Victory of Prayer over prejudice

This small booklet is a chapter taken from AHMADIYYAT: The Renaissance of Islam by Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, a distinguished scholar of Islam. It briefly narrates an extremely significant encounter between Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, peace be on him, and Dr. John Alexander Dowie, the founder of Zion City, a bitter enemy of Islam who had claimed to be Elijah III, the precursor of Jesus Christ. Dr. Dowie was intolerant of Islam and abusive of Muhammad, the Holy Prophet of Islam, peace and blessings of God be on him. He had announced that he would finish Islam and would establish his brand of Christianity--Christian Catholic Church--all over the world. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, peace be on him, challenged Dr. Dowie for a "prayer duel", and prophesied that Dr. Dowie will meet a tormented death in the life of the Promised Messiah.
This booklet deals with the fulfillment of that grand prophecy which was a sign of God for America and the West, proving the truthfulness of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, peace be on him.

VICTORY OF PRAYER OVER PREJUDICE
John Alexander Dowie was by birth a Scotsman. He was born in Edinburgh in 1847 and studied for the Church in his early years.

In 1872 he went to Australia as a cleric and acquired a certain degree of reputation for healing. In 1888 he went over to the United States of America and started the publication of ~ paper called Leaves of Healing. In 1896 he founded the Christian Catholic sect. In 1901 he started building a town in the State of Illinois which he called Zion City. He established many factories within the area of the town and became in effect the uncrowned king of Zion City. In the same year he claimed to be Elijah III.

Dowie was a bitter enemy of Islam and of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him. He gave repeated expression to his hostility towards Islam in his speeches and writings which were published in the Leaves of Healing. On one occasion he delivered himself of the following despicable verbal caricature of Islam:

I think of the falsehood of Muhammad with great contempt. If I were to accept those falsehoods I would have to believe that in this gathering and indeed in any part of God's earth there is no single woman who possesses an immortal soul. I would have to acknowledge that you women are but wild animals which can be used for an hour or a day as playthings and that you have no eternal existence, and that when those who are dominated by bestial passions have satisfied their lust with you, you would die the death of dogs. This would be your end. This is the religion of Muhammad (Leaves of Healing, Vol. VII, No.5, 26 May 1900).
On another occasion he said:
I warn the Christian people of America and Europe that Islam is not dead. Islam has great strength;, though Islam and Muhammadanism must be destroyed. The ruin of Islam will not be compassed through the supine Latin church or the powerless Greek church. (Leaves of Healing, 25 August 1900, p. 7)
Being provoked by his reviling of Islam and the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, and his eagerness to destroy Islam and the Muslims, Ahmad confronted him with the following challenge in September 1902:

I am surprised at the attitude of some Christian missionaries who have studied philosophy, physics, astronomy, etc., and yet invite people to accept a weak human being as God. Recently there has appeared in the United States of America a man, apostle of Jesus, whose name is Dowie. He claims that Jesus in his capacity of God has sent him into the world to invite people to the doctrine that there is no God besides Jesus. But what kind of a God is he who could not safeguard himself against the Jews, who was betrayed by a treacherous disciple against whose mischief he proved helpless. He ran to a fig tree to eat of its fruit and did not know that it bore no fruit; when he was asked when would the Day of Judgement arrive, he confessed his ignorance of it. He became accursed, which means that his heart had become impure and had turned away from God and that he had been cast away from God and His mercy. He climbed towards heaven because the Father was very far from him, even by millions of miles, and this distance could not be overcome unless he ascended to heaven in his physical body. What a contradiction is here! On the one hand he asserts: 'The Father and I are one' ; and on the other he journeyed over millions of miles to meet Him. If the Father and Son were one why did he have to endure the fatigue of such a long journey? The Father was where he himself was, as both were one. Then on whose right hand did he sit?
Now we address ourselves to Dowie who deifies Jesus and calls himself his apostle and says that the prophecy mentioned in Deut. 18: 15 is fulfilled in his advent and that he is himself Elijah and the apostle of this age. He does not know that his artificial god was never conceived of by Moses, and that Moses repeatedly admonished the children of Israel that they must not deify any creature, whether man or animal, neither in heaven or on earth. He reminded them that God had spoken to them, yet they had not seen Him; and that their God was above having a shape or a body.

But Dowie, repudiating the God of Moses, presents a god who has four brothers and a mother. He has repeatedly declared in his paper that his god Jesus has told him that all Muslims will be destroyed and not one of them will survive, except those who should acknowledge the son of Mary as their god and Dowie as the apostle of that artificial god.

We have a message for Dowie that he need not be anxious to destroy all the Muslims. How can they acknowledge the godhead of the humble son of poor Mary, especially as in this age the tomb of Dowie's god has been discovered in this country and there is present among them the Promised Messiah, who has appeared at the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh millennia, with whose advent many Signs have been manifested? Dowie's claim, that all Muslims will be destroyed and only those will be saved who will acknowledge Jesus as god and Dowie as the apostle of the god, spells danger for even those Christians who believe in the son of Mary as god but do not acknowledge Dowie the false apostle. Dowie has clearly proclaimed in the revelation alleged to have been received by him that it is not enough to acknowledge Jesus as god unless Dowie is also acknowledged as Elijah and an apostle for the age, according to the prophecy mentioned in Deut. 18: 15. They would not be saved unless they acknowledge all this, in default of which they would be destroyed. In this situation the Christians of Europe and America should make haste to acknowledge Dowie, lest they should be ruined. Having accepted one absurd doctrine, namely, the godhead of Jesus, they should have no difficulty in accepting another absurd doctrine that Dowie is the apostle of that god.

As regards the Muslims, we wish to point out respectfully to Mr. Dowie that there is no need for the fulfillment of his purpose to subject millions of Muslims to destruction. There is a very easy way of determining whether Dowie's god is true or our God. That way is that Mr. Dowie need not repeatedly announce his prophecy of the destruction of all Muslims, but should keep me alone in his mind and should pray that of the two of us, the one who is false may die before the other. Dowie believes in Jesus as god and I consider him a humble creature and a prophet. The matter in issue is which of us two is in the right? Mr. Dowie should publish this prayer which should bear the testimony of at least one thousand persons. When the issue of the paper that contains this announcement reaches me I too will pray accordingly and shall append to my prayer the testimony of a thousand persons, if God so wills, I am sure that through the adoption of this course a way shall be opened for Mr. Dowie and all the Christians for the recognition of the truth.

I have not been the first to propose such a prayer. It is Mr. Dowie who, through his announcements, has put himself in that position. Observing this, God, Who is jealous, has urged me towards this confrontation. It should be remembered that I am not just an average citizen of this country. I am the Promised Messiah, who is being awaited by Mr. Dowie. The only difference is that Mr. Dowie says that the Promised Messiah will appear within twenty-five years, and I proclaim that he has appeared already and that I am that person. Hundreds of Signs have appeared in my support in the earth and from heaven. My Community numbers approximately a hundred thousand and is rapidly increasing.

Mr. Dowie boasts that he has healed thousands of sufferers through his attention. We retort: Why then was he not able to heal his own daughter and let her die, and still mourns her loss? Why was he not able to heal the wife of his follower who was in extremity in childbirth and Mr. Dowie was summoned to her side and she died? It is noteworthy that hundreds of people in this country practice the art of healing and many of them become experts in it and yet no one acknowledges that they possess spiritual merit. It is surprising how the simple people of America are trapped by Mr. Dowie. Were they not carrying the burden of unduly deifying Jesus that they took over this second burden also? If Mr. Dowie is true in his claim and Jesus is indeed god, this matter can be determined by the death of only one person; there is no need of destroying the Muslims of all countries. But if Mr. Dowie does not respond to this notice and offers a prayer according to his boasts and then is removed from this world before my death, this would be a sign for all the people of America. The only condition is that the death of either of us should not be compassed by human hands but should be brought about by illness or by lightning, or snakebite or by the attack of a wild beast. I grant Mr. Dowie a period of three months to make up his mind to comply with my request and I pray that God be with those who are true.

The method I propose is that Mr. Dowie should come into the field against me with the permission of his false god. I am an old man of more than sixty-six years of age. I suffer from diabetes, dysentery, migraine, and deficiency of blood. I realize, however that my life depends not upon the condition of my health but upon the command of God. If the false god of Mr. Dowie possesses any power he will certainly permit him to come forth against me. If instead of the destruction of all the Muslims Mr. Dowie's purpose can be served by my death alone, he will have established a great sign, in consequence of which millions of people will acknowledge the son of Mary as god and will also believe in Dowie as his apostle. I affirm it truly that if the disgust that the Muslims of the world feel towards the god of the Christians were to be placed on one side of the scale and the disgust that I feel towards him were to be placed on the other side of the scale my disgust would be found to be heavier than the disgust of all the Muslims of the world. The truth is that Jesus son of Mary is from me and I am from God. Blessed is he who recognizes me and most unfortunate is he from whose eye I am hidden (Review of Religions, Urdu, Vol. I, No.9, pp. 342-348).

