Damon Stengel, USA
The well-known book Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, written by the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas who claimed to be the Promised Messiah, is a magnificent piece of writing, full of spiritual wonders, defending the honour of Islam during a time when attacks on Islam by critics – which included the Christian missionaries spreading their faith in the Indian subcontinent and members of the growing Arya Samaj movement – were at an all-time high.
Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya explains the spiritual benefits brought forward by Islam through the wonderful work done by the Holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammadsa.
In the everlasting contest between the world religions for proofs and signs of the truth of their respective faiths, the wonderful gems that are within this blessed book include how and why Islam is the only living religion that can show proofs of the existence of Allah, arguments for the validity of the prophethood of the Holy Prophetsa and why revelation continues to be in force today as it was in the past.
The Promised Messiahas was told by Allah that his work was like the sword of Hazrat Alira; meaning that as Hazrat Alira was a phenomenal sword fighter who defeated many of the most fearsome warriors amongst the Meccan army, so would the arguments of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya defeat the entirety of the so-called fearsome missionaries and philosophers who attacked Islam left and right.
It is also worthy of notice that between the first four volumes of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya and the fifth, there is a 23-year gap between parts 4 and 5. Perhaps the reason was because it was for the purpose of the fulfilment of prophecies which will, insha-Allah, be explained below.
Bringing proofs of the existence of divine revelation, the Promised Messiahas cited the Holy Quran, ahadith, as well as many of his own experiences with this phenomenon. Examples of his experiences are provided as well as their fulfilment. Beginning on page 92 of the English translation of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, we are told of a significant inspiration given to the Promised Messiahas by Allah the Almighty. It includes seven prophecies and how they were fulfilled. This is a reproduction of the same prophecy mentioned in the third part of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya mentioned on page 211.
Hazrat Ahmadas explained that if everything was mentioned about how these seven prophecies were fulfilled, the points would exceed millions. Thus, we shall summarise these aspects here in three parts.
Beginning on page 92 of the English translation of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, we are told:
“At that time I was unknown, alone, and a man of meagre means – means so meagre that my ability was not even worth mention – and I did not belong to any such distinguished family that people would be expected to readily gather around me. At such a time and in such a predicament, who could have made the kind of prophecies that were published in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya twenty-five years ago, some of which I reproduce here by way of specimen:
“‘When the help of Allah and victory comes and the world will turn towards me, it will be said: Was this enterprise not from God? And despair not of the mercy of Allah. That is, do not think that I am just an unknown and solitary person – a man who is one among the people – how would it happen that the people of the world will join together with me? For, God has willed that it be exactly so and His help is nigh. The roads by which monetary assistance and letters of allegiance shall arrive, those streets shall become broken and rutted. That is to say, all kinds of financial resources will arrive, and they will come from far-off places, and there will also come many letters professing allegiance from far-off places. Moreover, so many people will come to you that the roads upon which they will travel will become rutted.’” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, pp. 92-93)
Note, where he states “At that time I was unknown, alone, and a man of meagre means – means so meagre that my ability was not even worth mention”, we see his financial situation in his appeal to the ummah for financial support in the third part of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya.
He exhorts the people:
“Let it also be clear that this task can no longer be accomplished through the support of merely those who, being buyers, are eager for it to be published. Rather, at this time we require support from several men of high resolve, who have a real and true enthusiasm in their hearts due to their high-mindedness for defending their religion, and whose inestimable faith cannot be confined to mere give and take, but who desire to win everlasting paradise in exchange for their wealth.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 3, p. 3)
Huzooras ends this part of the introduction with a heartfelt prayer:
“O Benevolent God, turn the full attention of Your sincere servants towards this cause; O Gracious and Merciful One, remind them of it Yourself; O All-Powerful and Mighty One, You Yourself inspire their hearts. Amin, again, amin.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 3, p. 3)
This was the situation of the Promised Messiahas within the 23 years before he expressed the signs of Allah being fulfilled in Part 5. When keeping the above in mind, Allah gave him the series of revelations mentioned above and using the words of the Promised Messiahas, their fulfilment will be explained here.
