Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih said today he would continue with dreams and incidents of that pious group of people who experienced the time of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and were among those ‘latter-ones’ who were included in the ‘earlier ones’. While each incident articulates their pious inner-self and their love for the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) it is also a proof of the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).
Hadhrat Dr Abdul Majeed Khan sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He relates that he saw a dream a few years after the passing away of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). In the dream he saw the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him), the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and Hadhrat Umer (may Allah be pleased with him) in his house. They are all very happy and Majeed sahib is introduced to them by the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). He relates that he found the Promised Messiah (whom be peace) and the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) resemble a lot in their appearance.
Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih explained this was a proof of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) being aظل Zil (shadow/reflection) of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him).
Hadhrat Ghulam Hussain Bhatti sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He relates that once his sincere and pious friend Lal Din sahib saw a dream that he is present in the court of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and offers salaam. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him), who is seated on a chair, reciprocates the greeting and promptly calls Lal Din sahib closer. On his right side sits another person on a chair and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) says: ‘Lal Din have your recognised this person? He is the Mahdi. Recognise him.’ Lal Din sahib replies that he has recognised him and when he looks at the Mahdi he sees rays of light emanating from his face. After seeing this dream Lal Din sahib was inclined towards God and people started calling him crazy. When a Maulwi Sultan Hamid sahib who was a great Hakeem heard this dream he promptly left for Qadian. After his return Lal Din sahib said to him that although he had been to Qadian and Lal Din sahib had not, he could still be asked what the place looked like. Lal Din sahib proceeded to correctly illustrate in words how the place looked. After listening to his account Ghulam Hussain sahib and two others wrote letters of Bai’at and after a short while Ghulam Hussain sahib, Lal Din sahib and a couple of other people decided to go to Qadian. En route Lal Din sahib saw another dream which he related to his companions. In the dream he saw the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) asks him what was the point of bringing along a donkey? Interpreting the dream, Lal Din sahib insisted that anyone in the group who had hypocritical thoughts should say so. One of their companions said he had no intention of Bai’at and was only travelling with them to see that Lal Din sahib did not stay on at Qadian.
Eventually they reached Qadian in the afternoon. It was meal time and someone called out that everyone should come and eat. As they all gathered someone asked them which district did they hail from and Lal Din sahib replied Multan. He then asked what got them interested in coming to Qadian and Lal Din sahib related his dream. The man asked him would he be able to recognise the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and Lal Din sahib said he would. The host proceeded to query him if anyone from among some of the people who came was the Promised Messiah and Lal Din sahib said no each time. Eventually when a side window opened and the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) looked in the mosque, Lal Din sahib promptly said that was the Promised Messiah adding he could see the same aura of light around him as he had seen in his dream.
Hadhrat Maulwi Muhammad Ismail sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He relates that Hadhrat Babu Meeran Baksh sahib (may Allah be pleased with him), who was later included in the 313 companions of the Messiah, fell ill. He went to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) for treatment and stayed a month during which time he had many opportunities to meet the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). He saw dreams three continuous nights. In the last dream an awe-inspiring person holding a sword alerts him to take Bai’at and he took Bai’at the next morning.
Hadhrat Mian Sonay Khan sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He relates that their family buffalo had a calf and it was customary to make rice pudding with the mother buffalo’s milk of the day after the birth and offer it at some shrine. Sonay Khan sahib’s wife made the pudding and gave some to his father and uncle but they declined saying Sonay Khan had become a Kafir [Ahmadi]. A visitor came by and he was also offered the pudding. He prayed and ate it and then asked Sonay sahib what had the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) taught him. Sonay sahib replied that he had taught him to observe five daily Prayers, engage in Durood [invoking blessings and salutations on the Holy Prophet] and accept him as the true Mahdi. The person said Sonay Khan sahib should have asked by saying which version of Durood, and which Quranic verse could one hope to see the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and he also asked which Durood did the Promised Messiah abide by. Sonay sahib wrote a letter to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) on the same day. He relates that he used to say formulaic prayers in accordance with his earlier traditions and he wrote down all those in his letter to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).
