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Introduction

I have written this book so that by adducing proofs from established facts, conclusive historical evidence of proven value, and ancient documents of other nations, I might dispel the serious misconceptions which are current among Christians and most Muslim sects regarding the earlier and the later life of Jesus. The dangerous consequences of these misconceptions have not only hijacked and destroyed the concept of Tauhid — Divine Unity, but their insidious and poisonous influence has long been noticed in the moral condition of Muslims in this country. It is these baseless myths and tales that result in spiritual maladies, like immorality, malice, callousness, and cruelty, which are almost endemic among most Islamic sects. Virtues like human sympathy, compassion, affability, love of justice, meekness, modesty, and humility are disappearing by the day, as if they will soon bid a hasty farewell to them. This callousness and moral degradation makes many a Muslim appear only marginally different from wild beasts. A Jain3 or a Buddhist is afraid of killing even a mosquito or a flea and detests such an act, but alas! there are many among Muslims who would kill an innocent person with impunity and commit wanton murder without the least fear of God Almighty Who rates human life higher than all other animals. Why then this callousness, cruelty, and lack of sympathy? It is because from their very childhood, myths and false stories regarding a false concept of Jihad are drummed into their ears and instilled into their hearts. As a result, they gradually become morally dead and cease to realize the heinousness of such abominable deeds. On the other hand, a man who murders an unsuspecting person and brings ruin to his family, thinks that he has done a meritorious and rightful deed and made the most of an opportunity to win social acclaim. This is because no sermons or lectures are delivered in our country to discourage such evils, and if at all there are any such sermons, they have an aura of hypocrisy about them; and the man in the street continues to think approvingly of such misdeeds. Hence, taking pity upon the plight of my people, I have already written books in Urdu, Persian and Arabic, in which I have proved that the popular concept of Jihad prevalent among Muslims, such as the expectation of a bloodthirsty Imam and cultivation of malice for others, are no more than false notions harboured by shortsighted clerics. Islam, on the contrary, does not allow the use of the sword in religion except in the case of defensive wars, wars which are waged to punish a tyrant, or those which are meant to uphold freedom. The need of a defensive war arises only when the aggression of an adversary threatens one’s life. Except for these three kinds of Jihad permitted by the Shariah — Islamic law, no other kind of war is allowed by Islam in support of religion. To highlight this concept of Jihad, I have distributed books in this country and in Arabia, Syria and Khurasan, etc., at great cost. But now, by the grace of God, I have adduced arguments powerful enough to dispel these unfounded beliefs from the people’s minds. I have found clear proofs and strong and conclusive circumstantial and historical evidence, the light of whose truth gives the tiding that, soon after their publication, there will come about a welcome change in the hearts of the Muslims. I am sure that after these truths have been comprehended, sweet and refreshing springs of modesty, humility and compassion will gush forth from the hearts of the righteous sons of Islam. There will be a spiritual transformation which will have a wholesome and benign impact on the nation at large. I am also sure that Christian scholars and all those who hunger and thirst after the truth, will benefit from this book. And, as I have just pointed out, the real object of this book is to correct the wrong beliefs which have found their way into the creeds of the Muslims and the Christians. However, this requires some elaboration which is as follows.

