The opponents of the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas of Qadian, refer to an announcement of the Promised Messiahas that he issued on 5 November 1907. They say that he prophesied in the announcement, after the death of his son, Mubarak Ahmadra, that God would grant another son in Mubarak Ahmad’sra place.
The opponents suggest that this prophecy was not fulfilled because no other son was born after Mubarak Ahmadra.
In reality, these opponents have neglected to mention the complete statement of the Promised Messiahas that he issued in the announcement. Sadly, they do this in order to mislead and misinform others.
Below is the actual announcement of the Promised Messiahas regarding his son, Sahibzada Mirza Mubarak Ahmadra:
“Soon after the demise of Mubarak Ahmad, God Almighty sent this revelation:
انا نبشرک بغلام حلیم ینزل منزل المبارک
“Meaning, ‘We give you glad tidings of a son who will be gentle and will be [born] in the station of Mubarak Ahmad and will be his replacement and will resemble him.’ Hence, God did not desire that the enemy rejoice. Therefore, He gave the good news of another son shortly after Mubarak Ahmad passed away, so as to realise that Mubarak Ahmad had not died and is alive. He turned towards me and stated in a revelation:
انّی اریحک و لا اجیحک و اخرج منک قوما
“That is, I shall comfort you and shall not uproot your progeny and shall raise a great people from your progeny. These are the words of God which shall be fulfilled at the appointed time. If some people of this age will attain a long life, they will witness the glad tiding foretold by God today – that it will manifest with absolute glory, strength and power. The words of God cannot be averted and will manifest. That God who protected Prophet Abrahamas, then Mosesas and then Jesusas, and after all of them, our master and chief, the Holy Prophetsa, from deadly and bloodthirsty enemies, will save me as well.” (Majmua Ishtiharat, Vol. 3, pp. 587-588)
It is quite evident from the above extract that the opponents have pointed out the first part of the statement for the sake of raising an objection but the second part has either been overlooked or deliberately omitted because it presents a series of other revelations which also explain the prophecy highlighted by the opponents. Looking at the complete excerpt, it is clear that the Promised Messiahas was given the following glad tidings by God Almighty:
1. Another son would be born who would be an embodiment of Mubarak Ahmadra
2. The progeny of the Promised Messiahas would not be uprooted and in fact, a “great nation” would be born from his progeny
3. As Abrahamas, Mosesas, Jesusas and the Holy Prophetsa were protected by deadly and bloodthirsty enemies, the Promised Messiahas too would be safeguarded. As these prophets were guarded from being murdered by their enemies, he would be saved as well In accordance with the above prophecies, God Almighty caused the progeny of the Promised Messiahas to spread to such an extent that his family members can be found in every continent of the world.
Moreover, his enemies were not able to harm him in any manner. Hence, if these prophecies were not from Allah Almighty and had these revelations been fabricated by the Promised Messiahas, then surely, the All-Powerful God would have annihilated him through the hands of his opponents and his progeny would have ceased as well. As far as the prophecy about his son, Sahibzada Mirza Mubarak Ahmadra is concerned, he was born to the Promised Messiahas on 14 June 1899.
Mentioning the revelations which were revealed to the Promised Messiahas regarding Sahibzada Mirza Mubarak Ahmadra, Hazrat Maulvi Abdul Karimra Sialkoti wrote:
“A day prior to and a day after the birth of Mubarak Ahmad, God Almighty, through the tongue of the son, revealed the following revelation to the Promised Messiahas:
انّی اسقط من اللہ واصیبہ
“That is, ‘I fall upon the earth from the Hand of Allah and shall proceed towards Him.’ After this, it was revealed:
کفیٰ ھذا
“[‘This is enough.’]” (Al Hakam, 30 June 1899)
Regarding the same revelation, the Promised Messiahas states:
“I received the revelation just prior to his [Mubarak Ahmad’s] birth:
انّی اسقط من اللہ واصیبہ
“That is ‘I fall upon the earth from the Hand of Allah and shall proceed towards Him.’
“My own interpretation of this revelation is that either this boy will be righteous and will face towards God and will move towards Him or that he will die early. Allah alone knows which of these two interpretations is in accordance with His design.” (Taryaqul-Qulub, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 15, pp. 213-214)
According to the second interpretation of the above prophecy by the Promised Messiahas, which was recorded in his book, Taryaq-ul-Qulub on 20 August 1899, his son, Sahibzada Mirza Mubarak Ahmadra passed away on 16 September 1907.
The fulfillment of this prophecy is a clear manifestation of the truthfulness of the Promised Messiahas. However, only those people attest to this truth who fear God Almighty, as it is stated in the Holy Quran:
ھُدًی لِّلْمُتَّقِیْنَ
“It is a guidance for the righteous.” (Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.1: V.3)
The act of not mentioning various other revelations that were present in the same extract shows that the opponents were aware of the fact that they might have been fulfilled and in their view, only the prophecy regarding Sahibzada Mirza Mubarak Ahmadra could have been objected to.
