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Books
Section
> The Ark of Noah (Kishti-e-Nooh) -- English
Rendering of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahib's
book The
Ark of Noah:
Our
Beliefs: I bear witness that there is no object deserving to be worshipped besides Allah, Who is One and has no associate and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger. 1. We believe Allah to be the Possessor of all perfect attributes, free from all defects and imperfections, unique in His Person, unrivalled in His attributes and works, and One without a partner. 2. We hold it is essential to believe in angels, all the Divine Books, and all the prophets and messengers of Allah. 3. We believe that the Holy Prophet Muhammad is Khatam-un-Nabiyyin [the Last of the Prophets]. With his advent, religion has been perfected, so he is the Last Prophet after whom no prophet will appear, either a new one or a former one (like Jesus Christ). 4. We believe in the life after death, and in all matters relating to the grave, the Day of Judgement, and paradise and hell, that are proven from the Quran and the Hadith. 5. From the depth of our hearts, we hold the righteous Caliphs, the Ashaab (Holy Companions [Allah is pleased with them] of the Holy Prophet Muhammad [may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him]), the purified wives, and members of the holy household (ahl-e bait), as beloved, worthy of respect, and honourable in the sight of Allah. 6. We hold Imams Abu Hanifah, Shafi'i, Malik, and Ahmad bin Hanbal, to be the leaders of fiqh (jurisprudence); and saints such as Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, Khawaja Naqshband and Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi to be the leaders of Tasawwuf (the spiritual sciences). We believe all such elders of the religion to be worthy of esteem. 7. In accordance with the Holy Prophet's sayings about mujaddids and muhaddaths [Most surely Allah will raise from this Ummah at the commencement of every century one who will bring about the revival of their religion" (from the Collection of the Sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) -- Abu Dawud)], we believe in the truth of the mujaddids of all the centuries, and in accordance with the same tradition, believe in Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian as the Mujaddid of the fourteenth century of Hijrah, and not as a prophet. 8. We consider each such person to be a Muslim who professes to believe in the Kalimah ['Pronouncement of Faith'], Laa ilaa-haa ill-Allah, Muhammad-ur rasool Allah (There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah), and who calls himself a Muslim. 9. All the members of the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha'at-e-Islam Lahore [Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam] believe in acting according to God's Book, the Holy Quran, and the Sunnah [Actions] and Hadith [Sayings] of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, and if no specific direction is found there, they give precedence to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence. 10. The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha'at-e-Islam Lahore [Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam] has not only been proclaiming these beliefs but, for nearly a century, it has been engaged in the propagation of Islam and the rendering of service to its cause. The whole world and in particular the Muslim religious scholars of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent have borne witness to this fact. Sworn Declaration of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Community: "I make it clear to the public that I swear by Almighty Allah that I am not a kafir (disbeliever). My belief is Laa ilaa-haa ill-Allah, Muhammad-ur rasool Allah, and regarding the Holy Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), I believe that ‘he is the messenger of Allah and Khatam an-Nabiyyin [Last of the Prophets]’ (33:40). I swear to the truth of this statement of mine as many times as there are holy names of Allah, and as many times as there are letters in the Holy Quran, and as many times as there are virtues of the Holy Prophet in the sight of Allah. No belief of mine is opposed to the directions of Allah or of the Holy Prophet, and he who thinks otherwise is mistaken. Whoever still considers me a kafir, and does not refrain from declaring me as such, should remember with certainty that Allah will question him after his death" (Karamat as-Sadiqeen, p. 25). Sworn Declaration of Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ali, the First Head [Ameer] of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement: "I, Muhammad Ali, Head of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Community, do swear by Allah, Most High, that my belief is that Hazrat Mirza Sahib was a Mujaddid and the Messiah, but not a Prophet, and that a person cannot become a kafir [disbeliever] and excluded from the pale of Islam by denying him as such; this was also the belief of Hazrat Mirza Sahib himself. O Allah, if I have lied in swearing by Thy name, send upon me such exemplary punishment as could not come from human means, and by which the world would see how terrible and frightening is Allah 's punishment for those who deceive His creatures by swearing falsely in His name." Sworn Declaration