Al Fazl, 24 and 31 October 1921
10 October 1921
Kashmir famine
Regarding the famine in Kashmir, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih[ra] said:
“It was so harsh that there was no end to it. Before it, the price of 18 saar [equal to around one kilogram] rice was one rupee and now the cost of only three saar rice is one rupee. Flour was not available. People used to go around wandering with money in their hands, but they could not get any grain. As our caravan was very large, the necessities were provided by walking around up to 10 kos [a distance of around two miles]. After leaving Srinagar, there was a possibility of being starved. Eventually, government officials forcibly supplied the withheld grain to the markets. The famine was so severe that people used to fry corn flour and put it in rice and drink it. This upset their stomach and they also suffered from intestinal worms.”
A baseless objection of ghair mubai‘een
Huzoor[ra] said:
“When we got there, the ghair mubai‘een [those who refused to take bai‘at of the Second Khalifa] objected to our arrival as to how bad it was [for Kashmir] that the cost of rice had gone up to one rupee per three saar. The people of our Jamaat responded [to them] that, ‘It is not their fault because the said rise in price happened before their arrival. However, after their arrival, there was an increase in the yields of crops.’”
Signs for progressing in faith
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“God Almighty provides for the faith of every person. There was so much rainfall in Kashmir that all the crops fell in danger. The [catastrophe] was only one rainfall away and the clouds were ready, but the people [of Kashmir] came in a group with written requests for prayer. The prayer was carried out and Allah the Almighty, by His sheer grace, tore the clouds apart and the sky became clear. Thereafter, as long as we stayed, it did not rain for a single day. This strengthened their faith. Now, where there are our Ahmadis, there is an increase in the yields of crops. For example, in Nasnoor, etc. Maize crop is grown there and it is also in good condition.”
The beauty of Ganderbal
While talking about the sights of Ganderbal, its atmosphere, the flow of its river, the amazing effect of its cool water and bathing in it, Huzoor[ra] turned to Maulana Sarwar Shah Sahib and said:
“We visited Ganderbal with you as well. However, it was different from this Ganderbal because the fact of the matter is that our guide at that time brought us back half way through.” Huzoor[ra] said, “Due to the healthy climate of Ganderbal, sick people from all over India come there and since all these people are ill, they meet each other with great love, whether they are British or Desi.”
Divine vision about the apostasy of three men
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“I had seen a divine vision in Ganderbal regarding the apostasy of Sagar Chand. I saw that there were three stains on the hem of my turban and the rest of the turban was clean, (while narrating this divine vision, Huzoor[ra] took off his turban, saw it and put it back on his head again). The next day, letters arrived about the apostasy of [the following] three men:
1. Sagar Chand
2. Hakim Saifuddin
3. Abdullah Laliani
11 October 1921
Jalsas are not necessary for preaching
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih asked Sheikh Ghulam Nabi Sahib (a car parts trader) of Dehradun about preaching. Sheikh Sahib submitted that, “Till now, no arrangement has been made for any jalsa, etc., but apart from that, preaching continues.” On hearing this, Huzoor[ra] said:
“People do not convert to Ahmadiyyat through jalsas and not many have become Ahmadis in jalsas. The people with an interest in Ahmadiyyat should be looked for and then preached to. They will convert to Ahmadiyyat.”
Abdul Hameed Sahib, a resident of Aujla, District Gurdaspur, renewed his bai‘at. At first, he was an Ahmadi, then he separated from the Jamaat and started opposing it. Allah the Almighty again provided means for his guidance and blessed him with a chance to return.
Should the funeral not be offered after Asr prayer?
Someone mentioned that at a certain place, a person objected to the performing of funeral prayer after Asr. When the said person was told that people perform the funeral prayer after Asr in Qadian, he said that it was wrong.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“This is not wrong. In fact, it is right. The Promised Messiahas has led funeral prayer [after Asr].” Huzoor[ra] said, “It is the opinion of ignorant women that it is forbidden to offer funeral prayers after Asr or not to bury the dead at night. An African died in the mosque at the time of the Holy Prophetsa. The Companionsra buried him at night. The next day, the Holy Prophetsa said, ‘Why was I not informed? I would also have taken part in his funeral.’”
Mention of Mr Gandhi
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“Mr Gandhi has now started saying that the reason why Swaraj had not been achieved by 30 September [1921] was that the people did not practically act on the boycott, etc., movements.”
The veracity of our viewpoints based on events
Huzoor[ra] then said:
“Muslims will now know that government is not attained with such tactics.” Huzoor[ra] said, “At every step, they will have to accept our viewpoints, insha-Allah, as it happened in the cases of migration and non-cooperation”.
The impact of the current insurgency on our progress
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“At the moment, there is a state of insanity among the people and in the said conditions, our progress in India has come to a standstill because people’s attention has been almost completely diverted from religion.”
