Hazrat Khalifatul Masih continued with the subject of signs of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in light of his own writings. Huzoor also related some incidents illustrating the Promised Messiah’s (on whom be peace) truthfulness.
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote:
‘God has shown so many signs in my support that if I were to count them one by one up to this day, 16th July, 1906, I can swear by God that they are in excess of three hundred thousand. And if someone does not believe in my oath, I can provide him with proof.
Some of these signs are to do with occasions when God Almighty, in keeping with His promise, protected me from being harmed by the enemy. Some of the signs are such that, in keeping with His promise, God always fulfilled my needs and my wishes. And some are of the kind whereby, in keeping with His promise ‘I shall humiliate him who designs to humiliate thee.’ God brought humiliation and disgrace upon those who tried to harm me. Some signs are of the kind in which, according to His Prophecies, He made me victorious over those who filed lawsuits against me. Some are of the kind that pertain to the length of my ministry, for ever since the world was created no impostor has ever been allowed such a long period of respite. Some signs are of the kind that are manifested through observing the condition of the age—that this age is in need of an Imam. Some signs are of the kind which represent the fulfilment of my prayers in favour of my friends. Some signs are of the kind which represent the fulfilment of my prayer against malicious enemies. Some signs are of the kind in which terminally ill patients were cured and I was informed of their recovery in advance. Some signs are of the nature whereby, for my sake, God caused a number of heavenly and earthly calamities as a testimony to my claim. Some are of the sort whereby many eminent and renowned saints saw dreams in which the Holy Prophetsa appeared to them and testified to my claim, among these is the Sajjadah Nashin Sahib-ul-‘Alam of Sindh who has nearly one hundred thousand followers, and Khawaja Ghulam Farid of Chachrań.
Some signs are such that thousands of people pledged Bai‘at at my hand only because they were informed in a dream of my truthfulness and of my being from God; while some others did so because they saw the Holy Prophetsa in a dream, and he told them that the end of the world is near and that this man is the last Vicegerent of God and the Promised Messiah. Some signs relate to certain eminent saints who mentioned me by name even before my birth, or before I came of age, and spoke about my being the Promised Messiah. Among these are Ne‘matullah Wali and Mian Gulab Shah of Jamalpur, District Ludhiana. (Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 22, pp.70-71 – Essence of Islam, Vo. V, pp. 2 -4)
Huzoor remarked that even today we witness manifestations of ‘I shall humiliate him who designs to humiliate thee.’ And for those who have thus far escaped, there is the Divine warning of: ‘And I give them the rein; surely, My plan is mighty.’ (7:184)
A companion of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) Siraj ul Haq Nomani Sahib read out a letter to him from his brother who was a non-Ahmadi Sajjadah Nashin and who had boasted about his ability to practice séance and had made imprudent assertions. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) replied: ‘Séance is something absurd. A person who speaks to Living God and receives His fresh revelations of which there are hundreds of thousands of proofs, why would he speak to the dead and look for the dead and where is the proof that there was communication with such and such dead person! Here, we have hundreds and thousands of proofs. Every single [post] card, every single person and every single rupee that comes is a tremendous sign of God because a long time ago God Almighty had said: ‘His help will come to you from every distant track. People will come to help you from every distant track.’ This was revealed at a time when no one knew me. How tremendously this prophecy is being fulfilled now! Is there another example of this! In short, what need do we have to leave Living God and seek dead people!’ (Malfuzat, (new edition) Vol. IV, p. 248)
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said: ‘I say to you truthfully not to be impertinent towards signs of God Almighty and do not look down on them. This indicates being left deprived and God Almighty does not like it. Recently Lekh Ram was killed in accordance with a grand sign of God Almighty. Millions of people are witness to the prophecy [about him]. Lekh Ram himself made it famous; he related it wherever he went. He had himself sought this sign for the truth of Islam and had ascertained it as a measure between true and false religion. Ultimately he gave his life to testify to the truthfulness of Islam as well as my truthfulness. How unjust and wrong it is to deny this sign and not care for it. Denying such a manifest sign is nothing more than being like Lekh Ram.
