Part VI

Human knowledge is surrounded on all sides by a limitless expanse of the ‘unseen’. What man knows of his past, present and future is like a tiny spot of light no bigger than the pulsating tail of a firefly hung in the midst of a vast ocean of utter darkness. Although he seems to have extended the horizon of his knowledge to the very edges of the universe with the help of astrophysics and higher mathematics, the factual evidence that has just started to reach him from the edge of the universe is through signals which were emitted around eighteen to twenty billion light years ago. What may have happened there since or what may be happening there now, is only a matter of conjecture.

Let alone the past and the future, even the knowledge of the present lies mostly beyond the scope of human awareness. What does man truly know of the events taking place beyond his house, his street, his township and the country where he resides? All the news media put together cannot convey to him even a billionth of what is going on in the world around him. But that is not all. What does man really know of the people he seems to know among his friends and closest relatives? To penetrate across the human visage and to read what actually lies behind, is sometimes a more difficult exercise than watching the surface of a muddy pond in an attempt to see what hides beneath. In both cases, one merely sees the images reflected on the surface, the difference being that ponds cannot act, they cannot pose, they cannot wilfully create unreal impressions. Depending on the weather and the day of the year, ponds are almost monotype; humans are not. The complications of human psyche, the vagaries of human moods and conduct, varying standards of morality and personal philosophies, the aptitudes and different qualities of head and heart, the depth or the shallowness of their conduct are some of the innumerable variables which are not shared by ponds. Even what passes within humans themselves lies very often beyond the reach of their own grasp. Yet few among men learn the lesson in humility. Seldom do they realize that the ultimate source of Truth and the fountainhead of Absolute Knowledge can only be the Creator. It is He alone Who knows the secrets of His own creation. It is He alone Who is All-Seeing, All-Knowing, the Great, the Supreme.

Knowledge is the most essential prerequisite of creation, be it Divine or human, great or little. Without an in-depth knowledge of what is intended to be created, no creative objective can be achieved. Hence no one knows the intricacies and complexities of creation like the Creator Himself and this is why Omniscience is a prerogative of God. A perfect all-embracing knowledge of things is termed Omniscience with reference to God to the exclusion of all others.

If it is the same Omniscient, Omnipresent God who authored the Quran, then all Quranic revelations with reference to the past, the present and the future must invariably be affirmed by verified facts when they come to light. It is exactly this that the following exercise is all about. With the help of incontrovertible facts, we strongly hope to prove the case in point.

We have already discussed at some length the role of the Quranic revelation in bringing to light some of the most ancient events of creation. It begins with the beginning of the time when the universe suddenly erupted from a black hole. According to the Quran it only split asunder at the command of an Almighty Creator. The Quranic coverage of the history of creation ends with the end of time when the universe will plunge once again into yet another black hole. As for the origin of life, the Quranic account is likewise amazingly comprehensive and precise. It covers all the important stages of organic and biotic evolution of 4.5 billion years of evolution’s history until the time when it culminated in the creation of man. From that point onwards the Quran takes up the account of human history in relation to the development of society, religion and civilization. It also mentions the possibility of the ultimate extinction of the human species which may be replaced by a better and more highly evolved form of life.

All that we have briefly mentioned above has been elaborately discussed in the relevant chapters of this book, demonstrating how Divine revelation can effectively transfer parts of the unknown into the realm of the known. Now in this chapter we shall demonstrate how the Quran unveils some of the important events of history which lay buried in an obscure past. We shall also demonstrate how it reveals many future events to which no one during the age of Quranic revelations could have had any access. We shall specifically illustrate how the Quran precisely predicts great future scientific achievements of man destined to transform the entire style of human life.

We begin here with the account of an event of great historical importance with a religious significance of common interest to Jews, Christians and Muslims. It relates to the Exodus of Moses(as) and what happened to the pursuing army of Pharaoh and his hosts when Moses(as) and his people had safely waded across the treacherous delta of the Nile.

There are many other examples of the Judaeo-Christian history of the same period covered by the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Holy Quran. But we have carefully selected only the event of the Exodus for the present discussion because it concisely demonstrates the Divine nature of Quranic revelation.

The Biblical account, though it records contemporary history, is evidently shallow and superficial by comparison. From the vantage point of a follower of the camp of Moses(as), the most that he could observe and record was the drowning of Pharaoh and his host, quashed between two mountain-like waves inundating them. What happened to Pharaoh himself before he was drowned? What passed between Pharaoh and God during his drowning moments? What was it he begged of Him, if anything at all, during his dying moments? These are things which lie absolutely beyond the reach of any human observer looking across from the dry shore. Hence, all that the Bible mentions of Pharaoh and his pursuing army is that each of them was drowned without exception.

‘Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.

But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea … ’1

Evidently, according to this Biblical statement, all bodies were claimed by the sea, Pharaoh being no exception. The rout was total. As against this, the following is the statement of the Quran referring to the same event. The difference is so obvious:

And We brought the children of Israel across the sea; and Pharaoh and his hosts pursued them wrongfully and aggressively, till, when the calamity of drowning overtook him, he said, ‘I believe that there is no God but He in Whom the children of Israel believe, and I am of those who submit to Him.’

What! Now! While thou wast disobedient before this and wast of those who create disorder.

So this day We will save thee in thy body alone that thou mayest be a Sign to those who come after thee. And surely, many of mankind are heedless of Our Signs.2

It should be especially noted here that contrary to this Quranic statement, the Biblical account does not as much as hint at the possibility of the retrieval of Pharaoh’s body: ‘ … not so much as one of them remained.’

Hence, till the time the Quran mentions the saving of Pharaoh’s body with the purpose that the posterity may learn their lesson from it, no human source of history had ever referred to it.

When the Quran was revealed, the tombs of the Egyptian kings lay buried deep under layer upon layer of desert sand. Little was known of the science of mummification to the people of that age, certainly not to the Arabs. No books or tradition, religious or otherwise, had ever hinted at the rescue of Pharaoh’s body let alone mention its subsequent preservation. This account of the Quran is unique also in the sense that it does not merely reveal some past events which were till then unknown to the rest of the world, but it also prophesises that the future would testify to the truth of the Quranic statement. It was implausible enough to conceive that the body of Pharaoh having drowned in the conditions described by the Bible, could be retrieved. The phenomenon of such a body, even if retrieved, would present no small problem for the purpose of mummification.

Yet, this is what the Quran claims. No man could have dreamt of making such a statement contrary to the available historical evidence at the time of the revelation of the Quran. All that man knew was that the body of Pharaoh had been devoured by the sea, lost forever. Even the Egyptian plunderers of the tombs had no notion whatsoever as to which, if any, of the Pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings. What made the Prophet(sa) of Islam make this unique statement if he were the author of the Quran? It could serve him no purpose anyway; if anything it could be counter-productive. If challenged, the Prophet(sa) could not have produced any evidence to support his contentions. The only purpose it would serve was to compromise the truth of the Quran. It was many centuries after the revelation of the Quran that the earth began to throw up its secrets. The mummified bodies of all the Pharaohs which can claim to be the Pharaohs of the time of Moses(as) have been retrieved.

Whether it was Rameses II or another Pharaoh is a question still debated, but the fact that one of the mummies recovered from the Valley of the Kings is that of the Pharaoh who confronted Moses is no longer debatable. The only conclusion therefore, one is left to draw, is that against the verdict of the entire world history it is the verdict of the Quranic revelation alone which is proved correct: So this day We will save thee in thy body alone … 3 (

). This is the verdict of the Quran which has now become the verdict of world history.

One possible meaning of this address by God to Pharaoh is that the time for saving his life was over, hence it would be only his dead body which would be saved. The other possible meaning would be that the time for the acceptance of his faith had expired, hence his soul would not be redeemed. In this case, only his body would be saved to live on like that of a zombie without a soul. To our understanding it is the latter meaning which is intended by the Quran. To support our inference further, we cite the Quranic style in which this episode is narrated. Of particular interest is the expression: We will save thee in thy body alone4 (

Now Pharaoh was evidently concerned for his survival here on earth, rather than the retrieval of his corpse. If neither his spiritual nor his physical life was to be saved, what would this promise mean? Evidently Pharaoh was not praying for the rescue of his dead body.

If his prayer was accepted even partially, as is evident from the Quran, then to cause him to die both physically and spiritually seems out of the question. It is tantamount to a total denial of what he begged for. His profession of faith in the God of Israel must have been made for fear of his life. Hence it was justifiably rejected as meaningless. All that is promised is that only his body would be redeemed but not his soul. But most Muslim scholars insist that his plea was totally rejected and the promise of saving the body referred only to the recovery of his corpse from the sea.

That too, according to them, is no small miracle under the conditions described both in the Bible and the Quran. Even the promise of the retrieval of his corpse was in fact a great favour to the drowning Pharaoh.

The Pharaohs, they argue, were an extremely proud dynasty. Even the mere assurance that his body would be preserved must have brought some comfort to his dying moments. The purpose of God, however, was not to satisfy his vanity alone. The real purpose was to provide posterity with a great sign of multiple significance from which they could possibly benefit.

Whatever the outcome of this controversy—whether it is established that the Pharaoh in question died from drowning, only his body being retrieved, or whether he was rescued from a state of near death while drowning, the miracle of the Quranic statement is in no way obscured. The body of that Pharaoh was indeed preserved and this fact was brought to the knowledge of posterity exactly as the Quran had predicted.

Incidentally the scholars who believe that Pharaoh was already dead when his body was retrieved, also believe that it was Merneptah, the successor of Rameses II and not Rameses himself. This implies that Moses(as) lived under the reign of two Pharaohs instead of one. He was born while Rameses II was already a king and was raised in his palace by one of his God-fearing wives, who they believe was the youngest. As she had no issue herself, her desire to adopt a son is understandable. If this proposition is accepted then Moses(as) must have left Midian to return to Egypt after the death of Rameses II when Merneptah had already been enthroned. They quote the Bible in their support that Moses(as) was informed by God during his exile in Midian that the Pharaoh in whose reign he had committed manslaughter was dead.

This scenario seems to be logical and acceptable but only apparently. The death of a king does not absolve anyone of any crime he may have committed. There is no logic in that whatsoever. That is why God does not even remotely hint at the death of any Pharaoh to dispel Moses’(as) fears. Instead he is told not to fear because God would protect him and his brother. This is far more sensible. Again the problem is that according to the archaeological evidence of his mummy’s condition, Rameses II who died at the ripe old age of ninety years had spent the last thirty years of his life as a bedridden, senile, tottering old man probably suffering from an extreme case of arteriosclerosis. This state could be a direct consequence of his near drowning, resulting in an insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain for an extended period.

Now the exile of Moses(as) to Midian and his entire stay there lasted only eight to ten years by the end of which period Rameses II could not be more than forty to fifty years old. Hence, the Biblical statement that God was only waiting for Pharaoh’s death to commission Moses(as) as a prophet and command him to return to Egypt is unacceptable. Incidentally according to the Quran, the Pharaoh to whom Moses(as) returned did accuse him of murder but appeared to be hesitant to take action against him because of the Divine signs which Moses(as) had displayed. Evidently, his escape from punishment was certainly not due to the death of one Pharaoh and the enthronement of another.

Again the life of Moses(as) and Aaron(as) after their return to Egypt is described by the Quran and the Bible as very eventful and their confrontation with Pharaoh seems so drawn out that it must have taken a decade or so to come to its final conclusion. All the signs narrated could not have been packed in the mere short space of a year or two. As against this the historians estimate that the entire reign of Merneptah from the day of his crowning to the day of his death is reported to have lasted only eight years or less.

Moreover, history describes Merneptah as a warrior king who repeatedly attacked the Palestinians year after year, while both the Quran and the Bible are absolutely silent about the Pharaoh of Moses(as) having carried out such expeditions into the land of Israelites. But this is not the place perhaps for a full in-depth discussion on the issue. Nor is it necessary in any way to prove which of the two Pharaohs, Rameses II or Merneptah was the one who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus. As long as their mummies remain preserved, either of the two will always testify to the truth of the Quranic prophecy. Their names are of no real consequence.