of Maulana Sadr-ud-Din, the Second Head [Ameer] of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Community: "Knowing Allah to be present and to be our witness, we state on oath that from the beginning we have believed and we still believe, that no Prophet, either a new one or a former one, can appear after our Holy Prophet Muhammad." PREFACE: This plague has lacerated the world’s core into fragments, At the very outset, Hazrat Mirza Sahib has gratefully acknowledged the measures taken by the British government to have the masses vaccinated against the plague. However, he has stated: "With great respect to the compassionate government, I would like to say that had there not been a heavenly prevention for myself, I would have been the first person to get myself vaccinated. ... It is the will of Allah that has led me to abstain personally from getting myself vaccinated, and it is the will of Allah that leads me now to declare that all those taking shelter within the four walls of my house do not need the vaccination either." Following these statements, Hazrat Mirza Sahib has presented his teachings "in order to answer the inquiry of those who will like to know about the teachings strict obedience to which will save a person from the affliction of the plague". He begins by saying: "Let it be clear that taking the pledge and merely professing with the lips is meaningless unless it incorporates the conviction of the heart and implementation through good deeds … Let it also be understood that when Allah spoke about granting safety only to those who take shelter within my house, Allah referred to those people who obey me completely and those who have entered my spiritual house; Allah did not refer to those people taking shelter in my temporal house, which consists of sticks and stones." Hazrat Mirza Sahib has then presented the pure teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah, so as to provide the reader with their quintessence. He has discussed the Unity of God and man’s knowledge and concept of God, and the knowledge of and complete obedience to Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). This discourse is truly a distillation that has been poured, as it were, into the form of a book. It is quite impossible to summarise it here or to do justice to the force and beauty of the exposition. The reader is referred to the original book. Hazrat Mirza Sahib has also strongly urged the members of his Jama‘at [Movement] to seek piety and to inculcate high morals. The passages in which he describes the Greatness of Allah and exhorts his devotees to seek His nearness are unparalleled in their sublimity.  Teachings of Hazrat
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (The Founder of the Ahmadiyya
Movement) Translator's Note: The following is an attempt to present to the English-speaking world the power, sublimity and spiritual magnetism of the Founder’s teachings, even though some of the grandeur of the original Urdu may have been lost in the translation. Let it be absolutely clear that a mere verbal pledge has no value if it is not supported by a genuine and firm resolve to live up to it in every way. Therefore, he who fully lives according to my teaching alone enters that house of mine with reference to which Allah, Most High, has promised: I, Myself, shall protect all those who are in this house. It should not, however, be understood here that this Divine protection is extended only to those living within the compass of my house of mud and bricks; the pledge also encompasses those who follow my teaching to the fullest extent, and who, therefore, can truly be said to be the inmates of my spiritual home. In order to observe my teachings in the proper manner, it is essential that one should firmly believe that there is an All-Powerful, All-Sustaining Supreme Being, that Creator of everything, Changeless, Everlasting and Eternal. He does not beget, nor was He begotten. He is Holy, so that there is no need or occasion for Him to go on the Cross, nor suffer in any way, nor be subject to death. He is such that although He is far removed, He is still very near; and being very near, He is still very far. Although He is One, and absolutely unique, His manifestations are diverse and multifarious. Whenever there occurs in man a transformation, for the changed man He becomes a new God, Who deals with him on the basis of a fresh manifestation. In fact, the man witnesses a change in Allah in proportion to the change in himself – not that there occurs any change in Allah, He being Eternal, Changeless and most perfect in Himself – but with every change in man for the better, Allah also reveals Himself to him in a fresh and clearer manifestation. With every progressive effort on the part of man, Allah also shows Himself with a higher and more powerful manifestation. He displays an extraordinary manifestation of His power and glory only when man shows an extraordinary change in himself. This is the root and the essence of the marvels and miracles witnessed at the hands of all servants of Allah. Belief in this God with these powers is the most essential condition of our Movement. Inculcate this belief in your hearts and give to its implications and requirements the first and topmost priority over all considerations of self, over all comforts and relationships. By means of actions in the field of your