It saddens me a lot that with His grace God Almighty has shown signs for every nation, signs pertaining to both His glory and to beauty. It is most unfortunate to dismiss them and one who does not care for Signs of Allah incurs His wrath and should remember that Allah too does not care for such a person. Signs manifested by Allah are such that a sensible God-fearing person recognises them and avails of them…
Read Barahin e Ahmadiyya and reflect over it. It has all the news of this era about friends and foes. Is it within human power to predict such magnificent news thirty years ahead of time when this movement did not even exist? And the predictions are now fulfilled, not one or two, but all of them in their entirety! Indeed, one is not even sure about the longevity or not of one’s own life. Ahmadi families have ‘Barahin e Ahmadiyya’, Christians, Aryas and even the Government has it. If there is fear of God and truth is sought, then I say decide on the signs given in Barahin alone! Look, no one knew me at that time and no one visited here, I did not have a single person with me, news of this Jama’at which exists here was given. If this prophecy was imaginary then why is there such a large Jama’at here today? It was said about an individual whom no one knew outside Qadian in Barahin that ‘time has come to help you and make you renowned among people’. What is the reason that today the world recognises him not just here in India but in Arabia, Syria, Egypt and beyond in Europe and America. If these were not the words of God and was the scheme of a liar against the will of God, why did God help him? Why did He facilitate so many ways and means for him? Did I do all this myself? If this is how Allah the Exalted corroborates liars then what is the measure of the truthfulness of the honest? You should answer this yourself!
Was it within my capacity that the sun and the moon should eclipse in Ramadan and could I have made it happen in my time! As the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) had called it a sign of the true Mahdi and Allah the Exalted fulfilled this sign at the time of my claim. If I was not from Him, did God Almighty Himself lead the world astray? You should think and answer as to how far be the repercussions of denying me! Certainly it includes denial of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and denial of God Almighty. There are many similar signs, they do not amount to one or two, but are in their hundreds of thousands. How many will you deny?
It is also written in the very same Barahin ‘People will come to help you from every distant track’. You have also come here and have fulfilled one sign. You may deny it too. If you can erase the sign that you have fulfilled by coming, you may erase it. I say one more time, it is not good to deny Signs of Allah, it incurs the wrath of God Almighty. I have said whatever was in my heart, it is up to you to accept or not. Allah the Exalted knows very well that I am truthful and have come from Him.’ (Malfuzat, Vol III, (new edition) pp. 650 – 652)
Huzoor explained that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) is addressing a new Muslim who wanted to see signs in the last paragraph.
As regards signs of healing from illness, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) writes:
‘Then, a long time afterwards, it so happened that the son of Nawab Sardar Muhammad ‘Ali Khan, a nobleman of Malir Kotla, fell seriously ill in Qadian, and his life was almost despaired of. He beseeched me for prayer. So I retired to my Bait-ud-Du‘a and prayed for him. After I had prayed I learned that his death had been decreed and that it was futile to pray at the time. Upon this I said: ‘Lord, if the prayer is not to be accepted, then I intercede on his behalf that You may cure him for my sake.’ These words involuntarily escaped my lips but I was afterwards filled with remorse for having uttered them. Immediately after this I received the revelation: ‘Who can dare to intercede without His permission?’ I fell silent after hearing this revelation. Hardly a minute had passed before I received the following revelation: ‘You are granted permission to intercede.’ I then prayed fervently and I could feel that this time the prayer would not go unanswered. The boy recovered that very day, nay that very moment, and it was as if he had come out of his grave.’ (Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 22, pp. 88-89 – Essence of Islam, Vo. V, pp. 187-188)