Christians and most Muslims believe that Jesus was raised to the heavens alive; both have believed for a long time that Jesus is still alive in the heavens and will return to the earth sometime in the latter days. The difference in the views of Muslims and Christians is that Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross, was resurrected, went to heaven in his earthly body, seated himself on the right hand of his Father and will return to the earth for judgment in the latter days. They further say that Jesus, the Messiah, is the Creator and Master of the world and none other; he it is who, in the latter days, will descend to the earth in glory and majesty to pronounce reward and punishment. All those who do not believe in him or his mother as God, will be caught and thrown into hell, where crying and lamenting will be their lot. But the aforesaid sects of Muslims say that Jesus was never crucified, nor did he die on the cross. Instead, when the Jews arrested him for crucifixion, an angel of God took him to the heavens in his earthly body, and that he is still alive there, which according to them is the second heaven, where the prophet Yahya or John is also quartered. Muslims, moreover, believe that Jesus is an exalted prophet of God but not God, nor the Son of God. They also say that he will, in the latter days, descend to the earth, near the Minaret at Damascus, or elsewhere, supported by two angels. Jesus and Imam Muhammad — the Mahdi, who will be a Fatamite and will already be there in this world — will kill all non-Muslims, and will not spare anyone except those who become Muslims at once. In short, the real object of the second coming of Jesus to the earth, as stated by the Muslims known as Ahl-e-Sunnah and Ahl-e-Hadith, also called Wahabis by the common people, is that quite like the Mahadev4 of the Hindus, he will destroy the whole world; and that he will first threaten people to become Muslims and, if they persist in their disbelief, shall put them all to the sword. They also affirm that he has been kept alive in the heavens in his earthly body, so that when Muslim powers become weak, he will come down and kill the non-Muslims or coerce them on pain of death to become Muslims. The divines of the aforesaid Muslim sect say, particularly about the Christians, that when Jesus comes down from the heavens, he will break all the crosses in the world, indulge in all sorts of cruel deeds with the sword, and fill the earth with blood. And, as stated before, the Ahl-e-Hadith and others from among the Muslims gleefully proclaim that shortly before the second coming of the Messiah, there will appear an Imam from among the descendants of Fatima(ra), whose name will be Muhammad, the Mahdi. He it is who will be the Khalifa and King of the time by virtue of his being one of the Quraish. Since his real object will be to kill all non-Muslims except those who readily recite the Kalima, Jesus will come down to give him a helping hand in this task; and although Jesus in his own right will be a Mahdi, indeed he will be the greater Mahdi, but since it is essential that the Khalifa of the time should be from among the Quraish, Jesus will not be the Khalifa. Instead, Muhammad, the Mahdi, will be the Khalifa. They further allege that the two of them together will fill the earth with human blood, and so much blood will be shed that it will be unprecedented in the history of the world. The moment they appear, they will start this bloody carnage, but they will neither preach nor plead, nor show any sign. They also say that although Jesus will be like an advisor or a helper to Imam Muhammad, the Mahdi, and although the reins of power will be in the hands of the Mahdi alone, Jesus will continue to instigate and incite Hazrat Imam Muhammad, the Mahdi, to violence, as if he were trying to make up for the humane teaching he preached to the world before, i.e., not to resist evil, and on being struck on one cheek, to turn the other cheek also.

This, in sum, is the Muslim and Christian belief regarding Jesus. Although Christians are guilty of a grave error in calling a humble man God, some Muslims too, particularly the Ahl-e-Hadith, generally known as the Wahabis, believe in a bloodthirsty Mahdi and an equally bloodthirsty Messiah. This has corrupted their moral condition to the extent that neither can they live with other people in a climate of peace, trust, and good will, nor can they be truly and completely loyal to a non-Muslim government. Every reasonable man would understand that such a belief, namely, that non-Muslims should be subjected to coercion, and that they should either directly become Muslims or be put to death, is open to very serious objections. Human conscience spontaneously realizes that it is highly objectionable to convert a person to one’s faith by coercion, and by threatening to kill him, without ever giving him the opportunity to understand the truth of a faith and apprising him of its moral teaching and values. Far from contributing to the growth of a religion, this would give the opponents the opportunity to find fault with it. The ultimate result of this kind of thinking is that hearts become devoid of human sympathy. Justice and compassion, which are some of the cardinal human values, become extinct, and spite and ill will begin to flourish; only brutality remains, wiping out all high moral qualities. But it is only too obvious that such teachings cannot be from God, Who punishes only after His message has been fully communicated.

