Prophecies

The Prayer Duel

An account of the prayer duel between Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian and John Alexander Dowie

Furhan Ahmad Hamza Qureshi, Canada

Early Life

Born on May 25, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland, John Alexander Dowie was described as a sickly child with a marked ‘precocious piety’ from a very young age.[1]  After migrating to Adelaide with his parents at the age of 13, he began helping his uncle in a wholesale grocery firm.  However, at the age of 20, he decided that he wanted to become a minister.  Soon enough, he was a pastor in South Australia, where he began displaying signs of eccentricity and a quarrelsome predisposition.[2]  Never one to respect authority, Dowie was inclined to oppose and stir up a revolt against those in charge.  In Melbourne, for example, when he was fined by the local magistrates for organizing unlawful processions, Dowie refused to pay, insisting that he was carrying out God’s will and thus not bound to abide by man-made laws.  He was subsequently imprisoned for a month and fined for another offense.  After his prison term ended, he refused to pay the second fine, and was sent back to jail for an additional seven days.[3]  

The Faith Healer

By his late 30s, Dowie had established himself as a faith healer, and had gained a considerable amount of support.  In June 1888, after a mission to New Zealand, he decided to try his luck in the United States.  He landed in San Francisco as a missionary for the International Society of Divine Healing[4]with his wife Jane, and two children: a son, Alexander John Gladstone Dowie and a daughter, Esther.  

In America, he started a private practice of faith healing in Oakland, California.  He announced that he had been granted the divine powers of healing and that his mission in Oakland was to create an Eden where the blind would be able to see, the deaf would be able to hear and the disabled would “warm themselves by the fire made of their useless crutches.”[5]  He claimed to have healed many blind and deaf people, but always refused to disclose the names and addresses of those he had cured. Every day, he would amass a considerable amount of money after charging up to $10 for his healing services.[6] Nonetheless, Dowie did not gain as much popularity and wealth as he had desired in California, so he decided to move to Chicago to pursue more ambitious goals.  Chicago was a breeding ground for many new cults and religious sects,[7]and a perfect place for Dowie to start a following of his own.  

After moving to Chicago, he ditched his plans of creating an Eden and decided to form a ‘Zion’ movement.[8]  Like a showman, he pitched a tent – which he called ‘the hut’ – in front of the 1893 World’s Fair grounds and attracted much attention by advertising himself as a faith healer.[9]

In the beginning, he faced so much skepticism and opposition from the public, that holding meetings with his growing community became difficult.  His congregations would regularly be attacked and his meeting places were often vandalized.[10]  Nevertheless, Dowie was no saint either.  In Chicago, he would be arrested at least a hundred times (according to some reports) for violating city ordinances in regard to the care of the sick.[11]  His criminal record didn’t seem to discourage the masses from listening to him, though, as he eventually graduated from ‘the hut’ to greater venues, including auditoriums with capacities numbering in the thousands.[12]  Considering the needs of a growing congregation, Dowie employed many ministers, missionaries and workers to help him collect contributions and convert people into his fold.[13]  Unfortunately for them, he did not believe in paying salaries to his preachers and helpers, which only meant that there was more money in his own pocket.[14]  In 1894, Dowie started a weekly newspaper by the name of Leaves of Healing, which he himself edited.  It contained transcripts from his sermons and other articles promulgating his views. Breaking away from the International Society of Divine Healing, of which he was the president, he subsequently founded the Christian Catholic Church in Zion[15]on February 22, 1896.[16]

He came to be known as ‘Dr. Dowie’ by his congregation, because of his faith-healing.  He preached that disease was due to evil and the work of the devil.  In order to rid a person of disease, evil had to be cast out of that person.  He claimed that he could remove all evils from people and cure them from their maladies.[17]All Dowie really wanted was to reach into the pockets of thousands of naïve Americans and snatch away their wealth. For the most part, he succeeded and became a very rich man.[18]

Establishing Zion

Eventually, Dowie had enough wealth to purchase an old tabernacle building on S. Michigan Avenue and E. 14thStreet, Chicago, IL.  This was his first great business venture, as he was successful in attracting a full house almost every Sunday.  This also gave him the courage to develop plans to establish a city of his own, Zion. According to The Saint Paul Globe, Dowie possessed “several millions worth of property,” on which he had to pay taxes because he was “unable to persuade the assessors of Chicago to view him in the same light as the Roman Catholic church and let his property go free.”  Therefore, “this is what decided Dowie to found a city of his own.”[19] Whatever the motives, this much is certain – by owning his own city, he had a chance to be great.  It would be like his own kingdom, which he could rule as he pleased, and like kings of yore, he could expand his kingdom as far and wide as he could manage.  His theocratic vision dared him to dream that one day, the United States and every other country in the world would be under his rule within the matter of a few years.  

Dreams aside, Dowie still had the challenge of making his vision a reality, and to do that, he had to pull a few strings.  Firstly, he had to make sure that the details of his plan to form Zion were kept under wraps, so he secretly set out to find a proper location and then secured some formidable industries in the area to sustain the development of the city. Meanwhile, he began releasing tidbits of information to his congregations about plans to form a city that would be ruled by the laws of God.  By exploiting their devotion to the church, Dowie secured a steady stream of income from his gullible followers.  He formed the ‘Zion Land and Investment Association’ which lured in a lot of investors who practically had no rights.  The land that Dowie would buy from these investments would solely belong to him, but he told them that as long as they held their stocks, they would be given dividends on it.  In short, he collected massive amounts of wealth to build the city of his dreams.[20]  

Cutting Dowie’s long story of fraud and debauchery short, he successfully purchased 6,500 acres of land 42 miles north of Chicago and founded Zion City.  He became the sole owner and ‘general overseer’ of all the stores, the bank, factories and hospitals that were set up in Zion.[21]  By the year 1902, he claimed to have a following of more than a hundred thousand.[22]  He lived a life of great luxury and was treated with honour and dignity by his followers.[23]

The Incarnation of Elijah

Up until this point, Dowie had enjoyed the unequivocal power that came with being the leader of his own church; he was loved dearly by his followers, and they hearkened to his every call.  He was known to have a terrible temper, so his followers tried their best to keep him pleased, otherwise they would be asking for excommunication or exile from Zion. Dowie was well aware of his control over his church, but he realized he could not effectively rule Zion merely on the authority of being a faith-healer.  He needed to establish himself as something far more important than the average priest; he needed to be divine.  