‘Once my son Bashir Ahmad became ill due to an eye condition. He received a long treatment but to no avail. In view of his restlessness I prayed to God and received this revelation: ‘My son Bashir has opened his eyes.’ By the grace of God, his eyes were cured the same day.’ (Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 22, p. 89 – Essence of Islam, Vo. V, p. 188-189)
Regarding ruin of his opponents the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) writes:
‘The seventy first sign which I have written in the book ‘Sirrul Khalafa’ is that I prayed for the opponents to suffer from the plague. That is, those opponents who are not destined to be guided. Many years later, the plague spread in the country and some very severe opponents passed from this world. The prayer was: O my God seize the one who is an enemy of the right way and right works with the plague and destroy him. Remove my restlessness and release me from grief, my Lord! Reduce my enemy to smithereens and disgrace him. This prophecy was made when there was not even a hint of the plague in any part of this country. The following prophecy was given in the book, ‘Ijaz e Ahmadi’: When God is wrathful He brings down chastisement on that person who exceeds limits and is inclined to manifest evil. The time is coming when God will break every wrongdoer and only those will be destroyed who have been ruined due to their sins. And I will be worse than all evil people if their contempt is not countered with contempt. God has decided that the response of taunt will be taunt, thus the plague will seize them! And when the ruinous wicked exceeded limits I desired for destructive plague. After this the revelation came: ‘You have ruined many of the enemy’s homes’. This was published in Al Hakm and Al Badr. The aforementioned prayers, which were made after extreme persecution by the enemies, were accepted and the torment of plague befell them like fire in accordance with the prophecy. Many thousands of enemies who called me a liar and verbally abused me were destroyed. Here I shall mention a few severe opponents by way of example. Firstly, Maulawi Rasul Baba, resident of Amritsar, is worthy of mention. He wrote a book to reject me and was very abusive in it. He lied in his love of this transitory life and ultimately according to God’s promise was destroyed. Another person called Muhammad Bakhsh who was deputy inspector in Batala was determined on enmity and oppression was also killed by the plague. Then a person called Chiragh Din of Jammu rose and claimed to be a prophet and called me Dajjal. He used to say that Hazrat Isa (on whom be peace) had given him a staff in a dream so that he could kill the Dajjal with it. He was killed from the plague on 4 April 1902 along with his two sons in accordance with my prophecy which was published in booklet ‘Dafa ul bala wa mayar ahlal astafa’ specifically for him and during his lifetime. Where was the staff of Isa with which he was to kill me? And what of his revelation of … Regrettably, most people are deluded and consider their own wishes as revelation before they have purified themselves! This is why ultimately they die in disgrace and abasement. There were many others who had exceeded limits in their contempt and harassment. They were not afraid of the chastisement of God Almighty and were busy in derision, mockery and abuse day and night. Ultimately they succumbed to the plague.
For example, Munshi Mehboob Alam Sahib writes from Lahore; I had an uncle called Noor Ahmad…he asked me one day why did Mirza Sahib not show a sign regarding his claim of Messiahship. I replied that among his signs one was the plague which broke after he had made his prophecy and which is proving fatal on a large scale. He replied that the plague would not touch him; rather the plague was here to destroy Mirza Sahib. It will have absolutely no effect on us, but its effect will be on Mirza Sahib. The conversation stopped here. A week after I arrived in Lahore I received news that Uncle Noor Ahmad had died of the plague. Many people of the village were witness to the conversation [we had had] it was something that cannot be hidden.
Mian Ma’raj ud Din Sahib writes from Lahore that Maulawi Zainul Abideen who was qualified in Maulawi Fazil and Munshi Fazil and was a relative of Maulawi Ghulam Rasool of the Qilla and was accomplished in religious education and was a designated tutor of the Anjuman Hamayat e Islam, Lahore. He challenged Maulawi Muhammad Ali Sialkoti with a Mubahala (prayer duel) on the truthfulness of Huzoor (the Promised Messiah) while standing in a shop in Kashmiri Bazaar. He died of plague a few days later. His wife also died of plague as did his son-in-law who was employed in the department of accountant general. Seventeen members of his family died of the plague after the Mubahala.
