A series looking into the allegations raised against Hazrat Ahmad’sas personality, writings, revelations, and prophecies, along with the answers he has provided
Awwab Saad Hayat, Al Hakam
Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas of Qadian, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, authored his book, Arba‘in, Number 4, in 1900. In it, he penned a short section especially dedicated to those of a hasty nature. Here, the Promised Messiahas states that he received a book containing personal attacks and criticisms against his prophecies, prompting a revelation from God. Huzooras writes:
“I have received the book of Munshi Ilahi Bakhsh, accountant, entitled ‘Asa‘-e-Musa, in which he has made personal attacks – based entirely on ill-thinking – on me and has also attacked some of my true and holy prophecies without due consideration. When I had looked through that book and put it aside, I received the revelation concerning Munshi Ilahi Bakhsh:
يريدون اَنْ يروا طمثک واللّٰہ يريد ان يريک انعامہ الانعامات المتواترة
“‘They desire to see menstruation blood in you. [That is, they are seeking to discover impurity and filth and vileness] but God desires to exhibit His continuous favours unto you.’
“How can they find in me any matter resembling menstruation, and what trace of it is left in me […]?” (Arba‘in,Number 4, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 17, p. 452, footnote)
Opponents of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat sing from the same hymn sheet, and the audience they address in their gatherings often eagerly embraces sensationalised narratives. Consequently, despite the unequivocal refutation, owing to the heated atmosphere persistent against the Jamaat, these opponents try to assert that Hazrat Ahmadas, the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, experienced menstruation. For instance, in late 1919, a Muslim body named Anjuman Muhammadiya Rawalpindi published an advertisement titled Mardon ka Haiz (Menstruation of Men). This below-the-belt advertisement was refuted by Fazl-ud-Din Ahmadi Sahib and published in the Jamaat’s Newspaper, Al Fazl, on 24 December 1919.
However, the above assertion of opponents lacks substance, as the Promised Messiahas did not mention, document, or even hint of such a thing anywhere in his writings, and in fact, such claims have been refuted.
Hazrat Ahmadas writes:
“Similarly, the following revelation about Babu Ilahi Bakhsh is recorded on page 19 of my book, Arba‘in, Number 4:
يريدون أن يروا طمثك واللّٰه يريد ان يريك انعامه- الانعامات المتواترة- انت منى بمنزلة اولادي۔ واللّٰه وليك و ربك فقلنا يا نارکوني بردا
“Meaning that, Babu Ilahi Bakhsh wishes to see your menstruation or come to know of some other filth or defilement, but God, on the other hand, will shower His bounties upon you, which shall be perpetual. You do not have menstruation, but you do have a child – a child who is at the status of the children of God.
“In other words, menstruation is something impure, but a child’s body grows out of it. Similarly, when man surrenders to God, then all the filth and defilement, which is part and parcel of human nature, is transformed into a spiritual body. This menstruation becomes the cause of human progress. This is the basis for the saying of the mystics: ‘Had there been no sin, human beings could have made no spiritual progress.’ The same was the cause of Adam’s progress. This is why every Prophet, keeping in view the hidden shortcomings, kept invoking istighfar [seeking forgiveness], and the same fear has always been the cause of all kinds of progress. God says:
اِنَّ اللّٰہَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِيۡنَ وَيُحِبُّ الۡمُتَطَہِّرِيۡنَ
[“Allah loves those who turn to Him and loves those who keep themselves clean” (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.223)]
“Thus, every son of man inherently contains the impurity of menstruation within him, but that very menstruation prepares the body of a pure and clean child for the one who sincerely turns to God. This is why those who lose themselves in God are called the children of God. However, this does not mean that they are literally God’s sons. It would be sheer blasphemy to say so, for God is Holy and has no sons. But they have been called ‘children of God’ only as a figure of speech since, like an innocent child, they keep on remembering God with utmost zeal. Indicating the same spiritual station, the Holy Quran says:
فَاذۡکُرُوا اللّٰہَ کَذِکۡرِکُمۡ اٰبَآءَکُمۡ
“Meaning that, remember God with such love and heartfelt compassion as a child remembers its father. [Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.201]
“This is why God has been addressed as Ab or Pita [meaning ‘Father’] in the scriptures of every people. Figuratively speaking, God has a resemblance to a mother as well, and just as a mother rears her child in the womb, so are the beloveds of God nurtured in the lap of God’s love. They are granted a holy body out of a filthy origin. This is why the auliya’ [friends of Allah] are called ‘children of God’ by the mystics. It is only a figure of speech. Otherwise, God has no children, and God is:
لَمۡ يَلِدۡ ۬ۙ وَلَمۡ يُوۡلَدۡ
“[‘He begets not, nor is He begotten’ (Surah al-Ikhlas, Ch.112: V.4)]” (The Philosophy of Divine Revelation [Haqiqatul-Wahi], pp. 728-729)