Huzoor[ra] then said:
“There is a revelation of the Promised Messiahas:
يَا نَبِيَّ اللّٰهِ كُنْتُ لَا اَعْرِفُكَ
“[(The earth will say), ‘O Prophet of Allah, I did not recognise you.’] This [revelation] shows that the people of the earth will suffer misfortunes and then ultimately cry out again, ‘O Prophet of Allah, we did not recognise you.”
Furthermore, Huzoor[ra] said:
“There is another revelation of the Promised Messiahas:
غلام احمد كی جے
[Victory to Ghulam Ahmad.]
“This [revelation] also shows that there will be a time when there will be a movement of ‘victory’ in every part of the country and the result of this ‘victory’ movement will be that it will have an impact on the progress of our Jamaat. However, the time of the “Victory to Ghulam Ahmad” will ultimately come and there will be strong progress of the Promised Messiah’s Jamaat after the stalemate.”
Real Swaraj
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“The real Swaraj is to rule over one’s self. People say that they had been enslaved by the government. We do not believe that. We take a look at our state that if we are given an order that is against the command of God, then no force can compel us to obey such an order. At the most, what the government can do is to execute us, but for a believer, dying in the way of God is [to be granted a new] life, and slavery is that a person is forced to do against his will.”
Slavery of one’s self is the worst kind of slavery
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“Whatever the British teach, no matter how much they benefit from it, we also benefit from it. To say that it is done to enslave us is high handedness. I say that whatever the inner self makes them do and they act on it, it is very bad and absolute slavery. If the slavery of one’s self can be embodied, then it would have been observed as to what a horrible appearance is that of man; as to how many low desires they have and how many minor moral weaknesses are committed by them. If different moral sins are considered as a chain, then it would seem as if man is bound in yokes and shackles. Thus, the most important and foremost thing is to reform one’s self and free it from all moral weaknesses and sins. What will Swaraj do if there will be no self-improvement?”
14 October 1921
List of books of the Promised Messiahas
Addressing Chaudhry Nasrullah Khan Sahib (lawyer), Huzoor[ra] said:
“You had started compiling the list of the books of the Promised Messiahas. It should be like the key to the Holy Quran, only then can it be really beneficial. Its format should be such that the main word from a phrase should be selected and then all of its related references should be given in one place.”
Bai‘at
The following two persons took bai‘at:
1. Mistri Faiz Sahib, Sri Gobindpur, District Gurdaspur
2. Mistri Muhammad Din Sahib, Sri Gobindpur, Gurdaspur District
Al Fazl, 31 October 1921
20 October 1921
Prophet Moses’ communion with God
Maulvi Ghulam Rasul Sahib Rajeki asked that the Holy Quran mentions about Prophet Mosesas:
رَبِّ اَرِنِيۡۤ اَنۡظُرۡ اِلَيۡكَ
[“(Prophet Moses said), ‘My Lord, show Thyself to me that I may look at Thee.’”]
And from [God’s] side, the answer was:
لَنۡ تَرٰنِيۡ
[“Thou shalt not see Me.”]
And then come the following words:
فَلَمَّا تَجَلّٰی رَبُّهٗ لِلۡجَبَلِ جَعَلَهٗ دَكًّا وَّ خَرَّ مُوۡسٰی صَعِقًا
[“And when his Lord manifested Himself on the mountain, He broke it into pieces and Moses fell down unconscious.”]
In what kind of state did [Mosesas] witness [God’s manifestation]?
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“In my view, when [God’s] manifestation occurred on the mountain, [Mosesas] witnessed it and after seeing the manifestation, he fell down unconscious. This view is also supported by that saying of the Holy Prophetsa in which he says, ‘On the Day of Judgment, all the people will fall unconscious, and I will be the first of them to rise up. Prophet Moses will stand up at that time and his standing at that moment was probably because he had already fainted on the mountain.’”
Maulvi Sahib submitted that the Promised Messiahas received another revelation that:
فَلَمَّا تَجَلّٰی رَبُّهٗ لِلۡجَبَلِ جَعَلَهٗ دَكًّا
[“And when his Lord manifested Himself on the mountain.”]
It is said that this revelation refers to the earthquakes of Bhagsu, etc.
Huzoor[ra] said:
“This is also true. The manifestation which happened as a result of this on the Promised Messiahas caused him to progress in divine wisdom and knowledge, and for the enemies, the same manifestation came as an earthquake in Bhagsu. Otherwise, it does not mean that the phenomenon of Prophet Moses’as unconsciousness was a torment for him.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“The same revelation can be received, but it is not compulsory that the same state must come upon both the recipients. For example, the Holy Prophetsa is Yusuf, but it was not necessary for him to fall in a well or go to Egypt. However, the Holy Prophetsa experienced similar circumstances. In the same way, the manifestation that occurred for Prophet Mosesas happened on the mountain and the manifestation that happened for the Promised Messiahas occurred on the heights of wisdom, which led him to great progress in various sciences and divine wisdom.”
