In conclusion, let it be known to you, O Gracious Prince! that real honour is that which God bestows, real rank is that which He confers, and that real happiness is that which comes from Him. I, therefore, invite you to the truth which God sent for the guidance of mankind thirteen hundred years ago and for the establishment and fulfilment of which He has now sent the Promised Messiah.
No doubt it is a bitter thought for the Christian nations of the world that, after waiting for nineteen hundred years, they should discover the Messiah among the followers of another faith. And they find it hard to reconcile themselves to this truth, but blessed is he that accepts God’s will without question and prefers it to his own honour, desire and expectations; for him is eternal salvation and he shall find everlasting joy!
Those that have gone before preferred their own jealousies to God’s will, and what joy will they find! The Jews would not accept John as Elias, for he did not fulfil their traditions, and thus they rejected God’s will, and they are still looking for the Messiah. Long have they waited and longer still shall they wait, for he who hath appeared shall not appear a second time. They shall go on waiting for ever and no Elias shall descend from Heaven, nor shall a Messiah appear, and for their obstinacy they shall for ever be shut out of the kingdom of heaven.
Similarly, if the Christians persist in their error and reject these heavenly signs and shut their eyes to the Truth, they shall go on waiting till the end of days and no one shall appear. Those who were to come, are come. He came who was to come in the name of the Lord and who, like Moses, was to be a law-bearer; and he is also come who was to come in the name of Jesus to testify to the spirit of Truth and to proclaim it.
No Comforter or Messiah shall henceforth appear till the end of days, and those who wait shall only realise the bitterness of waiting. As was written, another was to come in the name of Jesus and not Jesus himself, and his advent was to be like the advent of John in the name of Elias.
Honoured Prince! once a truth is conclusively established, it is vain to attempt to defeat it by doubts and misgivings. People strive to misrepresent Islam by citing the belief and actions of Muslims of the present day, but why refer to these when we have the Holy Quran with us and when we have access to the very words spoken by the Prophet of Islam (on whom be peace and the blessings of God)? When the Sun appears, do we enquire of it from others, and when the Moon shines, do we seek to prove its light by traditions and authority?
The teachings contained in the Holy Quran, as I have already briefly indicated, cannot be matched by any other revealed book; it is a Sun before which all other lights fade. Not that the various prophets concocted their teachings, but because those doctrines were meant only for a particular age, or have been adulterated by human interpolations. On the other hand, the Holy Quran is a complete code of guidance for all ages; it neither lacks anything nor can admit of any additions, nor has any human hand interfered with its contents.
Exalted Prince! you will observe how human interference has disfigured the word of God. The prophet who came to establish the unity and the glory of God is charged with having claimed to be the Son of God; and it is alleged that Jesus and the Holy Ghost are partners in the Godhead. Can there be greater blasphemy? There is no greater sin than to put the sovereign and the subject, the master and the servant and the creator and the created on the same level. But all this is being done in the name of Jesus and is believed in as the very truth!
Again, to secure their own salvation they hold that a righteous man “was made a curse” and say that he continued thus for three days and three nights; and to establish this doctrine they represent God, whose Mercy encompasseth all, as a wanton tyrant, and they put Him on a level lower than that assigned to an ordinary mortal, for the latter forgives those who have sinned against him but God cannot.
Again, it is said that the Law is a curse;1 or, in other words, that Noah and Abraham and Moses and other prophets came with the curse of God; but we are not told which part of the Law is a curse.
Is this a curse that is written: Thou shalt not steal nor commit adultery nor murder? Or, is this a curse that is written: Thou shalt not tell a lie, nor transgress, nor trespass against others? Or, is this a curse that is written: Thou shall not behave ill, nor backbite, nor cause disturbance? Or is this a curse that is written: Thou shalt speak truth and love mankind and forgive those who trespass against thee?
Or, is this a curse that is written: Thou shalt keep the good of mankind at heart and shalt behave kindly and make the poor and the helpless partners in thy goods? Or, is this a curse: Thou shalt love the truth, and gain knowledge, and worship one God alone and shalt not set up Gods, besides Him? Or, is this a curse: Thou shalt oppose the tyrant and the oppressor and help the oppressed and shalt put a stop to the iniquity of the wicked?