The challenge of the Promised Messiah was given great publicity in the American Press, in some organs of which its substance was published almost verbatim, among them the Literary Digest of 20 June 1903, the Burlington Free Press of 27 June 1903, the New York Commercial Advertiser of 26 October 1903.
The Argonaut of San Francisco, in its issue of December 1902, gave an account of the challenge under the caption, 'English versus Arabic Prayer Contest', and concluded as follows:

'In brief the Mirza has written to Dowie: You are the leader of a community. I too have several followers. The decision as to who is from God can be easily sought. Each of us should pray that whoever is false, God should take him away in the lifetime of the other. The one whose prayer is heard shall be considered from the true God.
The paper commented:
'This indeed is a most reasonable and just position.'
Dowie gave no reply to Ahmad's challenge but announced in the Leaves of Healing of 14 February 1903:

'I pray to God that Islam should soon disappear from the world. O God, accept this prayer of mine. O God destroy Islam.'
On 23 August 1903 Ahmad published another statement addressed to Mr. Dowie, in the course of which he said:

I do not say merely out of my own mouth that I am the Promised Messiah. God Who has created the heavens and the earth bears witness for me. To complete His witness He has manifested and continues to manifest hundreds of signs in my support. I say truly that His grace upon me is in excess of His grace that He bestowed upon the Messiah who appeared before me. His countenance has been exhibited in my mirror more widely than it was reflected in his mirror. If I say this only out of my own mouth, I am false; but if He bears witness for me, no one can call me false. I have thousands of His testimonies in my support, which I cannot number... One testimony is that if Mr. Dowie will accept my challenge and will put himself in opposition to me expressly or impliedly, he will depart this life with great sorrow and torment during my lifetime.
Dowie has not so far replied to my challenge nor has he referred to it in his paper. I, therefore, grant him time for seven months from today, the 23rd of August 1903. If during this period he comes forth in opposition to me and makes an announcement in his paper that he accepts fully the plan that I have put forward, the world shall soon see the end of this contest. I am about seventy years of age and Dowie, according to his own statement, is a young man of fifty years. I am not concerned about this disparity in our ages as the issue is not to be decided on the merits of age. It rests entirely with God Who is the God of heaven and earth and is the best Judge. If Mr. Dowie runs away from this contest I would call upon the people of America and Europe as witnesses that this would also be deemed to be his defeat, and in such case it should be concluded that his claim of being Elijah is a mere boast and deceit. He may try to flee from death in this manner, but he should realize that his flight from the proposed contest is also a species of death. Be sure, therefore, that a calamity will most certainly befall his Zion very soon.

At last Mr. Dowie announced in the Leaves of Healing of December 1903:
In India, there is a Mohammedan Messiah who keeps on writing to me that Jesus Christ lies buried in Kashmir. People ask me why do I not send him the necessary reply? Do you think that I should answer such gnats and flies? If I were to put my foot on them I would trample them to death. The fact is that I merely give them a chance to fly away and survive.
Thus the issue was squarely joined between Ahmad and Dowie. From that moment Dowie entered upon a progressive decline of all his affairs. His health began to deteriorate, his followers began to have doubts and questioned his claims, he began to encounter financial difficulties. In 1905 he suffered a severe stroke of paralysis and was directed by his physician to move to a warmer climate. He was taken to Mexico and later to Jamaica. The affairs of Zion were handed over to a nominee of his who soon turned against him. His wife and children deserted him and he was charged with diverse il1icit and immoral practices. On 9 March 1907 he died a miserable death, The prophecy of the Promised Messiah was truly and completely fulfilled.
The Danville Gazette of 7, June 1907 wrote:
'Ahmad and his adherents may be pardoned for taking some credit for the accuracy with which the prophecy was fulfilled a few months ago.'


The Truth-Seeker of 15 June 1907 wrote
'The Qadian man predicted that if Dowie accepted the challenge, he would leave the world before his eyes with great sorrow and torment. If Dowie declined, the Mirza said, the end would only be deferred; death awaited him just the same and calamity would soon overtake Zion. That was the grand prophecy: Zion would fall and Dowie would die before Ahmad.
The Herald of Boston, in its issue of 23 June 1907, observed:
'Dowie died a miserable death with Zion City tom and frayed by internal dissensions.'
Ahmad had often confessed that the keenest distress that oppressed his mind was the deification of Jesus by the Christian Church, and that he was most anxious to discover some means by which this matter might be conclusively settled and mankind might be rid of this enormity. He missed no opportunity of expounding the truth on the basis of the Holy Quran, the Christian scriptures and human reason. While exposing the baselessness of the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus, he always took care to point out that, according to the teaching of the Holy Quran, he himself believed in Jesus as a true Prophet of God and revered him as such.

The Author

Muhammad Zafrulla Khan
Muhammad Zafrulla Khan
The author occupied a number of high public offices in India, Pakistan, United Nations and the International Court of Justice during a period extending well over forty years (1932-1973). He was a Member of the Viceroy's Cabinet (India), a Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Pakistan's Ambassador at the United Nations, President of the General Assembly of the United Nations and Member, Vice-President and President of the International Court of Justice.

The Philosophy of Revival of Religion

Contents:
A Background to the Prophesies
Non-Ahmadi Muslims' Concept
The Correct Interpretation According to Ahmadi Muslims
Ahmadiyya Philosophy of Revival of Religion
I address you today on the Islamic Philosophy of the revival of religions. Religions are always revived through Divine intervention. A reformer is sent by Allah the Almighty to turn the people away from materialism and return them to their Creator. Such a reformer invariably calls for immense sacrifices in the name of God. He invites people to toil and sweat; to persevere and be patient, and informs them that those who seek to live must be prepared to part with their lives. He prepares them for a long and painful struggle against blind opposition and persecution at the hands of those whom they love and endeavour to save. Indeed this is the only real and eternal philosophy of religious revival: every philosophy opposed to it is mere fantasy. I must mention though that all sects of Islam are not in unison on this subject. A large number of Muslims believe that a fundamental change has come about in the form of religious revival. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, on the other hand, believes that this historical process is constant and unchanged. Lest the difference of opinion amongst Muslims create a wrong impression, I deem it necessary to enumerate those shared fundamental beliefs which bind all the Muslims together, whatever denomination they belong to.
Every Muslim, regardless of sect, believes in the oneness of God and in the prophethood of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace and blessings). Every Muslim believes that Islam is the ultimate religion for the salvation of mankind. All Muslims believe that Islam will continue to fulfill all of man's spiritual needs till the Day of Judgement. All Muslims believe that the Law revealed through the Holy Prophet Muhammad is unchangeable and that the Quran is incorruptible and unalterable to the extent even of an iota or a dot. Muslims of all shades of thought believe that the edicts of the Holy Prophet Muhammad have validity and authority till the end of mankind. Muslims of every sect believe that it is only through a bond with the Holy Prophet Muhammad that the light of eternal truth may be perceived. These basic points of creed are shared by all Muslims without exception.
With so much in common, there still remains the fundamental difference which sets the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community apart from other Muslims-the difference on the issue of revival of Islam. All other differences emanate from this main issue.
How is the resurgence of Islam to come about? How is a new life and new vigour to be infused into it? Like the Ahmadiyya Community, all other Muslims, too, profess that the answer lies in the promised advent of Christ, Son of Mary, and in the appearance of the promised Imam Mahdi (the reformer appointed by God who would be divinely guided). This point of apparent concord when interpreted, actually generates two diametrically opposed views.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community regards the prophecy of the advent of Christ as a figure of speech. It believes that the prophecies regarding the Imam Mahdi are also allegorical. We believe that the truly glorious import of these prophecies cannot be understood if they are taken at their face value. In complete contrast to this, the other sects of Islam insist on a literal fulfillment of these prophecies. This is the fundamental difference that distinguishes- and sets apart-the Ahmadiyya Community from other sects.