Therefore, on June 2, 1901, standing in front of a great crowd in the Chicago Auditorium, Dowie claimed that he was the third incarnation of Elijah.  It was perfect.  His followers already attributed miraculous healing powers to him and considered him to be a representative of their lord, Jesus Christ, so this didn’t feel far-fetched to them.  It came quite naturally to his devotees, who accepted Dowie’s claim wholeheartedly.[24]  

By garbing the mantle of ‘prophethood,’ Dowie commanded even more respect and obedience from his followers, who were ready to do anything at his behest.  He came up with concocted explanations about the reality of the modern appearance of Elijah,[25]so that his claims seemed even more believable. His own conviction, or lack thereof, can be judged by the fact that in a subsequent lawsuit, when Dowie was prompted to swear, on oath, that he truly believed himself to be Elijah, he outright refused to do so.[26] He also made the boastful claim that he had come as a harbinger to the second coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who, according to his calculations, would descend in 25 years.[27] Little did he know that the true Messiah had already appeared, and soon, he would be confronted by that champion of God.

There are perhaps a few main factors that led to this success.  The first was that he was an excellent speaker[28]and a talented actor.[29]  Much like the televangelists that spawned after him, Dowie was very theatrical and shrewd.[30]  He was persuasive and well-acquainted with hypnotism.  In fact, some believed that most of his success was due to this very skill of his.[31]  He would say, “Give me a million dollars! A million dollars, do you hear? I am going to convert the world – I must have more money,” and almost always, his congregation would comply donating great sums of money.[32]  Whether or not he was intelligent didn’t seem to have much of an impact on his success, because at the height of his power, he was popular, rich and quite powerful. Dowie had created an empire of his own and controlled his followers as a puppeteer controls marionettes; but soon, he would lose everything because of his impertinence and irreverence to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) and his audacity to belittle the elect of God.

Dowie’s Criticisms of Islam

Dowie’s rise to fame was highly publicized by the media not only in the United States, but also around the world, including India.  Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as), the Promised Messiah, had heard of this charlatan and had ordered a subscription to Dowie’s paper, Leaves of Healing, which Mufti Muhammad Sadiq (ra) used to read out to him from time to time, so that the allegations that this Christian claimant to prophethood was making could be answered.[33] Dowie would rant about what he considered the failings and dangers of Christian sects and other religions, using vile and coarse language.  When he wasn’t rambling on against the Methodists, he made Islam and the Holy Founder of Islam, Prophet Muhammad (sa), the target of his vulgarity. For instance, Dowie argued the need to destroy Islam in the words:

One of the greatest systems in the Orient is Mohammedanism.  The very essence of Mohammedanism is the degradation of woman, denying her an immortal spirit.  The theology of the Moslem gives no immortality to a woman.  The Moslem is not taught to look forward to a reunion with wife, and mother, and daughter in heaven.  He is taught that they pass away; that they rot in cemeteries.  The Mohammedan is taught to look forward to heaven as one vast brothel and harem, where he can find satisfaction in women that are prepared for him as the creatures of lust. Zion will have to wipe out that shocking blot upon humanity. That accursed flag will have to come down from the high towers of Jerusalem. May God help me to knock at the gate of the Moslem before long! The Moslem will fight. There are hundreds of millions of them. One of the great wars imminent is that between the Cross and the Crescent.[34]

At another juncture, Dowie expressed his hatred for Islam and the desire to wipe it out of the world:

How can any one who knows exactly what Mohammedanism is, for one single moment imagine that God or man can forever stand that abomination? “Where the Moslem hoof comes no grass grows” is the Eastern proverb. Wherever the accursed teaching of Mahomet has come, there has been an end of all real progress…It is time that such an organized abomination as that should be swept out…I pray God for the day to come when the Crescent shall disappear, and when the flags – I would like to see them united there and everywhere – of Great Britain and America shall float over Zion at Jerusalem, as they often do at the city of Zion near Chicago. May God grant it! It is time that the Moslem Abomination was gone, “bag and baggage,” as Mr. Gladstone used to say. Let it slink away back into the deserts of Arabia whence the filthy thing emerged…Ugh! How one hates the whole thing, the slimy, filthy thing!  May God destroy it![35]

Response of the Promised Messiah (as)

The Promised Messiah (as) was sent by God as the defender and reviver of Islam; he could not bear to see such blasphemous and treacherous attacks being made on his faith.  On August 6, 1902, when the Promised Messiah (as) was listening to a reading from Leaves of Healing, he heard what Rev. John Alexander Dowie was saying about the destruction of nations and kingdoms and could no longer contain his passion to serve and protect Muslims from such a dangerous deceiver.  He said:

This fabricator and prevaricator is a dangerous enemy of Islam. It would be best to publish and send an open letter to him and invite him to a challenge. Besides Islam, there is no truthful religion in the world; and blessings and signs are manifested only in favour of Islam.  It is my firm belief that if this forger of lies challenges me, he will suffer a debilitating loss, and the time has now come that God Almighty will punish him for his forgery.[36]

On August 8, 1902, the Promised Messiah (as) wrote an open letter to Dowie which was to be translated into English and sent to Dowie, as well as newspapers abroad.[37]  It was subsequently published in the September 1902 issue of The Review of Religions.  He wrote:

I have lately been hearing of a messenger of Jesus Christ born in America.  John Alexander Dowie, for such is his name, claims to have been sent by the son of Mary in his capacity of Godhead that as his apostle he may draw the whole world to a belief in the despicable dogma of his Divinity…Dr. Dowie looks upon the man Jesus as his God, and looks upon himself as his messenger.[38]

The Challenge

He then called upon Dowie to refrain from wishing for the death of all Muslims in the world:

