Ever since the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) made his claim and established his Jama’at and up until today Muslims have continuously alleged against the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and his followers that we deny the concept of finality of Prophethood because the Promised Messiah called himself a Prophet or because we accept him as a Prophet. It is of course a completely fabricated allegation. In accordance with the teaching of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) we are more convinced of the finality of Prophethood of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and demonstrate it more and our hearts are more filled with love for the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and we spread his faith more than other Muslim sects. In fact they have not understood the status of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) even a fraction as compared to how Ahmadis have in light of the teachings of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace).
They have always opposed Ahmadis on the basis of finality of Prophethood. Time and again something causes an upsurge in this and so-called religious leaders and organisations try and provoke Muslims. In order to save their skin following the recent martyrdom of an Ahmadi in Glasgow our opponents have tried to make it an issue of religious sentiments. However, due to the very positive stance of the Government on the matter and the intense interest shown by media, Muslim organisations, in fact the biggest Muslim organisation here, tried to adopt an apparently sympathetic position. Still, most obdurately they maintained that regardless of everything Ahmadi are not Muslims. This point is widely expressed in their mosques and is so ingrained in the general Muslim populace that Muslim children who probably do not even properly remember the Kalima and have no idea what finality of Prophethood is, tell Ahmadi children in schools that they are not Muslim. Some girls and boys recently wrote letters to Hazrat Khalifatul Masih about this treatment. Huzoor said, I say to them to learn about Islam more than ever and tell your friends that you are Muslim and you practice teachings of Islam. We accept the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) as the Seal of the Prophets and in light of his prophecy we accept the Promised Messiah as his servant and subordinate Prophet.
This upsurge of hostility against Ahmadis rises in different countries time and again and because of media and ease of travel the enmity reaches everywhere. Thus no country in the world is safe from the so-called Muslims who spread disorder and chaos. They reach everywhere, including Africa. Ahmadis built mosques in Africa, so they reached there to pronounce that Ahmadis are not Muslims! Those who live here, in Europe give the same teaching in their mosques and madrassas and are thus filling their children’s minds with venom. In order to counter them wherever they reach, it is the duty of our Ahmadi youth to be well-versed in the true teachings of Islam which the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has elucidated to us in this age. Which is that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) was the last law-bearing Prophet and in terms of religious law (Shariah) Prophethood was finalised in his person. Likewise, the Holy Qur’an is the last law-bearing Book and the Promised Messiah has come in the subordination of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and as such is a subordinate Prophet who has come to continue and spread the Shariah of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) in the world.
We have always observed what God’s treatment has been thus that when these oppositions surge, they work as a means of growth and development for us. In light of the current opposition and media’s reporting on it, the Jama’at has received huge coverage which probably would not have been possible to achieve in such a short period. It garnered a lot of attention as well as informed those Ahmadi youth who were not so interested in religion and only joined in on rare occasions that we accept the Promised Messiah was a Prophet but only in subordination of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him).
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) duly fulfilled his role as a subordinate Prophet and upheld the Holy Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) station of Seal of the Prophets and also guided us on the matter. He said:
‘Most certainly be mindful that no person can be a true Muslim and a follower of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) unless he accepts the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) as the Seal of the Prophets. He is nothing unless he disassociates himself from innovations and accepts the Holy Prophet as the Seal of the Prophets and demonstrates this through his word and practice.’ (Malfuzat, Vol. III, p. 90)
Quoting Saadi (classic Persian poet) where he said that one should endeavour for devotion and righteousness by all means but should not relinquish the manner as taught by the Holy Prophet, the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said:
‘Our objective, for which God Almighty has made our heart fervent is that only the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) be established which has been established by God Almighty for always and ever more and all false prophethoods, which they have set up through people’s innovation, are crushed to smithereens. Observe all these religious enthronements and witness for yourself if we have accepted the finality of Prophethood of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) or they have?