A Background to the Prophesies
The prevailing decline of the Muslims and their internecine strife are matters of which the Holy Prophet Muhammad was not uninformed. Through divine revelation, he prophesied fourteen hundred years ago that Muslims would split into seventy two sects. He described the pitiable plight of the Muslims in such detail as if a view of our era had been unfolded before his very eyes. The Prophet's Traditions contain a graphic description of our times. He said, 'Islam will have nothing left of it except its name. Mosques, though full of worshippers will be devoid of guidance. Their religious scholars will be the worst creation under the canopy of Heaven.' However, along with these terrible portents, he also gave glorious tidings. He said that inspite of this dire distress, the Islamic nation would not perish:
'How can my followers be destroyed when I am at their beginning and Jesus, Son of Mary, at their end.' (Masnad Ahmad: Kanzal Aamal Vol. 7, p. 203)

Then he said:
'How will you be when Mary's Son will descend among you; and he will be your guide from amongst you?' (Bukhari: Book of Prophets)

And he repeated the news in these words:
'I swear by Him Who has my life in His hand that the Son of Mary will indeed descend among you, and he will arbitrate with justice.' (Bukhari: Book of Prophets)

The Holy Prophet also gave tidings of a great Imam - Imam Mahdi - who would appear alongwith Jesus, Son of Mary.
So, the Ahmadiyya Community is at one with the other Muslim sects in believing that the resuscitation of Islam and its global triumph are linked with the advent of Christ and the appearance of the Imam Mahdi. However, it differs from the rest in the interpretation of these prophecies. It insists that the prophecies be seen in the light of the divine law revealed in action and in consonance with the history of the earlier prophets. The other Muslim sects, on the contrary, assert that the prophecies have no inner, deeper message and adhere to their literal sense.

Non-Ahmadi Muslims' Concept
In all fairness to our opponents, I shall now endeavour to elucidate the view point of our opponents who equate Islam's renaissance with its economic and political dominance. There is perhaps an explanation for it. Lust for power and greed for gold have traditionally dominated human strife. The acme of national revival therefore would mean political and economic ascendency. Divine favour would, according to them, fittingly manifest itself to bring about this result. This more or less, is the view held by many, concerning the revival of Islam. According to this belief, the advent of the Messiah will herald the era of Islam's political conquests while the appearance of the Imam Mahdi will bring about their economic dominance.
First, I shall outline their concept of the Messiah's advent. They believe that the very Jesus, Son of Mary, whom the Quran declares a prophet of the Israelites, will descend bodily from the sky. He will immediately set out with sword in hand and hack to death all enemies of Islam! His global sweep shall have three grand objectives. The first objective will be the destruction of the Cross. Not figuratively, but literally! He will set about destroying the symbol of Christian faith with such vigour that not a trace shall be left of it. There will not remain a single Cross to be seen-in Church or home or around any neck.
According to them, his next important task will be the extermination of swine of every variety-domestic as well as wild! So, the followers of the Cross will then be left with neither a Cross for prayer nor a pig for dinner. Thus, Christ will deprive the Christians of the articles not only of their spiritual sustenance but also of their physical nourishment.
The third task for the Messiah will be the killing of 'Dajjal' the Antichrist. Now who is this Antichrist? According to Traditions, if taken literally, as some would have it, he will be a one-eyed Colossus who will come riding an ass of extraordinary proportions. He will be so tall that his head will stand higher than the clouds. All prophets have warned their followers against the evil of this Antichrist. Now, while the Antichrist is busy ravaging the earth the Messiah will descend from the heavens. He will engage the Antichrist in battle near Damascus and slay him. He will then conquer the entire world. Having done this, he will hand over its governance to the Muslims.
This, in sum, is their philosophy of the Muslims' political resurgence and ascendancy. It absolves the Muslims totally from waging any political struggle whatsoever. Now, those who are basking in the assurance that they will inherit the earth without moving a muscle can see no possible reason to concern themselves with political thought and action. They live in blissful oblivion of their decay and degradation. For, everything else apart, they know most assuredly that the happy hour is not far when a divine being will descend from the heavens and unleash a campaign of conquests. He will slay the swine. He will wreck the Cross. He will subjugate all Powers of the East and the West. Then, he will beckon to the waiting Muslim masses and say, 'Come hither, ye soldiers of God; come here, O virtuous ones! Come and take this sceptre of the kingdom of the earth.' This is the bellicose view of Muslim renaissance which the Ahmadi Muslims find abhorrent. They simply cannot subscribe to it in its crude literalism.
Next comes the non-Ahmadi Muslims' concept of the economic resurgence of Islam. The scholars of the other sects hold the view that the remedy of the economic plight of the Muslims lay not in struggle and sacrifice but in the appearance of the Imam Mahdi. This Imam Mahdi will be a contemporary of the Messiah. His most important act on arrival will be the distribution of limitless largess among the Muslims of the world. His bounty will be boundless; his generosity will defy description. This overwhelming wealth will far exceed the Muslim's capacity to garner it. Thus will come to an end all lust for goods and greed for gold. This is the panacea, as conceived by some, for the economic ills of the world of Islam. According to this belief, the appearance of Imam Mahdi is in itself the answer to the economic misery of Muslims. There is no need for sweat, tears and toil. There is no necessity to explore the earth's treasures, to peep into the heart of the atom and to seek out the secrets of space. Neither effort nor industry, nor inventiveness or application is needed. All that is needed is the arrival of the Mahdi. Again we differ and again we the Ahmadi Muslims find this concept childish, crude and unacceptable.

The Correct Interpretation According to Ahmadi Muslims
Although the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community does not in any way reject the prophecies concerning the descent of the Messiah and the appearance of the Mahdi, it does emphasise that to put a literal meaning on them is the height of naivette and ignorance. We believe that it is as a result of not grasping fully the exalted station of the Holy Prophet that such a serious error is made in understanding his deep and philosophical message. Men of insight and wisdom often use parables and allegories to outline subjects of such great import but the superficial eye cannot perceive their meaning.
The Ahmadi Muslims believe that the whole range of subjects covering the Messiah, the Antichrist and his ass is allegorical. The Messiah, therefore, is not that earlier prophet who was sent among the Isrealites. The Ahmadis believe that Jesus Christ died a natural death after surviving the torture of the Cross. The Messiah of the prophecy was in fact to be a new person who was to be born amongst the followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Because of some characteristics and qualities he was to share with Jesus, he would be given the title of 'Messiah, Son of Mary' in much the same way as a great dramatist is called Shakespeare. The reference to the Cross, too, is a simile. The Messiah will not literally go around wrecking crosses: he will defeat the Christian faith with strong reasoning and powerful arguments.
The destruction of the Cross, therefore, stands for the ideological rout of Christianity. Similarly, the word 'swine' is not to be taken in the literal sense. It connotes the cultural filth of the western world which turns men into beastly beings. The word swine stands for the so called sexual anarchy sweeping across America and Europe. It stands for the disgusting debauchery which claims even innocent children as its victims. The Traditions most assuredly did not convey that the Messiah would hunt down herds of wild boar or domesticated pigs. This would be a strange image of a prophet of God. It would rather remind one of Ajax, a hero from Greek mythology, who cut to pieces herds of cattle and flocks of sheep in the mad belief that they were the Greek army's chieftains!
The Antichrist, too, like the Messiah, the Cross and the Swine is symbolic. He symbolises a great and powerful nation which rules not only the earth but also space. The Cross and the Swine are in fact symbols pertaining to this nation. The Traditions say that the Antichrist's right eye will be sightless but his left eye will be large and bright. This is a symbolic description of the fact that though this nation would be devoid of spiritual light yet its material insight and therefore material attainments, would be great.
Lastly, the Ahmadi Muslims consider the Antichrist's ass to be a symbol too - a symbol that was used to describe the means of transportation of the days to come. All the features describing this ass are without exception identifiable with the fuel-powered vehicles invented by the West. Consider the salient features of the ass - as described in the traditions - it will eat fire, it will travel over land, over sea and above the air; its speed will be so great that it will cover a journey of months within the space of a few hours; the passengers will travel not on its back but in its belly which would be lit up; it will announce its departure and ask passengers to take their seats. The fulfillment of these things with such wondrous exactness is a glorious testimony of the truth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him.
According to Ahmadi Muslims, the prophecies relating to the advent of the Imam Mahdi are also symbolic. The wealth he will distribute amongst Muslims is the wealth of spiritual knowledge and wisdom, and not worldly wealth. The refusal of some to accept it further indicates what kind of wealth it was to be; for man is never satiated with material wealth: it is only the spiritual treasures that he spurns.
Thus Ahmadiyyat rejects the philosophy of Islamic renaissance as explained above and propagated by the other sects of Islam. It holds that this philosophy is at variance with the real intent of the Quranic teachings, at variance with the history of the prophets and most of all at variance with the demonstrated actions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Ahmadiyyat shuns this ideological opiate which lulls nations into inaction and leads them into the world of make-believe and fantasy.