Which part of the Law is a curse from which Jesus has saved us? Is the worship of God or certain restrictions regarding food, a curse? Did the Scribes and Pharisees and other Jews merit the wrath of God because they failed to perform these acts of worship and observe these restrictions, and Jesus saved the world from being accursed by putting aside these commands? He himself acknowledges that the Jews performed all the prescribed acts of worship and observed the prescribed restrictions regarding food, so that they were not condemned owing to their failure to obey these commands. They were condemned because they failed to observe moral commandments. Then did Jesus put these aside also? If not, then what is the curse which Jesus has removed?
The truth is, that hearts are dead, and in order to obtain freedom from the commands of God the Law has been called a curse, and Jesus is charged with sin. For, otherwise, is it not true that those who called the Law of God a curse have framed laws a hundred-fold more numerous than the laws of God?
In short, old faiths had been mutilated and the world had become full of evil, and it had become imperative that God should have sent a new dispensation to establish His unity and to restore His Law and that dispensation is Islam.
It is not, however, necessary to enter into controversies, for Jesus had appointed a criterion for judging falsehood from truth, and it is contained in the Gospels. But having eyes, men see not, and having, ears they hear not. By applying this test one can easily judge whether Islam or Christianity can lead mankind to God, and that test is thus stated by Jesus:
“For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns, men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.”2
Again, concerning the fruits of faith, he says: “Verily, I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”3
Again, concerning the acceptance of prayers, he says; “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”4
Again he says: “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”5
Now Judge, Our Sagacious Prince! which of these two religions is true? That which has produced this man concerning whom I have written, or that which can bring forth nothing? If it is true, that a tree is known by its fruit, then, what has Christianity to offer as against this delicious fruit of Islam? If it is true that from bramble bush grapes are not gathered, then how comes it that Islam, being false, has brought forth grapes, and Christianity, having the approbation of God, brings forth nothing but thorns?
Is there a single man throughout Christendom who can show one-hundredth part of the signs shown by the Promised Messiah? Nay, who can show even a single one? Jesus says, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed….nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Then is there not one in the length and breadth of Christendom who has faith as a grain of mustard seed?
Our Good Prince! A living faith exhibits the signs of light, and we realise within ourselves that Islam is a living faith. The signs and wonders which Islam can show have not ceased with the death of the Promised Messiah, for if that had been so, Islam too would have been a dead faith.
We believe that the blessings of Islam continue in all ages, and we can confidently assert that even now if the Christian world is prepared to try Islam and Christianity, God will cause the good tree to bring forth good fruit, and He shall not give His beloved son a serpent for fish or a stone for bread, but shall open for him and shall accept his prayers.
Then, O Respected Heir of Our Respected Sovereign! If in spite of the signs and truths related above, you consider that in order to judge God’s relation to and love for a man a fresh sign is needed, we request Your Royal Highness to use your influence to induce the Christian divines to pray for the achievement of a certain difficult object, in order to manifest the truth of their religion; and the Ahmadis will also pray for the achievement of a corresponding object: for instance, let us take a certain number of sick persons whose life has been despaired of, and divide them among the Christian divines and the Ahmadis by lot, and let the Christian divines pray for the recovery of those allotted to them and we shall pray for those allotted to us and then let the world see whose prayer is heard and on whom the doors of heaven are shut.
If, however, Christian divines do not come forward (and they certainly shall not, for they perceive in their hearts that God has removed His blessings from them) then conclude, O Wise Prince, that God has forsaken Christianity and has confined His blessings to Islam.
In conclusion, I entreat you, Beloved Prince, to ponder over this matter in all sincerity, as I have conveyed to you these tidings of the Kingdom of Heaven out of the fullness of my love; for, in the presence of God we are all equal, the great and the small, the sovereign and the subject. You stand as much in need of eternal life as we do, and God’s pleasure is as much indispensable for you as it is for us. The kingdoms of this world are passing and its honours fleeting, and He alone attains the eternal bliss who succeeds in pleasing God.
Noble Prince! we have presented the truth to you. It is for you to accept it or to reject it.
We would, however, most respectfully beg you not to judge from hearsay and from the words of the enemies of Islam. Islam is a pure and faultless faith, and those who follow its teachings have ever been the recipients of Divine favours and blessings.
The world has waxed full of sin, and rebellion and transgression abound, and God’s wrath is kindled. He will now reveal His face and will compel the world into submission.