Just imagine, would it be reasonable to simply kill a man if he does not accept the true faith, even though he is as yet ignorant and unaware of its truth and its noble and excellent message? Instead of answering his denial with the sword or the gun, such a man deserves compassion, and needs to be instructed gently and politely in the truth, beauty and the spiritual excellence of the faith. Hence, the view of Jihad held by these sects of Islam, and their belief that the time is near when there will arise a bloodthirsty Mahdi named Imam Muhammad, that the Messiah will come down from the skies to lend him a helping hand, and that the two of them together will kill all non-Muslims if they deny Islam, is utterly opposed to moral sense. Doesn’t this belief put all good human qualities and morals out of action, and excite beastly passions. Those who hold such beliefs have to lead a life of hypocrisy with others, so much so that they cannot even give true loyalty to their rulers. The allegiance they profess is a lie. That is why some of the Ahl-e-Hadith sects mentioned above are living a double life under the British Government in India. In secret, they hold out hopes to the common people of the coming of the bloody days of a bloodthirsty Mahdi and Messiah, and preach accordingly, but to the rulers they go as sycophants, assuring them that they do not approve of such ideas. But if they are really sincere, why do they not express their disapproval in their writings, and why do they await the coming of the bloodthirsty Mahdi and Messiah so impatiently as if they were standing at the doorstep, eager to join him?

It is because of such beliefs that the moral fiber of these clerics has suffered so much deterioration. They are no longer capable of preaching peace and compassion. On the other hand, they consider it their prime religious duty to go about killing others. I would be glad if any sect of the Ahl-e-Hadith is opposed to these beliefs, but I cannot help observing with regret that among the sects of the Ahl-e-Hadith5 there are Wahabis incognito who believe in a bloodthirsty Mahdi and in the common concept of Jihad. They believe what is contrary to the true faith, and, if the opportunity offers, they consider it virtuous to kill people who profess other religions. Whereas the truth is that belief in killing others in the name of Islam, or in prophecies like the one about the bloodthirsty Messiah or wishing to advance the cause of Islam by bloodshed and threats, is absolutely against the Holy Quran and authentic Ahadith. Our Holy Prophet(sa) suffered great hardship in Mecca and thereafter at the hands of the disbelievers. The thirteen years which he spent at Mecca were years of great affliction and suffering. Even to think of them brings tears to one’s eyes. But he did not raise the sword against his enemies, nor did he reply in kind to their abuse, until many of his disciples and close friends were mercilessly killed, and he was himself subjected to all kinds of persecution. He was poisoned many a time; and many an unsuccessful attempt was made to murder him. When, however, God’s vengeance came, it so happened that the Meccan and tribal chiefs decided unanimously that this man, the Holy Prophet(sa), should at all events be put to death. It was at that time that God, who is the Supporter of His loved ones and of the truthful and the righteous, informed him that nothing but evil was left in the town, that the people were bent upon murdering him and that he should leave the town at once. Then in response to divine command, he migrated to Medina. Even there, his enemies did not leave him alone; they pursued him, and tried at all costs to annihilate Islam. When their arrogance exceeded all limits, and their crime of killing innocent people had made them only too fit to be punished, Muslims were given the permission to fight in self-defense. And those people and their helpers did deserve punishment for killing many innocent persons and robbing them of their possessions, not in any fair fight or battle, but out of sheer mischief. But in spite of all this, when Mecca was taken, our Holy Prophet(sa) pardoned them all. It is, therefore, utterly wrong and unfair to suppose that the Holy Prophet(sa) or his companions ever fought to spread Islam, or forced anyone to join its fold.

Remember, at the time all nations were highly prejudiced against Islam. The enemy was scheming to destroy Islam which he thought was a new religion and the followers of which were only a negligible minority, and everyone was anxious to see the Muslims destroyed at the earliest, or too torn apart to have any possibility of growth. This is why the Muslims had to encounter hostility at every step, and anyone from any tribe who accepted Islam was either summarily killed by his tribe or lived in perpetual danger of losing his life. At this juncture, God Almighty took pity on Muslim converts, and imposed on the bigoted powers the penalty of becoming subjects of the Islamic state, thereby throwing open the doors of freedom for Islam. This was meant to remove the obstructions in the way of those who wished to accept the faith; it was God’s mercy upon mankind, and did no one any harm.