Since Dr. Dowie is the messenger of the powerful Deity who was crucified by the Jews, I would entreat him to refrain from destroying the whole body of Muhammadans living upon the face of the earth…Whether the God of Muhammadans or the God of Dowie is the true God may be settled without the loss of millions of lives which Dr. Dowie’s prediction would involve.  That method is that without threatening the Muhammadan public in general with destruction, he should choose me as his opponent and pray to God that of us two whoever is the liar may perish first. I look upon the son of Mary as a weak human being although I recognise him as a prophet of God, while Dr. Dowie takes him for the Lord of Universe.  Which of us is right is the real point at issue.  If Dr. Dowie is certain of the Divinity of the son of Mary, he should publish the proposed prayer with the signatures of at least one thousand men affixed to it.  Upon receiving it, I shall address the same prayer to Almighty God and publish it with the signatures of the same number of witnesses.  If Dr. Dowie has the courage to accept this challenge, he will thereby open a way for all other Christians to the acceptance of truth.  In making this proposal, I have not taken initiative, but the jealous God has inspired me upon Dr. Dowie’s presumptuous prediction that all Muhammadans shall perish.[39]  

In summary, the Promised Messiah (as) entreated Dowie to stop wishing for the death of all the Muslims of the world and instead, face him in a prayer duel.  He argued that there would be little benefit in causing the death of millions of Muslims, when through the death of just one Muslim, i.e., the Promised Messiah, Dowie could prove his truthfulness.  All Dowie had to do was publish a prayer beseeching God to destroy him, along with the testimony of a thousand men.  He would do the same, and they would wait for the decree of God to take its course.  Whoever died first would be proven to be the liar, because “the enemy of God’s messenger must perish” in the lifetime of that messenger.[40]  If Jesus Christ was really God, then he would cause his messenger, Rev. Dowie, to outlive the Promised Messiah (as).  However, if Dowie died first, it would incontrovertibly prove that the Promised Messiah’s (as) God was more powerful, and Dowie’s was ineffectual.  

This particular prayer duel was unique.  Normally, both parties would have to agree to take up the challenge; otherwise, it wouldn’t be valid.  This time, though, the Promised Messiah (as) declared:

If Dr. Dowie assumes silence and gives no response to this offer, or if having decided to enter the lists he prays in his boastful manner and adopts the procedure herein recorded and then dies in my life-time, in either case it shall be a sign to the whole of America.  Upon the manner in which death should take place, it is necessary to impose the restriction that it should not occur through human hands, but it may be the result of a disease, a stroke of lightning, snake-bite, etc. The time-limit within which Dowie is at liberty to respond to this call is fixed at three months from the date that the announcement is issued.  And we pray God that He may be with the righteous.  Amen.[41]

As the Promised Messiah (as) wrote this letter, he was in his sixty-seventh year, and was suffering from many ailments including diabetes.  Dowie, on the other hand, was twelve years his junior and enjoyed “excellent health.”  On December 14, 1902, just a few months after this challenge was issued, Dowie professed the condition of his health in the words:

I am a stronger man today, in many ways, than I have ever been in my life…I scarcely know what weariness is, and it is not because I lie on a bed of inglorious ease…I feel in every way sound in spirit, soul and body, and am deeply grateful to God that He often enables me to double my working capacity for His Cause and Kingdom.  I have an unwearied brain.  I have a healthy frame.  My digestion is sound, and the moment I want sleep I can get it.  I can take it at any time of the day or night.  I can take it for as long as I like, short or long.  I do not know any better evidence of a healthy man than powers of assimilation that are perfect and ability to sleep.  I believe that there are very few men of my age and work in the world today who are as strong as I am…And with that and more – much more – I am in excellent health, and am not mumbling meaningless nonsense, as the newspapers well know.[42]

The Promised Messiah (as), however, was so sure that Dowie had warranted an early exit from the world due to his impertinence towards Islam and the Holy Messenger of Allah, that he prophesied Dowie’s death in the foreseeable future.  Whether or not Dowie accepted the challenge, his end was close, and the Promised Messiah (as) had firm conviction that he would emerge victorious.  This would be his sign for America – a sign that would bear testimony to his truthfulness for times to come. 

Continued Insolence

Dowie chose to ignore the Promised Messiah’s (as) challenge, and conversely began attacking Islam with even more fervour than before.  In fact, in the December 19, 1902 issue of his weekly paper, Leaves of Healing, Dowie published the following statement:

My mission is to gather people from the East and West, North and South, and populate this town and other towns with Christians, until the day arrives when the Mohammedan faith is effaced from the earth. O Lord! show us that hour.[43]

Although Dowie expressed indifference to the Promised Messiah’s (as) challenge, the American press publicised it all across the country.  By way of illustration, an excerpt from The New York Times’s March 29, 1903 issue is reproduced below:

Mr. Dowie (as the prophet) has foretold the destruction of all who do not believe in the divinity of his mission; and he has gone out of his way to include the distant Mohammedans in the grand cataclysm. It happens that the Far East has its own prophets and naturally they consider this attack as contrary to the ethics of the profession. To maintain their own prestige they must down the arrogant Westerner. It is an old story that when prophets fall out there is Hail Columbia to pay. One Mirza Ghulam Ahmed, a Mohammedan of Quodian, Gundaspur [sic], India, (having 100,000 followers,) has issued a challenge which would suit the indisputable Elijah down to the ground. Popular opinion as to the verity of Mr. Dowie’s claim will depend a good deal on his treatment of this challenge. Ahmed’s proposition is that the Western prophet and 1,000 of his people shall pray for the early death of the Mohammedan Messiah, while the latter and a similar number of gifted Moslems shall petition for the speedy deletion of Mr. Dowie. The first of the two is to be proclaimed as “a liar” throughout the world.

A genuine Elijah would jump at such a proposal. When the chesty priests of Baal denied the prophetic supremacy of Elijah, he dared the whole outfit (numbering 450 experienced professionals) to a prayer test. No handicap could dash him. But one against hundreds, he even deluged with water the woodpile he had pledged himself to burn.  How he reviled the perspiring priests and spurred them on with insults is a matter of record.  That is the kind of prophet Elijah was. This incident is recalled because Ahmed’s challenge is much like that of Elijah to the priests, and whether the founder of Zion (Illinois) is in error as to his own identity will be determined by his acceptance or rejection of this test. The Mohammedan is generous rather than fair. He waives the consideration that he is ten years the elder and he stipulates that death shall be by disease, lightning stroke or snakebite. The normal death rate of Chicago is far below that of Quodian [sic], and statistics show 673 deaths from snakebites in India last year and none in Cook County. Apart from the prayers the conditions favor Mr. Dowie.[44]

Dowie’s detractors and supporters both weighed in their comments and opinions on the challenge that he faced from a “Mohammedan.”  Public opinion on the challenge cannot be accurately determined, but this much is certain, Dowie and his ‘Zionites’ were adamantly opposed to the proposed duel, as perhaps they were fearful of possible defeat.  Whatever the case, Dowie chose not to formally accept the challenge, and instead, thought it best to make a mockery of the Promised Messiah (as)and his proposal – a decision that would cost him dearly.  