It is unfair and mischievous to consider that God Almighty only willed this much regarding finality of Prophethood that one should verbally accept the concept of finality of Prophethood but carry on doing whatever one wanted to do. And make new religious law of one’s own. Just as they have invented Baghdadi Salat and Ma’akoos Salat etc. Do we find any indication towards it in the Holy Qur’an or the practice of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him)? Similarly, is there any proof in the Holy Qur’an that the name of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilanai should be incanted and invoked! Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani was not even around at the time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). Who taught this incantation then? Have some shame. Is this what constitutes abiding by Islamic Shariah? Judge for yourself if after having such creed and such practices are you in a position to allege against me that I broke the hallmark of the Seal of the Prophets? The truth of the matter is that had you not let innovations enter your mosques and had you accepted the true Prophethood of the Seal of the Prophets (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and made his practice and his ways your guiding light there would have been no need for me to come! It were your innovations and new prophethoods that stirred the sense of honour of Allah the Exalted to send a person in the mantle of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) to demolish the idols of these false prophethoods. God appointed me for this task and sent me. I have heard that a certain incantation is done at the place of Ghous Ali Panipati. As for prostrating before these people who are religiously enthroned or circumnavigating their homes, well those are very common and minor matters.
In short, Allah the Exalted established this Jama’at for this reason alone so that they may re-establish the Prophethood and honour of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). What would be the uniqueness of someone’s love who considers himself an ardent devotee of someone if there are thousands others like him! Now, if they are completely devoted in their ardent love of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) as they claim, why do they prostrate before thousands of tombs and shrines? They do visit Medina, but when they visit Ajmir and other shrines, they go barefoot and bareheaded and consider going through a window at Pakpattan sufficient to grant them salvation…a true Muslim’s heart trembles seeing their anniversaries and their festivals and what they have made of religion! If God Almighty had no sense of honour for Islam and ‘Surely, the true religion with Allah is Islam…’ (3:20) had not been Word of God and had He not stated: ‘Verily, We Ourself have sent down this Exhortation, and most surely We will be its Guardian.’ (15:10) then certainly Islam had reached the stage today that there would have been no doubt in it been eliminated. But the sense of honour of Allah the Exalted was stirred and His mercy and His promise of safeguard demanded to send down someone in the reflection of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and revive his Prophethood in this age. Thus, He established this movement and sent me as one appointed by Him and as Mahdi.’ (Malfuzat, Vol. III, pp. 90-92)
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said: ‘My real objective is to make evident the majesty of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and to establish his greatness. My own part is incidental. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) has the power of attraction and beneficence and my part is only by virtue of this beneficence.’ (Malfuzat, Vol. III, p. 269)
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said: ‘I also say that those who come from God do not say anything bad, they only ask to worship God, be kind to creation and offer Salat. They remove the wrongs that find their way in religion. Thus I have also been sent for the reformation of the wrongs that have developed…The biggest wrong is that the greatness of Allah the Exalted has been dragged in dust and the true, important and excellent teaching of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) on Unity of God has been made doubtful. On the one hand are Christians who say that Jesus is alive and your Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) is not alive and they call Hazrat Isa god and son of God since he has been alive for two thousand years and time has had no effect on him. On the other hand Muslims have acknowledged that certainly Jesus was raised alive to the heavens and remains in the same condition for the past two thousand years. There has been no change or alteration in his condition while the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) has died. I say truly that my heart trembles when I hear a Muslim maulawi say that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) has died. A living Prophet has been declared dead. There could not be worse disgrace and dishonour of Islam! Yet this wrong is of the making of Muslims themselves who have made something up completely against the Holy Qur’an. The Holy Qur’an mentions death of Jesus most clearly. However, the rectification of this wrong was to be performed by me because God has called me Hakm (arbiter) who was to come and remove this wrong. The world did not accepted him but God will accept him and will establish his truth with powerful assaults. Matters like these have harmed the world a great deal.