daily life and with unflinching courage, show steadfast loyalty in His way. Others in this world do not give Him preference over material means and the support they hope to get from their friends and relations. But you must give Him the first place so that in heaven you should come to be reckoned as His people. To show signs of grace is the eternal way of Allah. But you can partake of this blessing only when there remains no difference and no distance between Him and you: only when all your wishes, hopes and desires merge into His will; only when, at all times, in success or failure, in hope or disappointment, you remain in humble prostration at His door, so that He should do with you what He may choose. If you act like this, in you will appear that God Who for a long time has kept His face concealed from the world. Who is there among you, then, who will act upon this teaching, seeking only His pleasure, without the slightest sense of dissatisfaction against the way His will works? Even in distress you should put your best foot forward, for this is the secret of your success; and you should strive to the utmost limit of your power to spread the idea of His uniqueness and unity all over the earth. Golden
Qualities: There are many who pretend to be kind, gently and forgiving, but inside they are wolves. There are many on the outside who look pure, but in their hearts they are serpents; you cannot be accepted in the presence of the Lord unless you are pure, both on the outside and inside. If you are big, have mercy and not contempt on those who are small; if you are wise and well versed in learning, serve the ignorant with words of wisdom. Never desire to bring disgrace on their ignorance by trying to show off your own learning. If you are rich, instead of treating them with egoistic and scornful pride, you should serve the poor. Beware of the paths of destruction. Fear the Lord, be righteous and do not worship the creation of Allah. Turn wholly and solely to Him so that you lose interest in this world. Become entirely His, living wholly for His pleasure, for His sweet sake, hating everything impure and sinful for, indeed, He is the Holy One. Every morning should be a witness for you that you spent the night in righteousness, and every evening should be a witness for you that you went through the day with the fear of Allah in your heart. Do not fear the curses the world may heap on you for they dissolve in the air like smoke and they cannot turn day into night. What you should be afraid of is the curse that comes from Allah, which totally uproots from both the worlds those on whom it falls. You cannot save yourselves with hypocrisy and pretence because the sight of the God Who is your Lord can penetrate the innermost depths of your being. How, then, can you hope to deceive Him? Therefore, reform yourself and purify and cleanse yourself and be firm and steadfast without a particle of dross anywhere in your being, for if there be any such, it will take away your light. And if in any corner of your heart there be pride, empty pretence, hypocrisy, vanity, love of self, or laziness of disposition, you do not amount to anything acceptable in the sight of the Lord. Take care that on the basis of a thing or two, which you think you have accomplished, you do not fall into the delusion that you have done all that is needed to be done, for Allah desires that your entire life, your whole being, should undergo a deep and thorough revolution. Indeed, He demands from you that you accept a death, after which He will give you another life. Immediately set right all your differences and make peace among yourselves. Forgive the transgressions of your brothers for, indeed, evil is he who is not willing to make peace with his brother. He will be cut off for he tries to create disruption. Leave off vanity and emphasis on self, and all mutual resentments as well as all unpleasantness. Though truthful and justified in your stand, be humble in your demeanour as if you were in the wrong, so that you yourself should be treated with forgiveness. Leave off everything which feeds you vanity, for the door you have been invited to enter is not one that will admit a fat person. How unfortunate is the man who fails to believe in things which proceed from the mouth of Allah and which I have stated to you. If at all you desire that Allah in heaven be pleased with you, hasten to become one among yourselves, as though you were brothers born of the same mother. Only he is most honoured among you who most forgives the transgressions of his brother; and unfortunate is he who remains stubborn and does not forgive. He is not part of me and he has no share with me. Remain in great fear of the curse of Allah, for He is holy, intensely jealous and singular in His holiness. An evil-doer cannot win nearness to Him. No one who is proud can win His nearness, nor can the oppressor and the unjust; nor one who is dishonest, nor anyone who is not jealous for His name. Those who chase after worldly benefits like dogs, or ants, or vultures swooping blindly on carrion, those who have sought only the luxuries and comforts of life, cannot win nearness to Him. Every impure eye remains far removed from Him; every impure heart remains unaware of Him. For His sake, whoever lives in fire will be saved from the flames. He who weeps for His sake will be made happy, full of laughter