In his reply the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) wrote: My time is of the early Islam, i.e. time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). The invocations you have mentioned are of no use and they will have no effect in this age. My invocations are those which were of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him), that is, recite Surah Al Fatihah, recite Durood, abundantly engage in Istaghfar and recite ‘La Hawl’; these will avail beneficence. I abide by all those [versions of] Durood that have been mentioned in Ahadith. However, the condition is that when you recite Durood and wish to see the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) you must establish his love in your heart and forsake the love of your children and all other loves.’ Sonay sahib relates he started recitation of a version of Durood known as ‘Durood Hazara’ about which it is said that it facilitates one to see the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him).
Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih explained it is called Durood Hazara because it is recited a thousand (hazar) times after Tahajjud.
Sonay sahib had a dream a few days later in which he saw ‘Mirza sahib’ take him by the hand to the court of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) who is seated on a throne and people are standing by in queues. Addressing the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said out aloud that he had made good arrangement regarding Sonay Khan to which the Prophet responds that he has accepted it. Then, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) seeks permission and leaves. Sonay Khan sahib also saw some departed holy persons in the dream who all acknowledged the Mahdi and said they had taken his Bai’at.
Sonay sahib relates that when the Promised Messiah’s (on whom be peace) court case with Karam Din came up, he had no Ahmadi nearby and everyone said that the Mirza sahib would be imprisoned as a result of the case. Sonay sahib went to see an Ahmadi who told him not to worry and to recite Durood and pray. Sonay sahib abundantly recited Durood and Surah Al Fatihah. A few days later he saw a dream that a man bring a corpse of a boy wrapped in seven layers and places it by Sonay sahib who asks him what it is? The man told him to take a look. Sonay sahib started to unwrap it. When he un-wrapped the sixth layer, he said that it was the form of a monkey who had made allegations against Mirza sahib. In the dream he was sitting on rooftop and he threw down the dead body. Later, Sonay sahib wrote to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) about the dream who replied: ‘this is how he will be exposed’, meaning Karam Din and indeed this came to pass.
Hadhrat Dr Abdul Wali sahib Karak (may Allah be pleased with him): He relates that after reading ‘Anjaam Athaam’ (book by the Promised Messiah) he started reading other books. In a dream he saw a minaret with an adjacent door. The door is old-fashioned with carvings. He wants to go inside but the door does not open easily. He pushes it open and is hurled inside but does not fall. He sees many parks there with beautiful flowers. He then thinks that the train to Lahore is ready to leave but images that he does not have a ticket. A person who appears to be a train driver tells him it does not matter if he has no ticket he could hold onto the bars of the train and travel but should be careful not to fall asleep. Karak sahib holds onto the bars but also rubs his eyes just in case he does not fall asleep. When he related this dream to an Ahmadi it was interpreted to him as a sign for him to take Bai’at. He promptly wrote a letter regarding this and received a reply of approval in a couple of days advising him to observe his Salat regularly and also recite Durood.
Mian Sharafat Ahmad sahib relates about his father Hadhrat Maulwi Jalal ud Din (may Allah be pleased with him) that he was a recipient of Divine revelations even before he became an Ahmadi and this gained great momentum after Bai’at and he saw the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) many times. Once his father related a dream to some friends at Masjid Darul Rahmat; he said that a companion of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) used to see the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) every day and every day he would inform the Promised Messiah about the dream or the vision and the Promised Messiah would write down in pen whether it was correct or not. Maulwi Jalal ud Din sahib felt this was wrong practice and was close to feeling this doubt in an intense way when God saved him. One night he had a dream and saw an assembly of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) in which the Promised Messiah is also present. Someone in the audience asks that it is stated about Makkah that whoever went to Makkah came in peace but the Holy Prophet had not found peace there and had to take refuge in Medinah. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) replied that it was also true that no one could conquer Makkah but he did. Next morning the person who related his dreams to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) came and wrote down his dream of the night before and submitted it to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Maulwi sahib also read the text and the dream read exactly the same as his own dream that he had seen the night before. Thus God helped him in realising that the dreams related to the Promised Messiah (on whom be be peace) by the other companion were true.