Ahmadiyya Philosophy of Revival of Religion
This philosophy is no different from the one that is the common heritage of all religions. This is the only philosophy which history supports. Although the Scriptures and the legends mention many who ascended to the heavens, there is not one instance or account, since Adam, of the bodily return of anyone of them to earth.
So, regardless of the difference in the manner of the professed ascent to the heavens by some, there is none who is reported to have returned to earth after a long disappearance. Reformers have always appeared from the ordinary stock of human beings and have always been rejected and scorned by man. No ceremonial arches are ever erected to welcome them. No garlands are offered. No lamps are lighted in joyous illumination. On the contrary, those who came in the name of God were persecuted for committing this 'crime'. Their paths were strewn with thorns. Dust was heaped on their heads and stones were thrown at them. They were crowned with the crown of thorns. Every conceivable torture was inflicted on them. You see them now, returning from the town of Taif bathed in blood from head to foot. You see them again, in the battlefield of Ohad, half-dead from their wounds, buried under the bodies of those who laid their lives for them.
You will find their followers suffering a similar fate. Every conceivable torment is practised on them. They are dragged by their feet through rough alley-ways. They are made to lie on burning sands under a sizzling sun. They are thrown on live coals and held there till the embers die down.
They are thrown out of their homes. They are driven into exile. They are threatened with starvation. They are put to the sword. The husbands are taken from the wives and the wives from the husbands. Parents are deprived of their children. Every right that life bestows is denied to them. They are neither allowed to pray nor to build mosques. They are deprived of the right to announce their faith. They are not even permitted to name their own creed.
Thus is man granted a new spiritual life. This is the path that leads to the revival of religion. This is the phenonmenon that we see at work in the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and in the life of every prophet before him. It is by treading this perilous path that the prophets have ever revived their nations. This is the philosophy of the revival of religions since the days of Adam to the days of the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him). When such is the case, how can we then accept that the Almighty has decided to change this inviolable and time-honoured practice? How can we then accept that the Muslims will inherit the earth without shedding a drop of their blood and without making a stroke of effort? How can we believe that they will succeed without treading the path of sacrifice? It did not happen before. It will not happen again. The Promised Messiah, the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. affirms this eternal and everlasting truth when he warns the nation thus:
'There has not been a Prophet who was not laughed at. So it was to be that people laugh at the Promised Messiah.

The Almighty says:
Alas for My servants, there comes not a Messenger to them but they mock at him'. (Holy Quran 36 :31)

So it is a sign from God that every prophet is mocked. Now, who can mock a person who physically descends from the heavens in the company of angels amidst a waiting crowd? The wise, therefore, can see that the bodily descent of the Promised Messiah from heaven is false belief. Remember! no one will descend from the sky. All those who oppose me and are now alive will die and not one from amongst them will see Jesus, Son of Mary, descend from heaven. Then their children and their children's children, too, will die, and Mary's Son will still not have descended. Then will God fill their hearts with fear that the days of the ascendancy of the Cross are gone and yet Jesus, Son of Mary, has not come down from the heavens. The wise will then tire of this belief. And before three centuries have passed from this day. Muslims and Christians alike will discard this false creed in disgust and despair. Their shall be only one religion in the world and only one Guide. I have come but to sow the seed. This seed has been sown at my hand. It will now grow and bear fruit and there is no power on earth that can harm it.' (Tazkarat-ul-Shahdatain, p. 64-65)
Every fair minded person can see from this comparison that the Ahmadiyya view-point is based on the history of religions while the philosophy of its opponents is mythical and contradicts the history of religious revival. We learn from history that everyone appointed by God was faced with a storm of opposition. All prophets came with the message of truth and eternal life but were opposed by those who preferred falsehood to truth, and spiritual death to spiritual life. This indeed is the process of the birth of religions. When impurities and corruption crept into religions, their rebirth also took the same course. The reformers sent by God also suffered as the prophets had suffered. Whenever the Almighty chose to revive a nation spiritually, it split into two groups - those who saw the truth and those who opposed it. And neither group ever changed its demonstrated attitude. The Holy Quran describes this oft repeated cycle in a most effective and moving manner. A study of the Quran shows that:
Religions are born and revived through divinely appointed reformers. Never have the scholars ever reformed a religion through conferences and consultations.
The divinely appointed reformers are invariably rejected by their people and treated with arrogance and disdain.
Such reformers are always opposed by violence. They are accused of corrupting the religion of their forefathers. They are branded heretics and held guilty of apostasy.
The creed professed by the opponents prescribes death or banishment as the punishment for apostasy. The reformers are offered a choice of either a return to the fold or exile, failing which they are threatened with death.
The reformers never advocate violence. Their followers demonstrate steadfastness of such a high degree that they would rather be exiled or killed than recant.
The reformers do not entice people with promises of power and high office: they dispel worldly ambition. They do not lure people with wealth; they inculcate the spirit of sacrifice. The rich who believe consider it their good fortune to give their all in the service of God; the mighty shrug off the trappings of power. It is then that divine providence adjudges them fit to take over temporal power.
This is the process of religious revival of nations that the Quran and the Scriptures reveal. All prophets - from Adam to the Holy Prophet Muhammad - went through these stages. They gave their nations new life by leading them over the path of suffering and sacrifice. They taught love. They inculcated love of hard work, of sustained effort and incessant actions. It is this revolutionary spirit which breathes life into dead nations. This oft-demonstrated and unchanging divine law is in consonance with man's nature, conscience and intellect. It is this law that the Ahmadiyya Community acknowledges.
As can be seen, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community's concept of revival of religions is not a new-fangled philosophy born of human intellect. It is derived from that continuous and unaltered historical process which is preserved most accurately and truly in the Holy Quran. It is founded on those eternal principles and truths which are the basis of every true religion. For instance, the Quran declares:
'There should be no compulsion in religion. Surely, right has become distinct from wrong; so whosoever refuses to be led by those who transgress, and believes in Allah, has surely grasped a strong handle which knows no breaking, And Allah is AII-Hearing, AII-Knowing.' (Al-Baqarah, Verse: 257)

'Alas for My servants! there comes not a Messenger to them but they mock at him.' (Yasin, Verse: 31)

'Surely Allah changes not the condition of a people until they change that which is in their heart.' (Al-Ra'ad, Verse 12)

When the prophet Shu'aib was threatened by his people:

'We will drive thee out O Shu'aib, and the believers (that are) with thee, from our town or you shall have to return to our religion.' he merely replied, 'Even though we be unwilling? (Al-A'raf, Verse 89)

Noah's people, too, threatened him with stoning if he did not desist.
They said, 'If thou desist not, O Noah, thou shalt surely be one of those who are stoned.' (AI-Shuara, Verse 117)

This treatment was not reserved for just a few prophets. The Quran summarises people's attitude to the prophets in these words:
'And those who disbelieved said to their Messengers, 'We will surely expel you from our land unless you return to our religion.' (Ibrahim, Verse: 14)

Abraham was punished for recanting from the religion of his forefathers and for voicing the truth. The chiefs vented their wrath by declaring:
'They said? 'Burn him and help your gods, if at all you mean to do anything.' (Al-Anbiya 21, Verse: 69)

Jesus Christ was nailed to the Cross because he disagreed with the Jewish Scribes over the interpretation of the Bible although he avowed openly:
'Think not that I have come to abolish the law, and the prophets; I have not come to abolish but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.' (Mathew: Chapter 5, Verse: 17, 18)

May I remind you that the central difference between Jesus Christ and the Jewish scholars was on the interpretation of the verse:
'And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven' (2 Kings; Chapter 2, Verse 11).

The scholars stuck to the literal and apparent meanings of the verse. They believed that Elijah would descend bodily from heaven before the advent of Christ. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, asserted that this was an allegory, that the language was symbolic and not literal. He declared that Zacharia's son John was the Elijah who was to descend from heaven. Jesus knew full well that John was born on earth and had certainly not descended from heaven.
In answer to the question 'Then why do the Scribes say that first Elijah must come', he replied:
'Elijah does come and he is to restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the son of man will suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.' (Mathew: Chapter 17, Verse 10-13)

Lastly and above all was the suffering of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). In his own words, 'No Prophet suffered as much as I did.'
Therefore, the history of religions teaches us that prophets have always been normal human beings. They do not descend from heaven like the heroes of some mythical tale. They have always suffered trials and tribulations. Their followers gain glory not through the toils of someone else but through their own sweat and blood.

The Advent of the Messiah and Mahdi

Preamble
Generally there are two types of Muslims in our days. Those who plead that they have the complete Book—the Holy Quran; the perfect Model-- the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him). They claim to adhere to Kalima Shahadat--the Unity of God and Messengership of Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him); observe prayers; keep fast of Ramadhan; pay Zakat and perform the pilgrimage to the house of God at Mecca, hence, they assert that there is no need of any Messiah or Mahdi or even a Mujaddid to appear in the Muslim Ummah.

