Guidance regarding basic Islamic issues that Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa, has given on various occasions in his written correspondence and during MTA programmes is being published officially below for everyone’s benefit.
What is the Ahmadiyya interpretation of the story of Musa and Khidr?
Someone wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa, enquiring about the reality of the narrative concerning Prophet Mosesas and Khidr. He asked whether this event actually occurred physically or if it recounts a spiritual journey, noting that a divergence exists within the Jamaat’s literature regarding whether the event was apparent [zahiri] or visionary [kashfi]. He sought the actual position.
Huzoor-e-Anwaraa, in his letter dated 16 September 2023, provided the following guidance regarding this matter:
“The first point is that the Holy Quran is God Almighty’s final law-bearing Book; its knowledge and insights extend until the Day of Resurrection. Allah the Almighty continues to grant the gnosis of Quranic sciences to His Prophets, saints [awliya] and chosen ones according to the needs of every age, in accordance with the following Quranic teaching:
وَإِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا عِنْدَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ وَمَا نُنَزِّلُهُ إِلَّا بِقَدَرٍ مَعْلُومٍ
“‘And there is not a thing but with Us are the treasures thereof and We send it not down except in a known measure.’ (Surah al-Hijr, Ch.15: V.22)
“Interpreting this verse, the Promised Messiahas states:
“‘It is clearly proved from this verse that everything found in the world has descended from heaven alone. This is in the sense that the causative factors [‘ilal-e-mujibah] of these things are from that very True Creator and also in the sense that every craft manifests through His revelation [ilham], inspiration [ilqa], instruction and the bestowing of reason and understanding. However, it does not manifest beyond the need of the time and the breadth of knowledge granted to every Divinely Commissioned one [Mamur min Allah] is also bestowed in accordance with the need of the time. By this same deduction, the subtleties, deep insights and truths of the Holy Quran are also unveiled strictly in accordance with the need of the time.’ (Izala-e-Auham, Part II, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 3, pp. 450-451)
“The second point is that the Holy Prophetsa, upon whose perfectly pure heart this Sharia was revealed, mentioned the vastness of the Holy Quran’s knowledge and spiritual insights and its limitless meanings, by stating:
أُنْزِلَ الْقُرْآنُ عَلَى سَبْعَةِ أَحْرُفٍ، لِكُلِّ آيَةٍ مِنْهَا ظَهْرٌ وَبَطْنٌ، وَلِكُلِّ حَدٍّ مُطَّلَعٌ
“‘The Quran has been revealed in seven modes [ahruf]; for every verse within it, there is an apparent aspect [zahr] and a hidden aspect [batn].’ (Mishkat al-Masabih, Kitab al-‘ilm, al-fasl ath-thani, Hadith 238)
“Thus, based on these truths expounded by the Holy Quran and Holy Prophetsa, when the Promised Messiahas narrated the incident of Prophet Mosesas and the righteous servant of Allah mentioned in the Quran, he described the apparent [zahiri] meaning of this verse, as this was the interpretation prevalent among the general Muslims of that era. Furthermore, the need of the time dictated that by explaining the apparent meanings of these verses, the erroneous concept held by people – that Allah the Almighty cannot send revelation to anyone other than a Prophet – should be refuted with arguments and this error be rectified.
“Accordingly, the Promised Messiahas clarified to the general public and specifically to the scholars of the Ummah, by inferring from the apparent meanings of these verses, that Allah the Almighty can send revelation and inspiration to a non-prophet as well. To support this, he presented four examples from the Holy Quran – referencing the disciples of Jesusas, Mary the mother of Jesusas, the mother of Mosesas and the aforementioned man of God in the incidents of Mosesas – thereby providing proof from the Holy Quran of the descent of revelation upon all these individuals.
“Moreover, the Promised Messiahas deduced from the incidents of the mother of Mosesas and the man of God with Prophet Mosesas that, in addition to a Prophet, the revelation of a wali is also definitive. It was for this reason that the mother of Mosesas, considering her revelation to be true and certain, cast her newborn child into the river, pushing him to the brink of possible destruction. Similarly, that righteous servant, deeming his revelation true and certain, killed a child. Had these individuals not considered their revelation to be true and certain, they would never have done so.
“Then, from the incident of Mosesas and this righteous servant, Huzooras drew a third inference: that we should not object to such Friends of Allah [awliyaullah] who are stationed at a high rank of wilayah and whose being recipients of divine revelation is proven with certainty through other arguments and heavenly signs, even if their words and actions are beyond our understanding, for we cannot comprehend their reality.
“All these arguments presented by the Promised Messiahas could only be made by explaining the apparent meaning of these verses, not by explaining their hidden [batini] meanings. Therefore, he was content with the apparent meaning of these verses.