Hadhrat Jan Muhammad sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He took Bai’at in 1892. He came to know about Ahmadiyyat when he came to Amritsar. He prayed profusely in the last days of Ramadan to be informed of the truthfulness of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and he also performed Istakhara for this. He was shown that he is offering Salat but he is not facing the right direction of Qibla and due to an eclipse of the sun daylight is very dim. The next night after Salat he again prayed most heart-wrenchingly. He saw the Promised Messiah in a dream who said to him the real time for Prayer is after midnight. Just as the cry of a baby produces milk in the mother’s breast, similarly by supplicating to God in the early hours God’s mercy comes closer. After this dream Jan sahib became a follower of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). One benefit he reaped of keeping the holy company of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) was that one night during Tahajjud Salat in the prostration posture, he felt lightheaded and was shown a vision in which a pure-faced angel comes holding a white pot of water and a beautiful knife and says, ‘I have come for your inner cleansing.’ Jan sahib happily tells him to go ahead and do the cleansing as he wishes. The angel cuts his chest open and thoroughly cleanses him with the pure water of the pot. Jan sahib feels no pain and no trepidation. When the angel is gone Jan sahib wonders how he is going to offer Salat with a cut up body. He moves his hands and legs but feels no pain. Just then he returned to an awakened state.
Jan sahib relates that from his early years he did not ever feel any antagonism towards the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Once he happened to be in Multan with his father who worked as a clerk and Jan sahib did labouring. The month of Ramadan came, he kept the fast and on Eid day after going for Eid Salat he fell asleep past Asr Salat. The weather was hot so he slept till the morning. In the early hours of the morning he saw a dream in which he is in his own village on Eid day and they are all going to the Eid Gah but in the opposite direction to where it is. They are all going eastwards. On the way back from Eid Gah he sits on a hillock. When he moves the hillock it shifts and he finds a door underneath which leads to a vestibule where he finds a few pairs of very fine shoes. He also takes his shoes off there and goes inside and finds a beautiful arbour like structure called ‘baradari’ [a traditional Mughal structure with twelve doors] in which two boys are beautifully reciting the Holy Qur’an. Some holy persons are also there who tell Jan sahib that they had been waiting for him. Jan sahib goes in another room to find a holy person dressed in green who is reciting the Qur’an. He calls Jan sahib by his name and tells him that he had been waiting for him. He puts his arms around Jan sahib and asks him if he has read the Quran? Jan sahib replies he was taught to read the first seven parts but he reads the rest himself. The holy person opens the Qur’an and asks Jan sahib to read it. The first verse that he has to read is: ‘These Messengers…’ (2:254). Meanwhile, the holy person leaves. Jan sahib wonders who the holy person was when he is informed from the unseen that someone is saying this was Khizar (on whom be peace) and the two boys were Hadhrat Imam Hassan and Hadhrat Imam Hussain (may Allah be pleased with them). This is when Jan sahib woke up but he remained puzzled by this dream for a couple of days and no one had any answers for him. Some seven or eight years later when he took Bai’at on the hand of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) did he realise that the holy person in his dream was indeed the Promised Messiah; a Prophet in this age.
Hadhrat Mistri Din Muhammad sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He relates that one evening the thought came to his mind that those who took early/initial Bai’ats have their names documented in a register and that he had missed out. That night he had a dream in which he saw the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) sitting down with a pen in his hand and a register in his lap and he asks Mistri sahib what is his name and what is his profession. Mistri sahib replies that he is Mistri Din Muhammad and he is an ironsmith by profession. Next day he related the dream to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) in person who told him, ‘your name has been documented.’ At the time many elders of the community were present there including Hadhrat Maulana Nur ud Din and Maulwi Muhammad Ali. Maulwi Muhammad Ali said, ‘my name is also not documented anywhere’ to which the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) did not respond.