However, the time has now come that all the falsehood is made exposed. These matters cannot remain hidden from one who God has sent as Hakm…The Holy Qur’an has clearly adjudged that the Promised Messiah will be the definitive Khalifa and he has come. If someone will still remain narrow-minded…not only will he be at a loss himself but will also be considered as harming Islam. Fact is that this wrong and foul creed has made hundreds of thousands of people apostatise. This principle has severely disgraced Islam and has insulted the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). If it is accepted that it is Jesus who gives life to the dead, who was raised alive to the heavens and who will make the final judgement, then God forbid, our Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be on him) would have no status. Although he has been called mercy for all the worlds and came as the Prophet for all humanity and was the Seal of the Prophets! People who adhere to such nonsensical creed in spite of being called Muslim, also believe that, God forbid, of all the birds around some belong to Jesus and some to Allah the Exalted. I once asked a believer in the Unity of God that what if two animals were to be presented and it was asked which one of them was God’s and which was of Jesus. He replied, they are now mixed up.’ (Malfuzat, Vol. III, PP. 251-252)
Illustrating that the Promised Messiah’s (on whom be peace) devotion to prove the high status of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) was not limited to intellectual exercise but his practices also demonstrated the teachings of Islam, below are some accounts from his blessed life.
A young man named Abdul Haq who had converted to Christianity from Islam came to Qadian and met the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and discussed many issues. He said that when he told a Christian that he was about to travel to Qadian the person verbally abused the Promised Messiah which Abdul Haq found very unpleasant. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) replied: ‘I am not concerned that people are verbally abusive to me. I receive many abusive letters even those letters for which I have to pay the postage. When I open them they are abusive. I am abused in posters and now people are being abusive even on post cards. But these things do not matter and God’s light cannot be extinguished. The ungrateful have always treated Prophets and the truthful in this manner. What happened to Jesus of Nazareth in whose footsteps I have come! And what treatment was given to our Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him). Foul people are still abusive towards him. I am a sincere well-wisher of humanity and anyone who considers me an enemy is his own enemy.’ (Malfuzat, Vol. III, p. 126)
During his stay the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) encouraged Abdul Haq to ask as many questions and as frequently as he needed to.
He said: ‘I advise you yet again that unless you understand something you should question again and again. It is not a good to say that I have understood even when one has not. This does not result well. This is what Siraj ud Din did when he came here and did not benefit at all. Did he say anything to you?’ Abdul Haq said, ‘yes, he stopped me from coming here and said there was no need to visit. He said now that we have found the truth what is the need to go on searching! He also said that on his return when you saw him off you walked with him for three miles and that you were perspiring.’
Editor of Al Badr writes in a note: Good-natured people should reflect on the affection and compassion of the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) and imagine the passion he felt to save a soul. Was walking with him as he saw him off for three miles not merely borne of compassion? What else did he have to do with Mian Sirah ud Din? Had one’s nature been good one could find the truth merely by this display of compassion. God’s salutations be on you, who had such passion for us….
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said: ‘He understood [my] perspiration to be an indication as if there was nothing in this. Alas! You should have asked him why he offered Salat during his stay here. And did he not say that he was satisfied! If he were here in front of me I would ask him on oath. When face to face one is embarrassed [not to lie].
Abdul Haq said: ‘I did ask him about Salat and he acknowledged offering it and then eventually said he will go somewhere with cool climate to decide. Mr. Siraj ud Din had also said that Mirza Sahib seeks publicity. I asked him four questions and he published the answers.’
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) replied: ‘There is no element of seeking publicity in this. Why would I conceal the truth! Had I concealed it I would have been sinful and it would have been wrong. God has commissioned and appointed me so I will speak the truth and will take the task that I am entrusted with to humanity.’
