Aryah Dharam

The Aryah Faith

Background

The Promised Messiah(as) had to embark upon this project because the Aryah Samajists of Qadian following in the footsteps of the Christians thought that the best way of defence of their religion was to launch an attack on the Holy Prophet(sa) and present him as a disgraceful man who indulged in unbridled sexual lust.

The Book

The Promised Messiah(as) in this book undertook a critical analysis of the doctrines of the Aryah Samaj. This analysis had to be undertaken to silence the Aryah Samajists who thought that they could get away by throwing stones on the Holy Prophet(sa) while they were sitting in glass houses. He chose one of their doctrines called Niyog and exposed its disgusting nature to public view. How this doctrine is extremely indecent and repugnant to man’s natural and moral sense is evident from the fact that the Hindus do not openly practise or preach it. At first, the Promised Messiah(as) would not believe that man could sink so low in immorality. Therefore, he convened a public meeting on July 30, 1895, in the mosque at Qadian and four members of the Aryah Samaj were invited to attend the meeting. They were then questioned about this doctrine and they had to admit its existence and acknowledge it as laid down in Satyarath Prakash.

Decency does not permit one to go into the subject in detail but this account would be incomplete if no mention is made of this ugly doctrine. The essence of the doctrine of Niyog is this: If a man is without a male issue, he may permit his wife to have a sexual intercourse with another man or a number of men until the desired number of sons is obtained. The marriage remains intact and the wife must serve her husband also during this period. The husband need not be an imbecile or impotent. If he likes, he can also continue to have intercourse with his wife. The sons born out of the Niyog are regarded his sons. A man can even have intercourse with as many as 11 women (one after the other) just as a women may enter into sexual relation with 11 men (one after the other). This doctrine is said to be based upon the authority of The Vedas as interpreted by Swami Dyanand in his book, Satyarath Prakash (Urdu 9th edition, published by Rajpal of Lahore, Chapter 4, or see 3rd edition of English translation, Imperial Printing Press, Lahore, 1927).1

Niyog seems to be a complete negation of all that is the characteristic of human decency and manliness. It is neither a communal marriage nor polyandry. Both are no doubt unnatural and perverse but they do involve certain duties and obligations. At least they are looked upon as forms of marriage by people who practise this. Niyog, it appears, to be another name for adultery. It is no marriage at all. On the other hand, it implies a complete disregard and violation of the sacred bond of marriage. A man declares himself to be a strict monogamist, his wife is pregnant, yet he is let loose upon other women, especially unprotected widows. There is no remedy for the unfortunate victims of this lust. The marriage tie is indissoluble, so the wife cannot leave him and other women have no legal claim upon him. Thus the irresponsible and the unscrupulous are permitted to cause havoc in society in the name of religion. Human nature revolts against this whole concept. Even animals have a sense of self-respect.

A detailed exposure of Niyog—the disgusting doctrine—had put the Aryah Samajists in their proper place. The Promised Messiah(as) then at length explained various marriages that were contracted by the Holy Prophet(sa) and also presented the philosophy of Divorce in Islam.

At the end of the book, the Promised Messiah(as) made a plea for the introduction of a law, which may prohibit the followers of other religions to desist from attacking the creeds of other faiths, specially when such an attack can recoil on their own faith and on their own doctrines. And, if some party publishes the name of book or books which are held in reverence, then the other party should show due reverence to the book and violation of this be made punishable under Section 298 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The Promised Messiah(as) made a plea to the Aryah Samajists and Christians, that they should desist from attacking the noble personage of the Holy Prophet(sa) but the strangest part of this development was that other Muslims were the first to oppose this, simply because, the proposal had come from the Promised Messiah(as) whose sole aim was to shield the honour and reputation of the Holy Prophet(sa). The plea was signed by 764 Ahmadis who conveyed their intention to proceed under Section 298 of the CPC.

Specimen of Writing

Of the other books that are accepted by us the Sahih of Bukhari ranks as the first. All its Ahadith which are not opposed to the Holy Quran are in our view authoritative. Next comes the Sahih of Muslim. We accept its authority subject to the condition that it should not be opposed to the Holy Quran and the Sahih of Bukhari. Next to them are the compilations of Tirmadhi, Ibn-e-Majah, the Mu’atta of Imam Malik, Nisa’i, Abu Dawud and Dar Qutni, which we regard as authoritative so long as they are not opposed to the Holy Quran and Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. These are our religious books and these are the conditions under which we accept them. Every critic must confine himself to these books and these conditions.2