 On December 21, 1902, in front of his Sunday congregation, Rev. John Dowie made the following impertinent remark about the Promised Messiah (as):

‘There is one foolish man in India, a Mohammedan Messiah, who persists in writing to me saying that the body of the Christ is buried at Cashmir, in India, and can be found there.  He never says that he has seen it, but the poor, fanatical and ignorant creature keeps on with the raving that the Christ died in India.  The Christ reascended into the heavens at Bethany, and He is there in His Celestial Body.’[45]

Then, a few months later, he told his congregation why he wasn’t responding to the Promised Messiah’s (as) challenge:

‘People sometimes say to me: “Why do you not reply to this, that and the other thing?” Reply! Do you think that I shall reply to these gnats and flies? John L. Sullivan, the heavy-weight prize fighter, was insulted once by a bantam fighter, when some one who stood by said, “Why do you not hit him?” 

“Hit him?” said the big fellow, “he is not in my class; if I should hit him, I would kill him.”  And you ask me to reply to these little flesh flies; these wretched little gnats? If I put my foot on them I would crush out their lives. I give them a chance to fly away and live. The idea of bothering about these little things! Zion has no time to stop its wheels to answer them.  It is like a mouse looking at a buzz saw and saying, “You stop, or I will bite you!” Let it bite the buzz saw and that is the end of it. [Laughter][46]

From these statements, an honest and fair-minded person can judge the amount of impudence and disrespect that Dowie showed the Promised Messiah (as).  Surely, this wasn’t the practice of the great prophet Jesus Christ, to whom this pathetic imposter claimed adherence!  God, the Omnipotent and Omnipresent would not allow such impudence to go unpunished and thus began the downfall of John Alexander Dowie, self-professed “Elijah.”

The Beginning of the End

On August 23, 1903, having received no reply from Dowie for an entire year, the Promised Messiah (as) reminded him of the challenge and declared that his doom was near:

‘I have thousands of His testimonies in my support, which I cannot number…One testimony is that if Mr. Dowie will accept my challenge and will put himself in opposition to me clearly or impliedly, he will depart this world with great sorrow and pain during my lifetime…

Dowie has not so far replied to my challenge nor has he referred to it in his paper. I, therefore, grant him time for seven months from today, the 23rd of August 1903. If during this period he comes forth in opposition to me and makes an announcement in his paper that he accepts fully the plan that I have put forward, the world shall soon see the end of this contest. I am about seventy years of age and Dowie, according to his own statement, is a young man of fifty years. I am not concerned about this disparity in our ages as the issue is not to be decided on the merits of age. It rests entirely with God Who is the God of heaven and earth and is the best Judge. If Mr. Dowie runs away from this contest I would call upon the people of America and Europe as witnesses that this would also be deemed to be his defeat, and in such case it should be concluded that his claim of being Elijah is a mere boast and deceit. He may try to flee from death in this manner, but he should realize that his flight from the proposed contest is also a species of death. Be sure, therefore, that a calamity will most certainly befall his Zion very soon.’[47]

Barely two months had passed since the Promised Messiah (as) issued this statement that Dowie experienced a taste of the turmoil and disgrace that he was destined to endure for the rest of his life.  

The estimated value of Dowie’s wealth in December 1903 was $25,000,000.00, a hefty amount by anyone’s standards!  Yet, his insatiable hunger for wealth gave him the idea of creating another Zion in Mexico.  In fact, he was planning to make his way there, when he was suddenly struck with paralysis in front of a congregation.[48]  The “excellent health” which he used to boast about in front of his congregations was now dwindling, and his health took a sharp turn downwards.  He appointed Wilbur Glenn Voliva (1870-1942) as the “general overseer” of Zion City,[49]as he felt that his health did not allow him to carry on in that capacity.  He would suffer another paralysing stroke in Mexico, whilst on a trip there to recuperate, and was now afflicted with partial paralysis.[50]

Meanwhile in Zion City, slowly but surely, his followers began turning against him, wondering what Dowie was doing with all the money he collected from them.  He was going on world tours with his family; he lived in a magnificent three-storey house; he always collected 10% of the Zionites’ income (regardless of their financial condition), and habitually received large sums of money from wealthy converts.[51] His “loyal” follower Voliva realized the public’s changed attitude towards Dowie and in his first month as general overseer, he transferred all of the church’s property which was in Dowie’s possession, to one of his own lieutenants, and charged Dowie with extravagance and “gross mismanagement.”  In addition, he gathered all Zionites in the Zion City tabernacle and denounced Dowie, with the support of all but 200 of Dowie’s (former) followers.  By an overwhelming majority, the inhabitants of Zion City agreed to depose Dowie and accepted Voliva as their leader.[52]  Dowie, of course, was oblivious to all this, being in Mexico at the time, but he must have been devastated to learn that his own followers had backstabbed him and dethroned him from his office.