There are others who did believe in the advent of the Promised Messiah and that of the Promised Mahdi, but as his advent has not taken place in accordance with their own thinking and interpretations, in their despair they have started to console themselves by saying:

We admit that Mahdi will not appear. What harm is there if does not appear? (Hadith-al-Ghashiyya, p. 343)
We admit that Mahdi may not come. This does not contradict any important belief of the people of Islam. (Iqtarabus Sa'ah, p. 147)
Meenar-i-Dil pe Apnay Khuda Kaa Nuzool Deikh
Ab Intizar-i-Mahdi-o-Eisa Bhee Chorh
They i.e., See the descent of God on the minaret of your heart; now even discard the waiting for Mahdi and Eisa. (Dr. Allama Iqbal)
As far as the belief for the Promised Messiah is concerned, it is the invention of the helpless and the indolent. (Shorash Kashmiri, Chitan, Lahore, May 28, 1962)
As far as the first type of Muslims are concerned, they have in their ignorance neglected what the Holy Quran had already prophesied in 25:31: "O my Lord, my people indeed treated this Quran as a thing abandoned." There is also a saying of the Holy Prophet to the effect:

"There will come a time upon the people when nothing will remain of Islam except its name and nothing will remain of the Quran except its inscription. Their mosques will be splendidly furnished but destitute of guidance. Their divines will be the worst people under the sky; strife will issue from them and avert to them."

Deteriorating Condition Of Muslims
Who is not aware of the fact that everything relating to Islam has been distorted. The concept of God presented by the Muslims is so hideous that spontaneous praise to God has become impossible for an honest person. The concept of angels, similarly, is ugly in the extreme. They are presented as critics of God, base creatures in human form, who indulge in the love of bad women. The prophets of God are described as liars and sinners. They have not spared even the Holy Prophet. Falsely and indiscriminately they have attributed to him a love affair with Zainab, or secret relations with a slave girl, or other inconceivable things. The Holy Prophet was a picture of the Holy Quran as reported by Hazrat Ayesha, yet the commentators have a different picture to paint. We are also told that Divine revelation is not free from the influence of Satan. The only source of security is thus taken away. A theory of abrogation has been invented and a perfect Book like the Holy Quran has been put in doubt. Not being able to understand parts of the Quran, the commentators have condemned them as abrogated. They have done so without authority from the Holy Quran or from the Holy Prophet. Then it is taught that a dead prophet, himself a follower of Moses, will come and rejuvenate Islam in our time. The followers of the Holy Prophet and his example of influence being unable to do so.

So much so about the beliefs of Muslims. Their practical lives are no less deplorable. Nearly 75% do not observe the daily prayers or the annual fasts. Excepting the two Eids, millions of Muslims cannot find the few minutes needed for the daily prayers. Those who join the daily prayers do not observe all the rules and proprieties. Nobody pays Zakat or obligatory alms. Of those who pay, very few, hardly 2%, do so willingly. The Islamic laws of inheritance are being ignored altogether. Taking of interest, described in the Quran as making war on God, is now an almost universal vice. Moral grace, once the birth-right of all Muslims, now seems as remote as Kufr (disbelief) is from Islam.

In view of such a state of affairs, the fallacy of the first type of Muslims needs no further elucidation; particularly when we have the glad tidings given by the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of God be on him, regarding the appearance of Mujaddids (regenerators) and that of the advent of the Mahdi and Messiah.

A few prophecies from the Books of Hadith are:

"Verily, God will appoint for this Ummah in the beginning of every century, those who will restore for it its faith." (Abu Da'ood, Kitabul Fitn)
"By the One who owns my soul, it is nigh, of a certainty, that the son of Mary will appear among you. He will be a judge, he will be just; so he will break the cross (refute Christian doctrines with reason and arguments--Commentary on Bukhari by Ainee) and kill the swine (a figurative speech denoting greedy, dirty and annoying person-- an abomination. Killing also is through spiritual means); and he will stop war." (Bukhari, Vol. 1, Babo Nozooli Isa)
"It is just possible that he who lives of you might meet Jesus the son of Mary who is the Mahdi and a just judge. He will break the cross and kill the swine..." (Masnad Ahmad Bin Hanbal, Vol. 2, p. 411)
"The Ummah can never die which has me at one end and the Messiah, son of Mary, at the other." (Ibn Maja, Bab Al-I'atisam Bis-Sunnah)
"There is no Mahdi but Isa." (Ibn Maja, Bab Shiddatuz Zaman)
"When 1,240 years will pass, God will raise Mahdi." (An-Najmus Saqib, Vol. 2, p. 209)
"What will be your condition when the son of Mary will descend among you and he will be your Imam from among yourselves." (Bukhari, Kitabul Anbiya, Bab Nazool Isa)
The son of Mary had died long before and it is an established fact that the dead can never return to this world, (The Quran, 21:95), so it is obvious that the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of God be on him, could not mean the coming of the same son of Mary who was put on the cross. Besides, the fact that the physical features of Jesus and the Promised Messiah described by the Holy Prophet (see Bukhari) are not the same is a proof positive of the fact that they are really two different persons and not one and the same. Moreover, the Holy Prophet has further made his meaning clear by saying that he would be "from among yourselves," i.e., he would neither descend from the heavens nor would be the same son of Mary, who is dead. On the other hand, he would appear from among the Muslims of the age.

Mahdi Is No Other Than The Messiah Promised To Muslims
In pondering over the above traditions one is bound to come to the veritable conclusion that the Mehdi is no other than the Messiah promised to Muslims. To think as the second type of Muslims thought mistakenly, that the Messiah and the Mehdi are two different persons is wrong as is clear from the above Traditions No. 3, 5, & 7.

For shedding the light of Islam in the Christian world he is called Messiah or son of Mary, and for illuminating the hearts of Muslims with pure Islam he is called Mehdi. And this is the very interpretation given by the person who was raised in the fulfillment of these prophecies, when he says:

Choon Mera Hukm Az Paey Quame Maseehee Dadah And
Maslahat Ra Ibn Maryam Name Man Binhadah And

i.e., As I have been given the light for the Christian people, the name of the son of Mary has been given to me for this reason.

Fortunate Is He Who Takes Lessons From The Plight Of Others (Hadithun Nabi)
The second type of Muslims have fallen prey to the same mistake in which the Jews of Jesus' time had fallen almost 2000 years ago, when they demanded the physical descent of Elijah as was prophesied in Malachi 4:5, before their believing in Jesus as their Messiah and savior. This type of Muslim has waited for the physical descent of Isa Bin Maryam which had not taken place as they wished, hence, their despair and despondency. By not sending Elijah as promised, God has made His meaning clear when he speaks of the second advent of a person. If a physical second advent were permissible in the Divine Law, the Jews were entitled to have Elijah back among them, and until that time were quite right in condemning every claimant to Messiahship as an impostor. But the condemnation of the Jews involves condemnation for the belief that Isa Bin Maryam himself will come back. Even assuming that they were excusable for having fallen into such an error, not the slightest excuse is left for the second type of Muslims for falling into the same error again. This type of Muslims ought to have profited by their example but they are repeating the same error. Every sign that was foretold has been witnessed, but they had been looking for the Messiah in the wrong direction though at the right time. Earthquakes, plague as well as heavenly phenomena bear witness to the one fact that the advent of the Messiah is already overdue.

Hence, there is no cause of despair, rather, we should rejoice that God fulfilled His promise made in the Holy Quran:

"We Ourselves have sent down this Exhortation and most surely We will be its Guardians." (15:10)

The Prophecies of The Holy Prophet
The prophecies of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of God be on him) have seen the light of day, and Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, received the following revelation directly from God

Ja'alnaaka al Masih Ibn Maryam

"We have made thee the Messiah, son of Maryam"

This was in keeping with the prediction of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of God be on him):

Yakhrojul Mahdiyo Min Qaryatin Yoqalo Lahaa Kad'ha

i.e., the Mahdi will appear in a village the name of which will be called Kad'ha. (Jawahirul Asrar, p. 55)

Announcements From Qadian

"When the 13th century of the Hegira drew to a close and the beginning of the 14th century approached, I was informed by God Almighty, through revelation, that I was the Mujaddid (Reformer) for the 14th century." (Kitabul Bariyya, p. 201)
"It was disclosed to me through Divine revelation a few years later that the Messiah that had been promised from the earliest time to this nation and that the last Mahdi (Reformer) who was destined to appear after the deterioration of Islam and who was to be granted direct guidance from God and who was to provide once again the spiritual nourishment, as had been pre-ordained, and about whom glad tidings had also been given by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of God be on him) himself 1300 years ago, is none other than me." (Tadhkiratush Shahadatain, p. 1)
"The holy and pure revelation of God has informed me that I have been sent by Him as the Promised Messiah and as the Promised Mahdi and as Arbiter for the internal and external differences." (Arba'een)
"O ye people: I am Muhammadi Messiah and I am the Ahmad Mahdi: God is really with me from my childhood to my grave." (Khutba Ilhamia, p. 17)
"The truth is that Islam is in dire need of help from God. I am the reformer of the age. It is delightful that God did not leave Islam helpless in this state and sent me, according to His law, so I could revitalize it." (Malfoozat, Vol. 9, p. 158)
Signs Testifying To Hazrat Ahmad's Claim
The claim of Hazrat Ahmad has been testified by the signs appearing in heaven and earth. For instance, Darqutni, a most eminent authority, records a saying of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of God be on him):

Inna Le Mahdeena Aayataaini Lam Takoonaa Munzo Khalqis Samawati Wal Arzi Yankhasiful Qamaro Le Awwali Lailatin Min Ramazane Wa Tankhasifushamso Fin Nisfi Minho Wa Lam Takoonaa Munzo Khalaqallahus Samawati Wal Arza

i.e., "For our Mahdi there shall be two signs which have never happened for any one else since the creation of the heavens and the earth; At his advent there shall occur an eclipse of the moon in the first of its appointed nights and an eclipse of the sun on the middle one of its appointed dates and both will occur in the month of Ramazan." (Dar Qutni, p. 188)

The prophecy does not mean that the occurrence of the eclipse would in itself be unique and unprecedented. But the prophecy predicted 1300 years beforehand that two of the signs of the true Mahdi would be that the sun and the moon would be eclipsed in manner indicated. Eclipses have no doubt occurred before but never as a sign of the advent of a heavenly reformer; because there has never been in the history of the world a claimant of any kind at the time of the phenomena described. It is also confirmed by the Holy Quran (75:6-9) which refers to the same prophecy.

