Allah the Exalted states in praise of the Holy Quran:
لَوْ اَنْزَلْنَا هٰذَا الْقُرْاٰنَ عَلٰى جَبَلٍ لَّرَاَيْتَهٗ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللهِ1
If We had sent down this Quran on a mountain, thou wouldst certainly have seen it humbled and rent asunder for fear of Allah.
Whilst expounding this verse, His Holiness, the Promised Messiah, on whom be peace and blessings, said: “One meaning of this is that the Holy Quran possesses such an effect that if it was sent down on a mountain, it would crumble to pieces due to the fear of God and would be razed to the ground. When such is the influence on inanimate objects, how truly and utterly foolish are such human beings who do not benefit from the effects of this book. The second meaning of this verse is that no one can attain the love and pleasure of Allah until they inculcate two qualities within themselves. Firstly, one must break their own arrogance in the likeness of a tall standing mountain that crumbles and is razed to the ground. In the very same manner, one ought to dispel all their thoughts of arrogance and superiority. One must adopt humility and lowliness. Secondly, one must sever all of their worldly ties, just as a mountain falls to the ground and is rent asunder—broken into pieces. In the same manner, a person’s earlier associations, which result in impurity and incur divine displeasure, must all be broken, and a person’s interactions, friendships, love and enmity should be purely for the sake of Allah Almighty.”
The Promised Messiah (as) said: “There is a magnificent prophecy in the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, conveying greetings of peace to the Promised Messiah, in that despite the fierce opposition of the people, and their countless evil schemes and devices to inflict grief, the Promised Messiah would remain in peace and ultimately triumph. I can never accept or believe that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, simply conveyed an ordinary greeting of peace. Each and every word of the Holy Prophet (sas) is replete with divine insights and secrets.”2
The Promised Messiah (as) said: “One who is righteous witnesses a manifestation of God. Such a one rests in the shade of God. However, one ought to ensure that their righteousness is pure and free from any part of Satan; for associating partners with God displeases Him. If one’s righteousness is adulterated even in part by Satan, in the estimation of God Almighty, Satan has corrupted it entirely. The grief that the beloved of God sustain is due to divine wisdom. Otherwise, even if the entire world came together, it could not inflict even the slightest pain upon them. The fact is that since these holy men come to establish an example for the world, it is necessary for them to show the people an example of bearing hardship in the way of God as well. For Allah the Exalted states: ‘I feel no greater hesitation than taking the soul of a friend who belongs to me.’ God does not want a friend of His to feel any pain whatsoever. However, they are given grief due to various needs and wisdoms, and this increases them in virtue, as it brings forth their good morals. The grief that the Prophets and friends of Allah experience is not like the curse and disgrace that currently plague the Jews, which manifest the punishment and displeasure of Allah Almighty. On the contrary, the Prophets demonstrate a model of courage. God Almighty had no enmity with Islam, but in the Battle of Hunayn, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was left standing alone. The secret in this was to bring to light the valour of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, when all alone, he stood firm as one man against an army of 10,000 proclaiming: ‘I am the Messenger of Allah Almighty!’ No other Prophet has had the opportunity to exhibit such a shining example. I advise my community that they should not pride themselves merely on the fact that they offer the Prayer, they fast, and abstain from obvious sins such as fornication, theft and so on. In these qualities, even non-believers such as idolaters and the like are similar to you.
The subject of righteousness is a delicate one. Strive to attain righteousness and instill in your heart the greatness of God. A person whose deed is tainted with even the slightest ostentation will have that deed thrown back in their face by God. It is a difficult task to be righteous. For example, if someone alleges that you have stolen a pen, why would you show anger? Your virtue is merely for the sake of God. Such a one shows rage because they do not completely stand by the truth. Until one truly experiences many deaths, they do not become a righteous person. Miracles and revelations are also branches of righteousness. The actual root is righteousness. Therefore, do not be obsessed with revelations and dreams; rather, strive persistently to attain righteousness. Only the revelations of a person who is righteous are true. If one is devoid of righteousness, their revelations also are not credible either; they can be corrupted by Satan. Do not judge a person’s righteousness by their revelations; rather, gauge and assess their revelations by the state of their righteousness. Shut your eyes to everything else and first traverse the stages of righteousness. Adopt the example set by the Prophets. The objective of each and every one of the Prophets who appeared was to lead people to the path of righteousness. The Holy Quran states:
اِنْ اَوْلِيَآؤُهٗۤ اِلَّا الْمُتَّقُوْنَ3
His friends are only those who are righteous.