Announcing Dowie’s deposition, his own newspaper published the following announcement, exposing the frauds he had committed financially and morally:

This is the saddest announcement Leaves of Healing has ever been called upon to make.  And yet there is in it a note of gladness, a reason for thanksgiving and praise to God, for it shows that the people of Zion are a righteous people, and have the faith and course to smite iniquity even when the heart breaks as the hand strikes the blow…

After describing how John Dowie led Zion City into debt, the Leaves of Healingcontinued:

What did John Alexander Dowie do to relieve such an intolerable situation?  He made a tour of the world, travelling in the most expensive way.  He first berated legal and business counsellors for suggesting a more practical and economical business policy, and then promised to inaugurate such a policy. He commanded all members of the Christian Catholic Church in Zion throughout the world to sell all they had and come to Zion City, placing their money in his hands.  He sent out members and friends of Zion wherever he could to borrow money, mortgaging their property, if they had any, or giving their own personal notes.  For these loans, he gave his own personal notes to the amount of three hundred thousand dollars.  This money has been spent in paying debts and current expenses; there is nothing productive to show for it, and the interest on these notes has not been paid.  He first declared that Zion should never borrow a cent from the world – although he urged Zion people to borrow – then declared that he might borrow $1,250,000 in fulfilment of prophecy.  While Zion City was in this cripples and suffering financial condition, he launched the proposed Zion Paradise Plantation enterprise, and has spent many thousands of dollars of money invested for the purpose; some in trips to and through Mexico, some for other purposes, including personal expenses.  He has kept up large and expensive homes, households, and retinues of servants in Zion City and at Ben MacDhui, near Montague, Michigan, spending thousands of dollars in improvements upon the Michigan property, at a time when he was commanding all members of Zion to sell all they had, and bring it to Zion City.[53]

Then, on April 5, 1906, while Dowie was in Mexico, it was revealed by none other than his own trusted officers that he was planning to secretly practice polygamy in his colony there.  According to them, Dowie had planned “a harem of seven wives,”[54]and had even selected the “most attractive women of Zion”[55]to be his brides.  It was also demonstrated that he had been involved in adulterous extramarital affairs with a rich young Swiss woman.[56]  Dowie’s wife, Jane, disclosed that when Dowie told her about his intentions to practice polygamy, she “bitterly opposed” him.[57] “Every instinct of my womanhood revolted at such a dreadful proposition,” Jane Dowie revealed.  “I had been a faithful wife for many years, in sickness and in health, in prosperity and adversity, and now I found that I was to be replaced.  This marked the beginning of our differences and they grew to such a degree that it was impossible to live with Dr. Dowie.”[58]  She also said that Dowie had violently threatened her when she opposed his plans.[59]  

Humiliating Defeat

When he returned from Mexico, and learned that his secret plans had been exposed, he knew that he would never be respected again.  By acting contrary to all the teachings he used to promulgate, he had left no doubt in the minds of the public that he was nothing more than a hypocrite and a liar. His return to the United States was plagued by a humiliating collapse, and an unsympathetic crowd that had shown up just to see what was left of the once honourable Dowie.  This is what they saw:

Instead of the rugged, defiant, powerful personality they had expected, the crowd saw an enfeebled, frightened, doddering old man. He completely collapsed when he arrived near the carriage, and sank to the ground, whence he was gathered up in a bundle and deposited on the seat.  Dowie was still shivering and half-dead with fear when the carriage started at a gallop for the hotel with a shrieking, cheering, jeering rabble in wild pursuit.  Physicians attended [the] “Profit” at the hotel, where he recovered sufficiently to make a quavering statement to the effect that he had nothing to say.[60]

 Eventually, Dowie lost all his supporters andhis health, spending most of his days bed-ridden, attended to by a few servants. His wife and only son left him. Almost all of his followers had turned against him, and his trusty lieutenant, Voliva, led the revolt.  He was broke, in terrible health, disgraced and viewed as a fraudster by the entire world.  The fall of John Dowie was as swift as his rise to fame, if not swifter. The Church he had founded now accepted him only as an “invalid” and “repentant backslider returned to the fold.”[61] 

Dowie used to be known for his fine oratory skills and shrewdness, but now, all of those talents had been depleted. While addressing a meeting of a couple hundred followers in January 1907, he displayed signs of a mental and nervous breakdown.  “He appeared…with his hands and feet bandaged,” described one news report, “and laboured under the delusion that he had received serious wounds in a victorious battle, while his faithful general had been slain.”  The report continued:

Two negro attendants removed Dr. Dowie before he had finished his rambling address.  It is stated that Dowie has forgotten his own name, and calls himself Jerry.  He is almost helpless physically…He curses most roundly, and in language understood by the common people.[62]

Dowie was living in a miserable condition, between life and death for more than a year now.  From December 1905, doctors had been declaring that his days were numbered, and that death would overtake him any time.[63]But Dowie would not go out peacefully; a slow, painful death had been ordained for this impostor.  The famed faith healer who once used to boast of being able to cure anyone of any disease merely through the power of prayer, was unable to cure himself!  The self-styled “Elijah” who attributed disease with sinfulness was now himself afflicted with a myriad of illnesses.  Such was the pitiful condition of the false claimant to prophethood, who dared to challenge the divinity of Islam and the Holy ProphetsaThiswas the torment and pain that the Promised Messiah (as) had prophesied Dowie would encounter if he did not desist from attacking holy personages.  Indeed, a terrible calamity had befallen Zion City, for it had to witness the debilitating collapse of its founder.

A Death Foretold

Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away, in a remote village in Northern India, the Promised Messiah (as) was diligently praying for the decree of God to take its course.  There needed to be a decisive sign to show America that the Messiah whom they awaited had already appeared in India and it was time to accept him.  Dowie’s end was near; the Promised Messiah (as) was sure of it because God had been giving him news of his imminent destruction ever since he had issued the challenge in September 1902.  For instance, on December 17, 1903, God reassured him with the promise that he would not be wiped out and that he would outlive Dowie:

تَرَى نَصْرًا مِّنْ عِنْدِ اللهِ. أَنْتَ مَعِيْ وَأَنَا مَعَكَ. أُرِيْحُكَ وَلَا أُجِيْحُكَ. إِنَّ اللهَ مَعَ الَّذِيْنَ اتَّقَوْا وَّالَّذِيْنَ هُمْ مُّحْسِنُوْنَ… أَطَالَ اللهُ بَقَاءَكَ. كَمَّلَ اللهُ إِعْزَازَكَ.

