The Promised Messiahas states:
كانوا من قبل يتوقعون المسيح علي رأس هٰذه المائة۔ ويترقّبونه كترقّب أهلّة الأعياد أو أطايب المأدبة۔ فلمّا حُمّ ما توقعوه۔ وأُعطي ما طلبوه۔ حسبوا كلام اللّٰه افتراء الإنسان۔قالوا مفترِي يُضل الناس كالشيطان۔
“Before that, they were waiting for the arrival of the Messiah at the turn of this century. They were waiting for him just as people eagerly await [the appearance] of the Moon on the Festivals of Eid or for delicious meals at a feast. However, when their expectations were fulfilled and their desires were satisfied, they began to consider the word of Allah as a human fabrication and said that he [the Promised Messiahas] was a liar who was misleading people like Satan.” (I‘jaz-ul-Masih, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 18, p. 11)
Referring to the above mentioned excerpt, opponents of the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, claim that the word مفترِي is a maqsur noun and is marfu‘ [nominative] in the phrase مفترِي يُضل الناس كالشيطان. Thus, they insist that its last letter “ya” should have been removed according to the rules of Arabic grammar and that the correct phrase should have been مفترٍ يُضل الناس كالشيطان .
Opponents attempt to prove that the Promised Messiahas made this mistake because he did not know the rules of Arabic grammar. However, they have themselves made a huge mistake in pointing out that the word مفترِي is a maqsur noun. Below we present the definition of the maqsur noun for the readers’ knowledge and to inform the opponents:
المقصور وهو الاسم المعرب الذي في آخره ألف لازمة و حكمه أن يعرب بحركات مقدرة على هذه الألف في جميع صوره؛ رفعا؛ و نصبا؛ و جرا؛ إذا لم يكن أن تظهر الفتحة أو الضمة أو الكسرة على الألف ومن أمثلته إن الهدى هدى اللّٰه اتبع سبيل الهدى.
“The last letter of a maqsur noun is not removed in any case, whether it is marfu‘ [nominative], mansub [accusative] or majrur [genitive]. Among its examples are: ان الهدى هدى اللّٰه and اتبع سبيل الهدى, [i.e. the last letter in the word هدي remains intact because it is a maqsur noun].” (Abbas Hassan, Al-Nahw al-Wafi, pp. 188-189)
The word مفترِي is a manqus noun. Below is the definition of a manqus noun:
المنقوص وهو الاسم المعرب الذي في آخره ياء لازمة، غير مشدده، قبلها كسرة، مثل العالي، الباقي، المرتقي، المستعلي، وحكمه ان يرفع بضمة مقدرة على الياء في حالة الرفع، وينصب بفتحة ظاهرة على الياء في حالة النصب، ويجر بكسرة مقدرة عليها في حالة الجر۔
“The manqus noun ends with a ‘ya’ and is preceded by a kasrah. Its examples are:
العالِي، الباقِي، المرتقِي، المستعلِي
“When a manqus noun is marfu‘ or majrur, it is given dhammah and kasrah muqaddarah [i.e. these signs are assumed and are not spoken] and if it is mansub, it is given a visible fathah on its ‘ya’ at the end.” (Al-Nahw al-Wafi, pp. 190-191)
In Sharh al-Ashmuni, it is stated:
اذا وقف علي المنقوص المنون، فان كان منصوبا ابدل من تنوينه الف، نحو رايت قاضياً، وان كان غير منصوب فالمختار الوقف عليه بالحذف؛ فيقال هذا قاض و مررت بقاض، ويجوز الوقف عليه برد الياء، كقراءة ابن كثير ولكل قوم ھادي، و مالهم من دونه من والي، و ماعند اللّٰه باقي
“When a nunated manqus noun is mansub, its nunation is changed with an alif as in رايتُ قاضياً. If it is marfu‘ or majrur, it is acceptable to remove the last letter as in هذا قاضٍ and مررتُ بقاضٍ, but it is also justified to keep the ‘ya’ at the end. Its example is present in the qira‘at of Ibn Kathir, i.e. ولكل قوم ھادِي and ما عند اللّٰه باقِي.” (Sharh al-Ashmuni ala Alfiyah ibn Malik, Juz‘ 3, p. 750)
The above explanation clearly shows that it is not wrong to either write nunated manqus nouns with or without “ya” when they are marfu‘ and majrur.