It is amazing and can anyone understand the mystery that while in the eyes of these people I am a liar and Dajjal but at the occasion of Mubahala it is these people who die. Can, God forbid, God ever be mistaken? Why does Divine chastisement befall such virtuous people that their death comes with disgrace and abasement! Mian Ma’raj Din writes that there was a contractor in Lahore by the name of Kareem Bakhsh who was extremely offensive and abusive about Huzoor (the Promised Messiah) and behaved this way often. I advised him against this many times but he did not desist. He died at a young age.
Syed Hamid Ali Shah Sialkoti writes that Hafiz Khan Sialkoti was a severe opponent of Huzoor. This is the person who had planned to throw dust on the carriage/conveyance of Huzoor as it passed through Sialkot. He died of severe plague in 1906 and nine or ten members of his family also died of the plague. Similarly, everyone in the city of Sialkot knows that Hakeem Muhammad Shafi who apostatised after taking Bai’at and had founded Madrasatul Qur’an was [the Promised Messiah’s] severe opponent. The unfortunate person could not stay firm on his Bai’at due to his selfish desires and joined the people of Mohalla Loharaan of Sialkot, who were extreme opponents. Ultimately, he too succumbed to the plague and one after the other his wife, mother and brother died of the plague. In addition people who aided his Madrasa were also killed.
Similarly Mirza Sardar Baig Sialkoti who had crossed all limits in his abusive and rude language and who was always engaged in derision and mockery and his words were laden with taunt and impertinence also died, having fallen victim to severe plague. One day he had impertinently said to an Ahmadi: why do you go on about the plague? I will only accept it if I have the plague. Two days later he died of the plague.’ (Haqiqat-ul-Wahi, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 22, pp. 235 – 238)
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote:
‘God appointed me to bring about reformation. He showed such signs in my person that if people who are free of prejudice and have fear of God in their hearts and think judiciously, are informed about them, they can understand the reality of Islam very well from these signs. These signs are not just one or two, in fact there are thousands of such signs, some of which we have written in our book Haqiqatul Wahi. When the thirteenth century Hijrah finished God commissioned me and sent me at the beginning of the fourteenth century. He gave me the names of all the Prophets from Adam till the last and the final names given to me were Promised Isa, and Promised Ahmad and Muhammad. He repeatedly addresses me with both the names. Both these names were alternatively expressed in the words of Messiah and Mahdi.
Among the miracles given to me were prophecies which constitute tremendous matters of the unseen and it is not in anyone’s power apart from God’s to articulate them. There are some prayers which were accepted and thus fulfilled and there are some maledictions through which mischievous enemies were destroyed. Some prayers are in the mode of intercession and are of a greater status than prayer and there are also some Mabahalas (prayer duels) which resulted in God destroying and disgracing the enemies. There are some testimonies of the righteous of the time who bore witness to my truthfulness after receiving revelation from God. There are testimonies of some righteous people of Islam who passed away before I came and who bore witness by mentioning my name and mentioning the name of my village and said that he is the Promised Messiah who will come soon. And some gave the news of my advent when I was not even born and some gave news about my advent at a time when I was around ten or twelve years old. They told some of their followers that they would live long enough to see me. The signs the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) gave regarding the time of the Messiah Promised Mahdi, like solar and lunar eclipse in Ramadan, spread of the plague in the country, all these testimonies were fulfilled for me and up till now I have also seen part of the fourteenth century. The proofs and evidences are so large in number that it they were all written down, they would not been contained even in thousand parts/volumes.’ (Chashma Ma’rafat, Ruhani Khaza’in Vol. 23, pp. 328 – 329)
Huzoor said these extracts gave instances of bad endings of the opponents and instances of acceptance of prayers. Next Huzoor related some incidents of how some people came to accept Ahmadiyyat, both from the time of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and the current times.