Now according to this the eclipse of the moon actually occurred on Thursday evening the 13th of Ramazan, 1311 A.H. (March 21, 1894) and that of the sun occurred on Friday morning the 28th of the same Ramazan (April 6, 1894). The eclipse of the moon generally occurs on the 13th, 14th, or 15th day of a lunar month and according to the prophecy, it occurred on the first date. The eclipse of the sun can occur on the 27th, 28th, and 29th and it occurred on the 28th which was the middle date predicted. Hence, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad rightly claimed that the prophecy was fulfilled and it was a strong evidence on the truth of his claim as no one except God has power over these heavenly bodies.

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi says:

The signs fulfilled so far are so numerous that there is no room left for an honest mind to deny them. All the earthly and heavenly signs of the appearance of the Promised Messiah have been manifested in my time. The eclipse of the sun and the moon in the month of Ramadhan happened some time ago, the comet has appeared; earthquakes have occurred; epidemics became rampant; Christianity has forcefully spread in the world and as was written, opposition to me has been very intense. All these signs have been fulfilled. (Kitabul Bariyya, p. 259-260)

Blessed are those who recognize the Imam of the age and join the fold of the Promised Messiah and Mahdi as was commanded by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of God be on him) Man Maata Wa Lam Ya'Arif Imam Zamanihee Faqad Maata Meetatal Jahiliyyata, i.e., "He who dies in a condition that he has not recognized the Imam of the age dies a death of ignorance." (Musnad Ahmad Bin Hanbal, Vol. 4, p. 96)

Fa Iza Ra'aitomooho Fa Bayiooho Wa Lau Habwan Alas Salji Fa Innahoo Khalifatullahul Mahdi, i.e., "When you hear the advent of Mahdi then enter into his fold even if you have to walk on snow by crawling and creeping to reach him." (Kanzul Ummal; also footnotes to Musnad Ahmad Bin Hanbal, Vol. 6, p. 29-30)

The Promised Messiah has rightly remarked when he said:

Had my claim been put forward on my own, you would have been free to reject me, but if God's Holy Prophet bears witness for me in his prophecies and God manifests His signs in my support, then do not wrong yourselves by rejecting me. Say not that you are Muslims and have no need of accepting any Messiah.

I tell you truly that he who accepts him who has prophesied about me thirteen hundred years in advance, and had indicated the time of my appearance, and had specified my function; and he who rejects me rejects him who had commanded that I should be accepted. (Ayyamus Sulah, p. 93)

What Is Islam?

Islam literally means Peace, surrender of one's Will; and to be in amity and concord. The significance of the name of Islam is the attainment of a life of perfect peace and eternal happiness through complete surrender to the Will of God. The Quran--the Holy Book of the Muslims--interprets it to be the religion who teachings are in consonance with human nature. Islam, as the Quran has stated (5:4), is the completion of the religion inaugurated by God in the beginning of the world, on His sending the Quran through the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him. As a child is taught his alphabet, so God taught religion to the world gradually and little by little, by sending His prophets at different times and to different peoples.

When the world reached the stage of understanding that it was ready for the final lesson, He sent the last and complete Book through the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him. This Book not only corrects errors which had found their way into various religions, but preaches the truths which have not been preached before, on account of special circumstances of the society or the early stage of its development. At the same time it gathers together in itself the truths which were contained in any Divine revelation granted to any people for the guidance of men (The Quran, 98:4). Lastly, it meets all the spiritual and moral requirements of an ever-advancing humanity.

This is Islam which is wrongly called Muhammadanism.

According to Islam, the object of man's life is its complete unfoldment. Islam does not support the idea that man is born in sin. It teaches that everyone has within himself the seed of perfect development and it rests solely with a person himself to make or mar his fortune.

Surely, WE have created man in the best make; (The Holy Quran 95:5)

The cardinal doctrine of Islam is the Unity of Godhead. There is none worthy of worship but the One and Only God, Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet. God is free from all defects, Holy and Transcendent. He is All Good, All Mercy and All Power. He has no partner. He neither begets nor is He begotten, because these are the traits of frail and weak humanity. Furthermore, Islam helps us to establish a permanent relationship with God and to realize Him during our earthly life as our Helper in all our affairs and undertakings. This Unity of God is the first and foremost pillar of Islam and every other belief hangs upon it.

Islam requires belief in all the prophets, including Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Confucius and Zoroaster. We regard them all (and many more not mentioned here) as heavenly teachers born to reform and regenerate man and lead him to God. Adherents of some other religions may consider it an act of piety to use disrespectful words and heap abuse on the prophets of other religions, but if a Muslim were to show the slightest disrespect towards the founder of any faith, he does so at the cost of his own faith. He has to utter the respectful benediction Alaihis-Salam (peace be on him) after mentioning the name of every prophet. Thus Islam establishes peace between all religions.

Muhammad in the Bible

Dr. Khalil Ahmad Nasir

Muhammad in the Bible

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• The Historical Test
• A Prophet From Thy Brethren
• Divine Light From Paran
• The Earth Was Full Of His Praise
• The Prince of Peace
• Conclusion

The world today looks for rational and historical evidence to prove the truth of a person who claims to be from God. These criteria fully support the truth of our Holy Prophet Muhammad.

Rational Test

Rational thinking indicates that the world was in dire need of revelation, of water from the fountain of spiritual guidance, at the time when the Holy Prophet appeared. He led an ideal life, a perfect example to be followed throughout the future. He started his mission against immense difficulties. He and his followers met strong persecution and opposition. But he was protected and helped by God in miraculous ways. Before his death his mission was firmly established all over Arabia and was rapidly spreading to other countries.

He worked miracles. He foretold the future, and his prophecies were fulfilled not only in his lifetime but continue to be fulfilled in our time as well. He brought a teaching  which has attracted countless adherents since he appeared. In short, all rational tests prove that the mission of the Holy Prophet Muhammad was truly from God.

The Historical Test

There is also another test, the historical one, which our present day world requires of a messenger of God. A notable American Bishop of the Catholic Church wrote in a nationally famous magazine that the test of history available to all men, all civilizations and all ages can be applied only to Jesus, because:

There were no predictions about Buddha, Muhammad, or anyone else -except Christ. Others just came and said: “Here I am, believe me”. Christ alone steps out of the line and answers: My coming was foretold, even to the smallest detail.

This statement is quite challenging and requires attention. We Muslims believe that Jesus was a true prophet of God. We also accept his advent as having been foretold in the previous scriptures.

But what about Muhammad?

We find that his coming was foretold in clear and precise terms not only by Jesus himself but by Moses and other Biblical prophets as well. In fact it seems from whatever words of Jesus are available to the world, that the bringing of glad tidings of a great coming prophet was one of the chief objects of his mission.

Again and again Jesus said that he was sent to the world only to give as much guidance as the people of his own time could bear. As for complete teaching which would stay forever with mankind, he said:

But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14-26)

Only the prophet of Islam could have fulfilled this prophecy of Jesus. Muhammad was truly sent in his name because he bore testimony to his truth. The Holy Quran says:

The Messiah, son of Mary, was a messenger, "surely messengers like unto him had passed away before him" (The Holy Quran 5:76)

The Holy Quran reports that the angels told Mary:

Surely Allah gives you good news with a word from Him of whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, worthy of regard in this world and hereafter. (The Holy Quran 3:46)

The Holy Prophet testified to the truth of Jesus as a divine and honored Teacher and Prophet, and declared them mistaken and misguided who thought him accursed. The Holy Quran described his teachings as "guidance and light ."Further elaborating the same prophecy, Jesus said:

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will sent him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. ... I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. How be it when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak.. and he will show  you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. (John 16:7-14)

This prophecy clearly lays down that:

1. The Comforter will come after the departure of Jesus.
2. When the Comforter comes, he will reprove the world of sin, truth and justice.
3. He will guide the world into all truth.
4. The book revealed to him will contain no human word.
5. He will foretell things to come.
6. He will glorify Jesus and clear him of all charges.