The Prophecies Relating to the Immediate or Distant Future

Having dealt at some length with certain important events of Egyptian history during the age of Moses(as) which had remained concealed until the revelation of the Quran, we now turn to some prophetic Quranic revelations in relation to many other events. They relate to different areas of human interest comprising social, religious and political developments as well as epoch-making scientific advancements which were to change the face of the earth.

Some of these prophecies also cover significant ecological and environmental changes to be brought about by future scientific inventions and proliferation of industry. There is a long list of such prophecies contained mostly in the last few Surahs of the Holy Quran but not exclusively so. The discussion is by no means exhaustive. Some of these Quranic prophecies have been explained and enlarged upon by many traditions of the Holy Prophet(sa). We have only selected some specimen prophecies belonging to different categories. The prophecies relating to the new modes of travel and their wide impact will be discussed at the end of the chapter at some greater length because of their global importance.

To maintain chronological order we begin with the prophecies which were fulfilled within the lifetime of the Holy Prophet(sa). A few of them relate to his return to Mecca after his forced exile. All such verses were revealed even before his migration to Medina thus simultaneously prophesying both his departure and subsequent return. The following verse belongs to a Surah (Al-Qasas) which was reveafed before Hijra (the Prophet’s(sa) migration from Mecca to Medina).

Most surely He Who had made the teaching of the Quran binding on thee will bring thee back to thy place of return. Say, ‘My Lord knows best who brings the guidance, and who is in manifest error.’5

To predict his return to Mecca before his migration to Medina is in fact a twofold prophecy. In view of the constantly worsening situation which made life progressively impossible for him and his followers in Mecca, migration may seem to some readers a mere logical conclusion. But it should not be forgotten that the element of surprise and wonder in this part of the prophecy is not about the suggestion of migration. The element of wonder is in the open defiance to the will and might of the Meccans who would not permit the predicted migration to take place. Again the ever hardening determination of the Meccans not to permit the Prophet(sa) to escape are the factors which highlight the unlikelihood of such a prophecy to have been made by the Prophet(sa) himself in his state of utter helplessness.

Another Divine promise that he would most certainly return to Mecca with manifest truth was vouched to him in the following verse:

And say, ‘O my Lord, make my entry a good entry and then make me come forth with a good forthcoming … ’6

The third example of how his ultimate victorious return to Mecca was predicted even before the actual migration took place, is taken from the first few verses of Surah Al-Rum (Chapter 30), which by the unanimous verdict of scholars was revealed before Hijra:

(This will happen) within a few years. And to Allah belongs the command before and after that. And that will be the day when the believers will rejoice,

With the succour from Allah. He helps whomsoever He pleases; and He is the Mighty the Merciful.7

These verses refer to a partial territorial defeat which the Romans suffered at the hands of the Persians. The verses clearly prophesied that the Persian victory would prove only short-lived and in a few years’ time the defeat of the Romans will turn into victory. ‘That will be the day when the believers will (also) rejoice with the succour they would receive from Allah.’ The implication of this prophecy in relation to the fate of the believers was all too obvious. When shortly after this revelation the Muslims lost their homes and property to the idolaters of Mecca, like the Romans had done to the idol worshippers of Persia, the consensus among the companions was that soon after the Romans’ victory, the Muslims would also regain their territory—Mecca. This understanding was unanimous among all the companions of the Holy Prophet(sa). The only difference was regarding the period in which the prophecy would be fulfilled. This controversy stemmed from the expression ‘bid’ai Sineen’ (

). Literally, it means a period extending from three to nine years. Some companions of the Holy Prophet(sa) in their eagerness bet with some others that they would certainly return soon after the expiry of three years. But others reminded them that their return could be delayed by as much as nine years which is the upper limit of the term ‘bid’ai Sineen’ (

). The events as they unfolded themselves, proved the latter opinion to be right. Thus, in this sense both the promises were fulfilled in letter and in spirit. First it was the Romans who regained their lost territory within the prescribed limit and then it was the turn of the Muslims to return to Mecca in glory before the end of the eighth year.

Another category of the prophecies which was manifestly fulfilled during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet(sa) relates to the repeated attacks on the Muslims in Medina by the Meccans and their confederates from among the nomad tribes.

The first of these prophecies as mentioned in the following verses clearly portrayed the events of the Battle of Badr. During this first serious encounter of the Muslims with a formidable, professionally organized army of Meccans, the invading hosts were completely routed and put to a most humiliating flight by a comparatively much smaller body of Muslim defenders.

Aye, the Hour is their appointed time; and the Hour will be most calamitous and most bitter.8

The devastating defeat inflicted upon the Meccan army was clearly predicted in the verses quoted above. The last of these verses highlights for them the bitterness of the Hour.

The very pick of the chieftains, the sworn enemies of Islam, who were also renowned for their hatred of the Holy Prophet(sa), fell one after the other and were made to bite the dust in the field of Badr.

Abu-Jahl was slain by two young Muslim lads, so also Shaibah and ‘Utbah met their fated hour and were put to sword within a few hours. The night fell upon the gloomy hearts of the Meccans like Doomsday. They were put to flight in utter disarray. It is this humiliating defeat which is referred to in the following verse of Surah Al-Anfal:

And remember the time when Allah promised you one of the two parties that it should be yours, and you wished that one without sting should be yours, but Allah desired to establish the truth by His words and to cut off the root of the disbelievers.9

The Battle of The Ditch

Among other encounters with the enemies of Islam which occurred precisely as they were foretold, the Battle of the Ditch (

) is of outstanding importance. It was during this battle that some other great historic victories were also predicted at a time when the very survival of the Muslims themselves was at stake.

The prediction of the Battle of the Ditch was first made in Surah Sad which was definitely revealed in Mecca and according to most scholars, during the early period of the Prophet’s(sa) ministry. Following is the verse:

And when the believers saw the confederates, they said, ‘This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us; and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth.’ And it only added to their faith and submission.11

Of all the battles fought during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet(sa) of Islam, the Battle of the Ditch stands out for the maximum possible dangers and extreme trials of adversity which it brought to the Muslims in Medina. There was many a time when the odds were heavy against the survival of the Muslims. The Quran describes their state as follows:

When they came upon you from above you, and from below you, and when your eyes became distracted, and your hearts reached to the throats, and you thought diverse thoughts about Allah.

There and then were the believers sorely tried, and they were shaken with a violent shaking.

And when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts was a disease said, ‘Allah and His Messenger promised us nothing but a delusion.’

And when a party of them said, ‘O people of Yathrib (Medina), you have possibly no stand against the enemy, therefore turn back.’ And a section of them even asked leave of the Prophet, saying, ‘Our houses are exposed and defenceless.’ And they were in truth not exposed. They only sought to flee away.12

This battle has earned the title The Battle of the Ditch, because when the news reached Prophet Muhammad(sa) that almost all the Arab tribes had colluded to invade Medina for a final conclusive encounter to finish off Islam once and for all, the building of a barrier on the open side of Medina became an absolute must. The number of Muslims in Medina at that time, by comparison to the invading hosts, was so small that it was absolutely impossible for them to prevent the enemy from entering Medina in an open battle. Hence, after consultation it was decided that the digging of a ditch was the only option. A one mile long ditch was required to be dug in extremely difficult rocky terrain.

The estimate as to the number of Muslims involved in this task differ. The minimum mentioned is seven hundred and the maximum three thousand. According to our estimate it was around one thousand eight hundred at the most, because the one thing on which the authorities are agreed is that to every group of ten persons, ten yards of the ditch were allocated. As it was not longer than one mile, the number of Muslims could not have been more than one thousand seven hundred and sixty. The task was hard and exacting. An overall state of poverty and deprivation further compounded the problems of the Muslim camp. At times they had to work for days an end on empty stomachs.

It was during this state of extreme adversity that the Holy Prophet(sa) was once informed that despite the best efforts of the sappers, a hard rock stubbornly refused to yield. The Prophet(sa) proceeded forthwith to visit the troubled spot. Having reached there he took up the pickaxe in his own hands and struck the rock three times before it yielded and broke into fragments. Each time he struck, sparks flew from the rock and he exclaimed out loud Allah-o-Akbar! (Allah is the Greatest). At the end the Companions inquired from him why he had shouted Allah-o-Akbar! with such a triumphant note. The Holy Prophet(sa) answered: ‘In the sparks which flew at the first strike, I saw the Syrian palaces of the Byzantine Empire and their key was given to me. The second time I was shown the illuminated palaces of Persia at Madain and to me the key was handed. Again I was granted the key of the palaces of San‘a as they appeared in the sparks when I struck the rock for the third time.’ History bears witness that this is exactly what followed but the wonder lies not in their fulfilment alone. The very making of these prophecies at the time they were made is in itself a miracle.13

Seldom can history present such examples of a defending few, as powerless and vulnerable as the Muslims were while they were engaged in the digging of the trench, day in and day out, borne down with hunger and fatigue. That was the time when the adversity of the Muslim cause could sink no further. It was then that Muhammad(sa) spoke the historic words which history could not create, they created history.

To predict such victories at a time such as this could either be the ravings of a madman or the proclamation of God from the lips of a great Prophet(sa). He was the wisest of all the wise that ever lived, ‘mad’ he was certainly not. If ever a prophet was blessed to be a Divine oracle, it was he. His was the mouth and his were the lips which shaped destinies and pronounced decrees as God spoke to him and he spoke for God.

As has been pointed out earlier the purpose of this exercise is not to present an exhaustive study of all the prophecies of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet(sa). We are only attempting to present to the reader some specific prophecies with wider impact. Having discussed some of them which related to the lifetime of the Holy Prophet(sa) and the period which immediately followed, we now turn to another category of prophecies which relate to a comparatively distant future. It is difficult to decide where to begin but perhaps it would not be inappropriate to begin with the discovery of the Americas and the extension of the known world. The following are the relevant verses:

The prophecy contained in verse 4 above was manifestly realized with the discovery of the ‘New World’ by the end of the fifteenth century, when on 12 October 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas.

That was the beginning of the end for the native Americans. But a new seemingly endless beginning was made for the Americans to rise and dominate the rest of the old world. This is clearly implied in the prophecy contained in the next verse which speaks of the earth throwing up all its secrets and emptying itself.

The same issue is taken up again and further elaborated in some other chapters as well. For instance, verses 2 and 3 of Surah Al-Zilzal read:

When the earth is shaken with her violent shaking, And the earth throws up her burdens.15

It is predicted that the earth will go through a mighty shaking and will throw up its heavy metals and man will begin to wonder what indeed is happening to it.

The word athqal (

) refers to everything which is heavy, so the throwing up by the earth of its heavy metals will not be a forced extension of its meaning. Again it can also be translated as ‘the earth will throw up its hidden treasures’. The tremendous scientific advancements which we have witnessed in this age could not become possible without the discovery of new minerals which the earth has thrown up as predicted. Count them out and the wheel of scientific advancement will turn back a full circle. No modem invention of any significance can be conceived without the discovery of coal, petroleum, uranium, plutonium etc.

The chronological order of the two prophecies mentioned above also has a message to deliver. The prophecy of the extension of the old world is followed immediately by the discovery of new minerals and this is exactly the sequence in which the prophecies were fulfilled.

The Prophecy About Archaeological Exploration

While the verse of Al-Zilzal clearly refers to the throwing up by the earth of its hidden treasures, this verse of Surah Al-lnfitar is evidently speaking of archaeology.

But this is not the only verse which does that. We have selected this because of its prophetic nature, otherwise there are many other verses in the Quran which draw the attention of man repeatedly and directly to many a buried township and civilization of earlier people. They exhort man to dig up their remains and study the factors which brought about their ultimate ruin.