and jubilation and he who runs away from this world for His sake will find Him. With the deepest sincerity of heart, with steadfast strength and ardour, become the friends of Allah so that He, too, should become your friend. Show mercy to your subordinates, be kind to your spouses and to your brethren who are poor, so that in heaven you, too, may be received with mercy. Be true and sincere to Him so that He, too, should be yours. This world is a place of thousands of evils, tribulations and trials. In all sincerity and steadfastness of heart hold fast to Allah so that He may keep these evils, tribulations and trials away from you. No evil and no distress takes its birth on this earth without a decree from Heaven to that effect, and no distress is lifted until mercy descends from Heaven. Therefore, wisdom on your part lies in this - that you take firm hold of the root and not the branches. It is not forbidden to you to have recourse to remedies or to make plans. What is forbidden is that you place your entire reliance on them. In all circumstances it is Allah’s will that will ultimately be done, and for one who has the power to take his stand on this point, the position of faith in and reliance on Allah is the best of all positions. Those who do Honour
to the Holy Quran shall be Honoured in
Heaven: Prophet Moses received the treasure which had been lost by the earlier ages, and Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) received the treasure which the Movement of Prophet Moses had been unfortunate enough to lose. Now the Movement of Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stands in the place of the Movement of Prophet Moses, but such that in grandeur the like of Moses exceeds him a thousand times, while the like of the Messiah in the Movement of Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) excels Prophet Jesus’ by a thousand measures. And not only did the Promised Messiah of the Muhammadi Movement come, in terms of time, exactly in the fourteenth century after the Holy Prophet, as Jesus had appeared fourteen centuries after Moses, but he also came at a time when the condition of the Muslims of the day was identical with that of the Jews in the time of Prophet Jesus. Therefore, I alone am the Promised Messiah, and no one else. Whoever enters into sincere bai‘at with me and becomes my follower from the bottom of his heart, and is so engrossed in his obedience to me as to forsake all his own personal desires for him alone in these days of great distress, my soul will desire to intercede. So, all you people who are reckoned as members of my community, in heaven you will be counted as members of my following only when in all truth you actually begin to advance on the paths of righteousness. Offer your five daily obligatory prayers with such concentration and awe of mind as though you were seeing Allah in front of you with your physical eyes. Observe the days of fasting in full sincerity for the sake of Allah. All those among you who are eligible to pay zakah should never fail to fulfil this important obligation; and those on whom the pilgrimage to Makkah has become obligatory, without any obstacles standing in the way, should duly undertake that blessed journey. Do all good deeds with the proper care they deserve whilst forsaking evil from a real repulsion of the heart. Be very, very much aware that no action whatsoever can take you to Allah if it is devoid of righteousness of the heart. The root of everything good is taqwa (fear of God). If taqwa is the mainspring of any deed, that action will never be void or futile. It is necessary, too, that you be tried by being thrown into diverse griefs and distresses, even as those before you were tried. Be, therefore, forewarned lest you stumble when the time comes. The earth, with everything in it, can inflict no injury on you provided your contact with heaven is firm. Whenever any injury comes to you, it will come only from your own hands. If all your honour on this earth is lost to you, Allah will give you an honour in heaven that will never diminish. Therefore, do not forsake Him, whatever the circumstances you may have to go through in life. You are bound to be persecuted in diverse ways and many of your hopes will be denied to you, but in such cases you should not grieve, for the Lord your God will put you through trials in order to test whether or not you remain firm. If you desire that the angels in heaven should sing your praises, then take the beating many people will give you and rejoice; hear abuse and give thanks to the Lord; experience disappointments but do not break away from Him. You are the last people of Allah. Practise goodness to such an extent that it reaches its highest perfection. Everyone among you who relaxes and becomes lazy will be expelled from the community as a dirty object is discarded and thrown out. He will die with regret in his heart and he will not be able to injure Allah in any way. Lo and behold! With great joy do I convey to you the glad tidings that your God does indeed really exist. Although all are His creatures, yet He selects only those who select Him. He, Himself, comes to whomsoever goes to Him. He bestows honour upon those who honour Him. After you have reformed your hearts and purified your tongues and eyes and ears, then come to Him and He will accept you. As regards belief, all that Allah