Now when we take this prophecy point by point, it is unmistakably proven that it applies to none else but the Holy Prophet Muhammad. He came after Jesus. The Comforter was supposed to reprove the followers of Jesus. Obviously, he could not be a Christian or a Jew .The prophecy must relate to one who would belong to another people but should respect Jesus and promote reverence for him. The Holy Prophet was neither Jew nor a Christian. He was an Ishmaelite. But he defended the honor of Jesus. Thus says the Quran:

[The Jews]  slew him not, nor crucified him, but he was made to appear to them like one crucified, and those who differ therein are certainly in a state of doubt about it: they have no definite knowledge thereof, but only follow a conjecture; and they did not convert this: conjecture into a certainty; on the contrary, Allah exalted him to Himself (The Holy Quran 4: 158)

Here the Holy Quran specifically says that Jesus was saved from that accursed death designed for him by his enemies. However, they only suspected that they had succeeded in crucifying him. But Allah had not only saved him but admitted him to the circle of His favored ones.

Of the promise, "He will show you things to come", we need only say that no prophet has told the world of things to come as much as has the prophet of Islam.

The prophecy said that "he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that he shall speak". This description can only apply to the Prophet Muhammad. The New and Old Testaments do not contain a single book in which man's word has not been mixed with God's. The Quran is nothing but the word of God from beginning to end. Not a word even of the Prophet is to be found in it.

When Peter appeared before the people of Jerusalem, his words were: "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you". John starts one of his conversations with "I, John, who am your brother". On the same lines we read the utterances of Philip, James and others in the Bible.

About the Holy Prophet, the Quran says:

He does not speak out of his own desire. It is naught but revelation that is revealed. (The Holy Quran 53:4-5)

The prophecy had said: "He will guide you unto all truth". Again Muhammad was the only prophet who claimed to have brought a universal and perfect law. The Holy Quran says:

Today We have perfected your religion for you and completed Our favor upon you. (The Holy Quran 5:4)

How clearly has the prophecy been fulfilled in the person of the Prophet Muhammad in all of its details. Sometimes an unsuccessful attempt is made to dim the glory of this marvelous prophecy by claiming that this Comforter was the Holy Ghost who came after Jesus to his disciples. One wonders how this claim can be harmonized with the fact that the person foretold in the verses is described with the pronoun "he," which could not possibly refer to a spirit. Then, was not the Spirit of Truth supposed to come only after the departure of Jesus? Should it be then assumed that the Holy Ghost was not with Jesus ? Obviously no devoted Christian will accept this assumption. One can also inquire where that truth is which is not found in the New Testament but was later brought by the Holy Ghost.

A Prophet From Thy Brethren

The fact is that before Jesus, Moses had also foretold of a great prophet in clear and precise words. When Moses went to Mount Horeb under the command of God he addressed the Israelites saying:

The Lord thy God will raise unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken. (Deuteronomy 18:15)

And again, God's words to Moses:

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth  and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass that, whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.(Deuteronomy 18:18-19)

It is evident from these verses that Moses foretold a Law-giving Prophet who was to appear after him, and who was to be from among the brethren of Israel.That he was to be a Law-giver and not an ordinary Prophet is obvious from the words "like unto Moses", since Moses was also a Law-giver. The promulgation of "a new Law" means the initiation of a new movement, a new nation. A prophet with a new Law is obviously no ordinary teacher or reformer. He has to present a comprehensive teaching, incorporating fundamental principles as well as detailed rules.

Was Jesus such a prophet? Was he a Law-giver? Did he bring a new Law into the world to replace an old one? The answer, in his  own words:

Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto You, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:17-18)

And the followers of Jesus went so far as to declare:

And the Law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law. (Galatians 3:12-13)

Jesus laid no claim to a new Law; his disciples regarded the Law as a curse. It was the Holy Quran which announced from the very outset that:

This is the (complete and perfect) Book, there is nothing of doubt in it. It is a guidance for the righteous. (The Holy Quran 2:3)

The prophecy also said that the Promised One was to be raised not from among Israel but from their brethren. Muhammad was from the brethren of the Israelites, the Ishmaelites.

It also told that God would put his words in his mouth. The New Testament gospels do not consist of words which God put in Jesus's  mouth. They only tell us his story and what he himself and his disciples said and did.

The Holy Quran, on the other hand, says:

Say,O Muhammad, I am a man like unto you: Only the word of God come unto me. (The Holy Quran 18: 111)

The prophecy spoke of "words which he shall speak in my name." Strange as it may seem, there is not a single example of words which Jesus may be said to have received from God with the command to pass them on. The Holy Quran, on the other hand, specifically claimed to be the word from God.

The words of the Lord had announced that the Promised One would be a prophet. Jesus, according to the Christian evangelists, did not claim to be a prophet. Matthew reports that he asked his disciples:

"Whom do men say that I the son of man ..?"
Peter replied that he was the Christ. the Son of the living God.
(Matthew 16:13-16)

Thus Jesus denied being either John the Baptist or Elias or one of the prophets. Muhammad was proclaimed as not only a prophet but also as "like unto Moses," when the Quran said:

Verily We have sent to you a Messenger, who is a witness over you, even as we sent a Messenger to Pharaoh. (The Holy Quran 73:16)

In short, one thousand nine hundred years before the advent of the prophet of Islam, Moses declared that his own Law was, in the divine scheme, not the last Law; that the world was to have a fuller Law later on; and that, for this God would send in the latter days another Messenger of His. This Messenger was to teach all truth; it was he who was to mark the last stage in the spiritual advance of man. The world had to wait for another book and another Prophet.

If, therefore, the Quran and the Holy Prophet have come after the Bible and after the Prophets Moses and Jesus, and if they claim to have come from God as guidance to man, their claim must be treated as just and true. It must be taken as the Fulfillment of ancient prophecies. The revelation of the Quran was not a gratuitous revelation, a  redundance in the presence of other revelations. Indeed, if the Quran had not been revealed, promises made by God through His messengers would have gone unfulfilled, and the world would have become afflicted with doubt and disbelief.

Divine Light From Paran

The prophecies of the Bible had even led its followers to that part of the world where the great Prophet was to appear. Thus it was said:

And he said, the Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; and shined forth from Mount Paran and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. (Deuteronomy 33:2)

In this verse Moses is promised three manifestations of the glory of God. The first of these appeared on Sinai in the time of Moses. Time passed. The second manifestation promised in the prophecy was to take place at Seir, a part of the world near where the miracles of Jesus took place. "Rising up from Seir," therefore, meant the advent of Jesus.

The third manifestation of divine glory was to take its rise from Paran, and Paran (Arabic Faran) is the name of the hills which lie between Mecca, the birth place of Muhammad, and Medina, the town where he died. According to the Old Testament, Ishmael, the ancestor of Muhammad, lived in this part. Thus we have in the Bible:

And God was with the lad (Ishmael): and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran. (Genesis 21:20-21)

Historical and geographical evidence shows that the descendents of Abraham lived in Arabia. All of them held Mecca and Kaaba, the house of worship built by Abraham, in great reverence. His son Ishmael first settled in Mecca. Genesis gives the names of twelve sons of Ishmael including two named Tema and Kedar. (Genesis 25:13-16) This is further supported by the testimony of Isaiah where we read:

The burden of Arabia. In the forest of Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye traveling companies of Dedanim.The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they provided with their bread him that fled. For they fled from the swords, from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail: And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it. (Isaiah 21:13-16)

This prophetic passage is a picture of the Battle of Badr  which took place about a year after the Holy Prophet's migration from Mecca to Medina. In this battle the sons of Kedar , the people of Mecca and the territories around, unable to withstand the fierceness of Muslim swordsmen and archers, sustained disastrous defeat. God made a handful of men, poorly armed and without provisions, the means of inflicting this humiliation on an army led by experienced generals.

The battles with the Meccans continued against heavy odds until such time that the Prophet Muhammad entered Mecca after a struggle of several years. This was the time when ten thousands of saints accompanied him. The Holy Prophet declared that the message of God had been completed in the form of the Holy Quran. Thus the prophecy of Moses was fulfilled that the Lord would shine forth from Paran with ten thousands of saints, with a fiery Law in his right hand. Thus also the prophecy of Jesus was fulfilled that the spirit of Truth "will guide you into all truth." His fiery Law, the Holy Quran, consumed all impurities of flesh and turned the grossest hearts into pure gold.

Could Jesus have fulfilled this wonderful prophecy? He did not rise from Paran. He had only twelve disciples and not ten thousand saints. Isaiah had spoken of one that fled; the flight of Muhammad is such an important part of Muslim history that the Islamic calendar starts from the very year of migration.