The following two opening verses of Surah Al-Takwir predict that Islam will already have gone into decline before the dawn of the new age:

It should be borne in mind that the sun and the stars as mentioned in these verses refer symbolically to Islam and Muslim divines. The Quran refers to the Holy Prophet(sa) as Sirajan-munira (

) which literally means the ‘radiant sun’ and the Holy Prophet(sa) refers to the company of the pious people who borrowed from his light as shining stars, who in the absence of the sun still emit enough light to guide the wayward:

My Companions are like the guiding stars; whomsoever you follow, you will be led to the right path.18

When the sun is described as having ceased to shed light it clearly speaks of the decline of Islam, because the Holy Prophet(sa) was its living symbol. The obscurity of stars by the same logic refers to an age when the Muslim divines would cease to reflect the light of Islam. This inference is fully supported by the contents of the verses which follow. They all invariably speak of an age of great scientific, political and social advancement which evidently is a tribute to the age. If the opening statement of this Surah as quoted above applies to these revolutionary changes, the discord between the two would be too jarring. What a dismal compliment it would become. That brilliant age of exceptional advancement in knowledge would be described as if the sun had been wrapped up and the stars had ceased to shed light. They are two different things applicable to different areas of future developments. Hence, if the main contents of this chapter refer to the material rise of the Christian world which was to follow the discovery of the Americas, the first two verses must be understood by way of contrast to apply to the fate of Islam. What had happened to Islam to earn this gloomy description by the year the Americas were discovered? If we find the answer to this question no further proof would be needed to support our interpretation of the said verses. The year 1492 as we have pointed out before is the most outstanding landmark which separates the old world from the new. Can we prove that the downfall of Islam did reach its nadir in the same year so that any reader could easily recognise a clear link between the two? Yes we can and the verdict is not ours nor that of any other Muslim. The verdict is that of history evidenced by Christian historians themselves. The Chronicle of the World has the following to say about the most distinctive feature of that year in relation to Islam:

‘After a ten-year campaign Granada, the only remaining Moslem state in Spain, has fallen to the Castilian army. The surrender of the city is being hailed by Christians as the “most signal and blessed day there has ever been in Spain”. Moslems are describing it as one of the most terrible catastrophes ever to befall Islam.’19

‘Ferdinand and Isabella take Granada, the last Moslem kingdom in Spain, which had resisted Christian conquest for two centuries.’20

This brought to end the unbroken rule of Spain by the Muslims for seven hundred years.

After the termination of the Muslim political rule in 1492, there began an organized campaign by the Church to murder Islam. Though the Muslim domination had come to an abrupt end after an extended rule of more than five hundred years, the influence which Islam had built over the previous five centuries could not have been done away within a year or two. There was a large number of Moors who were scattered all over the southern hilly terrain of Andalusia providing strong isolated pockets for Islam. There was an even larger number of Spanish converts to Islam who were no less sincere and devout in practising Islam than their conquerors from Arabia and Africa. It was they, more than any other reminder of their faith, who proved an intolerable irritant to the Christian clergy which had grown desperate over the years to destroy them or their religion.

It was Ximenes (pronounced Khemenies), the loudest apostle of the Church Militant who,

‘ … would have the souls of these “infidels” saved from the hell fire whether they liked it or no.’21

He imprinted in ‘Isabella’s holy mind the pernicious doctrine that to keep faith with infidels was breaking faith with God.’22 He was

‘ … not a man to be easily deterred from his purpose. He induced the queen to promulgate a decree by which the Moors were given their choice to baptism or exile. They were reminded that their ancestors had once been Christian, and that by descent they themselves were born in the Church, and must naturally profess her doctrine.’23

Thus began the beginning of the end for Islam in Spain which took two hundred years to run its deathly course.

‘The mosques were closed, the countless manuscripts that contained the results of ages of Moorish learning were burnt by the ruthless Cardinal, and the unhappy “infidels” were threatened and beaten into the Gospel of Peace and Goodwill after the manner already approved by their Catholic Majesties in respect of the no less miserable Jews. The majority of course yielded, finding it easier to spare their religion than their homes; but a spark of the old Moorish spirit remained burning bright among the hillmen of the Alpuxarras … ’24

‘ … the rulers of Spain were neither wise nor honest in their dealings with the Moriscos, and as time went on they became more and more cruel and false. The “infidels” were ordered to abandon their native and picturesque costume, and to assume the hats and breeches of the Christians; to give up bathing, and adopt the dirt of their conquerors; to renounce their language, their customs and ceremonies, even their very names, and to speak Spanish, behave Spanishly, and re-name themselves Spaniards.’25

‘It was reserved for Philip II to carry into practical effect the tyrannical law which his father had prudently left alone. In 1567 he enforced the odious regulations about language, customs, and the like, and, to secure the validity of the prohibition of cleanliness, began by pulling down the beautiful baths of the Alhambra.’26

‘In the winter of 1569-70 he (Don John) began his campaign, and in May the terms of surrender had been arranged. The months between had been stained with a crimson river of blood. Don John’s motto was “no quarter”; men, women, and children were butchered by his order and under his own eye; the villages of Alpuxarras were turned into human shambles.’27

‘Many hapless exiles died by the way, from want, fatigue, and exposure; others reached Africa, where they might beg a daily pittance, but could find no soil to till … ’28

‘It is stated that no less than three million of Moors were banished between the fall of Granada and the first decade of the 17th century. The Arab chronicler mournfully records the coup-de-grace: “The Almighty was not pleased to grant them victory, so they were overcome and slain on all sides, till at last they were driven forth from the land of Andalusia, the which calamity came to pass in our own days, in the year of the Flight, 1017. Verily to God belong lands and dominions, and He giveth them to whom He doth will.”’29

‘The Moors were banished; for a while Christian Spain shone, like the moon, with a borrowed light; then came the eclipse, and in that darkness Spain has grovelled ever since.’30

Thus concludes Stanley Lane-Poole in his history of The Moors in Spain. The sun of the Muslim political domination of Spain which had set in 1492, left behind, it seems, a gory dusk which took two centuries to finally dissipate the light of Islam from the sky of Spain, and turn it into a starless night.

As for the secular enlightenment brought to Spain by the outgoing Muslim civilization, it did not take that long to follow.

Thus the year 1492 opened two gates at once. Out of one the future of the Christian domination of the world marched in with such majestic glory. Out of the other departed all the past glories of Islam with heads hung low, each aching step inflicting unbearable agony.

Mountains in Islamic terminology mean great worldly powers. There are many verses in the Holy Quran which mention mountains with the same connotation. So the third verse which speaks of the mountains is in fact the verse with which we begin our study to understand what would happen in the latter days. After the initial decline of Islam, a starless night would fall to be followed by the dawn of a day which would not to be the dawn of Islam. Great material powers would not only rise but move their influence widely from territory to territory, from continent to continent and bring under their domination country after country. That is how mountains in their sense can move and they did move. The moving of the mountains can also be understood in other ways, a discussion to which we shall turn later. Now that we have begun to re-visualize the great changes which according to this Surah of the Quran were destined to take place in that age, we take up the subject bit by bit and category by category in accordance with the verses as they follow.

While on the subject of movements, the implication of the fifth verse can be easily understood. It reads:

In this context the prophecy of the she-camels being abandoned can evidently be understood to mean that better, faster and more powerful means of transport will have been invented. The scenario of the mountains moving from place to place, great powers spreading their influence from continent to continent is directly related to the issue of the she-camels being abandoned.

It should be kept in mind that the movement of the mountains can be interpreted as transportation of immense loads as well as the spread of influence of mighty political powers. Both of these definitely require more advanced and powerful means of transport than she-camels. Unless such new means had become available to man it would be sheer madness on his part to abandon whatever poor means he already had available. He would certainly not abandon the she-camel and start carrying mountain-like loads on his bare back!

The inevitable conclusion one is left to draw from this verse is that far more powerful and swifter mechanical means would be invented which would render animal modes as insignificant and obsolete.

The she-camel, it should be remembered, can only symbolically represent such modes of transport as move on land surfaces. One wonders about boats and ships etc., and why have they not been mentioned and what breakthrough does the Quran predict in the area of marine transport? To this we shall return later. Presently we would like to take up the next verse which speaks of the gathering of all sorts of animals.

The shift from the abandonment of she-camels to the gathering of animals is quite intriguing. This provides another proof that she-camels will not be left alone despite their usefulness. The mention of wild animals being gathered together in fact further advances the same idea of the invention of revolutionary means of transport. Of course all sorts of wild animals cannot be transported from place to place merely on the backs of camels. None can imagine elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, giraffes, crocodiles, blue whales and giant octopuses enjoying camel rides! Their transportation could only become possible by the modes of transport invented in our age.

The word Sujjirat (

) according to Lane can be translated into the following three concurrent meanings:

As for the first possible meaning the filling of the seas naturally creates the vision of the sea filled with plying vessels. Thus this verse too remains primarily occupied with the same discussion as in the preceding verses. This interpretation will be further corroborated when we return to this subject once again.

Presently we take up the second of the three possible meanings which speak of the joining of the seas. This prophecy is further elaborated in the following two verses of the Quran:

Between them there is a barrier now which neither can trespass in an act of defiance.35

And He it is Who shall merge the two seas together. This palatable and sweet, that saltish and bitter. And between them He has (presently) placed a barrier and a massive partition.36

The two verses quoted above are taken from two different Surahs of the Holy Quran. Each predicts a separate event of the joining of two different seas together. This is exactly what happened in modem times. In the digging of the Suez Canal during 1859-1869 and that of the Panama Canal during 1903-1914, the world has already witnessed the fulfilment of these prophecies in a manner that could not have been even vaguely visualized by man during the age of the Holy Prophet(sa).

The third concurrent meaning which presents the scenario of the seas put on fire is no less bizarre than the first one, hence as unlikely to be conceived by the human mind fourteen hundred years ago. It is an idea which can only be born during the age of naval warfare with exchanges of intense firepower. Incidentally the huge number of ships involved in modem naval warfare covers such large areas of the sea as justify our interpretation that by the filling of the seas it is primarily meant that the seas would be filled with plying vessels.

Again the third concurrent meaning portraying the seas as set ablaze is an idea which belongs to the age of huge oil spills such as occur in our time. They are often ignited to minimize the horrendous threat they pose to marine life. At such times even hundreds of thousands of square miles of sea can be observed as literally set on fire.

The next verse from Surah Al-Takwir advances the same idea still further. Instead of the gathering of animals, it is humans who would be gathered together is the central message of this verse:

This too can be translated simultaneously into three different meanings as follows:

Each of the three interpretations mentioned above has clearly come true. Ours is an age when international treaties bind practically all the nations of the world without exception. Hence, this interpretation has evidently come true and needs no further elaboration.

Likewise the founding of the League of Nations which was replaced later by the United Nations has evidently advanced the ultimate unification of the world a step further as predicted.

As for the fulfilment of the third prophecy implied in the same verse, we have already observed the distances to be virtually so reduced by the new modes of travel as to create the impression that the whole world is squeezed into one community of a single township.

Before proceeding further it would be appropriate to mention another prophecy which also relates to the subject of the bringing together of people. That prophecy speaks of the return of the Children of Israel to the Promised Land in the latter days:

And after him We said to the children of Israel, ‘Dwell ye in the land; and when the time of the promise of the latter days comes, We shall bring you together out of various peoples.’38

The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, by the Romans tolled the bell for the death of the Jewish state. From then on the Jews were scattered throughout the world moving on from country to country. It is this state of ultimate diaspora to which the above verse refers when it declares that one day the Jews will be gathered from all over the world and once again they will be assembled in the Holy Land. It is a covenant of God which shall be fulfilled. We have already seen the fulfilment of this promise on such a wide scale as has never been witnessed by man before. Never in the history of the Jewish people after any diaspora were they brought back from all the countries of the world as it happened in the recent past after the creation of the state of Israel.

