Raziullah Noman, Canada
10 Muharram marked the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Husainra, the blessed grandson of the Holy Prophetsa and many Muslims are remembering the tragic incident that took place in Karbala.
An allegation which is raised against Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas is that he, God forbid, spoke ill about Hazrat Imam Husainra.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas, the Latter-Day Messiah and Imam Mahdi, deeply loved and honoured Hazrat Imam Husainra and believed him to be among the chosen servants of Allah. It is narrated:
“Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas rested on a charpoy as his children played in the garden, still unaware of the grand status of their beloved father. It was the first ashra [10 days] of Muharram and the Promised Messiahas called upon his children – Hazrat Nawab Mubaraka Begumra and Hazrat Mirza Mubarak Ahmadra – and narrated the story of Hazrat Imam Husainra.
As he began narrating the story, deep emotions set in. With tears flowing from his blessed eyes, he recounted how the grandchild of his beloved master, Hazrat Muhammad Mustafasa, was martyred in the plains of Karbala; how the ahl-e-bait – members of the house of the Holy Prophetsa – were deprived of food and water before the massacre took place of 10 Muharram.(Tahrirat-e-Mubaraka, p. 22)
“The anguish was visible from his face as he ended the story and expressed, ‘Yazid the wicked carried out this injustice on the grandchild of the Holy Prophetsa, but God rapidly brought His wrath upon them.’” (Sirat-e-Tayyiba, narration no. 9, pp. 31-32)
In praise of Hazrat Imam Husainra, Hazrat Ahmadas wrote:
“Without a doubt, he [Imam Husainra] is from the chieftains of Paradise and harbouring an iota’s worth of rancour against him is a means of being deprived of faith. And this Imam’s righteousness, love for God, patience, steadfastness, devotion and worship is a perfect example for us.” (Majmu‘ah-e-Ishtiharat, Vol. 3, p. 545)
The Promised Messiahas also wrote:
“Hazrat Imam Husainra was a pious, God-fearing person […]”. (Majmu‘ah-e-Ishtiharat, Vol. 3, p. 844)
In one of his poems, Hazrat Ahmadas writes:
“I am ready to offer my heart and soul for the beauty of Muhammadsa; My body is merely the dust of the lane treaded by the progeny of Muhammadsa.
“I have seen with my heart’s eye and heard with perceptive ears; The trumpet of the beauty of Muhammadsa echoes everywhere.
“This ever-flowing water which I distribute freely among God’s creatures, is but a drop from the ocean of the excellences of Muhammadsa.
“The fire that burns within me is the fire of the love of Muhammadsa; The water that I possess is from the sweet and pure water of Muhammadsa. (Majmu‘ah-e-Ishtiharat, Vol. 1, p. 97; Essence of Islam, Vol. 1, pp. 328-329)
Even the visions of the Promised Messiahas testify to the love he had for the family of Prophet Muhammadsa. It is narrated:
“At this point, I recall a very clear vision which was as follows: After Maghrib prayer, while I was fully awake, I was overtaken by a slight numbing of my faculties […] and had a wonderful experience. First, there was a sound of some people walking fast […] and then five very dignified, holy and handsome personages came into my vision. They were the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, Hazrat Ali, Hasan, Husain and Fatimah al-Zahra, may Allah be pleased with all of them. One of them, and I think it was Hazrat Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, out of great affection and kindness, like a loving mother, placed this humble one’s head upon her thigh. Then I was given a book concerning which I was told, ‘It is a commentary on the Holy Quran, which has been compiled by Ali and now Ali bestows it upon you.’فالحمد للّٰه على ذلك [Allah be praised for all this].” (Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Part 4, p. 503 sub-footnote 3, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 1, p. 598-599, taken from Tadhkirah [English], pp. 26-27)
Some ignorant Muslims raise allegations on this vision and say that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas dishonoured Hazrat Fatimahra.
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa beautifully answered this allegation in his Friday Sermon on 28 August 2020:
“The maulvis [clerics] who have polluted minds raise allegations against this extract where the Promised Messiahas has written that Hazrat Fatimahra placed his head on her thigh. The Promised Messiahas is saying this in context to how a mother shows affection to her child; however, how can one explain this to these people whose minds are polluted? When ordinary Muslims hear their statements, they think that Hazrat Fatimahra has been dishonoured, God forbid. Even though the Promised Messiahas clarifies it further by saying just how affectionate she was to him just like that of a mother [to her child].” (Friday Sermon, 28 August 2020)
The non-Ahmadi Muslims have absolutely no right to raise any allegation on this beautiful vision showing the love Allah had for the Messiahas. Hazrat Syed Abdul Qadir Jilanirh states:
“And that I saw in the dream that I was in the lap of Hazrat Aishara and she suckled me from the right side and then the left. At the same time, Hazrat Muhammadsa came inside.” (Qala‘idul-Jawahir fi Manaqib, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, published in Egypt, p. 57)
The leading scholar of the Deobandis, Ashraf Ali Thanvi, writes:
ہم ايک دفعہ بيمار ہوگئے ہم كو مرنے سے بہت ڈر لگتا ہے ہم نے خواب ميں حضرت فاطمہ رضی الله عنها كو ديكها انہوں نے ہم كو اپنے سينے سے چمٹا ليا ہم اچهے ہو گئے
“Once, I was very ill and I was extremely afraid of dying. I then saw Hazrat Fatimahra in a dream and she embraced me to her chest, and I got well.” (Malfuzat by Ashraf Ali Thanvi, Vol. 8, p. 65)
The belief of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas was that anyone who mocks Hazrat Jesusas or Imam Husainra cannot even survive for a night. He said:
“What I have written in the qaseedah about Imam Husain, may Allah be pleased with him, or about Hazrat Isa [Jesus], peace be upon him, is not based on human understanding. Evil indeed is he who speaks foul of God’s perfect and righteous servants based on his own selfish notions. I believe firmly that no one can survive even for a night after having spoken impertinently about such righteous people like Husain and Hazrat Isa […] (Miracle of Ahmad, p. 66)
We see the love for Hazrat Imam Husainra in the Khulafa of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat as well. For example, in his Friday sermon on 10 December 2010, Hazrat Khalifatul Masih Vaa stated:
“The month of Muharram teaches us to always invoke blessings and salutations on the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, and his family and bring about pure changes in ourselves to play our role. We should display steadfastness in front of people with Yazid-like nature and be resolute. Only the Husain-like will be successful. God has commanded prayer and patience. Patience does not only signify enduring cruelty, but also entails doing pious works with resolve. To express the truth without any fear is also patience. We should always abide by the model of Hazrat Husainra to partake of a measure of the triumph that is destined with the Promised Messiah, on whom be peace.” (Friday Sermon, 10 December 2010)
The Promised Messiahas had deep love for Hazrat Imam Husainra and all of the progeny of the Holy Prophetsa. So too is the case of the Khulafa of the Promised Messiahas.
Many allegations are raised on the writings of Hazrat Ahmadas with regard to Hazrat Imam Husainra; however, these allegations are a result of deep-rooted misunderstandings and the mischief of some Muslim scholars. In a future article, these allegations will be responded to.