"The Earth Was Full Of His Praise"

This advent was also prophesied by Habakkuk several centuries before Jesus. Thus we have:

God comes from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the ea11h was full of his praise. And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand5: and there was the hiding of his power. Before him went the pestilence, and the burning coals went fo11h at his feet. He stood and measured the earth: he beheld, and drove asunder the nations; and the everlasting mountains were scattered, and the perpetual hills did bow: his ways are everlasting. I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; and the cu11ain of the land of Midian did tremble. (Habakkuk 3:3-7)

This again shows that the third manifestation mentioned earlier was going to be by one who would appear from the land of Tema and Mount Paran. The earth was going to be full of his praise. It is not a mere accident, then, that the Holy Prophet of Islam was named Muhammad, which literally means, the Praised One. Only a man with a name as beautiful as his personality and character could answer to the description of Habakkuk.The enemies of Muhammad suffered destruction, pestilence and humiliation of "burning coals" in encountering him in spite of overwhelmingly stronger and larger forces.

Moses died while he was still fighting his enemies. Jesus was put on the Cross. The prophet who beheld and drove the nations asunder, as mentioned by Habakkuk,could be, there- fore, none else but Muhammad. His enemies who looked like "everlasting mountains and perpetual hills" with their immense power were completely routed. Later "the tents of Cushan" and the "curtains of the land of Midian," that is, the land of Canaan then under the Roman Caesar, also found their salvation in surrendering to the servants of the Holy Prophet in the time of that Caesar's successors.

The Prince Of Peace

Lets us go on now to Isaiah. Here we find many passages about a coming prophet which can be true only of Muhammad. We are told of a time when a man will call the nations of the world who would swiftly answer his call and gather around him (Isaiah5:26-30). We are told that the followers of the Promised One will be obliged to take part in wars. We are told that the advent of this prophet will be at a time when even the light will be darkened by the sin and corruption of land and sea. Isaiahalso tells us that at the time God will turn away His face from the house of Jacob (Isaiah 8:13-17).

And then: For unto us a Child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6- 7)

The prophecy gives promise of a king who will have five titles:

1. Wonderful
2. Counsellor
3. The Mighty God
4. The Everlasting Father and
5. The Prince of Peace

Was Jesus ever a King? Were the names enumerated in this prophecy ever applied to him? Wonderful he might have been called, because of peculiar birth, but while his deniers regarded his birth as illegitimate, his supporters were in doubt about his ancestry. He gave no exhibition of the might that is mentioned in the above verse. Nor could he be called Everlasting Father, because he himself had mentioned another one coming after him. He neither became king nor could he ever bring peace to the world. He remained oppressed by his opponents until he was put on the Cross. He could not, therefore, be rightly called the Prince of Peace. He never attained to any government and, therefore, the words, "of his government there shall be no end," have no meaning in terms of his life. These signs mentioned in Isaiah apply only to the Prophet of Islam.

It was he who had to shoulder the responsibilities of a state, and thus, quite against his will, had to be called king.

Muhammad was Wonderful both in his name and achievements. Jesus, in his parable of the vineyard, speaks of the householder who let his vineyards to husbandmen. These wicked men not only beat, killed and stoned his other servants but also his son. The lord, says Jesus, will come himself, destroy these wicked husbandmen and render the vineyard to those who "shall render the fruits in their seasons." This will be so because:

The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the comer; and this is the Lord's doing, and it marvelous in our eyes. (Matthew 21:33-44)

This is the way in which the "Wonderful" one had to appear. When the son would be slain, then the other one would be sent who would prove to be the head of the corner. And he would seem "marvelous" in the eyes of Jesus and the whole world.

And about his wonderful achievements we may quote Thomas Carlyle. He writes:

To the Arab nation it was a birth from darkness into light; Arabia first become alive by means of it. A poor shepherd people ,roaming unnoticed in its deserts since the creation of the world, a hero-prophet was sent down to them with a word they could believe: see, the unnoticed becomes world-notable, the small has grown world-great,' within one century afterward, Arabia is at Grenada on this hand, Delhi on that, glancing in valor and splendor and the light of genius, Arabia shines through long ages over a section of the world. Belief is great, long-living, The history of a nation becomes fruitful, soul-elevating, great, so soon as it believes. These Arabs, the man Mahomet and that one century-is it not as if a spark had fallen, one spark, on a world of what seemed black, unnoticeable sand, but 10, the sand proves explosive powder, blazes heaven-high from Delhi to Grenada. I said ,the great man was always a lightning out of heaven; the rest of men waited for him like fuel and then they too would flame.
(Thomas Carlyle in Heroes And Hero-worship)

The second name of the Promised One is Counsellor. This again applied to the Holy Prophet. A nation turned to him for advice. He, in turn, held regular consultation with his people, and made it obligatory on the State to consult the people in all  important matters. The Holy Quran tells us that his companions sought his consultation regularly.

The prophecy had also described him as mighty God. The Bible has often mentioned the prophets as God himself. (Exodus 7:1 and 4:16)

Whenever a human being is spoken of as a "like of God" it can only mean that he is a manifestation of the Almighty .The Holy Prophet, again, answers the description of the prophecy. There are several references relevant to this in the Holy Quran. At the Battle of Badr, the prophet took a handful of gravel and threw it at the enemy. This proved a signal for a dust storm which discomfited the enemy and contributed to his defeat. Of this, God says to the Holy Prophet:

And thou threwest not when thou didst throw, but it was God who threw. (The Holy Quran 8:18)

Again it says:

Verily those who swear allegiance to thee indeed swear allegiance to God. (The Holy Quran 48:11)

Thus came the manifestation of mighty God, The Holy Prophet, who was able to subjugate all his enemies in his lifetime and to smash all opposition.

The fourth name in the prophecy is Everlasting Father. Jesus was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel and, therefore, could not possibly have an everlasting character. On the other hand, the Holy Prophet was referred to in the Quran as "bringer together of all mankind". (The Holy Quran 34 :29). He was promised that his teaching would abide forever with the people because at the end of days, the Promised Messiah would appear from among his followers and would revive the teachings of Islam and prove conclusively that the spiritual dominion of the Prophet of Islam was everlasting and there would be no heavenly teachers then except from his followers.

The fifth name in the prophecy is Prince of Peace. Can Jesus be truly called such? He did not become a sovereign in his life. He did not ever gain power to administer forgiveness to his enemies, and therefore, there was not much occasion for him to perform what he preached. On the other hand, the very religion of Muhammad is called Islam, meaning peace. As for the performance of peace and forgiveness in Muhammad's life we have ample evidence.

Through thirteen long and weary years the prophet of Islam and his little band of devoted followers bore with calm dignity and patience the bitterest persecution at the hands of the Meccans. Starvation, flogging, scoffings, humiliations, degradations and outrages of every description were the order of the day. When the Prophet took refuge in Medina, even there he was not left in peace. Over a period of seven years of sustained and brutal persecution the Prophet of Islam appeared suddenly on the heights of Paran, at the head of ten thousand saints, with no battle fought and not a drop of blood shed, when any penalty inflicted upon these Meccans would have been light in comparison to their long record of misdeeds, the Prophet announced, gently and mercifully:

There shall be no retribution exacted from you, you shall all go free. (The Holy Quran 12:93)

Is it the same way that the Christians treated their enemies when they came to power? Who should then be called a true Prince of Peace, Jesus or Muhammad? Jesus could not afford peace to others. His followers were able to afford it, but they did not give it. The prophet of Islam had the power to punish his enemies but he chose to forgive. Muhammad, therefore, was the Prince of Peace of Isaiah's prophecy. It was he again who also attained government and thus could fulfill the last part of this prophecy saying, "Of the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no end."

Conclusion

These are just a few of the many prophecies found in the Bible about the advent of that great prophet who was going to lead the world into all truth.

Muhammad was going to be, in the words of Solomon, "altogether lovely" which in Hebrew is expressed as Mahmaddim. (Song of Solomon 5: 10-16) He was the fulfillment of the "stone" of Daniel's dream. (Daniel 2:34-35) He was the coming of the lord of the vineyard himself as foretold by Jesus.

True, there are some prophecies about Jesus as well in the Old Testament but it is also a fact that there are many which cannot rightly be applied to him. These could be fulfilled in the person of the one who was coming with a Law and whose mission was to be not just to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" but to the whole world, one who was spoken of by Jesus as the Comforter and Spirit of Truth. The predictions about Muhammad in the Bible are clear and precise.

The door to the Kingdom of Heaven has been opened by the fulfillment of these prophecies. Blessed are those who accept the call of the Lord of Heaven and Earth to enter His Kingdom and receive His communion.

And our last observation is that all praise is due to God, the Sustainer of the Universe.