To further clarify that the Promised Messiahas did not commit any mistake in writing مفترِي with a “ya” at the end, the following examples from Arabic literature will hopefully prove sufficient for the opponents to recognise their serious mistake:
1. In Tuhfatul Ahwazi by Muhammad Abdur Rahman bin Abdul Rahim Al-Mubarakpuri, which is the Sharh [interpretation] of the book, Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, it is written about a narrator, Abu Harun Al-Abdi:
قال حماد بن زيد كان كذابا وقال السعدي كذاب مفترِي
“Hammad bin Zaid said that he [Abu Harun Al-Abdi] was a great liar and Sa‘di said that he was a liar and a fabricator.” (Tuhfatul Ahwazi Sharh Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, Part 1, Kitab al-Nikah, p. 1152)
2. Mujiruddin Al-Maqdasi Al-Hanbali (927 AH) states:
روي عن قنبل ويعقوب الوقف بالياء على باقي و مفترِي
“It is related from Qunbul and Yaqub that ‘ya’ comes at the end of the words مفترِي and باقي when they are paused.” (Fath-ul-Rahman fi Tafsir al-Quran, Vol. 4, p. 53)
3. Imam Badruddin Aini, a renowned commentator of Sahih al-Bukhari, writes:
ينتشر خبره بين الامة من جيل الى جيل وجماعة الى جماعة بانه كذاب مبطل مفترِي، ساع على وجه الارض بالفساد
“His [Al-Masih al-Dajjal’s] news will spread in the ummah, generation after generation and from one group to another, because he is a great liar, a deceiver and a fabricator, who will strive to create disorder on the face of the Earth.” (Sharh Sunan Abi Dawud, Vol. 4, p. 93)
In the above example, مفترِي and ساعٍ are marfu‘, and though “ya” is removed from the word ساعٍ, it has not been removed from the word مفترِي, which shows that both are correct.
4. Imam Abu Al-Mutraf Al-Qanazi‘i, the interpreter of the book Muwatta by Hazrat Imam Malikrh, writes:
إثبات عذاب القبر ونعيمه فقال ثبت عن النبي صلي اللّٰه عليه وسلم في حديث الكسوف ان عذاب القبر حق، وأن العبد يُسأل في قبره، قال اللّٰه عزوجل يُثَبِّتُ اللّٰهُ الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا بِالۡقَوۡلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الۡحَيٰوةِ الدُّنۡيَا وَفِي الۡاٰخِرَةِ (ابراهيم: 27) ثم ذكر العذاب، فقال ثم يضرب ضربة تفترق أوصاله وهذا أصل صحيح عند أهل السنة لا يختلفوا فيه، ومن قال بخلافه فهو كاذب مفترِي۔
“Presenting the proof about the blessings and the torment of grave, he said: ‘It is established from the Holy Prophet’ssa hadith of al-kusuf [solar eclipse] that the torment of the grave is a true fact and that the people will be questioned in the grave. Allah the Almighty says: “Allah strengthens the believers with the word that is firmly established, both in the present life and in the Hereafter.”’
“Thereafter, he [Hazrat Imam Malikrh] mentioned the torment and said: ‘Then he will strike a blow and separate every limb. This is true and sahih [authentic] according the Ahl al Sunnah and nobody disagrees upon it. He who disagrees with it is a liar and a fabricator.’” (Tafsir al-Muwatta li-Abi al-Mutraf Abdur Rahman, Vol. 1, p. 86)
5. Hazrat Imam Ahmadrh bin Hanbal states:
عن عباد بن عبد اللّٰه قال سمعت عليا يقول أنا عبد اللّٰه و أخو رسوله، قال ابن نمير في حديثه وأنا الصديق الأكبر لا يقولها بعد، قال أبو أحمد بعدي إلاّ كاذب مفترِي، ولقد صليت قبل الناس سبع سنين، قال أبو أحمد ولقد أسلمت قبل الناس بسبع سنين
“Hazrat Abbad bin Abdullah relates: ‘I heard Hazrat Alira say, “I am a servant of Allah and a brother of His messenger.” Ibn Numayr relates in his narration [that Hazrat Alira] said: “I am Al-Siddiq Al-Akbar [a title]. Nobody can make this claim after me.” Abu Ahmad says [that Hazrat Alira said]: “[Nobody can make this claim after me], except for a fabricator and a liar. Surely, I offered Salat [with the Holy Prophetsa] for seven years before anyone else did.” Abu Ahmad further says [that Hazrat Alira said]: “I accepted Islam seven years before the other people did so.”’” (Kitab Fadha‘il al-Sahabah, Juz‘ 2, pp. 586-587)
He further states:
عن علي قال يهلك فيّ رجلان محب مفرط، ومبغض مفترِي
“Hazrat Alira said that two kinds of persons would be ruined in relation to him: The one who exaggerates his love and the other who is a hateful fabricator.” (Kitab Fadha‘il as-Sahabah, Juz‘ 2, p. 672)
Hazrat Imam Muhammadrh al-Shaybani writes:
عن عباد بن عبد اللّٰه قال سمعت عليا رضي اللّٰه عنه يقول: أنا عبد اللّٰه و أخو رسوله وأنا الصديق الأكبر لا يقولها بعدي إلاّ كذاب مفترِي ولقد صليت قبل الناس بسبع سنين
“Hazrat Abbad ibn Abdullah said: ‘I heard Hazrat Alira say, “I am a servant of Allah and a brother of His messenger and I am Al-Siddiq Al-Akbar [a title]. Nobody can say such a thing after me, save a great fabricator and a liar. Surely, I have offered Salat [with the Holy Prophetsa] for seven years before anyone else did.”’” (Kitab al-Sunnah, Juz‘ 2, p. 598)
The above examples comprehensively demonstrate that the Promised Messiahas used the word مفترِي correctly with the divine support of Allah the Almighty and in accordance with the rules of the Arabic grammar. They also illustrate the lack of Arabic knowledge of the opponents and prove that they are absolutely wrong, as further attested by Arabic literature.