Returning to Surah Al-Takwir from which we digressed for a while, let us now take up verse 9 which follows. This verse as well as the next, describe the same age to which all previous verses refer to from different angles.

In their ignorance some Arabs felt extremely insulted when a daughter was born to them and out of shame might even bury her alive. Society had no right to interfere in such matters as though the fathers owned their children like property.

That age would be the age of the strict rule of law is the evident message. This message however, is delivered particularly with reference to the rights of women. Otherwise a simple statement concerning law and order could as well have been made. In the light of this, one simply cannot fail to register this significance. No longer will men be able to trifle with the rights of women, is the powerful import of this verse. Never in any age did the rights of women acquire such importance as m contemporary times.

All the features of the latter days which the verses of this Quranic Surah develop systematically with a progressive sequence, carry the subject forward from one feature to another like the brush of a master painter. The scientific development which is throughout implied is continuously interwoven with the political and social aspects. In verse 8 the bonding together of man is predicted in more than one way. The same subject is taken up again in verse 11 after the mention of social and political developments. The idea is introduced with reference to the most powerful means of joining people together which is through wider extensive publication of literature, newspapers, magazines etc. All the modes of transport referred to above have played their part in uniting the people of the world, but the role of the press can never be overshadowed or replaced by any other measure of uniting man. Take the role of the wide distribution of printed literature away from this age and mankind, despite the distances being reduced, will suddenly appear to fall apart once again. The people will become disjointed and isolated from each other. It was this modem state of the news media and the extensive publication of literature which is mentioned in the verse under discussion:

Also implied in this prophecy is the invention of the modem press, otherwise it would not be possible for handwritten manuscripts to be extensively published and widely distributed.

An age of large-scale publication is also bound to be an age of intense proliferation of knowledge, research and investigation. The Holy Quran emphasizes the role of the pen so powerfully that it directly attributes to God the act of teaching humans how to write.

The following verses which are taken from Surah Al-‘Alaq, the very first Chapter revealed to the Holy Prophet(sa) emphatically pronounce:

These verses when read in conjunction with the verse under study clearly emphasize the character of the age as highly advanced in knowledge. During that age, the spread of educational institutions such as schools, colleges and universities also seems to be implied.

The very first verse which makes the opening statement introduces God as Most Honourable because He has taught with the pen. It is obviously implied that the pen will be the source of all knowledge and knowledge would be the source of all greatness and honour. Incidentally one should not forget that these revelations were vouched to one who himself had never learnt to hold a pen in his hand. It was the pen of God which authored the Quran and not the pen of Muhammad(sa). Another implication of the verse is that knowledge would become the means of gaining power and the pen shall emerge as mightier than the sword.

The next verse advancing the same theme further pronounces that the sky will be the limit of man’s knowledge:

This verse presents a tragic comparison between the state of Islam in that age and the rise of the worldly Christian powers when the light of the sun of Islam will be wrapped up and the stars of the Muslim heaven will cease to shed light. The non-Muslim materialistic world will begin to scale the heavenly heights to learn the secrets of space.

This scenario brings to mind some other verses of the Holy Quran which also predict an era of space and air travel. The following are the relevant verses:

And by those who are sent forth with specific tasks, And by those who move like the moving of fast winds,

And by those who propagate a goodly propaganda, And by those who distinguish and discriminate between friends and foes.44

These and many other similar verses repeatedly draw the picture of a sky which is extensively used for air travel. It is charted into tracks, messengers fly to and fro, airborne propaganda is carried out extensively and it has become possible at last for man to fly on the wings of air. Having fulfilled his dream to fly, man would begin to entertain loftier ambitions. He would begin to discern the secrets of the heavens and the heavenly bodies. He would peel off the covers which enwrap them to unveil their mysteries. He would set space stations and posts to watch and monitor what passes in the heavens above him. The following verse clearly illustrates this phase of human advancement in science and technology which would make it literally possible for him to probe into the vast expanse of the universe.

However much they strain their ears to eavesdrop on whatever passes in the lofty celestial chambers, they will not be able to do so without being pelted from all sides.

Concerning the ambition of man to conquer space physically to its very limits, the following is the challenge which the Quran throws to all who seek the conquest of space, be they high or low.

Before we quote the relevant verse, it is essential to clarify the nature of its address. The translation: ‘the company of the jinn and the company of the men’ does not do full justice to the message implied. The word ‘jinn’ (

) does not indicate here a ghostlike existence different from humans. Instead as also mentioned earlier it is frequently employed to indicate big people as against the common people who are referred to as An-Nas (

). Hence, the true import of this address would perhaps be better understood if it were translated as: O company of the capitalist powers and O company of the proletariat.

O company of Jinn and men! if you have power to go beyond the confines of the heavens and the earth, then do go. But you cannot go save with authority.46

We humbly suggest that a more appropriate translation in this context should have been ‘Except with the help of most powerful deductive logic’. This means that although physically unable to transcend the boundaries of the universe, man would still be able to reach the limits of the universe as far as the extension of his knowledge is concerned. We have the following reasons to support this inference:

The translation ‘Save with authority’ can in fact create the opposite impression to what the Quran actually intends to convey which is a categorical denial of the possibility of physical conquest of space by man to its outer limits. Authority is not the only meaning of the word Al-Sultan. It can be simultaneously translated as a mighty monarch, a powerful argument or strong deductive logic. Hence it may signify that man will still be able to reach across the boundaries of the universe through powerful logical deduction.

What is clearly denied is not just a short hop or two into space. What is denied is the ability of man to reach the limits of the universe with his physical body. Incidentally the hazards attending upon space flights are also mentioned as follows:

There shall be sent against you blasts of fire, and smoke; and you shall not be able to help yourselves.47

This verse in fact draws a clear picture of cosmic rays rather than that of ordinary flames of fire.

Having elaborated the implied meanings of verse 12 of Surah Al-Takwfir, with the help of the above quoted verses of Surah Al-Rahman (Chapter 55), we now return to Al-Takwir from where we left off.

It is a strange coincidence that we finished our comments on the verses of Surah Al-Rahman with the warning of perpetual punishment by fire. This exactly is the subject of discussion of verse 13 of Surah Al-Takwir which we intend to elaborate now:

Here the expression hellfire refers to such wars as would create the impression that all hell has broken loose. Hence, this is the warning delivered in this verse. This is the only feasible interpretation in the context of the preceding prophecies which speak without exception of the events of this world. It would appear very odd indeed if man is told that at some time while these events are taking place here on earth, hellfire would be raging above in an otherworldly space.

The sequence of prophecies thus reaches its logical conclusion. Material progress however massive it may be cannot be of any avail to man if he gains his worldly ambitions at the cost of God’s pleasure. The hour of punishment must arrive and strike man down despite all his material might. But no calamity will befall him from on high as such. He will build his own hellfire himself and his selfishness will create such global tensions as are bound to culminate in hellish wars. Looking back at the history of the two World Wars this interpretation no longer remains an academic exercise but acquires a substantial threat. This exercise so far has brought to bold relief the contrast between the tragic decline of Islam and the rise of the non Muslim powers. The verse under study clearly depicts that the global domination of materialism will not last perpetually. The downfall of the materialistic powers will begin with growing mutual enmities which will culminate in horrendous catastrophes of their own making. Wars will follow one after the other. They will be re-kindled and quenched yet again leaving behind the ashes of the mighty powers which will incinerate themselves. The two global wars have already dented the unchallenged might of the superpowers while the weaker and the poorer nations have relatively emerged with a sense of having gained some measure of their lost dignity. The balance is far from tilted as yet to have reached a critical stage, but though slowly, time is certainly moving in the direction of a global revolution. It is that revolution which is predicted in the Quran to be the ultimate revolution of Islam. Lest it should seem an over-generalized, unsubstantiated statement, we shall produce in the following chapter some sound concomitant evidence to dispel such doubts.

Based on the direct messages contained in many a verse of the Quran, the Holy Prophet(sa) has clearly predicted the ultimate outcome of the global conflict during the latter days. This he has done with reference to the advent of the anti-Christ. But it should be clarified at the outset that his image as it arises from the traditions of the Holy Prophet(sa) is not in reality as freakish as might appear on the surface. It refers to the anti-Christ in a manner that seems to combine in him the power and might of immensely powerful nations. In fact the entire age of the latter days is mentioned by the Holy Prophet(sa) as the age of the anti-Christ. All signs of the age are mentioned with reference to him. Among the signs which assist his identification is a category devoted specifically to the new modes of travel of which man had no experience before. A detailed account of what the anti-Christ would be and how he would dominate the world leaves no shadow of doubt in the mind of any unbiased reader that it is not a single person to whom these prophecies refer. The term ‘anti-Christ’ as used by the Holy Prophet(sa) is only symbolic. He would be a symbol of the mighty powers of his age and his exploits would in fact be the exploits of many highly advanced and powerful Christian nations of the world. But their supremacy would not last forever. The ultimate downfall of the anti-Christ who symbolizes them is also predicted in no uncertain terms. From the ruins of materialism would rise once again the sun of Islam unveiling its radiant beauty as it casts away the covers of doubt and suspicion which had enwrapped it for many a dismal century.

Now we take up the discussion of the revolutionary mode of travel once again but this time we refer to the traditions of the Holy Prophet(sa). As for the remaining signs of the anti-Christ, particularly those which have religious significance, we shall discuss them separately at some greater length in another chapter.

Modes of travel on land, sea and air are all described without exception in a manner that fully endorses the interpretation of many a Quranic verse which we have presented earlier. Even the issue of the movement of mountains is explained so that the memory of the relevant verses is effortlessly resurrected. The Holy Prophet’s(sa) elaboration of the anti-Christ and the unique donkey he would ride must have seemed extremely odd to the people of his time. It had to appear odd because despite the fact that he continually refers to that mount as a donkey, none of the known characteristics of a donkey are ascribed to that oddity. However all the modem modes of transport answer to this description perfectly.

They have one common feature about them; they are all propelled by combustion engines drawing their energy from fire. Even the external combustion engines like those of locomotives driven by steam are dependant on fire. This is the sharp separating line between the earlier modes of animal transport and the revolutionary new modes of transport in the age of the anti-Christ which would reveal him to be not an animal but an inanimate object. We refer to him as ‘he’ only because in the prophecy he is literally spoken of as an animal. In fact he could be identified by this distinctive mark alone. Recognize the donkey of the anti-Christ and you will recognize in him the modem modes of transport. Fail to recognize him if you so choose and travel back to the age of donkeys.

Some other novel features of this symbolic donkey of the anti-Christ are described in great detail in various books of traditions. The following is a composite presentation of the information derived from them:

After reading this vivid description of the donkey of the anti-Christ which he would use for his world conquest, we wonder if the reader really needs further assistance to recognize him.

Obviously such great Christian powers are mentioned under the title Dajjal61 as were destined one day to command the entire world. The fire-driven donkey which acquires the changeable roles of aeroplanes, ships or trains moving at exceptionally fast speeds was to play the most formative and crucial role in the conquest of the world by the Christian powers. Apart from emphasizing the advantage of higher speeds, the advantage of weightier possessions is also specifically mentioned in the global conflict for supremacy:

The weightier they are in their possession and the faster in their speeds, the more inevitable would become the supremacy of the world powers. The mass and the speed at which he moves is what matters on the road to victory.

These prophecies are so unique that it is hard to find their equal in the realm of Divine prophecies elsewhere. The description is so vivid and precise that one has the impression that like a painter who captures with his brush what he sees, the Holy Prophet(sa) was moulding into picturesque words what he observed unfolding before his eyes.

With this we bring to a close the discussion on the series of the prophecies contained in the Surah Al-Takwir. Now we plan to present to the reader some other highly important prophecies which describe some other important features of the same age. Each of the following prophecies deals with different specific topics. They are dextrously encapsulated in various other Surahs of the Quran.

Nuclear Holocaust

Among the Quranic prophecies relating to events and inventions of our age, there are some which are of outstanding importance and great global significance. One such prophecy relates to the impending danger of a nuclear holocaust.