“Subsequently, during the blessed era of Khilafat-e-Ahmadiyya, when the time came to explain the hidden meanings of these Quranic verses, in exact accordance with the prophecies of the Holy Prophetsa, the manifestations of Khilafat-e-Haqqah Islamiyyah Ahmadiyyah established through the Promised Messiahas – by means of Divinely bestowed knowledge [‘ilm-e-ladunni] granted by Allah the Almighty – explained the inner meanings of these verses in their respective times, presenting deeply insightful commentaries.
“Thus, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira declared this incident to be a vision [kashf] and termed it the spiritual ascension [mi‘raj] of Prophet Mosesas. He interpreted the person whom Prophet Mosesas set out to meet on this spiritual journey as an angel, stating that the fact that this incident was a spiritual ascension is supported by an ancient book still found among the Jews called Mi‘raj-e-Musa. In it, the angel described as the guide of Mosesas is named Khidr. The purpose of mentioning this spiritual journey in the Holy Quran was to inform the Holy Prophetsa of future events. Regarding the matter of the wall, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira interpreted it to mean that when people corrupted the religion of Abrahamas, that wall was about to fall; to protect it, Allah the Almighty sent Mosesas and our Holy Prophetsa. They raised this crumbling wall again and thus the treasure of pure teachings remained preserved. (Summarised from Haqaiq-ul-Furqan, Vol. 3, pp. 26-32)
“Similarly, in his commentary on Surah al-Kahf, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra presented a detailed exegesis of this event, declaring it to be the mi‘raj of Prophet Mosesas. Through various internal and external pieces of evidence and arguments, he proved it to be a visionary [kashfi] event and interpreted the righteous servant mentioned therein as the personification of our master and lord, the Holy Prophet Muhammad al-Mustafa, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. He further explained that this spiritual journey contained news regarding the future conditions of the Muslim Ummah, which were revealed to Prophet Mosesas in a visionary form; within this event, a comparison was drawn between the circumstances of the Muslim Ummah and the Mosaic Dispensation. Additionally, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra provided highly insightful and reasoned interpretations of the various objects and matters mentioned in this narrative. (Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 4, Qadian, 2004, pp. 465-490)
“Thus, both interpretations and commentaries – those presented by the Promised Messiahas and those by his Khulafa – are entirely correct in their respective places in the light of the Holy Quran and the sayings of the Holy Prophetsa and are exactly in accordance with the needs of the time. There is no contradiction of any kind between them.
“As for the questions you have raised regarding this narrative, the answers to all of them are also present in detail in the commentary by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra. As I wrote to you previously, you have only had the opportunity to read the Five-Volume Commentary. This is a concise commentary prepared in English by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat according to its resources for those who understand English, based on the summary of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud’sra masterpiece Tafsir-e-Kabir and the notes he prepared for it, so that members who read English may understand the subjects of the Holy Quran to some extent. Since it is in the form of a summary, details could not be included. Therefore, if you wish to broaden your knowledge and read a detailed commentary of the Holy Quran, you should also study Tafsir-e-Kabir.”
Why does the Quran attribute human mistakes to Satan?
Someone wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa, noting that in many places in the Holy Quran, the cause and responsibility for errors committed by people are attributed to Satan instead of the people themselves. For instance, when the fish slipped from the hands of the companion of Mosesas, it was attributed to Satan; similarly, the action of the prison companion of Josephas in failing to mention Josephas to the king was also attributed to Satan. What is the reason for this?
Huzoor-e-Anwaraa, in his letter dated 26 September 2023, provided the following guidance regarding this question:
“The essence of the matter is that at the time of Adam’s creation, Satan declared to Allah the Almighty that he would make every possible effort to mislead the children of Adam and turn them away from the right path until the Day of Judgement. Accepting this challenge, Allah the Almighty declared, ‘You shall have no power over My servants.’ (Surah al-Hijr, Ch.15: V.40-43)
“Therefore, since the source of every error and evil is Satan or the satanic thoughts spread by him, when an error is committed by a human being, it is attributed to Satan. This is because it is Satan and his tribe who are constantly on the lookout to lead man astray from the right path and do not let any opportunity slip by without trying to turn humans away from the path of God Almighty.
“However, alongside this, it is also a reality that while Satan tries to mislead man, Allah the Almighty also guides His righteous servants through His angels and the impulses of virtue created by them. Therefore, if a mistake is ever committed by righteous servants, Allah the Almighty does not let those righteous servants persist in that error but reforms them.
“Nevertheless, it must be remembered that in both matters – whether it is a case of being led astray or being guided – no human is compelled. Rather, after clarifying the paths of guidance and error, Allah the Almighty has given man the freedom to choose between them. Thus, expounding upon this subject, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Ira states:
“‘The Holy, Blessed, and Pure Being of God Most Exalted has spread guidance throughout the world by endowing man with capacity, the ability to discern good from evil, reason and an innate disposition; and by sending thousands upon thousands of Prophets and Messengers, and scriptures, and by indicating the means of attaining His pleasure. He has always granted help and support to the Prophets and to their true followers and obedient servants. Indeed, He has not coerced a capable person – seizing him by the neck, as it were – in order to make him perform righteous deeds. The benefit of the existence of Satan and his progeny is that He may bestow upon the obedient among mankind the robe and honour of obedience; yet even so, He has not granted Satan the authority to mislead people by force.’ (Nuruddin Ba Jawab Tark-e-Islam, p. 107)”
Can humans truly know God or only believe in Him?