The world has denied Him and has persisted in its denial, and has dishonoured His word, and has forgotten the day of His meeting, and has mocked the day of Judgment. The rust of materialism has eaten into the souls of men, and they imagine that the prophets of God were men who possessed persuasive tongues and invented systems of religion to keep men within bounds; and they imagine that they can presume to teach God and can rule over His word.
Extravagance has increased and the love of the world has captured the hearts of men. Man is being associated with God as His partner, and the punishment which has overtaken Muslims on account of their having turned away from Islam is being held up as a proof of the truth of this doctrine. Millions are being spent to induce men to renounce the worship of the One True God.
God bore all this with patience and when men refused to attend to His revealed word, He sent His Promised Messenger to win men back to God, and he showed sign after sign and wonder after wonder, and with untiring patience and love he called men to the ways of peace, and on their persisting in their ways he warned them, saying:
“O Europe! Thou art not secure, nor art thou O Asia! and ye that dwell in islands, no self-made deity shall save you.
“I see cities falling and towns desolate. Foul deeds have been done in God’s sight, and He has remained silent for a time, but He will now reveal His face and strike terror in the hearts of men. Let him who hath ears hear, for the hour is nigh.
“I have striven to gather you under the wings of God’s peace, but the decrees of fate are inevitable.
“Verily, I say unto you that the turn of this country is approaching: Ye shall behold the age of Noah and witness the day of Lot.
“But God is slow in His wrath: repent that ye may be forgiven. He who forsakes God is a worm and not a man, he is dead and not living.”
But the world refused to listen and the triumphant and victorious continued flushed with their triumph and victory and the fallen and the vanquished kept crying over their worldly miseries. God’s Prophet strove to rouse them but they would not awake. He called them but they did not hearken. God shone for them but they did not look up. He roused them but they did not stir. He has determined, therefore, that if men will not acknowledge Him and accept His faith and believe in His prophets, He will send them scourge after scourge and torment after torment and will not stay His hand till they accept His word and acknowledge His kingdom.
Even the pettiest ruler cannot permit his subjects to forswear his allegiance and turn to another, then shall the Lord of Lords tolerate it? Till God’s Messenger had appeared, men were in doubt and knew not whither to turn, but now they can have no excuse.
Lo! the sun is risen high in the heavens and darkness has vanished, and those who use their eyes see the glory of God.
God had blessed this age with a Prophet whom millions had waited and longed for, and yet men will not realise it.
Many of those that have passed away must have been willing to relinquish all they had in return for the good fortune of being born in this age, and many who come in later ages would be only too glad to make the same bargain, were it possible.
Realise this good fortune then, Beloved Prince! and have faith in the testimonies shown by God in this age and enter into His kingdom, for verily this is greater than all earthly kingdoms. These a man must leave behind, but the kingdom of God abideth for ever and ever. To other kingdoms only one succeeds at a time, but of this kingdom a father and a son and all those who join them may become heirs at once.
The gates of God’s mercy are open; enter, therefore, and gather a treasure for the life to come. God hath blessed you above others and shall, therefore, expect more from you, for from him to whom much is given much shall be expected. Keeping in view the many blessings of God, you should strive the more in the path of service and obedience and answer His call the more promptly.
Your Royal Highness has seen that during the late war when Your Imperial Father, the King-Emperor called his subjects, they answered his call from the uttermost corners of the earth and left their homes to obey it.
In the same way, then, as Your Royal Father’s subjects all to obey the call of their sovereign, should you put aside all worldly obstacles and respond to the call of Him Who is your Sovereign and ours, so that as He has blessed you in this world He should bestow on you a large portion in the next.
God has caused to be built a great palace of Truth and has caused to be prepared a great feast and has invited to it His servants, whether sovereigns or subjects, and we, out of the great love that we bear your house, wish that you may not be shut out from it.
Beloved Prince! we have opened the door for you. Heed not the world, accept the call of the Lord of Heaven and Earth, the Lord of those that have passed and those that shall come, the Lord of this world and the next; enter into His palace and partake of His feast.
Ahlan wa sahlan wa marhaban.
Your Royal Highness’s Most Obedient Servant,
MIRZA MAHMUD AHMAD,
Head of the Ahmadiyya Community.
QADIAN,
PUNJAB, (INDIA),
19th January, 1922.
1 Galatians iii, 13.
2 Luke vi 43, 44.
3 Matthew xvii, 20.
4 Matthew xxi, 22.
5 Matthew xviii, 19.