desires from you is just this: that you hold Him as One, and that you take Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as His Prophet, Khatam-al-Anbiya (the Last of the Prophets), and the greatest of them all. After him there is to be no other prophet except one who should be given the mantle of Muhammadiyyat as a burooz (spiritual image or reflection), since the servant is not separate from his master, nor is a branch different from its root. Be perfectly sure that Jesus, son of Mary, is dead and his grave is in Srinagar, Kashmir, in the Khanyar district. Allah has spoken of Jesus’ death in the Holy Quran. It should also be borne in mind that I in no way seek to deny the eminence of Jesus, peace by upon him. Though Allah has conveyed to me that the Muhammadi Messiah stands higher in rank than the Mosaic Messiah, I hold the Messiah, son of Mary, in great respect, since from the spiritual point of view I am the Khatamal Khulafa (the most perfect among the successors of the Holy Prophet) in Islam as the Messiah, the son of Mary, was Khatamal Khulafa in the Israelite chain. In the Mosaic dispensation, the son of Mary was the Promised Messiah, while I am the Promised Messiah of the dispensation of Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). I therefore hold him, whose name I bear, in great esteem. Whoever says that I do not respect him is a great liar and a mischief-maker. Who Belongs to my
Community and who does not: I herein discharge my duty to you by making it plain that sin is a poison. Do not take it. Disobedience to Allah is a dirty death which you should avoid. Turn to prayer so that you should get the strength to repel sin. At the time of prayer, if a man does not firmly believe that Allah has power over everything except what may be contained in a previous promise, then such a one is not of my community. He who is caught in a web of worldly greed and never even raises his eyes to things which pertain to the next life, is not of my community. Whosoever does not wholly and completely keep away from every sin and every evil action, like wine, gambling, looking lustfully at women, dishonesty, bribes, and from every kind of illegal gratification, is not of my community. Whosoever is not constantly turning to prayer, and does not remember Allah in absolute humility of spirit, is not of my community. Whosoever does not respect his parents, whosoever does not render obedience to them in things which do not run counter to the Holy Quran, and whosoever is neglectful in rendering to them the service to which they are undoubtedly entitled is not of my community. Whosoever does not live with his wife and her relations with gentleness, goodness and generosity is not of my community. Whosoever deprives his neighbour of the very least good in his power is not of my community. Whosoever has no wish to forgive the faults of those who may have transgressed against him and desires to nurse malice is not of my community. Every man or woman who is dishonest towards his or her spouse is not of my community. Whosoever in any way violates the pledge he took at my hand at the time of the bai‘at is not of my community. Whosoever does not really hold me to be the Promised Messiah is not of my community. Whosoever is not prepared to obey me in all things known to be right and virtuous is not of my community. And whosoever, as a habit, sits among those who are hostile towards me falling into tacit and silent agreement with them is not of my community. Every adulterer, debauchee, drunkard, murderer, thief, gambler, dishonest person, bribe-taker, usurper, oppressor, tyrant, liar, forger, and the associate of these, and whosoever brings false accusations and scandal against his brothers and sisters, is not of my community unless he fully repents of his misdeeds and totally abandons his bad associates and turns a new leaf. Indeed, all these things are poisons. You cannot partake of them and live, for light and darkness cannot exist together. Whosoever has a crooked nature and is not open and above board with Allah, cannot partake of the blessing which comes to those who are pure of heart. Indeed, very fortunate are they who cleanse their hearts and wash away all impurities and who make a pledge of loyalty with their God, for they will never suffer loss. It is not possible that Allah should disgrace them for they are of Him and He is of them. They will be saved from all tribulations. Extremely foolish, indeed, is he who should try to harm them for indeed they are in the lap of Allah, Who is ever ready to support them. Who are the true believers in Allah? Certainly only those who are such as described above. Similarly, foolish is he who is solicitous over a shameless sinner who is evil and full of mischief inside his heart, for he will himself be destroyed. From the day Allah created this heaven and earth, it has never happened that He destroyed those who were righteous. On the contrary, for the sake of such as these He has always shown great marvels and will do so even now. Our God Possesses