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said to Abdul Haq: ‘You are our guest and a guest can only be comfortable if he is not too formal. If you are in need of something you should not hesitate to ask me.’ He then told the Jama’at people, ‘He is our guest and it is befitting that each one of you is very courteous to him and should see to it that he is not inconvenienced in any way.’ (Malfuzat, Vol. III, pp. 111-112)
A Qureshi Sahib who was unwell came to Qadian for treatment and sent several requests for prayers to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) who replied that he would pray. One evening Qureshi Sahib sent a request to the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) that he wished to meet him but could not visit due to swollen feet. The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) promised to visit him at the place of his residence, which he did. He spoke to him at length about his ailment and then said the following by way of tabligh:
‘I have prayed but the fact is that mere prayers cannot avail unless God so wills. Needy people go through so many difficulties but their difficulties can be removed by a little influence and attention of one in authority. Similarly everything happens by the command of Allah the Exalted. I experience acceptance of prayers at that time when Allah the Exalted commands because although He has stated: ‘…Pray unto Me…’ He has also said: ‘…I will answer your prayer…’ (40:61)
It is important that man brings about a pure change in himself and internally reconciles with God Almighty and finds out why has he come in this world and how much has he tried to fulfil that objective. Until man incurs the wrath of Allah the Exalted he is not embroiled in any difficulty. But if man brings about change God Almighty turns to him in compassion. At such a time a physician is also inspired to diagnose correctly. Nothing is difficult for God Almighty, rather, He is Exalted: ‘Verily His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, ‘Be!,’ and it begins to be.’ (36:83)
I once read in a newspaper that a Deputy Inspector cleaned his nails with a pencil that caused swelling and infection in his hand. So much so that the doctor suggested amputating his hand. He thought it was something minor and this resulted in his death. Likewise I once sharpened pencil with my nail. When I went for a walk the next day I thought of the Deputy Inspector, meanwhile my hand was infected. I prayed immediately and received a revelation. When I looked my hand was completely healed, there was no swelling or pain. In short when God Almighty’s blessings come no pain or difficulty remain. However, it is essential that man brings about a change in himself. Following this when God sees that a person is useful He grants him progress. It is written clearly regarding this matter in our Book: ‘…but as for that which benefits men, it stays on the earth…(13:18) and similar statements are found in earlier books…
Man has been sent for a very important task but when it is time he does not fulfil the task. And God deals with him. Take the case of home help, if they do not work properly they are dismissed. Why would God Almighty keep someone who does not fulfil his obligation!
Our Mirza Sahib [Promised Messiah’s father] had treatment for fifty years. He used to say that he did not find … prescription. It is true that without God Almighty’s command every particle that we may ingest cannot be of benefit. We should engage a lot in seeking forgiveness from God so that God may grant His blessings. When God’s blessings come prayer is accepted. God states that He will accept prayers and He also states that His decree should be accepted. This is why unless God’s command is forthcoming I do not hope much for acceptance of prayer. Man is extremely weak and feeble. We should keep God’s grace in sight.’ (Malfuzat, Vol. III, pp. 317-319)
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said: ‘The biggest right among the rights of Allah the Exalted is that He should be worshipped and this worship should not be for any personal gain. In fact even if there was not any heaven or hell, God should still be worshipped and there should be no change in the personal love that creation should have for its Creator…My belief as regards compassion for humanity is that one’s heart is not completely cleansed unless one prays for one’s enemy. Allah the Exalted has not placed any restriction in ‘…Pray unto Me I will answer your prayer…’ (40:61) that if one prayers for an enemy God will not accept that prayer. In fact it is my belief that it is Sunnah to pray for one’s enemy. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) used to often pray for Hazrat Umer (may Allah be pleased with him) and this led him to become a Muslim. Therefore one should not have personal enmity borne of malice…It is something to be thankful that I do not see any enemy for whom I have not prayed two or three times. There is not even a single such enemy. I teach you the same. God Almighty is just as wary of someone who really inflicts pain on another and has undue enmity borne of malice as He does not want anyone associated with Him. In one instance God does not want disassociation and in the other instance He does not want association, that is, He does not want mutual disassociation between humanity and any association with Him. And in this way one should also pray for those who deny [the truth] this clears the heart, engenders conviction and raises courage. Therefore unless our Jama’at adopts this stance there can be no distinction between them and the others. It is important for me that when a person befriends another in the way of faith and someone among his relatives is underprivileged that the person treats him with extreme forbearance and gentleness and loves them…Thus, those of you who are connected to me should become a community about which it is stated [in hadith] that it is a community whose close friends are not the wicked. This is a summary of the teaching presented as regards imbibing the attributes of Allah.’ (Malfuzat, Vol. III, pp. 96-97)
These are just a few extracts from the huge treasure-trove that the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) has given us and we see that he fulfilled the dues of adopting and implementing the teachings of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and the Holy Qur’an. He did not simply raise a slogan of finality of Prophethood, in fact his each word and deed was in subordination of his master. He instructed and advised his followers to also abide by this teaching. May God enable us to fulfil the dues of being included in the Promised Messiah’s Jama’at and enable us to put the teaching in practice and may God give us rightful insight into the high status of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) and may we present Islam’s true picture to the world!