To establish the truthfulness of a prophet we only need to look at the example Allah has set for us in the Holy Quran. During the incident of Prophet Mosesas, the Holy Quran talks about a person who secretly believed in Mosesas:
وَ قَالَ رَجُلٌ مُّؤۡمِنٌ ٭ۖ مِّنۡ اٰلِ فِرۡعَوۡنَ یَکۡتُمُ اِیۡمَانَہٗۤ اَتَقۡتُلُوۡنَ رَجُلًا اَنۡ یَّقُوۡلَ رَبِّیَ اللّٰہُ وَ قَدۡ جَآءَکُمۡ بِالۡبَیِّنٰتِ مِنۡ رَّبِّکُمۡ ؕ وَ اِنۡ یَّکُ کَاذِبًا فَعَلَیۡہِ کَذِبُہٗ ۚ وَ اِنۡ یَّکُ صَادِقًا یُّصِبۡکُمۡ بَعۡضُ الَّذِیۡ یَعِدُکُمۡ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ لَا یَہۡدِیۡ مَنۡ ہُوَ مُسۡرِفٌ کَذَّابٌ
“And a believing man from among the people of Pharaoh, who kept hidden his faith, said, ‘Will you slay a man because he says, “My Lord is Allah,” while he has brought you clear proofs from your Lord? And if he be a liar, on him will be the sin of his lie; but if he is truthful, then some of that which he threatens you with, will surely befall you. Certainly, Allah guides not one who exceeds the bounds and is a great liar.’” (Surah al-Mumin, Ch.40: V.29)
The words, “if he is truthful, then some of that which he threatens you with, will surely befall you” signify that the truth of a prophet can be tested through the fact that some of the prophecies will surely be fulfilled before the people of that time. Hence, some of the prophecies present in the statement of the Promised Messiahas were clearly fulfilled, which are the proof of his truthfulness. Moreover, as it has been previously mentioned that a day before the birth of Sahibzada Mirza Mubarak Ahmadra, the Promised Messiahas was foretold by God Almighty, “کفیٰ ھذا” i.e. this [son] is enough, indicating that no other son would be born to him in future.
After this revelation, when his last son passed away on 5 November 1907, the Promised Messiahas received this glad tiding:
انا نبشرک بغلام حلیم ینزل منزل المبارک
“We give you glad tiding of a gentle son. He will resemble Mubarak Ahmad.”
Comprehending the above prophecy in light of the revelation, “کفیٰ ھذا”, shows that the Promised Messiahas was not foretold about his own physical son, but in fact he was given the news of a son from his progeny who would carry the traits of Sahibzada Mirza Mubarak Ahmadra.
In this way, the prophecy bore the glad tidings of the birth of his first grandson, Hazrat Sahibzada Mirza Nasir Ahmadrh, who was born on 16 November 1909, and would later become the third Khalifa of the Ahmadiyya Jamaat on 8 November 1965.
The opponents are mistaken in suggesting from the prophecy of a son that he must be the physical off spring of the Promised Messiahas because Allah the Almighty had not declared in the revelation that the blessed son would be born in his lifetime.
On the other hand, the glad tiding of a son could also refer to a grandson. This is indicated in the Holy Quran. Regarding Hazrat Sarah, Allah Almighty states:
فَبَشَّرۡنٰہَا بِاِسۡحٰقَ ۙ وَ مِنۡ وَّرَآءِ اِسۡحٰقَ یَعۡقُوۡبَ
“We gave her glad tidings of the birth of Isaac and, aft er Isaac, of Jacob” (Surah Hud, Ch.11: V.72).
However, Prophet Jacobas was not the physical male off spring of Hazrat Sarah but in fact, her grandson.
Similarly, it is stated in the Holy Quran about Prophet Abrahamas:
وَ وَہَبۡنَا لَہٗۤ اِسۡحٰقَ وَ یَعۡقُوۡبَ
“And We gave him Isaac and Jacob” (Surah al-Anam, Ch.6: V.85).
The fact that prophet Jacobas was the grandson of Abrahamas and not his actual son, shows that the prophecy of a son could also refer to a grandson. Moreover, it should be borne in mind that the word “son” signifies son, grandson, great grandson, or any one of the progeny of an individual. Countless examples of such use are found in Arabic.
For instance, most of the tribes were named aft er honourable ancestors and their people were called their sons. The Umayyad and Abbasid tribes are very famous in the history of Islam. Harun al-Rashid and Mamun al-Rashid are commonly referred to as the sons of Abbas, but in reality they are not his own physical off spring.
Similarly, Khalifa Marwan and Umar ibn Abdul Aziz are called the sons of Umayya, but they were not his actual sons. Hence, according to the custom of humanity, where every Syed calls himself the son of the Holy Prophetsa and everyone is called the sons of Adam etc., the Promised Messiahas was given a glad tiding of a son from his progeny by God Almighty and the prophecy was fulfilled in the person of Hazrat Sahibzada Mirza Nasir Ahmadrh.
(Research conducted by the Research Cell. Translated by Al Hakam)