Anjam-e-Atham

The Death of Atham

Background

On the conclusion of Jang-e-Muqaddas on June 5, 1893, the Promised Messiah(as) published a prophecy about ‘Abdullah Atham who was the representative of the Christian Community in the debate that ‘Abdullah Atham would be thrown into Haviya (Hell) within 15 months—one month corresponding to each day of the debate and that he would be (severely) disgraced “Provided he did not turn to the truth.”

A period of 15 months ended on September 5, 1894, by which day ‘Abdullah Atham was still alive. There was a great uproar that the prophecy of the Promised Messiah(as) turned out to be false as he was still alive. A procession was taken out on September 6, 1894, in Amritsar in which Atham was paraded as a sign that the Christians had become victorious over Islam. The Promised Messiah(as) wrote in the Anwarul-Islam on September 6, 1894 that the Prophecy made by him was fulfilled in letter and spirit, because during the period of 15 months, ‘Abdullah Atham had turned toward the truth and had been quiet and did not say a single word against Islam and the Holy Prophet(sa), nor did he write any article or book against Islam during this period.

Since September 6, 1894, the Promised Messiah(as) issued seven posters one after the other inviting Atham to take an oath that during the period of 15 months, he did not turn to God, then he would be thrown into Haviya (Hell).

In the posters, he offered a prize of Rs. 1,000 which went on increasing with every poster to Rs. 2,000, Rs. 3,000 and then Rs.4,000, and every time, Atham was invited to take an oath. During this period, a number of people said that Atham was weak and old man and it was no wonder that he may die. In order to falsify such an allegation, he was kept alive as a living symbol, how the prophecy of the Promised Messiah(as) fulfilled. It was on the seventh poster (issued on December 30, 1895) when the Promised Messiah(as) issued his last poster against Atham that the refusal of Atham had reached a point where he would not be given any further grace period. And, ‘Abdullah Atham died on July 27, 1896, i.e., within seven months of the publication of the seventh poster.

The Book

In the book, the Promised Messiah(as) declared that the word of God was fulfilled and the Prophecy that he made came true. His attitude toward God and his Prophet had brought upon him the decree of punishment. Atham shuddered when the decree was pronounced. He was dumbfounded and terrified into silence. He turned towards the truth silently in his heart. God allowed him respite as was clearly pointed out by the Promised Messiah(as) in his book, Anwarul-Islam, and also in his leaflet dated October 27, 1894, he had clearly prophesied: “If Atham does not take the oath, even then, God will not let a culprit go unpunished, who tried to deceive the world by hiding the truth. The days are near, not distant.”

The Promised Messiah(as) tried to save Atham from the wrath of God and gave him every opportunity to speak the truth and thus be a witness to the word of God but he could not muster the courage and the respite allowed to him by God, gradually and imperceptibly confirmed him in his deceit until his long silence took the form of veritable falsehood. To grant him further respite would have rendered the cause of raising all the prophets of God absolutely in vain. So, he was stricken with death and the word of God was fulfilled. The book was completed and published in the beginning of 1897. It covered 284 pages with 64 pages of supplement. Most of this book is in Arabic having a Persian translation running underneath. The death of Atham was a heavenly sign not only for the Christians but for the whole world. Thereafter, the Promised Messiah(as) did not only address the Christians of India and the Middle East but also the Muslims of India and all other Muslim countries. That is why the book was chiefly written in Arabic and Persian so that all may benefit by it. It was sent to all countries. It is a collection of four different pamphlets as indicated in the title. The central theme is that he has been divinely commissioned by God and that he is not a self-styled Messiah.

It was to be pointed out that during the period of 15 months from June 5, 1893, a number of Padres did face death.

First, the Leader of the Christian Missionaries, Padre Wrights, died a sudden death. The preacher speaking on the Memorial service said: “Tonight the wrath of God has fallen upon us and his hidden sword had struck him.”

Second, Padre Foreman died in Lahore.

Third, Dr. John, an active member of Jandiyala Christian Mission, who had a hand in organizing this debate, died during the stipulated period.

Padre ‘Imad-ud-Din, who posed as an authority on Arabic and the Holy Quran and who had ridiculed the literary merit of the Holy Quran, met a pathetic disgrace at the hand of the Promised Messiah(as) when he was offered a reward of Rs. 5,000 for writing a book in Arabic of the literary merit as Hazrat Ahmad’s Nurul-Haqq, and yet, had not the courage to accept the challenge.

A supplement of 64 pages was added to the book in which the Promised Messiah(as) enumerated a number of signs that God had shown in his favour. He also published a letter wherein Mian Ghulam Farid of Chachran, a well-known Pir (divine) of India had written to the Promised Messiah(as) on Rajab 27, 1314 A.H. In it, the Pir Sahib wrote: “Dearest friend, know that I have cherished the feelings of deep respect for you from the very beginning in order that I may have its reward. Never has any word of disrespect been uttered by me about you. Now I have to inform you that I acknowledge your goodness and there is no doubt about it. I am sure that you are a righteous servant of God.”

The Promised Messiah(as) also referred to the prophecy contained in Sh. ‘Ali Hamza’s book, Jawahirul Asrar (840 A.D.): “The Holy Prophet(sa) said that the Mahdi would appear in a village called Kad‘a and that he would have a printed book in his hand in which the names of his Companions would be written and that their number would be 313.” The Promised Messiah(as) gave a list of his 313 Companions in the book to show that the prophecy was fulfilled in his person.

Another distinctive feature of the supplement is that the Promised Messiah(as) demolished the image of Christ as presented by Padres of the day. He said that there is no mention in the Holy Quran of the Prophet like the one projected by the Christian in the person of Christ and, therefore, he would not hesitate to demolish his divinity, However, he said that the Holy Quran speaks of a prophet whose name was Jesus, son of Mary. This Prophet was a true Prophet of God, a noble and righteous man, who never made a claim to be the son of God.

The Promised Messiah(as) said: “I never had written or said any word of disrespect about Jesus, son of Mary. I have no hesitancy in running down a man called Christ, who, as the Christians say, made a claim to be a son of God and who as the Padres claim, had declared that all the prophets coming after him would be false prophets and who called Prophet Moses a robber. It is, therefore, I say that Jesus is a man, who is not even worth of being called a gentleman as presented by Padres. However, I have a great respect for Jesus, son of Mary, who was a human being and a Prophet and who, according to the Holy Quran, testified to the coming of the Holy Prophet(sa).”

[Note: The title page of the book combines four journals, namely Anjam-e-Atham, Khuda-’i Faislah (Divine Judgment), Da‘wat-e-Qaum (Invitation to the Nation), Maktube ‘Arabi Banam ‘Ulama’ (Letter in Arabic Addressed to Scholars).

Impact

The book was so telling and effective that the Christians became careful in use of their language against the Holy Prophet(sa) and this was what the Promised Messiah(as) wanted that the Christian Missionaries should learn manners and become polite and gentle in the use of their language when talking of the Holy Prophet(sa). The book also created a stir in the intellectual circles of the time, because the entire history of the debate known as Jang-e-Muqaddas (Holy War) was traced and the background and the wordings of the prophecy about ‘Abdullah Atham were fully explained and presented in proper perspective.