Hadhrat Ameer Khan sahib (may Allah be pleased with him): He relates that in 1904 he saw a field in a dream. The field is fenced off by rows of trees which stand a span apart. There is only one entrance to the field and inside the field there is a lush green crop of wheat. A cow stands outside the field wanting to eat the greenery inside and is trying to push its mouth through the gap between trees to get to the crop but cannot succeed. Ameer sahib realises that just as the cow cannot succeed to get to the crop without finding the entrance to the field, similarly without finding the Promised Messiah (onwhom be peace) one cannot find God. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) is like the entrance to the field and anyone who does not go through the door cannot find God.
Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih explained that this is because the Promised Messiah has been sent as the Imam of the age in subordination of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him).
Ameer Khan sahib relates that he once saw a dream in which Sheikh Hamid Ali Khan sahib who looked after the catering of the guests of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) is about to serve dried Arabian dates to the guests. However, as he serves the dates, they become large and luscious and Hamid Ali sahib says, ‘these dried dates from Arabia are being served to you after being turned succulent.’
Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih explained that this connotes that revival of Islam took place through the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).
In another dream Ameer Khan sahib saw a Sikh boy being unsuccessfully exorcised through ‘magic spells’ and fire etc. Ameer Khan sahib is taught the remedy in the dream. He is told to take a white paper and draw the shape of ‘Jinn’ on it and then read verse 2 of Surah Al Nas: ‘Say, I seek refuge with the Lord of cleaving’ (114:2) and cross out the Jinn on the paper with pen. Repeat this several times and the Jinn will be smashed to pieces. He says this is what happened and when he woke up from the dream an Urdu poetic verse of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) extoling the greatness of the words of the Holy Qur’an was on his lips.
After recounting the incidents of companions of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih announced that he would lead two funeral Prayers in absentia after Friday Salat.
Abdul Majeed Dogar sahib passed away on 23 December at the age of 82. He had lived most of his life in Rabwah but was currently in Sweden. His grandfather and father both had the honour of being companions of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace). Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih’s father had told him that Dogar sahib’s father Master Chiragh Muhammad sahib had taught Khalifatul Masih III (may Allah have mercy on him) as well as Hudhur’s father. It is also said that he even taught Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV (may Allah have mercy on him).
Dogar sahib was a man of many qualities. He had a fervent and devotional connection with Khilafat and would be moved to tears at its mention. He had a very loving relationship with missionaries and Waaqfeen e Zindagi (life devotees). Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih said he has personally observed love and affection in his eyes. He observed Salat regularly, helped the poor and was a sincere person who loved doing Tabligh. He had written letters to the King of Sweden, to President Obama and also to the Pope. When he was in hospital he gave copies of ‘Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam’ to all the doctors there. When Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih went to Sweden after his Wasiyyat Tehrik of 2005 he asked Dogar sahib to join the Wasiyyat scheme along with his family. He acknowledged this as a favour on his family when they joined the scheme. May God elevate his station and may his children fulfil their pledge of Bai’at.
Malik Shafiq Ahmad sahib architect passed away on 6 January in New Jersey. He was in good health and had gone to a wedding where he was preparing to offer Salat before the event. He suffered a heart attack. He was attended by a cardiologist who was there and then taken to hospital but Malik sahib passed away on arrival. He was an engineer by profession and had served in the ministry of defence. After retirement he had moved to the USA. He had served the Jama’at in many projects. When Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV made some changes regarding the construction of Baitul Futuh in 2001 he had Malik sahib come over for consultation and he stayed here for some time in this regard. He was currently working on the construction of a few mosques, although he was not a Waqfe Zindagi he served in the spirit of it. He would not listen to a word contrary to the Jama’at or Khilafat and experienced deep pleasure in worship of God. Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih said he had personal experience of overseeing Malik sahib’s work who would come promptly when asked even though at the time he was in civil service. May God elevate his station and keep his progeny connected to the Jama’at.