It is evident, however, that non-Muslim rulers today do not interfere with the religious freedom of Muslims; they do not restrict the carrying out of religious rites; do not kill new converts to Islam from among their own people and do not put them into prison or torture them. Why then should Islam permit the use of the sword against them? For a fact, Islam has never advocated compulsion in religion. If you closely study the Holy Quran, books of Hadith and historical records, and examine them and reflect upon them as far as possible, you will realize that the charge that Islam ever used force and wielded the sword to spread the faith is an utterly unfounded and shameless allegation. Such charges are levelled against Islam by people who have not been able to read the Quran, Hadith and the authentic chronicles in an objective and impartial spirit, and have made free use of slander and falsehood. I know the time is approaching fast when those who are hungry and thirsty for truth will come to know of the reality of these slanderous charges. How can we describe Islam as a religion of compulsion, when its Holy Book, the Holy Quran, unequivocally commands:

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This means that you are simply not allowed to convert people by force. Can we ever accuse the great Prophet Muhammad(sa) of using force, while, for thirteen long years of his Meccan life, he continued to exhort his companions not to return evil for evil, but to forbear and forgive? When mischief exceeded all limits, and everyone joined hands to try to obliterate Islam, God’s wrath required that those who kill by the sword should be killed by the sword. Except for this, the Holy Quran does not at all approve of compulsion. Were it so, the companions of our Holy Prophet(sa), in moments of trial, would not have succeeded in proving their sincerity as true believers. While the loyalty of the companions of our Master, the Holy Prophet(sa), is a matter upon which I hardly need to dwell, it is no secret that the examples of upholding the truth and loyalty displayed by the disciples are unparalleled in the history of other nations. This band of the faithful did not waver in their loyalty and steadfastness even under the shadow of the sword. The unrelenting steadfastness they exhibited in the company of the Holy Prophet(sa) is not humanly possible unless one’s heart is lit up with the light of genuine belief. In short, there is no room for compulsion in Islam. Wars in Islam fall under three categories:

1. Defensive war — war by way of self-protection;

2. Punitive war — blood for blood;

3. War to establish freedom — to break the hold of those who kill converts to Islam.

Whereas Islam does not permit that anyone should be converted by force or by threat to one’s life, it is simply absurd to await the appearance of a bloodthirsty Mahdi and Messiah. It is impossible that, contrary to the teaching of the Holy Quran, someone should appear and convert people to Islam by force. Now, this was not something that defied comprehension or was too difficult to understand. Only the ignorant have been led to this belief because of selfishness. Most of our clerics happen to labour under the delusion that wars waged by the Mahdi will bring great wealth, so much so, that they will not be able to handle it. Since most of the Maulvis or Muslim clerics today are so hard up, they are eagerly waiting for the Mahdi to appear, who, they think, will satisfy their baser appetites. Little wonder, therefore, if these people turn against anyone who does not believe in the appearance of such a Mahdi. Such a person is at once denounced as an apostate, and outside the pale of Islam. For these very reasons I too am an apostate in their eyes, since I do not believe in the coming of a bloodthirsty Mahdi and Messiah and I detest such absurd beliefs. But this is not the only reason why they denounce me as an apostate. Of course, I do not believe in the coming of an imaginary Messiah and Mahdi. But there is also an added reason, which is that I have publicly proclaimed that God has revealed to me that the real Promised Messiah who is also the Mahdi, tidings of whose appearance are to be found in the Bible and the Holy Quran and whose coming is also promised in the Ahadith is none other than myself. However, I have come without a sword or a gun; God has commanded me that with meek and gentle humility and peace I should invite people to God Who is True, Eternal and Immutable and is the Most Holy, All-Knowing, Ever- Merciful, and Just.

