April 1901

The Reality of Visions and Revelations

There was a discussion on Munshi Ilahi Bakhsh Sahib and others developing a false idea about themselves due to certain experiences. On this, His Holiness, the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, said: “Generally, in an elementary state, dreams, visions and revelations are experienced by everyone. However, one should not be deceived into thinking that they have reached their final destination. The fact of the matter is that human nature is fashioned in a way so that all people can experience dreams, visions and revelations. As such, it has been observed that on certain occasions, even disbelievers, Hindus, and in fact, even sinners and transgressors experience dreams—and sometimes they even prove to be true. The reason for this is because God Almighty Himself bestows upon such people a share of the state that is experienced in the perfect sense by His saints and Prophets, so that these people do not outright reject the Prophets, and so they do not say that they know nothing of such matters divine. People are given a taste of such experience so that the message of God may be conveyed to them fully without ambiguity, and so that an opponent is able to accept when they hear the claims of the Prophets, because they will know first-hand that such experiences can and are experienced by human beings like them. This is because humans tend to show haste in rejecting that of which they themselves have no experience at all. There is mention of a blind man in the Mathnawi of Rumi, who began to say that there was actually no such thing as the sun and that everyone was lying. ‘If there was a sun,’ he said, ‘then I ought to have seen it as well.’ The sun said: ‘O blind man! You ask for evidence of my existence? First pray to God so that He may grant you eyes.’ Allah the Exalted is Merciful and Generous. If He had not instilled this quality in human nature, how would mankind ever grasp the concept of prophethood? Through initial dreams and revelations, God seeks to invite man towards Himself, but this elementary state does not by any means grant fulfilment. As such, Balaam used to receive revelation, however, Allah the Exalted states in His connection:

 لَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنٰهُ1
If We had pleased, We could have exalted him.

And this demonstrates that he was not raised spiritually. In other words, he had not, until that time, become a spiritually elevated or beloved man in the sight of Allah Almighty; and ultimately, he fell low. One does not become special simply by receiving revelations and the like. One cannot be wholly devoted to God until one experiences a thousand deaths and hatches from the egg of one’s weak human nature. The people who tread this path are of three categories. Firstly, there are those who adhere to what is known in Arabic as din-ul-aja’iz, which literally means ‘the religion of old women.’ What this implies is that such people offer the obligatory Prayer, they fast, they recite the Holy Quran and will repent and seek forgiveness from God; they strictly adhere to the basic, traditional aspect of religion, and are firm in this respect. Secondly, there are those who seek to advance beyond this level to attain divine insight. They make an effort in every possible way; they show loyalty, they demonstrate steadfastness, and finally, upon reaching their pinnacle in divine insight, they attain success and triumph. Thirdly, there are those who are not content with mere adherence to an elementary level of faith (din-ul-aja’iz) and so they progress to an extent and begin to tread the path of divine insight, but they are unable to complete their quest; they stumble and fall down on the way. This class of people is neither here, nor there. The example of such people is like a thirsty man in the possession of some water, albeit, dirty water. In any case, drinking the water would have saved the man from death, but someone told him that there was a fountain of fresh water some ten or fifteen miles away. As a result, the man threw away the little water he had and began walking towards the fountain in search of clean water. However, due to his own impatience, ill-fortune and deviation from the right path, the man was unable to reach the fountain. Ultimately, what was his fate? The man perished and he was met with a dreadful end. Or the state of affairs of such people can be understood in light of another example. Let us presume that a well is being dug. In the initial stages it is nothing more than a pit, which serves no benefit, and in fact, it is a danger to those who pass by as someone could fall into it and injure themselves. Then, when further digging is undertaken, we reach the stage where mud and dirty water becomes visible, but even this is of no benefit yet. Finally, when the digging is complete and the well begins to provide clean water, it becomes a source of life for thousands upon thousands. These people who sit around as faqirs and custodians of shrines all suffer from a defective state. Prophets appear as possessors of pure water, as it were. Until one brings with them a bestowal from God, there can be no benefit. If Ilahi Bakhsh Sahib poses himself to be Moses, one ought to ask him what is the fundamental objective in his being Moses? Those who appear as appointees of God are like labourers, and they move forward to benefit mankind; they disseminate knowledge, they are never miserly, nor do they show indolence and sit on their hands, as it were.”2