This prophecy was made at a time when man could not entertain the idea of an atomic explosion by any stretch of his imagination. But as we will presently illustrate, there are certain verses of the Holy Quran which clearly speak of tiny insignificant particles which are described as storehouses of immense energy, as though the fire of hell was locked within them. Amazing as it may seem, this is exactly what is literally described in the following verses.

This short Quranic Chapter is densely packed with astounding statements which lie far beyond the reach of the people of that age. Strange is it not, to read that the sinful people of a certain description would be cast into the hotamah, which means the tiniest of particles, such as we see floating in a beam of light which passes through a poorly lit room.

Authentic Arabic lexicons describe hotamah as possessing two root meanings; first hatamah, which means ‘to pound’ or ‘pulverize into extremely small particles’, and the second hitmah, which means ‘the smallest insignificant particle’. Thus hitmah is the result obtained by breaking something down to its smallest constituents.

The two meanings just mentioned can rightfully be applied to any extremely minute particle which has reached the limits of its divisible potential. As the concept of the atom had not been born fourteen hundred years ago, the nearest substitute to it could only be hotamah which also sounds intriguingly close to atom. One hardly recovers from the shock of the claim that a time would come when man would be cast in the hotamah when another claim, even more bizarre, comes in its wake.

Explaining the word hotamah, the Holy Quran speaks of a blazing fire built within it and confined in extended columns. It goes on to declare that when man will be cast into it, this fire will directly leap upon his heart as though no intervening rib cage existed. This can only mean that this fire would be of a completely different nature which could directly kill the heart before it could scorch the body. Certainly no fire known to man of that age could be described as such.

These however are not the only elements of surprise about this description; what follows is even more astonishing. This fire is mentioned as having been locked up in outstretched columns waiting to leap upon man till such time as it is destined to be unleashed.

Wonder upon wonder is heaped in such a short space of a few simple statements. First the declaration that the time would come when man would be cast into the smallest particle, then the description of that smallest particle and what it contains. It contains a type of fire which is kept confined in some tiny vessels which could appear like extended columns.

The casting of man into this minute particle does not mean that a single man will be cast into it. Man is mentioned as a generic name and the casting indicates his subjection to that affliction to which he will be doomed. This has only become conceivable in the contemporary age when man has discovered the secret of the atoms and the immense stores of energy which they contain. This is the age when the fire contained in the smallest particles leaps out and engulfs large areas extending to thousands of square miles. Everything that lies within its range is engulfed, man and all. Hence, what seemed so unrealistic fourteen hundred years ago, has become a commonplace reality which even young children can understand.

The most hyperbolical expression of wonder fails to do justice to the greatness of this prophecy. No less wonderful is the fact that the people of that age failed to recognize the import of this short Surah Al-Humazah; or it would have leapt upon their beliefs and faith, rather than upon their hearts. How these amazing statements escaped their notice and went unchallenged defies logic. Perhaps they sought refuge in the belief that these verses do not apply to the events of this world, but relate to the mysterious realm of the unknown in the hereafter. Many a commentator simply avoided even an attempt to explain these verses. A few who took up the challenge, unburdened themselves by arbitrarily relegating the contents of these verses to the time of resurrection. Thus, not comprehending their meaning, they tossed them lock, stock and barrel over to the unknown.

Among the Westem orientalists, Sale faced the same dilemma of how to translate the word hotamah literally. He simply mentioned a large number of people to be thrust into the hotamah without translating Al-hotamah at all. This left no danger for the English speaking people to express their incredulance at the impossibility of people being cast into a tiny particle. As they would have no idea what hotamah is, they would be free to imagine a vast hall of burning fire called the hotamah (the smallest particle). This strategy of Sale saved him from the embarrassment of this translation. Yet, at the same time, he failed to do justice to this amazing prophecy.

The fire described in this verse, whether it is a conflagration here upon earth or a raging fire in the hereafter, could in no way be pressed into the tiny space of the minutest of particles. But that is not the only dilemma which must have confronted Sale and other earlier commentators. What about the fire which is packed into tiny extended columns, a scenario altogether impossible to conceive until the dawn of the atomic era? Now the jigsaw puzzle appears to be finally resolved, with every piece settling into its right place.

Unless one is familiar with the scientific description of how an atomic explosion takes place and what changes are brought about within the nuclear mass, one cannot fully comprehend the meaning of the Quranic expression of ‘extended columns’. Nuclear experts describe the state of a critical mass which is about to explode, as something elongating and pulsating with the immense pressure built within it. This pressure is caused by the elongation of the nuclei before they burst and in that process an element of high atomic weight is split into two elements of lesser atomic weight. The sum total of the atomic weight of the newly formed elements is less than the atomic weight of the original parent element, normally referred to as a heavy metal. The small portion of the atomic weight which is lost in this process is turned into energy. This is not the only model of a nuclear bomb but we have chosen this simple one to describe the process of the extended columns.

Turning to the issue of how this fire could leap directly upon the hearts, the scientific description is given below:

At the instant of explosion, large quantities of gamma rays, neutrons and x-rays are immediately released. The x-rays raise the temperature immediately to meteoric heights creating a great ball of fire rising rapidly, riding the extremely hot atomic blast. This is the canopy of fire like a huge mushroom which is seen from far and wide.

The x-rays also travel sideways in all directions along with the neutrons, causing immense heat which burns everything on its way. The speed at which this heat front moves is many times the speed of sound which also creates shockwaves. But much faster and more penetrating than this are the gamma rays which outpace the heat front by leaping forward at the speed of light. They are so immensely vibrant that by the sheer force of their vibration they strike the hearts dead. So death is not caused by the intense heat generated by x-rays, it is the tremendous energy of the gamma rays which inflicts instantaneous death. This is exactly how the Holy Quran describes it.

Again in Surah Al-Dukhan (The Smoke), the Quran describes a lethal cloud which comprises a deadly radiant smoke:

‘Now move towards what you have been denying,’ Move on towards a three-pronged shadow,

The words ‘move towards’ indicate that mankind will be gradually carried into an era where it will confront this calamity of a tormenting cloud which offers no shade or protection. Shadows provide relief and shelter. The clouds stand between us and the blazing heat of the sun. In the above verse no sun is mentioned, just a fire, from whose blaze this shadow affords no protection. Rather, the shadow of this cloud becomes a means of transmitting the torment of the fire which emits it. Nothing under its shade is safe. This clearly is the description of a radioactive cloud. The event being described will throw up huge flames of a dusky yellow appearance, flames that are likened to castles and also have the appearance of camels. Perhaps, here it is not only the likeness to the colour of the camel, but also the shape of its hump which is highlighted.

People of the seventh century would not have been able to understand the significance of such a deadly cloud or smoke. It would have been beyond their comprehension. However, today we know of atomic explosions and can understand the images of radioactive clouds they produce.

This fateful description is also referred to in another verse of the Quran which reads as follows:

‘That day’ (

) can refer to the day of judgement, but it also refers to a time here on earth, when those who refuse to believe in the signs (

) will be tormented by a smoke that casts a deadly shadow over whatever lies beneath. It will be a shadow which will move on, from land to land, bringing no relief, but only a shade full of agony. That will be the age when having witnessed this Divine punishment of colossal dimensions, man would at last turn to God beseeching His favour to rescue him from this unbearable chastisement. But when the wrath of Allah overtakes people, the time for forgiveness and deliverance is already over. Thus the Holy Quran explains:

How shall a message be effectual for them, since a messenger has already come to them, explaining things clearly?

Prophetic warnings are only delivered to awaken man to the danger of calamities which are but the consequence of his own folly. The prophecies mentioned above clearly relate to our age. They speak of events which were completely unknown to the people of earlier ages. One wonders if the full implications of all such prophecies were revealed by God to the Holy Prophet(sa) in every detail. But the clarity with which he describes future events leaves a strong impression as if he were beholding them like a prophetic puppet show being staged in the hall of destiny. Yet mankind had to wait for more than a thousand years before these prophecies would begin to be realized. Hence, the real transfer of these events from the realm of the unseen to that of the seen, could only become possible in the nuclear age.

The enormity of the atomic catastrophe is horrendous, yet little attention is paid by man to investigate and identify the underlying roots of this evil. The sight of man seldom penetrates beyond the surfaces he scans. Few among them can introspect themselves to discover the hidden face of their evil intentions. This is a sort of blindness which is specifically related to the crookedness in man. Whenever he himself is responsible for causing suffering and spreading evil around him, he will not identify his own hand behind them.

Such is the chain of catastrophes of global impact we are examining. A scientist explains the underlying phenomenon of nuclear explosions only to the extent of material and physical causes. But when such enormously destructive devices are employed to play havoc with the peace of man, it is not the scientists who created them who should be blamed. The root cause lies elsewhere. It is the great world powers which are invariably responsible for such cruel and senseless decisions of global magnitude. Yet despite their greatness they are no more than mere pawns in the hands of the utterly selfish collective will of the masses.

The Holy Quran, though speaking of scientific events with great precision, does not assume the role of a mere scientific instructor. Rather it is the immoral causes of distorted human behaviour to which it draws our attention. It explains the phenomenon of a trigger indeed, but focuses our attention not on the trigger but upon the finger that pulls it. This is the purpose of Quranic warnings. As such, it repeatedly pronounces that for all the ugliness done to man, it is man himself who is to blame. Thus the preventive measures, according to the Quran, relate to the reformation of human character. It states that if people change their conduct and reform themselves in accordance with Divine guidance, this would create the healthy climate necessary for the survival of justice and fair play.

The lighthouse of the Quranic prophecies clearly shows what rocks to avoid and what channels to follow. Yet how unlikely it is for those who command the ship of human affairs to heed the warning and steer the ship across the impending hazards to the safe haven of peace. It is herein that the ultimate cause of disaster lies. Without a critical and realistic analysis of human behaviour at every level of its activity, no sound workable solution can be conceived of problems which confront man today. In simplest terms, it lies in the rehabilitation of basic human values such as truth, honesty, integrity, justice, fair play, concern for others, sensibility to the sufferings of people even when they are unrelated, and an overall commitment to goodness. Remove them as factors from human relationships and wait for the catastrophe to overtake you. It is the only logical conclusion.

Surah Al-Qamar (Chapter 54), explains this with reference to the history of earlier peoples who did not take heed of the warnings delivered to them by the Divine messengers of their time. As a consequence they, one and all, witnessed the tragic end that was promised to them, and their belated repentance was of no avail. The only purpose served by the warning is for the future generations to take heed. The Holy Quran thus points its finger at their tragedy so that the generations to follow may learn the art of life from the death of those who preceded them.

If a people do not draw their lesson, then it is only they who are to be blamed for the disastrous consequences which await them.

The atomic holocaust to which we refer is also discussed in Surah Ta Ha (Chapter 20) in relation to its ultimate consequences. By implication, the verse also makes it clear that it would be the pride and arrogance of the great world powers of the time which will be broken, mankind as such will not be wiped out.

The relevant verse clearly predicts that this will not be a point of termination for mankind as such. It will be only the might of the arrogant political powers that will be shattered and laid low. From their graves will rise the new world order. The mountain-like superpowers will be pulverized and levelled as though into a vast expanse of sand. You will not detect any highs or lows, or aboves and belows in their contour.

And they ask thee concerning the mountains. Say, ‘My Lord will break them into pieces and scatter them as dust.

On that day they will follow the Caller straight, there being no deviation therefrom; and all voices shall be hushed before the Gracious God and thou shalt not hear but a subdued sound of footsteps.69

It will be God, the Perfect Leveller, Whose hand will bring about this amazing transformation. The mountains are mere figures of speech, indicating powerful states, nations and people. The Quran predicts that once their pride is shattered and they are finally humbled and straightened, only then will they be fit to respond to the humblest of callers unto God, who has no crookedness about him. Such destruction as described could only result from a holocaust of the magnitude of hundreds of nuclear explosions, which implies that man will not learn his lesson and the head of his arrogance will have to be bent by the sheer weight of this enormity. Along with this grim message of warning there is also a glorious message of hope that mankind will ultimately survive and be ushered into a new era of light. Man will learn to mend his ways—if not before, at least after tasting some of the fruits of his follies and defiance to God.