Someone from Germany wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa, stating that an atheist friend had asked, “It is said that we believe in God, but it is not said that we have knowledge of God.” What is the answer to this?
Huzoor-e-Anwaraa, in his letter dated 27 September 2023, gave the following reply to this question:
“The Being of God Almighty is Eternal, Everlasting and Infinite; human intellect can never encompass it, for man can intellectually comprehend only limited things. That is why Allah the Almighty states in the Holy Quran:
لَا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَبْصَارَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ
“‘Eyes cannot reach Him, but He manifests Himself before the eyes. He is the Imperceptible, the All-Aware.’ (Surah al-An’am, Ch.6: V.104)
“The meaning of this verse is that man cannot see Allah the Almighty through the power of his own knowledge. However, God Almighty, by His grace, comes to him and manifests His glory and in this way, man attains His vision [ru‘yat]. Accordingly, we observe that in past ages, thousands and hundreds of thousands of such people have passed and even now such people exist in the world, to whom Allah the Almighty gave news of His existence in such a way that He heard their prayers, manifested supernatural miracles through them to the world, gave them prior information regarding future events and then caused those events to occur in the world exactly in accordance with those prophecies. Furthermore, for these loved ones, He displayed such supernatural wonders through His power that were impossible to be manifested by human hands. Expressing this theme, the Promised Messiahas says in an Urdu couplet:
قدرت سے اپنی ذات کا دیتا ہے حق ثبوت
اُس بے نشاں کی چہرہ نمائی یہی تو ہے
“‘By His own power, the True One furnishes proof of His very Being; this, indeed, is how the One beyond all outward signs discloses Himself.’ [Majmu‘ah-e-Ishtiharat, Vol. 1, India, 2019, p. 161]
“Similarly, at another place, Huzooras states:
“‘The meaning of لَا تُدۡرِکُہُ الۡاَبۡصَارُ is that He cannot be recognised solely through intellects; rather, He causes His Being to be recognised only through the means He Himself has appointed.’ (Malfuzat, Vol. 3, Rabwah, 2003, p. 590)
“Thus, man cannot attain knowledge of this Infinite Being on his own; however, to the extent and when He deems necessary, He provides proof of His Being to His loved ones and grants them knowledge regarding Himself.”
Is buying a car on finance halal in Islam?
A lady from Palestine wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa, stating that many Ahmadi sisters have the question: Is it permissible to buy a car by taking a loan from a bank?
Huzoor-e-Anwaraa, in his letter dated 27 September 2023, provided the following guidance regarding this issue:
“Any sale, purchase, or financial transaction that is mixed with interest is, categorically, forbidden. However, several methods for the sale and purchase of goods on instalments are prevalent in the world under names such as Hire Purchase (HP) and Personal Contract Purchase (PCP), in which goods can be bought by paying a somewhat higher amount in instalments compared to a lump-sum payment. This method does not fall into the category of interest. Accordingly, a question of this nature was presented to the Promised Messiahas and its answer was published in the Badr newspaper of Qadian in the following words:
“‘The smooth running of the newspaper would be facilitated if the subscription price were received in advance. Among those who do not pay in advance and make promises of later payment, some simply delay on the basis of promises alone, while for others, the recovery of payments involves such difficulty – through repeated correspondence and the keeping of records to collect the payments from them – that in order to mitigate this additional labour and loss to some extent and also to receive compensation for it, the price of the Badr newspaper for post-payment has been increased by one rupee; that is, from those who pay afterwards, the price of the newspaper would be collected as four rupees instead of three.
“‘Upon this, a friend from Lyallpur enquired whether this arrangement constituted interest. As this was a matter pertaining to Islamic law, it was presented to the Promised Messiahas with the aforementioned reasons. The reply that he wrote is reproduced below:
“‘‘As-salamu ‘alaykum. In my view, this has no connection to interest. The owner has the right to ask for whatever price he wishes, especially as there is also an inconvenience involved in collecting payment later. If a person wishes to receive the newspaper, they can also pay beforehand. This matter lies within his own choice. Wassalam. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.’’ (Badr, Qadian, No. 7, Vol. 6, 14 February 1907, p. 4)
“Therefore, if you wish to buy a car on instalments through this method, in which you would have to pay a somewhat higher amount than the lump-sum price, this is not considered interest and it is permissible. The exception is if the one receiving the payment has named it interest; in such a case, this type of interest-bearing transaction is not permitted.”
(Compiled by Zaheer Ahmad Khan, Head of Records Department, Private Secretariat, London and translated by Al Hakam)