It is the Holy Quran that has taught the finer ways of righteousness. A perfect Prophet demands a perfect community. Since the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was the Seal of Prophets—may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—for this reason, the excellences of prophethood culminated in him. When the excellences of prophethood reached their final point of perfection, it was then that a seal was set on the institution of prophethood. An individual who desires to please God Almighty, and to witness miracles and extraordinary happenings, ought to make their life extraordinary as well. You observe that people who are set to give examinations undertake such strenuous efforts that they become ill and frail like victims of tuberculosis. Therefore, to pass the examination of righteousness, prepare yourself to bear any and all hardship. When a person advances on this path, Satan wages powerful and fierce onslaughts, but at one point, Satan finally stops. This is when a death overtakes a person’s base life and they begin to rest under the shade of God. Such a person is a manifestation of the Divine and a vicegerent of Allah. A brief summary of my teaching is that one should devote all of one’s strengths to God.”
There was discussion on the fatherless birth of the Messiah (as). The Promised Messiah (as) said: “It is my faith and belief that the Messiah, peace be upon him, was born without a father. All powers belong to Allah the Exalted. Naturalists who assert that he had a father are gravely mistaken. The God of such people is a dead god and the prayers of such people are not accepted.4
Anyone who believes that Allah the Exalted cannot cause someone to be born without a father, I consider them to be outside the pale of Islam. The fact of the matter is that Allah the Exalted desired to show the children of Israel that they had degenerated to such a worthless state that now there was no one from among them who was able to become a Prophet, or anyone even from whose progeny someone could become a Prophet. For this reason, Allah the Exalted caused the final Caliph of the Mosaic dispensation to be born without a father. In doing so, Allah made clear that their family would no longer be the custodians of the divine law. So too in the present age God Almighty has established this dispensation and raised the final Caliph of Muhammad (sas), i.e. the Mahdi and the Messiah, not from among the Syeds, but from a people of Persian descent, so that this serves as a sign to show the state of the righteousness of those who claim to be the custodians of the prophethood of Muhammad (sas).”
The Promised Messiah (as) said: “The way of Prophets is that their plans are never directed to specific individuals; in fact, they always pursue the ultimate objective. Wherever endeavours are limited to individuals, there can be no real success. As such, this is what happened to Jesus, peace be upon him.”
It was quite some time ago that on one occasion, Hazrat Maulvi Nur-ud-Din Sahib submitted to His Holiness, the Promised Messiah, peace be upon him: “Prescribe a spiritual exercise for me in the cause of this community.” The Promised Messiah (as) responded by saying: “Write a book in refutation of Christianity.”
It was at that time that Maulvi Nur-ud-Din Sahib, wrote the two volume book Fasl-ul-Khitab li-Muqaddimati Ahl-il-Kitab. Then, on another occasion, Maulvi Sahib made a similar request again to the Promised Messiah (as). His Holiness said: “Write a book in refutation of the Arya Samaj.”
It was then that Maulvi Sahib wrote his book Tasdiq Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya and he said: “Through both of these efforts, I benefited immensely.”5
1 al-Hashr, 59:22
2 Al-Hakam, vol. 5, no. 21, dated 10 June 1901. p. 9
3 al-Anfal, 8:35
4 Perhaps on account of the fact that Naturalists view God as one who is weak, and in fact dead, they reject the concept of prayer and the acceptance of prayer as well. (Siraj-ul-Haqq Nu’mani)
5 Al-Hakam, vol. 5, no. 23, dated 24 June 1901, pp. 10-11