An individual submitted a request for prayer to the Promised Messiah (as) as he was in debt. The Promised Messiah (as) said: “Invoke God’s forgiveness often.”
In respect of his commentary, the Promised Messiah (as) said: “There are only a few days left. Now, I write as quickly as one writes Urdu. In fact, many a time my pen goes on and on and I do not even know what I am writing.”1
Someone inquired why the Promised Messiah (as) had instructed the members of his community to refrain from offering their Prayers behind those who were not from among his followers. The Promised Messiah (as) said: “Those who have acted in haste and who, out of ill-thinking, have rejected this community, which has been established by Allah the Exalted, and who have disregarded a multitude of signs, and who are indifferent to the afflictions that have befallen Islam, have not acted righteously. Allah the Exalted states in His Holy Word:
اِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللهُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِيْنَ2
Meaning, Allah the Exalted only accepts the Prayers of the righteous. This is why there is an instruction that one ought not to offer their Prayer behind an individual whose own Prayer will not reach a level of acceptance.”
The Promised Messiah (as) said: “It has been the view of the saintly since ancient times that an individual who opposes the truth, slowly but surely loses their faith completely. An individual who does not accept the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is a disbeliever. However, one who does not accept the Mahdi and the Messiah, will also lose their faith. The outcome is the same. First there is opposition, then a person grows distant, then they begin to harbour enmity, then they exceed all bounds, and finally, they lose their faith completely.”
Someone posed the question that even in the early period of Islam, there were certain cases where Muslims harboured enmity and hostilities against one another, and there have been differences of opinion as well; yet despite this, we cannot refer to either party as a disbeliever. His Holiness (as) said: “This is the view of the Shias that there was animosity between the companions of the Holy Prophet (sas), but this is not true. Allah the Exalted refutes such a notion Himself:
نَزَعْنَا مَا فِـيْ صُدُوْرِهِمْ مِّنْ غِلٍّ3
We shall remove whatever of rancour may be in their breasts.
Hostilities do arise between families, but in times of marriage or death, they come together as one. The pious, also, can never be bloodthirsty enemies of one another.”
A certain individual asked: “What is the state of those who do not call you a disbeliever, but are not from among your followers either, what will be their state of affairs?” His Holiness (as) responded: “Who do such people keep with and with whom do they hold relations? Ultimately, they must attribute themselves to one group or another. A person is deemed to be from among those with whom they associate themselves.”
A question was posed as to whether those who do not believe in the Promised Messiah (as) could be from among the class referred to in اَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ (those upon whom Allah has bestowed His blessings). His Holiness, the Promised Messiah (as) said: “I cannot even guarantee that my own community will be from among those alluded to in اَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ (those upon whom Allah has bestowed His blessings), until God Himself makes them from among these people. A person who professes the Islamic creed and who is ready to act upon the Quran with heartfelt sincerity, when they are advised, will receive their reward. An individual will receive spiritual reward that is commensurate to the level of their belief. The more one grows in disbelief, the more harm they will suffer.
I say on oath that I harbour no malice whatsoever against the people. As for those who do not label me a disbeliever, their hearts are in the hand of God. However, to believe that the Messiah (as) is the Creator and Self-Subsisting is tantamount to associating partners with God. If those who entertain this notion posit that the Messiah (as) possessed these qualities with God’s permission, I would say, why was the Noble Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, not given these attributes by God’s permission? God wars with the one who harbours animosity towards a friend of His. What faith can remain in one with whom God is at war?”4
1 Al-Hakam, vol. 5, no. 7, dated 24 February 1901, pp. 9-10
2 al-Ma’idah, 5:28
3 al-Hijr, 15:48
4 Al-Hakam, vol. 5, no. 10, dated 17 March 1901, p. 8