Great and Wonderful Powers: There is no other God in heaven or on earth except Him. Whosoever does not have true faith in Him remains deprived goodness, deprived of blessings, and deprived of succour. From our God we have received revelation that shines like the sun. We have seen that He alone is the God of the whole world and there is no other God besides Him. How powerful indeed is the God we have found, and how sustaining. And how great, how wonderful are the qualities of the God we have seen. The truth is that for Him there is nothing impossible except what runs counter to His Own Book and His Own promise. Therefore, when you pray to Him, you should not be like those ignorant naturalists who have devised a natural law of their own which does not bear the stamp of God, for they are the rejected ones whose prayers will never be accepted. They are blind, not gifted with vision; they are dead, not alive. They put before God a law forged by themselves, and they put limitations of their own on His powers and consider Him weak and helpless and bound by those limitations. Of course, they will be dealt with in the light of their own condition. But when you stand up for prayer, it is incumbent on you to believe in the depths of your heart that your God has power over all things. Only then will your prayer be accepted and you will witness those marvels of the power of your God which we have witnessed. And remember, our evidence is not on the basis of hearsay; it is on the basis of a reality we have seen for ourselves. How can the prayers of a person be accepted if he does not firmly believe that Allah has power over all things? And how can such a person have the courage in his heart to pray to Allah about a matter in which the desired remedy or change will involve an infringement of the lays of nature as he understands them? But O, righteous one, your God is He, Who, without any supporting pillars, has decorated the vast expanse of space with countless stars and has created the earth and the heavens from absolutely nothing. Do you believe that in regard to your need He will prove to be helpless? The fact is that it is your own misconception that will keep you deprived of blessing. There are innumerable wonderful things in our God, but these are witnessed only by those who become His in all sincerity and faithfulness. He does not reveal those wonders to those who do not have faith in His powers, and who are not faithful and true to Him. How unfortunate, indeed, is the man who does not even know that he has a God with power over all things. Our paradise, indeed, is our God; our highest enjoyment is in Him, for we have seen Him and found all beauty in Him. This treasure is worth having, even at the cost of one’s life, and this is a jewel which should be purchased even if it calls for the sacrificing of one’s entire being. O destitute ones, run to this spring, for it will quench your thirst. It is the spring of life that will save you. What am I to do, and how am I to impress this glad tiding upon your minds? With what fanfare should I go crying through the streets that this is your God, so that all should hear? And what ointment should I administer to the people so that their ears should open and so hear? Allah is the
Central Beam of all our Plans: Beware! Do not
Follow other Nations Blindly: Do not start wondering why other peoples are meeting with success although they have not the slightest idea of your Most-perfect and All-powerful God. The answer is this, and this alone, that having forsaken Allah, they have been put to trial by means of material means. Oftentimes, a trial from Allah comes in such a way that whoever forsakes Him, and gives himself up to carnal pleasures and setting his mind wholly on material wealth, finds that the doors of worldly advancement are opened to him even though from a religious and spiritual point of view he is altogether destitute and naked. He finally dies while engrossed in this world only to be thrown into an eternal hell. Sometimes this trial takes another form in that such a person remains unsuccessful even in the task of amassing wealth. But the latter trial is not so dangerous as the former, since the former breeds an inordinate measure of pride and engenders a superiority complex. In any case, both these groups are of those on whom falls the wrath of Allah. The true fountainhead for all kinds of prosperity is Allah. Therefore, when these people are unaware of this Living and Sustaining Being and in fact become heedless of Him and turn their backs upon Him, how can real prosperity be their lot? Blessed are they who understand this secret and in dire straits is he who fails to grasp it. Similarly, it is incumbent on you that you do not begin to follow the philosophers of this world, nor should you allow yourself to be mentally overawed by them. All those constitute varying manifestations of a gross ignorance. The real and true philosophy is only the one which Allah has given to you in His Holy Book. In imminent danger of destruction are those people who have become enamoured of these material philosophies; and successful are they, who, for real knowledge and philosophy, go to the Holy Book. Why do you choose the paths of ignorance? Do you run after those who are blind in the hope that they will show you the way? O you ignorant people! How can a person who is himself blind show you the way? The fact is that the true philosophy can be obtained only through the Holy Spirit. Through this spirit you will reach those sciences which are not accessible to others. If you ask for it with sincerity, you will ultimately get it and then you will find that this is the only knowledge that imparts freshness and life to the heart, and places it on a firm foundation of perfect certainty. How can a man who is himself subsisting on carrion provide you with clean and wholesome food? How can one who is himself blind show you the way? All pure and healthy wisdom comes from the heavens alone. What is it you seek from those who are creatures of this earth? The true inheritors are they whose souls soar to the heavens. How can they who are not satisfied in their own minds give you satisfaction? They foremost thing is purity of heart; sincerity and purity must come first; after that you will get everything. The Door of
