DIVINE DREAM

DIVINE DREAM (Nearly twenty years before being acclaimed by God to be the Promised Reformer of the fourteenth century of the Muslim Calendar as foretold by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, saw the following dream predicting the revival and progress of Islam through him. •—-Editor) In my early youth I saw in a dream that I was in a magnificent building which was very clean and neat where people were talking about the Holy Prophet, on whom be peace; I enquired from the people where the Holy Prophet was and they pointed to a room which I entered along with other persons. When I presented myself to him he was much pleased, and returned my greeting with a better greeting. I can still recall and can never forget his charm and beauty and the kind and affectionate look that he directed towards me. He won my heart with his love and the beauty and glory of his countenance. He asked me: Ahmad, what are you holding in your right hand? I looked and found that I had a book in my right hand and I felt that I had written it myself so I answered him: This is something I have written. He inquired: What is the name of your bookl I was surprised and looked at the book a second time and felt that it resembled a book in my library which was called Qutbi, so I answered him: Messenger of Allah, this book is called Qutbi. He said: Show me this book Qutbi. When he took it in his hand it immediately becam a delicious and attractive fruit. He cut it as fruit is cut and pure honey began to flow out of it like water and I perceived the wetness of honey on the Holy Prophet’s right hand and arm from his fingers to his elbow which were dripping with honey. I also felt that the Holy Prophet, on whom be peace, was showing me all this in order to make me wonder. Then it occurred to me that there was the.dead body of a person lying outside the door who had been destined by Allah, the Exalted, to be brought to life by that fruit and that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, was to bestow life upon him. When this thought passed through my mind I saw that the dead person had suddenly come to life and had come up to me running and was standing behind my back but that he was in a weak condition as if he was hungry. Then the Holy Prophet looked at me smiling and cut the fruit into several pieces and ate one of them himself and gave the rest to me while they were dripping with honey and said to me: Ahmad, 6 REVIEW OF RELIGIONS give one of the pieces to this person so that he might draw strength from it. I gave him a piece and like a greedy person he devoured it immediately. I then saw that the chair in which the Holy Prophet was sitting began to rise till it reached up to the ceiling and I noticed that his face began to shine as if reflecting the rays of the sun and the moon. I was watching his blessed countenance and my eyes were running because of my strong emotion. Then I woke up and I was still weeping. Allah, the Exalted, put it in my mind that the dead person in my dream was Islam and that Allah, the Exalted, would revive it at my hands through the spiritual power of the Holy Prophet, on whom be peace. You cannot know that this time may well be near, so wait eagerly for it. In this dream the Holy Prophet, on whom be peace, nurtured me with his blessed hands through his holy words and his light and the gift of fruit from his blessed garden. (Ayena Kamalat-e-Islam pp.548-549) My humble self saw the Seal of the Prophets, on whom be peace, in a dream in 1864-1865 in my early youth when I was still pursuing my studies. In my dream I had in my hand a religious book which I felt was of my own authorship. The Holy Prophet seeing this book enquired from me in Arabic: How have you named this book! I submitted: I have named it Qutbi. The interpretation of this has now come to my mind on the publication of this book that it is a book which in its reasoning and arguments is firm and unshakeable like the polar star. Presenting the firmness of the contents of this book I have issued a challenge and announced the award of a prize of 10,000 Rupees for anyone who might be able to refute it. The Holy Prophet, peace oe upon him, took that book from me and the moment his blessed hands touched it, it became a lovely fruit resembling a guava but it was as big as a water-melon. When the holy Prophet cut it into pieces it yielded so much honey that his blessed hand and fore arm began to drip wi’th it. Then a dead person whose body was lying outside the door came to life as a miracle of the Holy Prophet and came and stood behind me. My humble self was standing before the Holy Prophet in the attitude of a supplicant and the Holy Prophet who was occupying his chair in great glory and majesty was like a ruler., as if he was a great champion. Then the Holy Prophet handed over to me one piece of the fruit so that I might give it to the newly revived person and he bestowed upon REVIEW OF RELIGIONS 7 me all the remaining pieces. I gave that one piece to the revived person which he ate immediately and when he finished eating it I perceived that the chair of the Holy Prophet, on whom be peace, had risen much higher and the Holy Prophet’s countenance began to shine forth like the rays of the sun which was an indication of the revival and progress of Islam. While watching this display of light I woke up. Allah be praised for all this. (Braheen-e-Ahmadiyya part III pp.248-249 sub footnote 1). PROMISED MESSIAH ON THE REVIEW OF RELIGIONS Islam, the message of peace, has been maltreated by its enemies. God sent His Messiah to regain its lost glory and to defend it against the assaults of the opponents. In order to achieve the motive of proving superiority of Islam over other religions, the Promised Messiah inaugurated a monthly magazine in the name of ‘The Review of Religions’ in 1902. Since then, the magazine has been serving the cause of Islam faithfully. In the issue of Al-Hakam of September 30,1903 the Promised Messiah expressed his intense desire in connection with The Review of Religions in the following words: “If for the assistance of this Magazine ten thousand members of the Jamaat volunteer for its subscription in Urdu or English, it will make its debut and create an impressive impact on public, ha my opinion the people who realise the significance of their initiation and the always keep its importance in view, this number is just nominal.” this Magazine is an effective organ of Tabligh. Every Ahmadi family should read it and also present it to their non Ahmadi friends. The men of letters are requested to write articles for it regularly and their suggestions for its progress and perfection are most welcome. Managing Editor.