Eik Ghalati Ka Izalah

A Misconception Removed

Background

On November 5, 1901, the Promised Messiah(as) issued a leaflet to correct a mistake. One of his followers was asked whether the Promised Messiah(as) himself was a prophet of God or not, and he replied in the negative. So the Promised Messiah(as) explained in this leaflet that the mere negative answer was not correct because God had addressed him as a prophet and called him as such in hundreds of revelations.

The Book

The Promised Messiah(as), sensing the danger that a serious misunderstanding may be caused, wrote a book entitled Eik Ghalati Ka Izalah. It threw a new light on the concept of the prophethood. The Promised Messiah(as) writes:

Wherever I have denied being a prophet or a messenger of God, I have denied only in the sense that I have not brought an independent Law, nor am I an independent prophet; but I am a messenger and a prophet of God in the sense that, by acquiring spiritual blessings in following in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet(sa) and getting his name, I have been granted by God, through Him abundant knowledge of the future, without any new law. I have never denied being called such a prophet. God has indeed called me a prophet and a messenger in the same sense.1

Life of Ahmad by A.R. Dard(ra), Edition of 2008, p. 823, describes:

He claimed that he was the true and perfect image of the Holy Prophet(sa) and, therefore, there was no question of breaking the seal of his prophethood.

This leaflet (Eik Ghalati Ka Izalah) marks a very great change in the Promised Messiah(as)’s conception of prophethood; and in view of the later schism brought about among the community by the Lahore seceders it would not be out of place to throw here some light upon the significance of this change. For the previous ten years , the Promised Messiah(as) had been assuring the world that he did not lay any claim to prophethood and now in this leaflet he definitely declared that he was a prophet of God. This was due to the simple fact that the Promised Messiah(as)’s conception of prophethood had undergone a change. In the al-Hakam, No. 29, Vol. 3, 1899, a letter written by the Promised Messiah(as) is published in which he says that in Islamic terminology prophet and messenger imply that “they bring a perfect Shari‘ah (Law) or cancel some of the edicts of the previous Shari‘ah or they are not called the followers of the preceding prophet and keep in touch with God directly without receiving any benefit from any other prophet.” But in this leaflet, Eik Ghalati Ka Izalah, he emphatically declared that it was not necessary for a prophet to bring any new Shari‘ah. He declared that, according to the Divine term, prophethood only implies to the making of numerous prophecies about the future which are fulfilled.2 It is clear that the two views are not identical. The Promised Messiah(as) himself indicates that this change in his conception of prophethood was prompted by God. He says:

“In the beginning I believed that I had no comparison with Jesus, son of Mary, he was a prophet and one of the chosen ones of God. If there was anything indicating my superiority, I considered it as a minor and partial phase. But when revelation from God poured upon me like rain, I could not keep this belief, as I was clearly given the title of a prophet in one respect, and in the other an ummati.”

So long as he thought that it was necessary for a prophet to bring a Law or Shari‘ah, or attain to prophethood directly and independently, the Promised Messiah(as) denied being a prophet and believed that he could not be superior to Jesus, who was a prophet of God. But when he changed his conception on account of the numerous revelations he received from God, he considered himself a prophet and as such had no hesitation in declaring his own superiority over Jesus.

It is needless to point out here that this change in concept on the part of the Promised Messiah(as) did not in any way effect the work entrusted to him. He fully understood his mission and right from the very beginning he knew what was required of him to do by God. He was a prophet of God and did the work of a prophet from the very beginning. All that happened was that, until 1901, he shared the popular belief about prophethood, just as he had shared the wrong popular belief about the physical ascension of Jesus to heaven. In both cases, it was only when God pointed out to him the mistake that he corrected his views.

Specimen of Writing

Whenever I have denied being a Prophet or a Messenger, it means that I am not a law-bearer, nor am I a Prophet in my own right. But I am a Messenger and a Prophet without a new law in the sense that God reveals to me that which is hidden, and because of the inner grace that has been bestowed upon me on account of my obedience to the Holy Prophet(sa), and because of having received his name. I have never denied being a Prophet in this sense. It is in this sense that God has called me a Prophet and a Messenger.

My having said, I am not a Messenger and have not brought a book, means that I am not the bearer of a new law. It must, however, be remembered and should never be forgotten, that despite my having been called a Prophet and Messenger, I have been informed by God that all this grace is not bestowed directly upon me but that there is one in heaven, that is to say, Muhammad, the chosen one, peace be on him, whose spiritual grace accompanies me. In this way the Seal of Prophethood has been fully safeguarded, for I have been given these names by way of reflection through the mirror of love. If a person is chagrined over the revelation that has been vouchsafed to me in which God Almighty has called me a Prophet and a Messenger, it is foolish on his part, for my being Prophet and Messenger, as I have explained, does not contravene the Divine Seal.3