You will see the help of Allah.  You are with Me and I am with you.  I shall give you comfort and shall not wipe you out. Allah is with those who are righteous and do their duty to the utmost…May Allah lengthen your life. Allah has perfected your honour.[64]

As Dowie plummeted, God was elevating the Promised Messiah (as) to new heights and promising him victory and triumph over his enemies.  God loved the Promised Messiah (as) and He was going to display that love to the world. “A jewel like you is not wasted,” said God, “The day of loss will not come upon you.”[65]  On February 9,1907, the Promised Messiah (as) was told of an approaching victory: اَلْعِيْدُ الْآخَرُ تَنَالُ مِنْهُ فَتْحًا عَظِيْمًا“There is another Eid [or festival] during which you will achieve a great victory.”[66]  The next day, in an even clearer revelation, God said:

دَعْنِيْ أَقْتُلْ مَنْ اٰذَاكَ. إِنَّ الْعَذَابَ مُرَبَّعٌ وَّ مُدَوَّرٌ.

Leave me so that I might kill him who hurts you. The chastisement is destined for the enemies from all four sides and is encircling them.[67]

In addition:

مَیں ایک تازہ نشان ظاہر کروں گا جس میں فتحِ عظیم ہو گی۔ وہ عام دنیا کے لئے ایک نشان ہو گا اور خدا کے ہاتھوں اور آسمان سے ہو گا۔

I shall manifest a fresh sign which will contain a great victory.  It will be a sign for the whole world and will be wrought by God’s hands and from heaven.[68]

This revelation was published on February 20, 1907 on the inner title page of the Promised Messiah’s (as) book Qadian kay Arya aur Humwith the remarks: “Let every eye wait for it, for God will manifest it soon as His testimony that this humble one, who is being reviled by all peoples, is from Him. Blessed are those who would take advantage of it.”[69] Then, on March 7, 1907, the Promised Messiah (as) received the revelations: يَأْتُوْنَ بِنَعْشِهِ مَلْفُوْفًا“They will bring his body, shrouded,”[70]and إِنِّيْ نَعَيْتُ إِنَّ اللهَ مَعَ الصَّادِقِيْنَ“I convey to you the news of a liar’s death. Allah is with the truthful.”[71]

At last, in accordance with these prophetic revelations, the miserable life of John Alexander Dowie ended the morning of March 9, 1907, at his house in Zion City.  At the time of his death, he had only one friend by his side, and two personal attendants.  His death was anything but peaceful, as he died in a state of complete mental delirium.  It is reported that around 1 o’clock in the morning, Dowie became delirious.  He must have thought that he was in front of a large gathering, like in his glory years, because he began denouncing imaginary people and shouted orders at the guards to throw out hecklers and disturbers. But today, there were no hecklers or disturbers to bother him except for his own conscience, tormenting him over what he had done.  Within the matter of a few hours, Dowie’s anguished soul escaped the confines of the corporal body which was once the reason for his pride and arrogance.[72]  

Disgrace in Death

Dowie always wanted to be buried in a magnificent mausoleum, which would house the remains of his family, and serve as a recurrent reminder of his existence on earth.  That never happened.  In fact, what he got was a simple block of granite that said “John Alexander,” because his son, Gladstone, who was expected to carry on the Dowie family legacy after his father, wanted his father’s name to be forgotten – he didn’t want the surname “Dowie” to be linked to the failings of his father. The following news report sheds light on the entire matter:

In death, as in life, the mounting ambition of John Alexander Dowie came to nought.  It was his wish and hope…that his bones should rest in a magnificent mausoleum in which also the members of his family should be buried, perpetuating forever, as he fondly dreamed, the name of Dowie.  Alas for his pride, a cheap tombstone, simple almost to meanness, is to mark the grave in Zion City of the man who once was hailed as leader by so many thousands.  Next week a simple slab of granite, bearing the epitaph, “John Alexander; 1847-1907,” will be placed over the grave.  Gladstone Dowie, son of “Elijah II,” has decided upon this unpretentious tombstone. It will cost no more than £20, and will not even have the name “Dowie” engraved on it.[73]

What a befitting end for a man who vainly tried to defame the name of the Prophet Muhammadsa– his own name was so effaced from the earth, that not even his epitaph carried the name which had once made him so proud!  Dowie tried to disgrace the Promised Messiah (as) by calling him “a foolish man” and “ignorant creature” but conversely, his own followers disowned him, attributing hypocrisy, embezzlement and criminal extravagance to his name.[74] How true were God’s words to the Promised Messiah (as):

إِنِّيْ مُهِيْنٌ مَنْ أَرَادَ إِهَانَتَكَ وَ إِنَّا كَفَيْنَاكَ الْمُسْتَهْزِئِيْنَ. يَا أَحْمَدُ بَارَكَ اللهُ فِيْكَ.

I shall humiliate him who designs to humiliate you.  We shall suffice against your scoffers.  O Ahmad, God has blessed you.[75]

The Great Victory

Dowie’s end signaled a great victory for the Promised Messiah (as), whose challenge dictated that whoever was the liar would die within the lifetime of the truthful one.  Dowie’s death proved the Promised Messiah’s (as) truthfulness, and as the Promised Messiah (as) had foretold, it was “a sign to the whole of America.”[76]  His words, “if Mr. Dowie will accept my challenge and will put himself in opposition to me clearly or impliedly, he will depart this world with great sorrow and pain during my lifetime,”[77]were fulfilled word-for-word.  

To propagate the fulfilment of the Promised Messiah’s (as) grand prophecy, The Review of Religionspublished a special article in April 1907 entitled, “Divine Judgment in Dowie’s Death,” and sent it to editors of newspapers and journals throughout the United States.  The article highlighted the Promised Messiah’s (as) prophecies regarding the death of Dowie and also provided an excellent analysis on the factors that caused the Promised Messiah (as) to challenge Dowie in the first place.[78]  Subsequently, newspapers announced the Promised Messiah’s (as) victory against the “First Apostle” with headlines such as “Great is Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the Messiah.”[79]

In Haqīqat-ul-Wahī, a glorious book chronicling the signs manifested in his favour, the Promised Messiah (as) provided a concise yet comprehensive overview of the challenge he issued to Dowie and its result.  After describing Dowie’s downfall, the Promised Messiah (as) wrote that Dowie’s death was a fulfilment of a grand prophecy of the Holy Prophetsaregarding the duties of the Promised Messiah as the one who would “break the Cross and slay the swine.”[80] Since Dowie was the most powerful reverend of his time, his death indicated the ‘breaking of the Cross.’ Likewise, Dowie’s notoriously vile and filthy language towards Islam and the Holy Prophet (sa) had rendered him swine-like, and so his death also signified the ‘slaying of the swine.’  His death was a direct result of clashing with the Messiah, and hence it was the Messiah who destroyed Dowie.  These are the Promised Messiah’s (as) words in this regard: 

