Khutbah Ilhamiyyah

The Revealed Sermon

Background

On April 11, 1900, Idul Adha provided an opportunity to the assembled Ahmadis from Sialkot, Amritsar, Batala, Lahore, Wazirabad, Jammu, Peshawar, Gujrat, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Patiala, Bombay and Lucknow etc. to witness a historic occasion at the Masjid Aqsa which had recently been extended. It was, therefore, decided that the Eid prayers would be offered in the mosque. A night earlier, the Promised Messiah(as) had sent a note to Hazrat Maulavi Hakim Nur-ud-Din stating that he intended to engage himself in prayer and suplicating the whole day and a part of the night and those who had come to attend the Eid Congregation and also those present in Qadian, should write their names and places of their residence and send them on to the Promised Messiah(as) so that he could remember them in prayer.

Early next morning, Maulavi ‘Abdul Karim came to the Promised Messiah(as) and requested him to address the Eid Congregation. The Promised Messiah(as) said that “God had commanded him the night before to do so in Arabic.”1

After the Eid prayers, Hazrat Maulavi Hakim Nur-ud-Din and Maulavi ‘Abdul Karim both were asked to sit near the Promised Messiah(as) and take down verbatim the speech that he was going to deliver in Arabic. It was a wonderful experience and people sat round the Promised Messiah(as) and everyone was conscious of a striking change in the countenance of the Promised Messiah(as). There was a flow of eloquence, a Divine cadence and a depth of meaning, which one could see and read in his face. After the Promised Messiah(as) finished speaking, Maulavi ‘Abdul Karim conveyed to the audience the gist and substance in Urdu. While he was doing so, the Promised Messiah(as) also was overtaken by sudden sense of gratitude towards Allah, and he did Sajdah (prostrated on the ground), the audience also fell in Sajdah. Raising his head he told the people that he had just read the word Mubarak (congratulations) written in scarlet, it was a Kashf (vision) culminating in the acceptance of his prayers.

The Book

The Khutbah Ilhamiyyah (The Revealed Sermon) thus delivered has been documented in a book form. The excellence, the elegance, the beauty and the perfection of the Arabic used in the Khutbah Ilhamiyyah, makes one wonder at the Divine blessings the Promised Messiah(as) was being continually bestowed and endowed with. His opponents had first alleged that he had no knowledge of Arabic, and when he started writing books in Arabic, the like of which no Mullah scholar or authority in Arabic could produce, even the Arabs marvelled at the beauty of the language. Then it was alleged that some Arab was employed to write the books for him, then came this remarkable sermon delivered extempore before more than 200 people. The Khutbah Ilhamiyyah comprises two parts. The first part beginning from pages 1 to 30, and the second part from pages 31 to 73. The first edition indicated the date of August 25, 1901, and later edition October 17, 1902 is published, it appears during the intervening period, four more chapters and some flyers were added during the period of May 1900 to October 1902, and then it appeared in the final shape in October 1902.

The whole book is now known as Khutbah Ilhamiyyah, although the Khutbah itself consists of 30 pages. In the chapters added later, the Promised Messiah(as) discussed at length the philosophy of sacrifice and other chapters relate to his advent as the Promised Messiah in the light of the Holy Quran and the Ahadith. An Ishtihar was also added to it as a supplement about the construction of a Minaret in fulfilment of the prophecy of the Holy Prophet(sa) which says: “The Promised Messiah will descend by the white Minaret to the East of Damascus.” Qadian is situated to the East of Damascus—the significance of the word Damascus lies in the fact that the doctrine of the Trinity had its birth in that town. It was here that Paul conceived the unholy idea of Trinity and began to preach it.

Specimen of the Sermon

And, verily the signs have been shown and clear proofs given. See ye not that the disputes have disappeared? Know ye not the Solar and the Lunar eclipses of the month of Ramadan? Some men have died according to my prophecy but you do not think about it. And there have appeared for me a great many signs, but you do not care. The earth and the sky, the water and the dust have all borne witness in my favour, but you do not fear. And the reason and revelation, signs and proofs have supported each other to establish the truth of my claims and our dreams and Mukashafat have been favourable to me but even now you refuse to believe. And, surely, there are great signs in the eyes of those who think, and the star Zus-sinain did appear. And a little less than one fifth of this century had passed, but where is the Mujaddid (spiritual reformer promised) at the head of every century? Do you know of any? Plague did come from sky. The pilgrimage was forbidden and deaths multiplied. Nations disputed and fought over the mines of gold. The Cross was up and Islam moved and disappeared as if it were a stranger. The vices increased. Man began to love wine, gambling and music. Adultery and hostility became public and piety vanished. Time was, therefore, ripe for the manifestation of our Lord and the sayings of the prophets were fulfilled. So what else would you believe in?

O people! Stand up for Allah all at once and one by one, and fear Allah and think like one who is neither an enemy, nor a miser. Is it not a time for Allah to be merciful to His creatures? Should He not remove the evils and satisfy the intense thirst of the people with a spring shower? Is the flood of evil not at its highest? Is not the whole of the earth corrupted? Has not Satan been pleased with his followers? Be grateful to Allah Who remembered you and your faith. And He has not allowed it to be corrupted. He has watched over your harvests and your fields. He has sent down rains and completed His measure. And He has raised His Messiah for the removal of evil, and His Mahdi for the good of the people. He has brought to you the Imam from amongst you while it was not so before.2