2 August 1901

From Qadian, the Abode of Peace—Today is Friday. At approximately 8 o’clock in the morning, Dr Rehmat Ali Sahib, Assistant at the Cantonment Hospital Myanmar arrived. The Friday Prayer was offered both in the small mosque (Mubarak Mosque) and in the large mosque (Aqsa Mosque). All praise belongs to Allah that today Sahibzadah Mubarak Ahmad, may Allah Almighty protect him, was feeling much better than before. After the Maghrib Prayer, His Holiness, may Allah help him with His support, remained seated as usual. A man who had been visiting Qadian, the Abode of Peace, for many days, did something very strange. He took the Holy Quran in his hand and said: “O Holy Leader! This is the Word of God. I present this to you and ask you for 300 rupees in return.” He would offer  the Holy Quran to His Holiness (as) again and again and insist that he take it from him.

The Greatest Need of Our Time

His Holiness (as) said: “It is to teach the Holy Quran that I have come. God Almighty sent down the Holy Quran so that it may be practised. This book does not state anywhere that God compels anyone. A person’s every state, whether one of comfort or difficulty, does eventually pass, for time does not concern itself with anyone. There is a saying: the night spent sleeping over the tandoor did pass, and so did the night spent wearing samoor.1 Why then should a person not give precedence to the work that is their primary responsibility? In my view, the greatest need of our time at present is the life of Islam. Indeed, Islam is in need of all forms of service. Over this need, I cannot give precedence to any other need. I consider it a sin to put aside the work that God Almighty has assigned to me. Let us presume two people were ill.  If one of them were to die, it would make little difference, but the other one is of such a nature that if he died, the world would go dark. This is precisely the state of Islam at present. The greatest need of our time at present is to serve Islam to the greatest possible extent in any way possible. One ought to spend whatever money they possess to revive Islam. Now what should I do in response to you presenting me with a Quran in this manner? Shall I worry about you or the Holy Quran itself? It is my concern for the Holy Quran which takes precedence. How can I forsake the work with which God Almighty has tasked me? Do you not know the state that has befallen Islam? An unlawful act does not become acceptable by resorting to interpretations that are based on one’s own fancies. The truth is, the manner in which you compel me to agree to your terms is unlawful. It is narrated in a Hadith that an individual who was liable to be executed entered the Bayt-ul-Haram with the view that it is mentioned in honour of this place that:

 وَ مَنْ دَخَلَهٗ كَانَ اٰمِنًا2
And whoso enters it, enters peace.

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, ordered that he be executed there nonetheless. Therefore, if a man makes people give him their word in order to compel them to fulfil his own objectives, he would send the world into ruin and people would lose faith in the commandments of God. It is due to practices and contrivances such as these that Islam has reached its current plight. I do not believe that matters of religious importance should be ignored and disregarded. Not at all! In fact, nothing could be more important. However, the manner that you have employed is not permissible in the sight of God Almighty.”

After this, Dr Rahmat Ali Sahib related a dream he had seen in which someone raised the allegation that narrations describe the Messiah (as) one who would distribute immense wealth; he responded to the person by saying: “He has given vast sums of wealth; people ought to be prepared to accept it. There is an offer of 10,000 rupees with one book and 500 rupees with another, etc.”

The Promised Messiah (as) said: “Yes, you are right. God Almighty has referred to the Holy Quran as good. As such, Allah the Exalted states:

مَنْ يُّؤْتَ الْحِكْمَةَ فَقَدْ اُوْتِيَ خَيْرًا كَثِيْرًا3
And whoever is granted wisdom has indeed been granted abundant good.

So, the Holy Quran is a treasure of divine insight and knowledge. In fact, God Almighty has named the divine insight and knowledge of the Quran to be a ‘wealth.’ The blessings of this world also come with it.”

After this, the same Quran seller mentioned earlier said: “O Holy Imam! The Prophets have never turned away the Word of God. You are a holy leader, why do you turn it away?” His Holiness (as) stated: “Where have you seen the Prophets?” He responded: “Your Holiness, I have seen you,” to which the Promised Messiah (as) said: “You have not seen me either, for if you had truly seen me, you would not do such an inappropriate thing.” After some time, the man left. Then, Dr Rahmat Ali Sahib spoke about the local affairs prevalent in his place of residence. He spoke about the blessings that have been received due to the British government, whereby ample time and relief is given in the army for people to offer the Prayer and follow their religion, on the condition that someone is willing to do so. One religious leader each is appointed over the followers of every Faith and no duties are assigned during the time of Prayer. There is difficulty for the Friday Prayer, however. His Holiness (as) said: “This difficulty could have been removed as well, if all the Muslims had submitted a request together with unity. However, these ill-fortuned people have declared India to be Dar-ul-Harb in an attempt to nullify the very obligation of the Friday Prayer service itself. How disappointing!”