Can there be a greater miracle? My true mission is to break the Cross, and a great part of the Cross has been broken with his death. Since he was the world’s foremost defender of the Cross, and claimed to be a Messenger, and claimed that all Muslims would be destroyed by his prayers, and Islam would be destroyed, and the Ka’abawould fall into ruins, God Almighty therefore caused him to perish at my hands. I also believe that the prophecy about the ‘slaying of the swine’ has been clearly fulfilled with his death, for who could be more dangerous than the one who makes a false claim of Prophethood and eats the filth of falsehood like a pig?[81]

An Enduring Sign

In a span of less than five years (from September 1902, when the Promised Messiah (as) first issued the challenge, to March 9, 1907), Dowie plunged from a state of absolute power, wealth and supremacy down to an abyss of humiliation, disgrace, sickness and ultimately, death. Thus was the wretched end of John Dowie, who left the world an utterly destroyed and ruined man, not even a shadow of his former self.  His destruction is a glaring manifestation of God’s Might and a sign demonstrating the Promised Messiah’s (as) truth. 

His Holiness Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Fifth Caliph of the Promised Messiah (as), delivered his Friday Sermon on 30 September 2022 in a new mosque constructed by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Zion, the very city founded by Dowie. The Fath-e-Azeem Mosque stands as a testament to the enduring power of prayer. 

About the Author: Furhan Ahmad Hamza Qureshi is an Imam of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and graduate from the Ahmadiyya Institute of Languages and Theology in Canada. He currently serves is a Professor at Ahmadiyya Institute of Languages and Theology Canada, Assistant Editor for the Canadian Ahmadiyya Gazette, and appears on various programmes of MTA (Muslim Television Ahmadiyya). He is also a member of the Existence Project Team.


ENDNOTES

[1] Gibbney, H. J.. “John Alexander Dowie.” Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dowie-john-alexander-3434>.

[2] Ibid.

[3] “The Rev. J. Dowie.” Gippsland Times[Victoria] 27 May 1885, sec. Latest from Melbourne: 3. Trove. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

[4] Swain, John. “How Rev. J. A. Dowie Founded Zion City.” The Saint Paul Globe4 May 1902: 39. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[5] “Disposition of Dowieism may go to Supreme Court.” The San Francisco Call22 May 1901: 3. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[6] Ibid.

[7] “Career of Dowie ends at Zion City.” New Ulm Review13 Mar. 1907: 7. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[8]“Disposition of Dowieism may go to Supreme Court.” The San Francisco Call22 May 1901: 3. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[9]“Dowieism.” It.[Lawrenceburg] 27 Nov. 1902: 2. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[10]“Career of Dowie ends at Zion City.” New Ulm Review13 Mar. 1907: 7. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[11]Associated Press. “Dowie dies in the city he planned.” Los Angeles Herald10 Mar. 1907: 3. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[12]“Dowieism.” It.[Lawrenceburg] 27 Nov. 1902: 2. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[13]Ibid.

[14]“Dowie’s paying game.” Kalgoorlie Western Argus22 Dec. 1903: 41. Trove. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

[15]Swain, John. “How Rev. J. A. Dowie Founded Zion City.” The Saint Paul Globe4 May 1902: 39. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[16]“Zion City in receivers’ hands.” Palestine Daily Herald12 Dec. 1903: 3. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[17]“Dowie’s bubble has burst; all his bubbles have burst.” The Minneapolis Journal8 Apr. 1906: 16. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

[18]For instance, the property he owned in Zion was worth close to five million dollars. (Press Association. “Dr. Dowie’s Wealth.” The Evening Post[Wellington] 28 Oct. 1903: 5. National Library of New Zealand. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.)

[19]Swain, John. “How Rev. J. A. Dowie Founded Zion City.” The Saint Paul Globe4 May 1902: 39. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[20]Ibid.

[21]“Dowieism.” It.[Lawrenceburg] 27 Nov. 1902: 2. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[22]Ibid.

[23]“Dowie, the self-styled ‘Elijah the Redeemer,’ arrives and takes up luxurious quarters at the palace hotel.” The San Francisco Call20 Jan. 1904: 16. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

[24]Swain, John. “John Alexander Dowie: the prophet and his profits.” The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine64 (1902): 940. Print.

[25]“Zion City in receivers’ hands.” Palestine Daily Herald12 Dec. 1903: 3. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[26]“Dowie starts on his mission to save the New Yorkers.” The Saint Paul Globe11 Oct. 1903: 21. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[27]“India’s Messiah and his challenge to Dr. Dowie.” The Spokane Press10 Oct. 1903: 3. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[28]“Dowie starts on his mission to save the New Yorkers.” The Saint Paul Globe11 Oct. 1903: 21. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[29]“Career of Dowie ends at Zion City.” New Ulm Review13 Mar. 1907: 7. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[30]“Dowieism.” It.[Lawrenceburg] 27 Nov. 1902: 2. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[31]Weippiert, G. W.. “Menace to society.” The Crittenden Press[Marion] 13 June 1901: 6. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[32]“Dowie starts on his mission to save the New Yorkers.” The Saint Paul Globe11 Oct. 1903: 21. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[33]Malfūzāt, vol. 3, p. 310 (1984 ed.)

[34]“Early Morning Meeting in Shiloh Tabernacle (July 21, 1903).” Leaves of Healing13.17 (1903): n. pag. Rpt. in Leaves of Healing. Ed. John A. Dowie. Vol. 13. Zion: Zion Publishing House, 1903. 541-42. Print.

[35]“Elijah’s Restoration Messages (February 8, 1903).” Leaves of Healing 12.17 (1903): n. pag. Rpt. in Leaves of Healing. Ed. John A. Dowie. 1st ed. Vol. 12. Zion: Zion Publishing House, 1903. 526. Print.

[36]Malfūzāt, vol. 3, p. 311 (1984 ed.)

