 1879. The last instalment of the article was not published by the editor, because, as the editor wrote in the magazine, the Aryah Samajists had not been able to answer the excellent arguments produced by Hazrat Ahmad(as) in his earlier articles.

Hazrat Ahmad(as) also had a discussion with the editor of the Hindu Bandu, namely Shiv Nara’in Agni Hotri, on the subject of “Revelation.” These discussions continued for over a month. Although Agni Hotri had vehemently denied the possibility of Divine revelation, the writings of Hazrat Ahmad(as) so convinced him about the existence of revelation that he severed all his connections with Brahmu Samaj and started claiming that he himself was the recipient of revelation. Hazrat Ahmad(as) brought such a fundamental change in him that he began to preach the very thing against which he had tenaciously fought before.

Specimen of Writing

Then if man cannot escape error through his own knowledge and God, Who is Gracious and Merciful, and is Free from every mistake and Knows the truth of every matter, does not help His servants through His true revelation, how could we humble creatures emerge out of the darkness of ignorance and error and how could we be delivered from the calamities of doubt and suspicion? I therefore affirm it with confidence that the wisdom and mercy and sustaining love of God Almighty demand that from time to time, when He deems it right, He creates men who should be recipients of revelation for the purpose of ascertaining true doctrines and establishing correct morals, and who should have bestowed upon them the capacity of impressing their teachings upon others so that mankind, who have been created for the true guidance, should not be deprived of their needed good fortune.1

Important Note

In the new computerized edition of Ruhani Khaza’in, pages 46(a), 46(b), 46(c) and 46(d) have been added to this book. These pages deal with an important question relating to soul raised by Munshi Gardial—a teacher in the Middle School of Chiniot—in which he claimed that the souls are limitless and eternal.

The reply of Hazrat Ahmad(as) was published in the issue of Aftab dated May 16, 1878. Hazrat Ahmad(as) said the claim by the teacher is incorrect.

God in His person is Limlitless and Eternal. On page 46(b)-(c), Hazrat Ahmad(as) writes:

So when we examine the second section of his question whether there is some hard evidence of immortality of soul, then we find strong evidences against it and we are left with no option but to accept these evidences. In our earlier writings we have repeatedly stated and there is no need to repeat them. But we find a new reason whereby the falsehood of the limitlessness of soul is established and it exposes the hollowness of it. Preface to this argument is that Aryah Samajists have acknowledged that the number of souls do not exceed four and a quarter billion, and whatever their number they remain within that limit and within the same period and they also acknowledge that these souls are confined to this planet and they are taught in this confine, and whoever acquires learning and these find salvation…

It is apparent from these assertion (by Aryah Samajists) that the souls are not limitless and because of their confinement to a time and place…

How in the face of these assertions we can find the assertion of the teacher as correct.