In another Surah, the Quran speaks of cardinal geographic and climatic changes of such horrendous nature as would render the face of many tracts of land, countries and continents entirely desolate. This perhaps is related to the aftermath of the holocaust we have just discussed. Before that, the same lands were counted among the most scenic and beautiful parts of the world, uniquely rich in dazzling beauty. How we wish that of all the Quranic prophecies, this one at least will not have to be realized. This wish is certainly not a sign of disrespect to the prophetic Quranic warnings. It only springs from our unshakeable faith in the all-embracing graciousness of God—the All-Merciful, the All-Beneficent. All warnings, however categoric they may sound, are conditional to the response of man. The example of the people of Jonah(as), who were spared the destined wrath of God after they turned to Him with profound repentance, kindles the flame of hope for us today. Despite the fact that there is no genuine justification for optimism in view of the consistent decline in human moral values, it is the only hope after all to which one may cling. The rest is a fearsome night of utter despair. But the cure for their deep-seated maladies no longer lies in the hands of godless messiahs. It lies in the hands of God alone—but only if our hands are raised in prayer before Him. Perhaps we are talking a language hard for contemporary man to understand. It runs counter to what his ears are attuned to hear. Allah knows best!

Genetic Engineering

In the field of genetic engineering, it has today become possible to change certain features of life. But in the age when the following verse was revealed, no one could imagine such a thing in his wildest fancy. Below is the relevant verse and its translation:

… And he (Satan) said, ‘I will assuredly take a fixed portion from Thy servants;

‘And assuredly I will lead them astray and assuredly I will excite in them vain desires, and assuredly I will incite them and they will cut the ears of cattle … ’70

The idea of mutilation of animals by chopping off their tails or slitting their ears is not what is meant here by the Quran. It simply refers to the common practice among the Arabs in pre-Islamic times to make incisions in the ears of animals marked for sacrifice to various gods. However, what follows in the same verse is of a far more dramatic and revolutionary nature. The verse ends by attributing to Satan another malevolent intention, to incite mankind to bring about changes in the pattern of God’s creation. The verse continues:

… ‘and assuredly I will incite them and they will effect a change in the creation of Allah.’ And he who takes Satan as a friend besides Allah has certainly suffered a manifest loss.71

The possibility of changing the nature of God’s creation was not an idea that people of earlier times could have entertained. Clearly the verse is speaking of possibilities that had not yet dawned on the horizon of earlier eras. To inflict superficial injuries or to make small changes, through incisions for example, is quite a simple process and lies within the reach of man of all ages. However, the possibility of man bringing about substantial changes in God’s creation has always been beyond the reach of human imagination, prior to the most recent times. The addition of genetic engineering as a new branch of scientific study is only a decade or two old. Yet this branch of science is moving rapidly to the stage against which a clear warning had been delivered by the Quran fourteen hundred years ago. Man has already started interfering with the plan of creation and to some measure has succeeded in altering the forms of life at the level of bacteria, insects etc. A few steps further and it may spell disaster. Some scientists have already started sounding the alarm. But unfortunately, to reverse the wheel of experimentation in this field already seems to be beyond their power.

Scholars are divided in two camps regarding the very ethics of genetic engineering. Some are throwing up their hands in alarm, whilst others argue that we should develop this field to its fullest extent so that we may discover the secrets of creation. They believe that technological developments in this field will brighten the future of man.

In America the debates are ferociously raging between the two camps which approve or disapprove of genetic engineermg. Some legal suits and litigations against the unrestricted experiments of genetic engineering are pending in the courts of the United States. It is argued that already the experiments have defied the scientific expectations of what should have resulted from the transfer of genes from one species to another. In some cases the deviation from the expected course is surprisingly greater than even the sceptics could suspect. Until now, however, things have not gone completely out of hand. The experiments carried out on certain strains of bacteria and crops are proving beneficial for enhancing agricultural produce and protecting it from certain diseases. But it is far too early indeed to exult in these small transient gains.

What ultimate effects the new synthetic strains or altered species will have on the ecology in the future, cannot be assessed until the behaviour of the altered strains is closely and minutely monitored for a few successive generations. The danger of the disaster which they may spell is, however, real and substantial. If not strictly monitored, injudicious experimentation with genetic engineering could let loose some unpredictable form of life which may defy human control. The certainty with which the Quran has warned against the punishment of meddling with the creation of God bodes ill for the future of life on earth. Allah knows best if man will ever cease to play God. Can any measure, short of extinction, teach him the lesson in humility?

It is wrong however to infer that this verse condemns all possible usage of genetic engineering. Any branch of science which is pressed into the service of His creation and employed to protect, rather than change it, is certainly not discouraged. If for instance genetic engineering is employed to correct faults in genetic codes caused by accidents, this can in no way be dubbed as interference with the Divine scheme of things. Again, if damage to genetic codes by disease or imprudent medication is attempted to be corrected through genetic engineering, this is certainly not what is condemned in the above verse.

All said and done, it cannot be overemphasized that scientists should not be given a free hand to trifle with the grand scheme of Divine Creation. They must thank their lucky stars if grave accidents have not already happened. They will have none to thank but themselves if they do. We do hope that the world governments will keep a strict watch over the trends and scope of experimentation in the field of genetic engineering. What hangs in the balance is the honour and dignity of the human species within the animal kingdom. We do hope and pray that mankind will be spared the torment of haplessly watching the day when it will be mastered by the synthetic slaves of its own creation.

The Plague

The world we know today is so different from that of a mere hundred years ago. The age of air travel had not yet dawned. The fledgling flight of the Wright brothers was to remain, for many more years, a dream to be realized. Massive ships towering high like mountains were not yet built and the era of submarines was not as yet afloat. Nevertheless, there was a stir in the air, like that at the early break of dawn. A dazzling new day of revolutionary scientific inventions was breaking.

The air in the realm of religion was also vibrant with an expectancy of a different nature. There was talk in every religion of the near advent of a Divine Reformer of global dimensions. Who would come and where, was the most hotly debated question. The air was tense with claims and counterclaims. But nowhere was the tension of inter religious debate so intense as in the subcontinent of India.

Christians and Muslims were awaiting the arrival of the Messiah among them. The Hindus were no less enthusiastic about the manifestation of their Lord Krishna. The Buddhists did not lag behind either, in hoping for the re-advent of Buddha.

In that atmosphere of multi-religious conflict, a voice was heard loud and clear, from a person of humble origin by the name of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) of Qadian. He electrified the atmosphere with his outstanding advocacy of the supremacy of Islam over all other faiths. He threw challenges on behalf of Islam in every direction with such powerful arguments based on scriptural and logical evidence as compelled the champions of other religions to take serious note of him. ‘A new warrior has risen for the defence of Islam,’ was the clamour everywhere.

The Muslims of the subcontinent were astir with joy and hope. Till the entry into the arena of this new champion of the Muslim cause, Islam was the least ably defended of all the combatant religions. Meteoric was his rise to fame among the Indian Muslims when the first few volumes of his monumental work Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya were published. Glowing tributes were paid to him by eminent Muslim scholars of that time. Leading articles were published in his praise by the Muslim press. But it was not to last long.

The situation changed dramatically when he pronounced, one day, that God had revealed to him that Jesus(as), son of Mary, was dead. He died many long years after his deliverance from the cross like any other human prophet. In his name and in his spirit and style it was he, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) who had been raised as the Messiah of the latter days, to fulfil the prophecies of the second advent of Jesus(as). A fuller discussion on this will follow in Part VII. For the present it should suffice that his fame had reached heavenly heights before he made this claim. But the first thing that claim cost him was that fame which turned overnight into notoriety. His name was still known from end to end in the vast subcontinent of India among the people of Islam, but no longer with honour and dignity and with hopes and aspirations. The hunter of the enemies of Islam became the most hunted person by the very Muslims whose battles he had fought. All his friends turned into foes, all his well-wishers wished him dead rather than accept the death of Jesus Christ(as) and his spiritual rebirth among the Muslims. He was maligned and vilified and abused and opposed with such frenzy as the subcontinent of India had not witnessed before. It was at this moment of total betrayal by the world of Islam, and undisguised hostility by the rest of the religions, that he was reassured by God that He would not abandon him. Many prophetic warnings were vouched to him concerning the Divine chastisement for those who led campaigns of bitter antagonism against him. Many Divine warnings were bestowed to him regarding heavenly punishments of a much wider application, so that the people at large might draw their lesson from them, but they heeded not. He was falsified. But his prophetic warnings of Divine chastisement could not be falsified.

One such warning related to the impending epidemic of the plague which was to play exceptional havoc in the Punjab, the province of India to which he belonged. The most emphatic warning delivered by him to the world was bestowed upon him in the words of the following Divine revelation:

‘A Warner came unto the world, but the world accepted him not; yet God shall manifest His favour and demonstrate his truth with powerful assaults.’

Plague, as we have already mentioned, was just one of the many punitive signs which he prophesied. But it was so great a sign of extraordinary import that we have specifically selected it as a category by itself. It was not just a sign of the truth of the Promised Messiah(as), it was a sign of the truth of the Quran and the Bearer(sa) of the Quran. Again it manifestly proved the claim that revelation is a most reliable means of transferring knowledge from the realm of the unknown to that of the known. The visitation of the plague which was revealed to the Promised Messiah(as) was in fact a Quranic prophecy reasserted during his time, because his was the age when it was destined to be realized.

And when the sentence is passed against them, We shall bring forth for them an insect (Da’bbah) out of the earth, which shall wound them (Tukallemo) because people did not believe in Our Signs.73

The word da’bbah as used by the Quran has already been defined with reference to another verse discussed earlier. It applies to all animals, from the tiniest to the most massive ones, which move along earth surfaces with a locomotive mechanism.74

It is highly important to understand the significance of this prophecy, which has a very potent message for the people of this age. Many a past Muslim scholar and commentator of the Quran has related this prophecy to the age when the Mahdi and the Messiah would appear. Although they could not fathom the entire import of the message, they still came surprisingly close. ‘Allamah Isma‘il Haqqi Al-Buruswi (d. AH 1137) commentating on the above verse in Ruhul Bayan wrote that the Mahdi would come and then the Dajjal (anti-Christ) would appear followed by the Messiah. During this time da’bbah will emerge and after that the sun will rise from the West.

The Shi’a scholar, Mullah Fath-Ullah Kashani (d. AH 988), in his commentary Minhaj-us Sadiqin, has made the following comments:

‘According to some of our friends this verse (i.e. relating to the emergence of da’bbah) points to the advent of the Divine authority who is the Mahdi of the Muslim people (Ummah).’

This is as far as these commentators could go from their study of Hadith in conjunction with the above Quranic verse. They did not offer any explanation as to the nature of da’bbah. It was left to Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as), in his capacity as the reformer of the latter days to further elaborate and explain the true implication of this prophecy in the light of the Divine revelations and visions bestowed upon him.

In February 1898, Hazrat Ahmad(as) received revelations about an impending plague, and he immediately published this important warning through newspapers and pamphlets to the world at large. He explained that the plague of which he had foretold was the same calamity implied in the verse relating to the appearance of al-da’bbah (

He further observed that the word tukallemo (

) mentioned in the verse has two basic meanings. One is to wound and the other is to speak. The context in which this verse is set clearly relates to an animal of a sort which would bite the people for having rejected the signs of the Lord. The alternative meaning requires the da’bbah to speak to the people. This he does by implication indicating that this punitive measure is a result of their denial. Thus he speaks as he wounds by discriminating between good and bad.