The Precautionary Prayer

Then, the person who was mentioned in the diary of the evening of 1st August asked: “Your Holiness, what are the instructions on the precautionary prayer?” The Promised Messiah (as) said: “What is this precautionary prayer? There are only two obligatory rak’ats of the Friday Prayer. There is no such thing as precautionary rak’ats that are obligatory.”4

The Promised Messiah (as) said: “On one occasion, in Ludhiana, Mian Shahab-ud-Din, who was a very firm believer in God’s unity, offered this precautionary prayer after the Friday Prayer. I was displeased and said to him: ‘What is the meaning of this? You were always a very firm believer in God’s Oneness.’ He responded by saying: ‘I did not offer this prayer as a precaution for the Friday Prayer, but as a precaution against being beaten.’”

What is Meant by the Promised Messiah Following the Hanafi School of Thought

After this, Maulvi Baha-ud-Din Sahib of Ahmadabad said: “It is written in the Maktubat Imam Rabbani that the Promised Messiah (as) would follow the Hanafi school of thought. What does this mean?” The Promised Messiah (as) said: “This means that just as Hazrat Imam-e-Azam5 would derive his argumentation from the Holy Quran and would give precedence to the Holy Quran in every matter, similarly, the Promised Messiah would also bring the knowledge and verities of the Holy Quran. As such, in another place in his Maktubat, he has revealed this secret and has particularly mentioned that the Promised Messiah would be granted knowledge of the verities encompassed in the Holy Quran.”

Will the Mahdi Wage War and Spill Blood?

The questioner from the 1st of August said that it is written that the Mahdi would cause bloodshed and the like. The Promised Messiah (as) said: “I have understood what you mean to say. Bear in mind that the various Hadith that are recorded in relation to the Mahdi which state that he would wage war and spill blood are those about which the Muslim clerics themselves have written that many of them are fabricated and all of them are, more or less, inauthentic. It is not my belief that the Mahdi will appear, and then go around spilling blood. After all, what sort of a religion is one that is characterised by nothing but war and battle? These ignorant people have failed to understand the true concept of jihad. The Holy Quran states:

لَاۤ اِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّيْنِ6
There should be no compulsion in religion.

So, if the Mahdi appears and then wages wars, will compulsion in matters of religion become permissible, and will this injunction of the Holy Quran be dishonoured? Is the purpose of his advent to revive Islam or disgrace it? If it is war on which religion thrives, then why did the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, not fight in the thirteen years that he stayed in Mecca? He continued to bear every pain and never once did he retaliate. Our religion has never waged wars to convert people to Islam by force. In fact, these battles were a punishment from God for those people who inflicted the gravest of torments upon the Holy Prophet (sas), and who pursued the Muslims and oppressed them. Therefore, it is not at all true that Islam threatens people with the sword. Islam presents the Quran; it presents guidance, and has come with peace and security. There is no other religion in the world that spreads peace like Islam.

Therefore, it is wrong to suggest that the Mahdi will wage war. I absolutely reject such a belief. For if the people are killed by the sword and their wealth is stolen from them, what benefit can be derived from this? The sort of Mahdi that I claim to be is proven from the Holy Quran. Just as the Mosaic dispensation came to its end with the Messiah, in the same manner, due to a distinct similarity, God Almighty brought this dispensation to its final point with the Messiah of Muhammad (sas). This Messiah has been named the Mahdi (Guided One) because he shall receive guidance directly from God Almighty and he will appear in a time when divine light and guidance would have vanished from the world. Further, another exceedingly subtle point to note in the similarity between these two dispensations is that just as the Mosaic Messiah appeared in the fourteenth century after Moses, peace be upon him, in this community as well, it was in the fourteenth century in which the Messiah of Muhammad (sas) would appear. Moreover, just as the Mosaic Messiah was not born in a Jewish kingdom, but in the Roman Empire, so too the Messiah of Muhammad (sas) was not born in a Muslim State, but in an Empire ruled by the British government. In short, I strongly reject the notion that the Mahdi will come and go about sparking physical conflict, and that his task would be to spill blood.”7