Hazrat Sheikh Muhammad Sahib (may Allah be pleased with him) writes that he was about twelve years old when his uncle and cousin took Bai’at but he had neither seen the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in person nor seen his photo. He had a dream in which he felt that he has no life left in his body but his brain has the capacity to think and his eyes have the capacity to see. He sees a holy person sitting and behind him he sees a pair of blessed feet. It is put in his heart that the holy person in the foreground watching him is Mirza Sahib and the feet he can see in the background are those of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). Next morning he asked someone to interpret his dream and was told that he will achieve adherence to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) through Mirza Sahib. He swears by God that when he took Bai’at in 1906 he found the Promised Messiah exactly as he had seen in the dream.
Hazrat Nizam Din Sahib (may Allah be pleased with him) writes that once as he came downstairs after offering Asr Salat he saw two noble looking young men in the vestibule. They asked the whereabouts of Mirza Sahib and said they had travelled from afar. Nizam Sahib offered to take them to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) but they asked him to follow them and took the lead because they wanted to recognise the Messiah themselves. Upstairs an assembly was in session and the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) sat informally without his turban. One of the men asked, is your name Mirza Ghulam Ahmad? He replied, yes. The man asked, do you claim to be the Promised Messiah? He replied, yes. The man said, first I send you greetings of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) followed by my own greetings. The man said he had seen a dream in which the Holy Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) hand was on the shoulder of the Promised Messiah and he was saying: take his Bai’at.
Hazrat Hakeem Ata Muhammad Sahib (may Allah be pleased with him) writes that soon after his Bai’at he was introduced to some Ahmadis and he heard one of them say most lovingly that the Holy Prophet had come to Qadian. He was a bit surprised as to how could Mirza Sahib be the Holy Prophet! He saw a dream in which the Promised Messiah is standing and an angels asks Hakeem Sahib who is he and he replies that he is Mirza Sahib. He then sees that the light of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) comes down from the heavens and enters the brain of the Promised Messiah and then permeates his body. This results in his face becoming luminous. The angel asks again, who is he? And Hakeem Sahib replies, he was first Mirza Sahib, now he is truly the Holy Prophet!
Huzoor said the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) had once said that such guidance from God will continue in his Jama’at until his Jama’at reaches a stage of excellence. Thus people continue to experience such dreams.
In the region of Bala in Mali ninety three villages became Muslim through the Imam of some sect of Islam. After a while his son Adam Sahib succeeded his father. He saw a dream in which the Promised Messiah is in his home in a room while there is large number of people gathered outside waiting for the Promised Messiah. Adam Sahib says to the Promised Messiah that many religious leaders await him outside. Huzoor goes outside and removes the caps of everyone barring Adam Sahib. After accepting Ahmadiyyat Adam Sahib went to many villages along with our mu’allim (educator/teacher) and now more than forty villages have accepted Ahmadiyyat.
Jayara Bukhari Sahib of Burkina Faso says that he started doing Istikhara to find out the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah. After a week he saw a dream in which he sees a tent in which two spiritually radiant people sit. His friend tells him in the dream that one of them is the Messiah but he does not find out who the other person is. By seeing the Promised Messiah it became clear to him that he was truthful otherwise he would not have seen him as an outcome of his Istikhara. He took Bai’at.
A lady from Egypt writes to Huzoor that with the grace of God she is bestowed with some qualities. She saw a dream in which she saw the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and Huzoor. At the time she was not even aware if there was a Khalifa in the world. She saw the two persons as a result of her Istikhara, however, she says she was deluded by Satan. She thanks God that she was enabled to eventually accept the truth and asks for prayers for forgiveness and to remain resolute. Huzoor prayed that may God keep her resolute.
A lady from Morocco writes that she was introduced to the Jama’at through the MTA programme Liqa Ma’al Arab. She says that although the discourse of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (may Allah have mercy on him) was always well-reasoned yet he drew attention to Istikhara and prayer. She thus started Istikhara. In response she saw a large area in which there is a tent and in the tent sits a person who is very sad. Someone comes and asks him why he is so sad. He replies that he is the Promised Messiah and is calling people to the right path but people do not attest to him. The questioner says, I attest to you, I am Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). The lady writes she instantly took Bai’at and started observing Purdah. When she came to the UK and attended Jalsa she felt the marquees at Jalsa to be the same as the tent in which she had seen the Promised Messiah and where the Holy Prophet had attested to him.
