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My prophecy of 21 November 1898 regarding the untruthful party, that is, the Arabic revelation 3 with reference to Muhammad Husain of Batala

WAS FULFILLED

A Request to the Honourable Government to Peruse My Announcement

The following is a detailed account of the above mentioned matter. It involves two parties: on the one side, my community and I, and on the other, Maulvi Muhammad Husain and the followers of his community, such as, Muhammad Bakhsh Jafar Zatalli and Abul-Hasan of Tibet etc. On account of religious difference Muhammad Husain declared me an antichrist, a liar, an infidel and a disbeliever, and included in these edicts all the clerics who follow him. Thus, as a result, they abuse me and hurl filthy invectives at me. After enduring these circumstances for quite some time, I finally issued an announcement for a prayer-duel on 21 November 1898. It included the following revealed words: . It prophesied that, of our two parties, the one which perpetrates grave injustices will face the same kind of humiliation which it sought for the other. So today, this prophecy has been fulfilled because Maulvi Muhammad Husain of Batala sought to humiliate me through his writings by declaring me as being opposed to a unanimously shared Muslim belief, and labelling me a heretic, a disbeliever and an antichrist. Further, he instigated the Muslims against me through such writings by stating that they ought to consider me a non-Muslim and one who does not follow the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet(sa) because my beliefs are not in accordance with theirs. But now the Muslims and their scholars have come to know after reading the 14 October 1898 edition of his magazine, which was published in English as a means to acquire land from the British government that Muhammad Husain is himself opposed to their collective belief.

In this edition, he has categorically rejected the coming of a Promised Mahdi whose advent is awaited by all Muslims and who, in their view, will be born into the progeny of Hazrat Fatimah, be the Khalifah of the Muslims, the leader of their faith and who will fight religious wars against other denominations. Jesus, peace be upon him, will descend from heaven to help and assist him. Both will come with the same purpose and that is to spread religion with the sword. Now, Maulvi Muhammad Husain has categorically rejected the coming of such a Mahdi. In doing so, he has not only denied the coming of the Mahdi, but has also been compelled to deny the coming of the Messiah who was supposed to descend from heaven to help this Mahdi, after which both were to fight against the enemies of Islam. Yet based on this exact same belief, Muhammad Husain declared me an antichrist and disbeliever. Hitherto, he had deceived the Muslims into thinking that he shared their beliefs. But, now the veil has been lifted that he, in fact, agrees with me and rejects the coming of such a Mahdi and Messiah. Hence, in accordance with the beliefs of the Muslims and their scholars he has become a heretic and antichrist. So today, the prophecy 4 has been fulfilled in his person, because this means that the unjust party will receive a punishment similar to the evil which it sought to inflict upon the other by action.

As for the allegation that I am a rebel of the British government, I am hopeful that by the grace of God Almighty, it will soon become clear to the government which of us is truly rebellious. He has recently written an inflammatory and dangerous article about me in his magazine Isha’at-us-Sunnah, number 3, volume 18, pages 98–100, with reference to the Sultan of Rome.5 In summary, he writes that the Sultan of Rome ought to be considered a true Khalifah and accepted as a religious leader. One of his stated reasons in this article for declaring me a disbeliever is that I do not consider the Sultan of Rome to be a Khalifah. Although it is true that I do not consider the Sultan of Rome to be a Khalifah, in accordance with the conditions set by Islam, since he is not from the Quraish, whereas it is necessary for such Khulafa to be from the Quraish. However, this statement of mine is not against the teachings of Islam; in fact, it accords completely with the Hadith 6. Alas, Muhammad Husain strayed from the teachings of Islam through this rebellious article. Previously, he himself had said that the Sultan is not the Khalifah of the Muslims or their religious leader. Now, in his enmity for me, the Sultan of Rome has become his Khalifah and religious leader, and in his passion he has paid scant regard to the British Empire and disclosed whatever was hidden in his heart by declaring the one who rejects the Khilafat of the Sultan of Rome to be a disbeliever. And all this passion was ignited because I praised the British Empire and said that they not only supported the Muslims in worldly terms, but also went further to support their faith. So, in order to incite rebellion he rejects the fact that any religious support has been afforded to us by the British and insists that the Sultan of Rome is the only patron of Islam. But this is manifest dishonesty. If this government is not our protector in religious matters, how then are we safe from the attacks of our enemies? Is there anyone who is unaware of our religious circumstances during the time of the Sikhs when the blood of Muslims would be shed for merely hearing the call to prayer? It was impossible for a Muslim cleric to convert a Hindu to Islam. Would Muhammad Husain care to answer where the Sultan of Rome was at that time? What help did he bestow upon us during this time of peril? So how can he be our religious leader and the true Khalifah of God? Ultimately, it was the British who conferred favour upon us by removing our hurdles immediately upon their entry into the Punjab, after which our mosques were once again attended, our madrasas were opened, and we began to preach in public. Thousands of people from other religions began to enter Islam. So if I were to hold the belief, as does Muhammad Husain, that we submit to the government only due to political expediency, i.e. out of hypocrisy and that our hearts lie with the Sultan who is the Khalifah of Islam and our religious leader; and that to reject his being the Khalifah and to disobey him would be tantamount to disbelief, then undoubtedly I would be a hidden traitor to the British government and disobedient to God Almighty. It is strange that the government has not ascertained the truth of this matter and still lends an ear to such a hypocrite who says one thing to them and whispers something entirely different into the ears of Muslims. I respectfully request this eminent government to pay close attention to this individual’s circumstances. He follows a course of hypocrisy and attributes to me the rebellious ideas that he himself entertains.

Finally, it is important to write that this individual has hurled vile abuse at me and incited Muhammad Bakhsh Jafar Zatalli to do the same. He has sought to humiliate me by fabricating all sorts of lies. So I call on God who knows the secrets of the heart and by whose hand justice is dispensed, that this individual also suffer the same disgrace that he sought to bring upon me through his false accusations, to the extent that he even misstated the facts, so as to portray me as a traitor to this benign government. I do not desire for him that he suffer any other humiliation except for that which has been described in the words 7 and, as the aggrieved party, it is my desire that if I am not guilty of the allegations made against me then may he be humiliated in the manner that he has sought to disgrace me.

I am certain that this government is most tolerant and forgiving insofar as possible, but if I am a rebel as Muhammad Husain claims, or if he himself holds rebellious ideas as I have come to know, then it is obligatory on the government to fully investigate this matter and punish appropriately the true culprit from among the two of us so that such evil does not take root in the country. The easiest course to maintain peace is to question renowned Muslim clerics of the Punjab and the rest of India regarding the beliefs of the man whom they have taken as their leader and advocate. Does he express the same beliefs to the government as he does to them? For it is essential that he hold the same belief as the clerics that he represents and for whom he advocates.

In the end, I also wish to draw the attention of the government to the fact that in his Isha’at-us-Sunnah, volume 18, number 3, page 95, Muhammad Husain has incited his followers by stating that I am deserving of death. So, as a prominent leader who has issued an edict8 against me, on account of the justice of this distinguished government, I am hopeful that any legal action that such an individual deserves be allowed to take its course without hindrance in order to ensure that his followers do not plan my murder, seeking the reward of God. The end.

Writer,
Humbly,
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian
27 December 1898