Ahmadiyyat

The Promised Messiah & the Holy Prophet – A Love Like No Other

Portrait of the Promised Messiah (as) & Imam Mahdi (Guided One), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as)

The Promised Messiah & Imam Mahdi, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian (1835-1908)

Raziullah Noman, Canada

One of the most important aspects of the life of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) was his love for the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa). This love was prophesied by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) himself as a sign of the latter-day Messiah. He stated:

فيدفن معي في قبري

He (the latter-day Messiah) will be buried with me in my grave[1]

Explaining this prophecy, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) writes:

‘And to interpret the prophecy that, after his demise, the Promised Messiah will be interned in the grave of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, to mean that—God forbid—the grave of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, will be reopened, is the error of the literalists. Such concepts are replete with insolence and disrespect. Rather, it means that the Promised Messiah will be so close to the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in nearness of station that, after his death, he will achieve the rank of nearness to the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and his soul shall meet the soul of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, as if the two were in the same grave. This alone is the true meaning [of this prophecy]; if someone wants to interpret it differently, it is up to him.’[2]

The love which Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) had for his master, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) is beautifully described in the following Persian couplet of his:

بعد از خدا بعشق محمد مخمرم
گر کفر ایں بود بخدا سخت کافرم

After God I am inebriated with the love of Muhammad (sa)
If this is infidelity, then by God I am a great infidel[3]

The Promised Messiah (as) has written over 85 books in which he defends the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) and these books show us how much he loved his master. For example, he writes:

‘That light of high degree that was bestowed on perfect man was not in angels, was not in stars, was not in the moon, was not in the sun, was not in the oceans and the rivers, was not in rubies, emeralds, sapphires, or pearls; in short, it was not in any earthly or heavenly object. It was only in perfect man whose highest and loftiest and most perfect example was our lord and master, the Chief of the Prophets, the Chief of all living ones, Muhammad, the chosen one [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]. That light was bestowed on this man and, according to their ranks, upon all those who bore the same colour to some degree…. This dignity was found in its highest and most perfect form in our lord and master and our guide, the immaculate Prophet, the righteous one, testified to by the righteous, Muhammad, the chosen one [peace and blessings of Allah be on him].’[4]

©Shutterstock

The Promised Messiah (as) made it explicitly clear that anything he had been given was because of his complete devotion to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa). He writes:

‘If I had not been part of the Holy Prophet’s (sa) Ummah, and had not been his follower, then, even if my good deeds had matched all the mountains of the world, I would never have received this honour of converse with God, for all Prophethood has come to an end except the Prophethood of Muhammad (sa).’[5]

Some of the anti-Ahmadis spread the false allegation that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) only said such statements in his early books. However, we see that these were views held by the Promised Messiah (as) up until his demise. In one of his later books, Haqiqaul Wahi (1907), he writes:

‘I have, by the sheer grace of God, and not by any merit of my own, been accorded a full measure of the bounty, which was bestowed before me on the Prophets and Messengers (as) and the Chosen ones of God. It would not have been possible for me to receive this bounty had I not followed the ways of my lord and master, the Pride of the Prophets, the Best of Mankind, Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa [the Chosen One], may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Therefore, whatever I have attained, I attained due to this following and I know, through my true and perfect knowledge, that no man can reach God except by following the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, nor can anyone have a share of the complete cognition.’[6]

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) explained that by following the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) even just for ten days, one could obtain that light which before him could not be obtained in a thousand years. He  writes:


‘When we estimate justly, then out of the whole series of Prophets, we find one of high courage and alive and greatly dear to God, the Chief of the Prophets, the pride and the crown of the Messengers, whose name is Muhammad Mustafa and Ahmad Mujtaba [peace and blessings of Allah be on him]. By walking under his shadow for ten days one obtains that light which before him could not be obtained in a thousand years…. We have found every light by following the immaculate Prophet and whoever follows him will also find it and he will become so accepted of God that nothing will be impossible for him. The Living God, Who is hidden from people, will be his God and all false gods will be trodden under his feet. He will be blessed everywhere and Divine Power will be with him. Peace be on him who follows the guidance.’[7]

The Promised Messiah’s (as) love for the Holy Prophet (sa) was so profound that it was affirmed by the angels of God. The Promised Messiah (as) writes:

‘One night this humble one invoked blessings on the Holy Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be on him] to such a degree that my heart and soul were filled with its fragrance. That night I saw in my dream that angels were carrying water skins full of light into my house and one of them said to me: These are the blessings that you invoked upon Muhammad [peace and blessings of Allah be on him].’[8]

©Shutterstock

The Muslim scholars who opposed the Promised Messiah (as) also testified to his love and defence for the Prophet Muhammad (sa). 

Dr Israr Ahmed stated:

‘Scholars came forth to respond but unfortunately, in this field the one who carried out the greatest service was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani, who in 1883, wrote a rebuttal called Surma-e-Chashma-e-Arya, which brought him great fame and glory. Because the other Muslim scholars didn’t have such ability, passion, and taste for this. And he (Mirza Ghulam Ahmad) had a special skill and expertise in this regard. And he debated the Aryas and defeated them. And wrote the book Surma-e-Chasma-e-Arya. The result of this was that he became very popular among the Muslims. And this was because he was refuting allegations on behalf of the Muslims and defending Islam. It is said about Maulana Sanaullah Amritsari, Ahle Hadith, that there was a time when I considered assisting him in ablution a great honor. And the biggest scholars praised him. Allama Iqbal said, “If someone wants to see true Islam, he should go to Qadian”.’

On another occasion, Dr Israr Ahmed stated:

‘He (Mirza Ghulam Ahmad ) debated the Christians and defeated them. And there was a violent scheme of the author of Satyarth Parkash, the Arya Samaj, and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad defeated them as well. Now because of these two things, he became a star in the eyes of the Muslim scholars’

Regarding the praise of Dr Israr Ahmed, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba), the Fifth Caliph and Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community stated:

 ‘No matter how much the opponents of our Community claim that we have nothing to do with Islam, they cannot help acknowledge that it was the person of the Promised Messiah (as) who defended Islam in this age and saved the Muslims from Christianity. Many religious scholars of the time openly admitted this but later, due to their personal interests, they started opposing the Promised Messiah (as). However, some opponents have been forced to admit even today that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (as) contended with Christianity and had it retreat. They say the Muslim scholars of the time did not have the knowledge of the Qur’an and the Bible that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani did. Dr. Israr ul Haq has openly admitted this on TV. Whether they accept it or not that it was the Promised Messiah’s (as) knowledge of the Qur’an and Divine support that made him perform this great work, the truth is that God established him to safeguard the Holy Qur’an and forced the enemy to retreat. This was by virtue of the measure of nur he took from the nur of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and of the Holy Qur’an and his knowledge of the Qur’an is peerless in this age.’

Dr Israr Ahmed was not alone in this praise, rather scholars of every sect praised the Promised Messiah (as)’s love for Islam, and the Prophet Muhammad (sa). In the end, we pray for the guidance of all Muslims that they may be able to recognize the Imam of the age, Ameen.

ENDNOTES


[1]Mishkat al-Masabih, Bab Nuzul Isa (as), Hadith #5508

[2]Haqiqatul Wahi, p. 394

[3]Izala-e-Auham, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 3, p. 185

[4]Aina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 5, p. 160-162

[5]Divine Manifestations, p. 28

[6]Haqiqatul Wahi, page 78

[7]Siraj-e-Munir, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 12, pp. 82-83

[8]Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya, Ruhani Khaza’in Vol. 1, p. 598, sub-footnote 3