After this initial warning, many others followed, further elaborating the nature of the impending plague and the manner in which it would strike. The Promised Messiah(as) was told in no uncertain terms that this plague would devastate large areas in the Punjab, and village after village would be emptied of life. Death would knock at every door and strike the townships from end to end leaving a trail of horror behind as it went. Qadian, the township where he himself dwelled, would be no exception, he declared, but the plague there would be employed to further enhance the sign of his truth. It would strike all around his house but would not be permitted to step within its four walls.

For those who sought and cared for his shelter, he made it clear that this promise of security would not be confined only to such as occupy his house physically but would also cover those who dwell in his spiritual home—the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Thus he delivered manifest warnings to all who rejected him and gave glad tidings of miraculous protection to all who believed.

When he mentioned that the Ahmadis would be miraculously saved from this affliction, he made it clear at the same time that in exceptional cases, the Ahmadis who were Ahmadis in name only may also suffer. But by and large, they would be saved in such outstanding proportion as would leave no doubt in the mind of the observer that this protection was in no way accidental.

The tale of the plague in the Punjab is an amazing tale ndeed. It testifies to the truth of the Promised Messiah(as) in letter and spirit. How could a man claim protection even from the common cold as a sign of his truth? To speak of the plague to show distinct partiality to his followers was too tall a claim to be made by an ordinary mortal if God Himself had not vouchsafed it to him. It was an exceptionally tall claim indeed that all who would sincerely submit to his authority as the Divinely appointed Imam of the age would be spared the agony of the plague.

When finally the hour struck, it struck to toll the bell over the funeral of his sworn enemies. Many among them had publicly vowed that it would be Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) himself who would die of the plague. But it was they themselves who were stricken by the plague along with their families, one after the other, until none were left to mourn their death. It did spare, as was promised, his followers, by an outstandingly large margin. A margin which could not be explained away by any factor of chance or accident. No earthly logic could account for the distinct partiality with which the plague treated the Ahmadis in hundreds of villages of mixed population. This miracle repeated itself everywhere with such brilliance as even the blind could see. And the blind did see and rushed towards the safe haven of Ahmadiyyat in such numbers as had never happened before. And lo, they were saved. But alas for those who possessed the faculty of sight that they were blinded by its dazzling brilliance. There were villages where no one was left to carry the coffins of the victims of the plague to the nearby graveyards, except the followers of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as). They carried the corpses of the disbelievers on their shoulders to the burial ground without the least fear of contracting the plague.

Returning to Qadian from an overview of the Punjab, let us see what was happening there. Everything went according to the prophecy, but for an incident or two which appeared odd and discordant. It so happened that a prominent follower of the Promised Messiah, Maulawi Mohammad Ali by name, suffered from a very intense fever with all the symptoms resembling the plague. Even the glands under his armpits had swelled threateningly, causing severe pain and distress. The best available medical aid was provided, but without avail. His agony did not abate. He just could not reconcile himself to the fact that he, a companion of the Messiah(as), should meet such an end, contrary to the Divine promise. The agony of the plague in itself was unbearable, add to this the torture of conscience which might have tormented him, lest in the sight of God he was counted out of His true servants.

Thus he tossed in his bed and cried and wailed that someone should hasten to the Promised Messiah(as) to inform him of his miserable plight and urge him to visit him and bless him. This is what the Promised Messiah(as) did forthwith. It did not perturb him in the least that the patient was medically declared to be suffering from plague. He went to his bedside and put his hand on the forehead of Maulawi Sahib, speaking words of solace and comfort, reassuring him that as certainly as he was the true Messiah, Maulawi Sahib would not die of plague. It did not take Maulawi Sahib long to watch these prophetic words fulfilled. As the Promised Messiah(as) stood talking to him, his hand still resting on his forehead, his temperature subsided rapidly, leaving no sign of the fever or the plague behind. He sat up and touched himself here and there, bewildered at the rapidity with which the fever had vanished. So also were bewildered those who sat around awaiting his death but were destined instead to watch the miracle of his survival. He lived many long years after that before he died in Lahore in 1951, at the ripe old age of 77.

How could the plague differentiate between people who believed in the Promised Messiah and those who did not will always remain a mystery, but not for those who believe in the limitless attributes of the Omnipotent God.

A genuine question arises here as to what solid evidence can be presented for the satisfaction of neutral enquiry in support of whatever has been recorded in this chapter as facts. The problem is that the only direct evidence which can be produced is internal. The witnesses are all Ahmadis or those who converted to Ahmadiyyat after watching this miracle. There is no external evidence except that which is indirect and implied, yet it is powerful because it stems from hostile witnesses. The major problem is that no independent enquiry was constituted at that time by any neutral authority. There were only two parties, Ahmadis and non-Ahmadis. Of all the facts and figures in relation to the behavioural pattern of the plague, the only record available is from the archives of whatever was published in contemporary newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, posters and books. The only scrutiny regarding the reliability of this material which can be made is circumstantial.

The most important factor worthy of note here is that a strong vibrant interest had been created in the nature, claims and activities of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat in the period under review. An exceptionally hostile, strong non-Ahmadi press was giving sharp, pungent, negative coverage to whatever was happening in the newly emergent world of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat. Whatever was said or done by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) of Qadian and whatever happened to him was keenly observed and eagerly recorded by his opponents. A full and rather overexcited coverage was given to anything and everything which could be turned against him. This hostile coverage was not confined merely to the non-Ahmadi Muslim press, but the Christian and the Hindu press did not miss the least opportunity either to censure him and bring him to disrepute at the slightest excuse. Had the coverage of the Ahmadiyya press on the issue of the plague been ever so slightly wrong, it would be impossible for the bitterly critical non-Ahmadiyya press to ignore it.

All through the period of seven years, or thereabouts, that the plague remained active in the Punjab, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as), the Promised Messiah would never let the public interest in the outcome of the plague in relation to the Ahmadis wane or die. Many of his well-known adversaries were locked with him in spiritual duels and every now and then claims and counterclaims were published regarding which of the two would die smitten down by the plague, as a sign of God’s wrath. Many of his adversaries began to die one after the other and the remaining waited in suspense and fear. But the plague touched him not. It touched neither him nor his wife, none of his sons or daughters were afflicted by the plague either. Not even a mouse was ever found having died of plague within the four walls of his house.

He published these facts repeatedly adding fuel to the fire, invoking the hatred of his enemies and causing them to pray against him more than ever before to bring the curse of the plague upon him. But all in vain. Nothing happened to him and to those who lived within the boundaries of his physical and spiritual abode of peace and security. Can anyone produce a single line ever published in any newspaper or magazine or book of his time which falsified his claims by listing the names of any victims of the plague who belonged to his family or dwelled in his house?

The same goes for the overall publications of the Ahmadiyya press in those days which became conspicuous by their silence on such mishaps. No death is recorded by them in the family of the Promised Messiah(as) nor among those who lived around him. It is worthy of note that the Ahmadiyya Press routinely covered all incidents even remotely related to the Promised Messiah(as).

As far as the members of the Community outside Qadian were concerned, they were spared by the plague in an outstandingly large proportion. The death rate among the non-Ahmadis who died of the plague stood far higher by comparison to the very rare cases of Ahmadi deaths in the same villages.

Had this claim of the Ahmadiyya Press been wrong, the antagonist press must have played it up and capitalized on it. That it did not happen should be reasonably treated as strong indirect external evidence, by default.

Another irrefutable proof in favour of the Ahmadiyya claim is the fact of exceptionally accelerated growth of Ahmadiyyat during the years of the plague. The figures which were regularly published in the Ahmadiyya organ Al-Hakam, presented an enormous rise in the rate of conversion to Ahmadiyyat during this critical period. No denial of these figures was ever made by the non-Ahmadiyya press. They were figures of real people occupying real villages and towns. Why did not any section of the antagonist press give Al-Hakam the lie and publish counter evidence? Such are the times when silence speaks louder than words.

The fact that Ahmadiyyat spread far more rapidly during 1898-1906, the years of the plague in the Punjab, is indelible. According to the periodically published data in Al-Hakam, by the year 1902, the number of Ahmadis had risen from some tens of thousand to a hundred thousand. By the year 1904 the Ahmadi population had swelled to two hundred thousand. By 1906, the year when the plague finally beat a retreat, the number of Ahmadis had risen to four hundred thousand plus.

In view of the above, it should be borne in mind that had the prophecy of the Promised Messiah(as) been proved wrong, Ahmadiyyat must have been wiped out from the face of the earth. After the plague had taken its full toll, whatever number of Ahmadis were spared must have been stricken by the ‘exposure of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad’s(as) falsehood’. But that was not so. As the number of hostile opponents of Ahmadiyyat was counted down by the plague, the number of Ahmadis grew and swelled. Ahmadiyyat marched forward in leaps and bounds.

Concerning the verse of the Quran upon which this entire prophecy is based, let us draw the reader’s attention to the fact that this verse in itself is a miracle. To capture its miraculous beauty, the reader must be assisted to fully admire its fascinating subtleties. In the following passage, we have attempted to achieve this purpose. The following points need to be emphasized:

At the time of the Quranic revelation, the reasons for the spread of the bubonic plague were not known. No knowledge existed about the manner in which rats might have played a part in infecting others. It was certainly not their bites which did so. It was also not known that there existed a tiny wingless insect—the flea, which was the carrier of this fatal disease. Nor was it known that it was the bite of this flea which injected the plague virus into the bloodstream of its victims. If the Quran had been authored by a human, he could never have predicted the spread of the plague by the bite of an animal classified as the da’bbah.

Now we know that the animal which spreads the plague is an insect. Now we also know that an overwhelmingly large proportion of insects is winged, and those which are wingless are infinitesimally fewer by comparison, such as the lice, the silverfish and the non reproductive termites. And finally, it is now that we have come to know that the flea, despite being an insect, is also a da’bbah by virtue of its being wingless. It is this exceptional quality of the flea which rightfully entitles it to be called da’bbah, or the relevant Quranic verse could be censured as definitely wrong.

We humbly invite the attention of naturalists to this unique example and beg them to search their minds and hearts. Can they really dismiss this exception as a mere accident?

The AIDS Virus

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad also prophesied about another type of plague to appear later in some other parts of the world. In 1907, after the end of the plague in India, he received a revelation informing him of a type of plague to also appear in the future:

‘A type of plague will spread in Europe and other Christian countries, which will be very severe.’

What is meant by the term ‘a type of plague’ and why should it particularly strike Europe and other Christian countries? A clue to this is found in a hadith78 of the Holy Prophet(sa) of Islam in an observation he made almost thirteen hundred years before the time of the Promised Messiah. According to this tradition reported by Ibn-e Majah’s Kitab-ul-Fitan, the Holy Prophet(sa) states:

It never happens that permissiveness (fahsha) overwhelms a people to the extent that they display their acts of sex shamelessly and they are not uniquely punished by God. Among them, invariably, pestilence is made to spread and such other diseases, the like of which have never been witnessed by their forefathers.

The word fahsha means ‘permissiveness’ with the connotation of audacity and shamelessness, resulting in open display of sex. It should be noted that mere permissiveness does not warrant so severe a chastisement from Allah; but when it exceeds all bounds and is acknowledged as a commonly accepted social behaviour, then that society is affected with some completely new sex related disease as a sign of God’s displeasure.

The accusing finger of this hadith seems to be pointing at the sinfulness of the present age rather than that of any other. Such shamelessness as has been described in the hadith is displayed these days on television, in newspapers and in magazines, day in and day out, to the extent that it has never been witnessed before in human history. Consequently, absolute justice requires that the punishment must match the crime. Sensual indulgence with flagrant shameless display is central to the chastisement prescribed. The prophecy of the Promised Messiah(as) specifically picks out Europe and other Christian countries. The earlier prophecy of the Holy Founder(sa) of Islam does not mention people of any country or religion, but confines itself to the nature of the crime, warranting a corresponding punishment.