Our mu’allim from Mali Abdullah Sahib writes that an opponent of the Jama’at always rang Ahmadiyya radio to hurl abuse. A long time had passed when he rang radio Rabwah FM, our radio station, crying. He said he had seen the Promised Messiah in a dream the night before and he had never experienced the spiritual radiance he saw around the Promised Messiah. He feared that if Ahmadis did not forgive him God may not forgive him either. He was invited to accept Ahmadiyyat which he did!
Our mu’allim Yusuf Sahib writes that a born Muslim from a village in Koulikoro, Mali searched for the truth for a very long time, not sure which sect of Islam was right. When he listened to radio Rabwah and put it to them that he was looking for the truth they suggested that he prayed to God for guidance, God Himself would guide him. He liked this and decided to engage in a spiritual exercise of forty days and nights and decided not to speak to anyone until he received guidance. While some days remained for his spiritual exercise to conclude he saw a dream in which Imam Mahdi came to his house and affectionately patted his son’s head. This convinced him that Ahmadis were on the truth in the world as these are only people who gave news of the advent of the Imam Mahdi. He attended Jalsa in Mali and when he saw a photograph of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) he said this indeed is the person who came to my house in dream and he took Bai’at.
Our missionary Bilal Sahib from Mali writes that an Ahmadi brother came to the radio station and related that his neighbour came to see him and apologised to him in an emotional state. He said that he hated Ahmadiyyat and was always abusive when he listened to Ahmadiyya radio. The previous night he went to sleep while listening to the radio and being abusive. As he slept he saw a dream in which the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) came and scolded him. He apologised to the Holy Prophet in his dream and said that he was an Ahmadi from that day!
Our mu’allim Abdullah Sahib writes from Mali that a student studied Ahmadiyyat via the internet. He then contacted the French Jama’at who informed him of the local Jama’at in Mali. He contacted the mu’allim and asked questions and although he understood everything he did not take Bai’at. He came after a while and said he wanted to take Bai’at. He had seen the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in a dream who had resplendent luminosity on his face of the kind that he had never seen before. Not only he took Bai’at but also said that he would take part in Tabligh!
Our missionary Fateh Sahib from Koulikoro writes that an elderly person came to the radio station and said that his ancestors were idol worshippers but he did not like to worship idols from childhood. When he grew up he refused to worship idols and his parents were unhappy with him but he did not care and accepted Islam. He awaited the advent of the Mahdi. He saw a dream in which a fair skinned holy person appears who has a most luminous face. Someone tells him it is the Mahdi. This dream convinced him the Promised Mahdi had come but no sect of Islam gave his news. When he listened to Ahmadiyya radio he was convinced about the truth of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and he took Bai’at along with all his family. When he saw a photograph of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) he said that it was indeed the same face that he had seen in his dream.
Huzoor said these are all Divine corroborations in support of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). What else can we consider them if not signs and corroborations! If only the others also accept this so that they are guided.
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote: ‘In order to prove that I am from Him God Almighty has shown so many signs that even if they are divided among a thousand Prophets, their Prophethood would be proven. However, as this is the latter-days and Satan’s onslaught, along with his spawns, was to his last that is why God Almighty merged thousands of signs in one place to defeat Satan. Yet, those among people who have satanic nature do not accept and present undue allegations merely as calumniation. They want this movement which was started by God to somehow perish. However, God wishes to strengthen it with His own hands until it reaches the stage of excellence.’ (Chashma Ma’rafat, Ruhani Khaza’in Vol. 23, p. 332)
Huzoor asked for prayers for Muslim Ummah and Muslim countries. May Allah establish peace and security in all the countries and may they acknowledge that there is only one solution to establish peace and security and that is accepting the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) about whom the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) had prophesised. May Allah enable them to do so!