The difference between the Holy Prophetsa and Prophet Mosesas in witnessing [God’s manifestation]
Maulvi Sahib asked that manifestation [of God] occurred for the Holy Prophetsa and also for Prophet Mosesas. However, when the Holy Prophetsa witnessed [God’s manifestation], it was said:
مَا زَاغَ الۡبَصَرُ وَ مَا طَغٰی
[“The eye deviated not, nor did it wander.”]
On the other hand, about Prophet Mosesas, it was said:
خَرَّ مُوۡسٰی صَعِقًا
[“Moses fell down unconscious.”]
That is, Prophet Mosessa lost his consciousness and the Holy Prophetsa remained in his senses.
Huzoor[ra] said:
“There was a difference in the states of the two. The Holy Prophetsa did not ask for witnessing [God’s manifestation], but Prophet Mosesas asked for it. The Holy Prophetsa waited patiently and stood firmly on the place where he was asked to stand, but Prophet Mosesas acted impatiently. As a result, when the Holy Prophetsa witnessed [God’s manifestation], he remained there where he was firmly standing before it. On the contrary, as Prophet Mosesas had requested impatiently, he could not bear [God’s manifestation] when his request was fulfilled. The perseverance with which the Holy Prophetsa bore [God’s] absence, the same perseverance remained when he witnessed Him, but just as Prophet Mosesas could not bear absence [of God], so he could not bear presence.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“It is necessary to be in a state of sa‘iqa [unconsciousness] for witnessing [God]. Prophet Moses[as] experienced more of it at that time. The same thing used to happen to the Holy Prophetsa. As one of the Companionsra says, ‘Once the Holy Prophet was lying with his head on my thigh when he experienced the state of revelation. He became drowsy.’ The Companionra said, ‘At that time, such a burden fell on my thigh that I feared that my bone was going to break.’ However, this was not always the case with the Holy Prophetsa. Many times, the Holy Prophetsa used to receive revelation while sitting. There are some weak traditions which say that he used to fall down [in a state of revelation], but in my view, those traditions are not reliable. Opponents have also taken advantage of such traditions and said that, God forbid, the Holy Prophetsa had epilepsy. However, that never happened to the Holy Prophetsa in state of revelation.”
Huzoor[ra] said:
“In a state of divine vision or revelation, there comes a delay in the external senses and the soul separates from the body to a certain extent. And all the muscles of the body go loose and all the senses become ready to receive the divine revelation. The same thing was experienced by Prophet Mosesas at the time of [God’s] manifestation.”
Is Khutba Ilhamiyah [the Revealed Sermon] a divine revelation?
Maulvi Sahib asked if Khutba Ilhamiyah [the Revealed Sermon] was a divine revelation.
Huzoor[ra] said:
“No, because if that was the case, then the Promised Messiahas would not have made changes to it in some places or added more chapters to it; rather, it is such a work that was supported [by God Almighty]. Its subjects were revealed by divine revelation. Yes, there is a difference between this [Khutba Ilhamiyah] and other books that have been written with corroboration. There is no ijtihadi [the process of making a legal decision in Islamic law by independent interpretation of legal sources] error in its [Khutba Ilhamiyah’s] subjects and there may be ijtihadi error in other books. Although other books have been written with corroboration, their magnificence is not like that of Khutba Ilhamiyah.”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“A revelation is that which the Promised Messiahas has considered as a revelation. There are many types of revelations. Many times, the voice of a holy conscience can also be called a revelation and it comes inside a pure heart with a special state and its manifestation is the heart itself. There are two kinds of revelations. The first kind of revelations descends for the progress of divine wisdom and for the purification and cleansing of the heart of the recipient. The second kind of revelations are related to other people. It is not necessary to narrate the first type of revelations, and the second type of revelations are revealed no matter what their state.”
Meaning of receiving revelation like rain
Maulvi Sahib submitted that, “A Paighami [one of those who did not take bai‘at of the Second Khalifa] had objected to me that where had the Promised Messiahas written that revelation was revealed to him like rain. I showed him a passage in which the Promised Messiahas wrote that a revelation was revealed to him countless times. Is this the meaning of receiving revelation like rain?”
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih said:
“This is certainly the meaning. I have heard from the Promised Messiahas himself that he used to say:
اِنِّيْ مَعَ الرَّسُوْلِ اَقُوْمُ
‘[I shall respond along with the Messenger], and:
اِنِّيْ مَعَكَ وَ مَعَ اَهْلِكَ
[I am with you and with the members of your family]. These two revelations descended on me thousands of times in one night.’ The Promised Messiahas further said, ‘It often happens that I put my head on the pillow and the series of these revelations starts, and when I wake up for the Fajr prayer, the revelations were still being received.’ This used to happen in order to assure him that he was certainly a prophet [of God]. Consequently, when that revelation was sent to him which assured him about his prophethood, it also descended on him with the said intensity and repeatedly.”
(Translated by Al Hakam from the original in the 24 and 31 October 1921 issue of Al Fazl)