Both prophecies read together make up the whole story. Among Christian countries the United States of America answers the description perfectly. But according to the latest census, sub-Saharan Africa leads the world in this particular type of permissiveness, with the Caribbean lagging only a few lengths behind.80 In the census we have referred to, it is the Christian African countries which lead in the AIDS figures far beyond the rest of the African countries.

The only issue which remains to be resolved is the identity of ‘that sort of plague’ as has been mentioned in prophecies. It seems quite justified to claim that it is AIDS which is that punishment. Eminent physicians refer to it as a type of pestilence. Like the plague, it too causes inflammation of some glands with a high burning fever. It is as ruthless a killer as the bubonic plague has ever been. Yet it has its own unique features which the bubonic plague lacked. AIDS is definitely sex-related while the bubonic plague is not. It is precisely designed to punish sexual transgressions.

The reader is reminded here that religious prophecies should not be treated over-literally. European and other Christian countries are mentioned only to help us to locate and identify the territories where this new type of plague will be most rampant. It does not mean that it will remain confined only to Europe and other Christian countries.

The prophecy of the Holy Founder(sa) of Islam clearly indicates the possibility of a much wider application because it binds this disease not to countries, but to a specific moral crime. Wherever that causative crime will spread, the punitive disease will follow. But it will only become epidemic in such countries as are excessively permissive. It matters not what the names of such countries are, nor does it matter much whether their population is predominantly Christian, or Hindu, or Muslim. The countries and religions are not causative. What is causative is permissiveness, hence wherever the cause is at work, the effect will certainly follow.

The reason why European and other Christian countries are specifically mentioned while others are not, is perhaps because permissiveness as a progressive social behaviour at the national level is not witnessed elsewhere in the world. One will not hear of homosexuality being legalized except in Western countries. You will not hear of homosexuality in any religious institutions except in Christianity.

But it should be remembered however, that these countries though Christian in name, are farthest from Christian values. Nor can the Muslim countries, for that matter, be rightly described as custodians of Islam.

Hence, if permissiveness and the unrestrained display of shameless conduct are found among Hindu or Muslim countries there is no reason why the same consequent disaster should not befall them.

The AIDS epidemic has already reached all the continents of the world and there will be hardly anyone not familiar with the horrors of this disease. However, it would be naive to assume that the full dimensions of the horror have been properly realized. Nor is it right to assume that AIDS has already played its role and will soon be on its way out. Ill-advised indeed are those who entertain the hope that soon scientific research will find an effective antidote or prophylactic against the AIDS virus. We entertain no such optimism. On the contrary, we are afraid that the main thrust of the disease is yet to come. The observation that lends support to this view relates to a general similarity between the first advent of the Messiah in the form of Jesus(as) and his second advent in the person of Ahmad(as) of Qadian.

This is not the proper place to enter into an in-depth study of similitude between the old and the new Christ. However, as far as the sign of the plague is concerned, we must point out that the plague also appeared as a sign to punish the antagonists of Jesus Christ(as). At the rejection of Jesus(as), the first epidemic of plague was recorded in AD 65. By coincidence or design, this plague epidemic covered mainly the areas where the message of Christ had reached and been denied. The plague struck again about one hundred years later in AD 167, but this time it devastated a much larger and wider part of the world, extending over two continents from Asia Minor to Rome and beyond to Gaul and Egypt. In all these countries the message of Christ(as) had already been delivered and was rejected by the majority of the people.

If, as suggested, the similarity between the two periods repeats itself, it would not be unlikely for the new type of plague to reach its climax by the end of this century extending into the beginning of the next one. This calculation is our estimation based on the fact that during the time of the Promised Messiah(as) this is how the first plague struck, with exceptionally greater intensity during the period 1898-1904. God knows best how far He wills to repeat these similarities in every detail, yet we should be warned and prepared.

We pray that God may save mankind from this catastrophe of global dimensions by enabling people to reform. By mending his ways and true repentance, it is not at all unlikely for man to win pardon from Allah and escape the consequences of his sin. But what is unlikely, alas, is for man to repent and mend his ways. It is of no significance whether one is religious or irreligious, whether one believes in God or denies His existence. As far as human moral conduct is concerned it seems to be universal in its sinfulness. Those who claim to be religious are unfortunately no less immoral than the irreligious. The so called believers in God are no longer clearly distinguishable from those who do not believe. It will be no exaggeration, therefore, to declare the entire age to be at loss. This is how the Holy Quran pronounces its judgement on the people of the latter days:

Save for those who believe and do good deeds and admonish righteousness by righteous means, and admonish patience with patience.81

The fortunate few who would exercise patience and act righteously are by comparison far too small to turn the tide. An odd blade of grass, or a twitter or two of a finch, cannot turn the desolation of autumn into the splendour of spring.

1 The Holy Bible (1982) The New King James Version. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Exodus 14:28-29

2 Translation of 10:91-93 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

3 Translation of 10:93 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

4 Translation of 10:93 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

5 Translation of 28:86 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

6 Translation of 17:81 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

7 Translation of 30:3-6 by the author.

8 Translation of 54:45-47 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

9 Translation of 8:8 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

10 Translation of 38:12 by the author.

11 Translation of 33:23 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

12 Translation of 33:11-14 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

(Note: We have added ‘Medina’ in brackets).

13 Fat-hul-Bari—The Commentary of Sahih Al-Bukhari by Hafiz Ahmad bin ‘Ali Hajar Al-‘Asqalani (773-852). Kitab Al-Maghazi Babo Ghazwah Al-Khandaq Al-Ahzab. Vol.VII p. 397

14 Translation of 84:4-6 by the author.

15 Translation of 99:2-3 by the author.

16 Translation of 82:5 by the author.

17 Translation of 81:2-3 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

18 Mishkat-ul-Masabih. Vol. I, Chapter III. Kitab Al-Manaqib. Babo Manaqib Al-Sahabah. Publisher: Al-Maktab Al-Islami, Beirut.

19 Chronicle of the World. (1989) Chronicle Communications Ltd and Longman Group UK Ltd., London, p. 436

20 Chronicle of the World. (1989) Chronicle Communications Ltd and Longman Group UK Ltd., London, p. 436

21 LANE-POOLE, S. (1888) The Moors in Spain. 8th Unwin, London, p. 270

22 LANE-POOLE, S. (1888) The Moors in Spain. 8th Unwin, London, p. 270

23 LANE-POOLE, S. (1888) The Moors in Spain. 8th Unwin, London, pp. 270-271

24 LANE-POOLE, S. (1888) The Moors in Spain. 8th Unwin, London, p. 271

25 LANE-POOLE, S. (1888) The Moors in Spain. 8th Unwin, London, p. 273

26 LANE-POOLE, S. (1888) The Moors in Spain. 8th Unwin, London, p. 273

27 LANE-POOLE, S. (1888) The Moors in Spain. 8th Unwin, London, p. 278

28 LANE-POOLE, S. (1888) The Moors in Spain. 8th Unwin, London, p. 279

29 LANE-POOLE, S. (1888) The Moors in Spain. 8th Unwin, London, p. 279

30 LANE-POOLE, S. (1888) The Moors in Spain. 8th Unwin, London, p. 280

31 Translation of 81:4 by the author.

32 Translation of 81:5 by the author.

33 Translation of 81:6 by the author.

34 Translation of 81:7 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

35 Translation of 55:20-21 by the author.

36 Translation of 25:54 by the author.

37 Translation of 81:8 by the author.

38 Translation of 17:105 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

39 Translation of 81:9-10 by the author.

40 Translation of 81:11 by the author.

41 Translation of 96:4-6 by the author.

42 Translation of 81:12 by the author.

43 Translation of 51:8 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

44 Translation of 77:2-5 by the author.

45 Translation of 37:9-10 by the author.

46 Translation of 55:34 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

47 Translation of 55:36 by the author.

48 Translation of 81:13 by the author.

49 ‘ALLAMAH ‘ALA-UD-DIN ‘ALI AL-MUTTAQI. Kanz-ul-’ummal Vol. 14 p. 604 & 613 (1979), Beirut.

50 IMAM MUSLIM BIN AL-HAJJAJ BIN MUSLIM AL-QASHIRI AL-NAISAPURI: Sahih Muslim, Kitabul-Fitan, Babo Zikrid-Dajjal wa Sifatehi wa Ma Ma‘ahu.

51 ‘ALLAMAH MUHAMMAD BAQIR AL-MAJLISI. Biharul-Anwar, Babo ‘Alamate Zohurihi Alaihis-salam min Al-sufyani wad-Dajjal.

52 ‘ALLAMAH MUHAMMAD BAQIR AL-MAJLISI. Biharul-Anwar, Babo ‘Alamate Zohurihi Alaihis-salam min Al-sufyani wad-Dajjal.

53 ‘ABDUR-REHMAN AL-SAFURI. Nuzhat-ul-Majalis, Vol. 1 p. 109. Maimaniyyah Press, Egypt.

54 ‘ALLAMAH MUHAMMAD BAQIR AL-MAJLISI. Biharul-Anwar, Babo ‘Alamate Zohurihi Alaihis-salam min Al-sufyani wad-Dajjal.

55 ‘ALLAMAH MUHAMMAD BAQIR AL-MAJLISI. Biharul-Anwar, Babo ‘Alamate Zohurihi Alaihis-salam min Al-sufyani wad-Dajjal.

56 ‘ABDUR-REHMAN AL-SAFURI. Nuzhat-ul-Majalis, Vol. 1 p. 109. Maimaniyyah Press, Egypt.

57 Sahih Al-Bukhari. Kitab-ul-Fitan, Babo Zikrid-Dajjal.

58 ‘ABDUR-REHMAN AL-SAFURI. Nuzhat-ul-Majalis, Vol. 1 p. 109. Maimaniyyah Press, Egypt.

59 ‘ALLAMAH ‘ALA-UD-DIN ‘ALI AL-MUTTAQI. Kanz-ul-’ummal Vol. 14 p. 613 (1979), Beirut.

60 ‘ALLAMAH ‘ALA-UD-DIN ‘ALI AL-MUTTAQI. Kanz-ul-’ummal Vol. 14 p. 613 (1979), Beirut.

61 Sahih Muslim, Kitab-ul-Fitan. Babo Zikrid-Dajjal wa Sifatehi wa Ma Ma‘ahu.

62 Translation of 101:7-8 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

63 Translation of 104:2-10 by the author.

64 Translation of 44:11-12 by the author.

65 Translation of 77:30-34 by the author.

66 Translation of 77:16 by the author.

67 Translation of 44:14-15 by the author.

68 Translation of 54:5-6 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

69 Translation of 20:106-109 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

70 Translation of 4:119-120 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

(Note: The word ‘Satan’ in brackets has been added by the author)

71 Translation of 4:120 by the author.

72 Nozul-ul-Masih—Ruhaani Khazaa’in (1984) Vol.18 pp. 466-467

73 Translation of 27:83 by the author.

74 LANE, E.W. (1984) Arabic-English Lexicon. Islamic Text Society, William & Norgate. Cambridge.

75 Tadhkirah—Collection of the Revelations and Dreams of the Promised Messiah—HAZRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD OF QADIAN. (1969) Published by Al-Shirkatul Islamiyyah Ltd. p. 428

76 Translation of 30:22 by Maulawi Sher Ali.

77 Tadhkirah (1969), Al-Shirkatul Islamiyyah Ltd., Rabwah. Urdu edition, p. 705

78 The word of the Holy Prophet(sa) is termed hadith which is translated into English as tradition. But as the word tradition has many other connotations as well, the English reader may find it confusing at times. For this reason we shall refer to the Holy Prophet’s(sa) word as hadith which is the correct technical term.

79 Sunan Ibn-e-Majah. Kitabul-Fitan, Babul-‘Uqoobat. Vol. II. Dar-ul-Fikr Al-‘Arabi, p. 1333

80 UNAIDS and WHO (December 1996) HIV/AIDS: The Global Epidemic. UN web site.

81 Translation of 103:2-4 by the author.

PART 6