On page 93 of the English translation of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, which is also mentioned on page 211 of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 3, Allah told the Promised Messiahas:
“When the help of Allah and victory comes and the world will turn towards me, it will be said: Was this enterprise not from God?” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, p. 93)
“We will bestow upon you a manifest victory. The victory of the friend of Allah is the true.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 3, pp. 211-212)
The Promised Messiahas states:
“The first is the prophecy that is indicated in the revelation, in which God Almighty says: ‘We will wage war against the opponents. The opponents will desire that this dispensation should fail, and that people should neither be drawn to it nor accept it, but We desire that people should turn towards it. Ultimately, Our will shall prevail and people will turn towards it and they will go on accepting it.’” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part 5, pp. 94-95)
Many opponents have and continue to try their utmost to destroy this blessed Jamaat, but they continue to fail.
“These are the seven prophecies foretold in the words of these divine revelations, and every intelligent person can understand that all seven of them have been fulfilled in the present time.
“This is so because many religious scholars and custodians of shrines prepared edicts of apostasy against me and hatched all kinds of schemes, exerting themselves down to their fingernails to prevent people from coming to me.
“They flung modesty aside and waged war against God Almighty, sparing nothing of cunning, fraud, and deception. Some have secretly sent false accusations against me to somehow incite the government, and some have incited ignorant Muslims so that they would keep tormenting me.
“But, in the end, all of them remained frustrated. This seedling could not remain hidden within the earth and it arose in the form of a jama‘at. There is no need to prove this, for it is all too obvious.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, pp. 95-96)
“And despair not of the mercy of Allah.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, p. 93)
The “mercy” refers to the Promised Messiahas as he states:
“That is, do not think that I am just an unknown and solitary person – a man who is one among the people – how would it happen that the people of the world will join together with me?” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, p. 93)
“His help is nigh.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, p. 93)
Help from Allah, whether through extraordinary means, people or financial assistance, will come.
“Help will come to you by every distant track. People will come to you so that the track will become deep due to excessive travel. So many people will come to you that the track on which they travel will become deep.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, p. 93)
The interesting thing to note is the Promised Messiahas was completely unaware of how this would happen, and thus he did not discuss this in Part 3. On the contrary, he only provided this revelation as an example of a type of divine revelation that Allah gives to His servants under the second category of divine revelation. (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 3, p. 206)
Whereas in Part 5, Allah showed the Promised Messiahas how they were fulfilled:
“The roads by which monetary assistance and letters of allegiance shall arrive, those streets shall become broken and rutted. That is to say, all kinds of financial resources will arrive, and they will come from far-off places, and there will also come many letters professing allegiance from far-off places. Moreover, so many people will come to you that the roads upon which they will travel will become rutted.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, p. 93)
“To date, more than fifty thousand rupees has arrived as financial assistance. Rather, I am sure it has almost reached a hundred thousand, for which the records of the Post Office are a sufficient proof.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, p. 96)
“Now, therefore, whenever money or clothes or other gifts come from anywhere, each one of them constitutes a Sign in itself, since all this was foretold at a time when human reason considered such abundance of support unthinkable and impossible.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, p. 97)
“Similarly, there is another prophecy […] Meaning that, people would throng to me from far-off places, so that the roads they travel upon would be rutted. This prophecy has also been fulfilled in these times.
“Accordingly, several hundreds of thousands of people have visited Qadian, and if I also include the letters that I receive, whose profusion was foretold at a time when I was all alone, their number may perhaps be as high as ten million. But I only count the instances of financial support and those who have pledged allegiance to me, and thus I come to the figure of around one million.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, pp. 97-98)
“The third prophecy was that people shall come to me in great numbers. Accordingly, they have come in such great numbers that if we were to count the daily visitors, as well as those who come on special occasions, they would be in the range of several hundred thousand. The staff of the Police Department, who have orders to be vigilant over these matters, know it well and it is also well known to the residents of Qadian.” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, pp. 96)
I end this article with this quote from page 98 of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5:
“No Prophet was ever able to rein in the tongue of an audacious man, but those who are the seekers after truth can understand that twenty-five years ago I was completely unknown.
“I amounted to nothing and did not enjoy any kind of fame, nor did I belong to a renowned family of shrine keepers so that people would be easily drawn towards me.
“Can this be the work of any man to have given such manifest news of my future success and progress at that time, and then for those tidings to have been exactly fulfilled after such a long period? Can it be possible for any liar or impostor to accomplish this?” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part 5, p. 98)