I alone am the light of this age of darkness. He who follows me will be saved from falling into the pits prepared by the Devil for those who walk in the dark. I have been sent by God to lead the world in humility and peace to the True God, and to re-establish the reign of moral values in Islam. God has provided me with heavenly signs for the satisfaction of seekers after truth, and has shown miracles in my support. He has disclosed to me secrets of the unseen and of the future which, according to the Scriptures are the real criteria for judging and identifying the true claimant to this divine office. He has vouchsafed to me true Knowledge and comprehension of verities. That is why, souls which hate truth and love darkness have turned against me. But it was my desire to be kind and forgiving towards mankind, as far as it lay in my power. Hence, in this age the greatest sympathy one can show to the Christians is to draw their attention to the True God Who transcends the traumas of birth, death, pain and suffering. He created all primordial matter and particles in spherical shapes, and thus signed this inherent message in nature that, like every sphere, His own being is One. He is not subject to any dimensions. None of the expansive bodies have been created triangular. All the things God created in the beginning, the earth, the heavens, the sun and the moon, the stars, the elements, are all spherical in shape; this denotes Unity and Oneness of the Creator. Hence there can be no truer sympathy and love for the Christians than that their attention should be invited towards the God Whose handiwork absolves Him of the taint of trinity.

The one good service one could do to the Muslims would be to reform their moral condition. Efforts should be made to dispel the false hopes which they entertain in connection with the appearance of a bloodthirsty Mahdi and Messiah. Such expectations are entirely against the teachings of Islam. I have just said that the ideas of some of the present day Muslim clerics that there will appear a bloodthirsty Mahdi, who will spread Islam at the point of the sword, are contrary to the Quranic teachings and are only the result of wishful thinking. For a right-minded and truth-loving Muslim to shed such beliefs, it should be enough that he study the Holy Quran closely, pause, consider and see that the Holy Word of God is very much against threatening to kill people if they fail to become Muslims. This one argument alone is sufficient to refute such false notions. Nevertheless, out of a feeling of sympathy, I have decided to refute the aforesaid misconceptions by clear and positive proofs from history and other sources. Hence, I shall try to prove in this book that Jesus did not die on the cross, nor did he go up to the heavens; nor should it be supposed that he would ever again come down to the earth. On the contrary, the fact of the matter is that he died at the age of 120 years at Srinagar, Kashmir, where his tomb is still to be found in the Khan Yar quarter. To prove this point, I have divided this enquiry into ten chapters and an epilogue, which are as follows:

1. Testimonies from the Gospels.

2. Testimonies from the Holy Quran and the Ahadith.

3. Testimonies from medical literature.

4. Testimonies from historical records.

5. Testimonies from oral traditions which have been handed down from generation to generation.

6. Testimonies from miscellaneous circumstantial evidence.

7. Testimonies from logical argument.

8. Testimonies from the fresh revelation I have received from God.

These constitute eight chapters. In chapter 9, there will be a brief comparison between Christianity and Islam, setting out arguments in favour of the latter. In chapter 10, there will be a somewhat detailed account of the aims and objectives which I have been divinely commissioned to realize. This will include evidence to prove that I am the Promised Messiah and that I have been sent by God. At the end, there is an epilogue in which I have set forth some important guidelines.

I trust that those who read this book will do so carefully, and will not reject, out of prejudice, the truth contained in it. I should like to remind that this is not a cursory and passing investigation; the proofs contained in this book have been made available after a deep and searching inquiry. I pray to God that He may help me in this undertaking and lead me by His special revelation and inspiration to the perfect Light of truth, for all true knowledge and clear perception descend from Him, and only with His leave can it guide human hearts to truth. Amen!

MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD,
Qadian
25th April 1899.