[37]Malfūzāt, vol. 3, p. 313 (1984 ed.)

[38]The Review of Religions, vol. 1, no. 9, September 1902, p. 342

[39]The Review of Religions, vol. 1, no. 9, September 1902, pp. 344-345

[40]The Review of Religions, vol. 1, no. 9, September 1902, pp. 337

[41]The Review of Religions, vol. 1, no. 9, September 1902, pp. 349

[42]Dowie, John A. “Elijah’s Restoration Messages (December 14, 1902).”Leaves of Healing 12.9 (1902): n. pag. Rpt. in Leaves of Healing. Ed. John A. Dowie. 1st ed. Vol. 12. Zion: Zion Publishing House, 1903. 272. Print.

[43]Tatimma Haqīqat-ul-Wahī, p. 73, Rūhānī Khazā’in, vol. 22, p. 509; The Essence of Islam, vol. 5, pp. 114-115

[44]“The Rival Prophets.” The New York Times29 Mar. 1903: 6. The New York Times Article Archive. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.

[45]“Elijah’s Restoration Messages: No. 53 (December 21, 1902).” Leaves of Healing12.10 (1902): n. pag. Rpt. in Leaves of Healing. Ed. John A. Dowie. 1st ed. Vol. 12. Zion: Zion Publishing House, 1903. 306. Print.

[46]“Early Morning Meeting in Shiloh Tabernacle (May 31, 1903).” Leaves of Healing 13.23 (1903): n. pag. Rpt. in Leaves of Healing. Ed. John A. Dowie. 1st ed. Vol. 13. Zion: Zion Publishing House, 1903. 726. Print.

[47]Majmū’ah Ishtihārāt, vol. 3, pp. 619-620; Ahmadiyyat: The Renaissance of Islam, p. 101

[48]Dowie: Anointed of the Lord, pp. 370-372

[49]“Dowie’s bubble has burst; all his bubbles have burst.” The Minneapolis Journal8 Apr. 1906: 16. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

[50]Lee, Sidney. “John Alexander Dowie.” Dictionary of National Biography: Second Supplement: Volume 1. London: Smith Elder & Company, 1912. 520-521. Print.

[51]Schaefer, F. W. “Zion wonders what Dowie does with all the money.” The Spokane Press22 Feb. 1906: 4. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[52]“”Elijah” Dowie is called by death.” The Salt Lake Tribune[Salt Lake City] 10 Mar. 1907: 1. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[53]“Dowie’s downfall: official statement.” The Register[Adelaide] 26 May 1906: 12. National Library of Australia. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

[54]“Dowie planned harem of seven new wives.” The New York Times6 Apr. 1906: 4. The New York Times Article Archive. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.

[55]“Dowie planned harem of seven.” Urbana Daily Courier6 Apr. 1906: 1. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[56]Ibid.

[57]“Dowie planned harem of seven new wives.” The New York Times6 Apr. 1906: 4. The New York Times Article Archive. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.

[58]“Dowie planned harem of seven new wives.” The New York Times6 Apr. 1906: 4. The New York Times Article Archive. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.

[59]Ibid.

[60]“Prophet Dowie collapses.” Kalgoorlie Miner15 May 1906: 2. National Library of Australia. Web. 28 Nov.

2012.

[61]“Prophet Dowie collapses.” Kalgoorlie Miner15 May 1906: 2. National Library of Australia. Web. 28 Nov.

2012.

[62]“Dowie’s Madness.” The Brisbane Courier28 Jan. 1907: 13. National Library of Australia. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

[63]“Dowie, near death, lays down power.” The Washington Times18 Dec. 1905: 6. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 11 Dec. 2012.

[64]Tadhkirah: English translation (2009 ed.), p. 649

[65]Al-Istiftā: Appendix of ‘Haqīqat-ul-Wahī’, p. 76, Rūhānī Khazā’in, vol. 22, p. 702; Tadhkirah: English translation (2009 ed.), p. 674

[66]Al-Hakam, vol. 11, no. 6, February 17, 1907, p. 1; Tadhkirah: English translation (2009 ed.), p. 915

[67]Badr, vol. 6, no. 7, February 14, 1907, p. 3; Tadhkirah: English translation (2009 ed.), p. 916

[68]Qadian kay Ārya aur Hum, p. i, Rūhānī Khazā’in, vol. 20, p. 418; also see Tadhkirah: English translation (2009 ed.), p. 920

[69]Ibid.

[70]Al-Istiftā: Appendix of ‘Haqīqat-ul-Wahī’, p. 76, Rūhānī Khazā’in, vol. 22, p. 702

[71]Al-Istiftā: Appendix of ‘Haqīqat-ul-Wahī’, p. 74, Rūhānī Khazā’in, vol. 22, p. 700, Tadhkirah: English translation (2009 ed.), p. 927

[72]Associated Press. “Dowie dies in the city he planned.” Los Angeles Herald10 Mar. 1907: 3. Chronicling America (The Library of Congress). Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

[73]“The late Elijah Dowie.” Traralgon Record8 Nov. 1907: 3. National Library of Australia. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

[74]“Dowie’s downfall.” The Daily News[Perth] 28 May 1906: 4. National Library of Australia. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

[75]Tohfa-e-Baghdād, p. 17, Rūhānī Khazā’in, vol. 7, p. 21; also see: Tadhkirah: English translation (2009 ed.), p. 307, 310

[76]The Review of Religions, vol. 1, no. 9, September 1902, p. 349

[77]Majmū’ah Ishtihārāt, vol. 3, pp. 619-620; Ahmadiyyat: The Renaissance of Islam, p. 101

[78]The Review of Religions, vol. 6, no. 4, April 1907, pp. 117-129

[79]“Great is Mirza Ghulam Ahmad the Messiah.” The Sunday Herald[Boston] 23 June 1907, sec. Magazine Section: n. pag. Print.

[80]Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Kitāb Ahādīth-ul-Ambiyā, Bāb Nuzūl-i-‘Īsa ibn-i-Maryam

[81]Haqīqat-ul-Wahī, pp. 76-77, Rūhānī Khazā’in, vol. 22, pp. 513-516; The Essence of Islam, vol. 5, pp. 117-118