Revelation is Open Even Now: Elevated Position
of the Holy Quran: The real and perfect paths of salvation have been opened only by the Holy Quran; all others were only its shadows. Therefore, you should study this Holy Scripture with the utmost attention and the deepest thought and you should love it as you have never loved anything else. For, indeed, as Allah has conveyed to me, "All good lies in the Quran". All kinds of goodness are to be found in it, and this is the truth. Unfortunate, indeed, are those people who give preference to other things over it. The Holy Quran is the fountainhead of your salvation and the source of all advancement and success. There is no spiritual need which has been omitted in this Holy Book. The supporter or denier of your faith on the Day of Judgement will be the Holy Quran, and apart from this Book, there is no other under the heavens which can provide you with direct guidance. It is indeed a great blessing of Allah to you that He has bestowed on you a Book like this. Indeed, I tell you truly that if this Book which has been given to you had been revealed to the Christians they would not have perished. Had this blessing and guidance which have been vouchsafed to you been extended to the Jews, in the place of the Torah, then many of their sects would not have ended up denying the Day of Judgement. Realise, therefore, the value of the blessing bestowed on you. It is a precious blessing, and a great treasure. Without the Holy Quran, the whole world would have been no better than an impure clot of half-formed flesh. Indeed, it is a Book compared to which all other scriptures and sources of guidance amount to nothing at all. The Holy Quran can purify a man within a week, provided there is no attempt to get away from it in form or spirit. The Quran can make you like the Prophets, provided you, yourself, do not try to run away from it. Apart from the Holy Quran, there is no other book which at the very beginning has taught its readers a prayer like this: Guide us to the right path, the path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy favours, and has thus held out to them a great hope, namely, the hope of being shown the way which would lead them to the attainment of those blessings which were bestowed on those who were from among the prophets, the truthful, the faithful and the righteous. And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, they are with those upon whom Allah has bestowed favours from among the prophets and the truthful and the faithful and the righteous, and a goodly company are they! (4:69). Therefore, strengthen your resolve and do not reject this invitation of the Quran when it calls you to work for the attainment of the blessings given to the earlier peoples. Allah, in fact, is inclined to bestow on you even more. He has made you inherit all their spiritual and material legacy and until the Day of Resurrection, these will not pass away from you to anyone else. Allah will not leave you deprived of the blessing of revelation, and of the tangible forms of communion generally spoken of as mukallamat and mukhatabat (clear and direct revelations received from Allah in words). He will vouchsafe to you all those blessings which He ever bestowed on others. But whosoever, by way of insolence, should lie and should claim to have received revelation from Him, when, in fact, he had received no such revelation, or claim that he had the honour of communion with Him of the kind called mukallamat and mukhatabat, when, in fact, no such honour had been bestowed upon him, then, with Allah and all His angels as my witnesses, I declare that such a one will perish and be destroyed for having lied about his Creator and for having perpetrated a fraud. The Explanatory
Position of the Sunnah: After the Holy Quran, the greatest debt of gratitude Muslims owe to anything is to the Sunnah. The obligation on Allah and His Apostle in regard to the guidance of mankind was only twofold; namely, that by sending down the Holy Book, Allah, by means of His word, indicated His will and pleasure, in fulfilment of the demand inherent in the Divine law, while the duty which rested on the Holy Prophet was that by putting it into actual practice he should clearly demonstrate it in all its aspects in a concrete manner. Therefore, he transformed into action what had been said in the form of words, and by his actual practice solved a number of difficulties. It is not proper to say that this duty was the responsibility of the Hadith, since Islam had established itself upon the earth long before the Hadith came to be collected. Did the people not offer their prayers at the time when the Hadith had not yet been collected? Did they not pay the Zakah or perform the Hajj? Or, were they ignorant as to what was permissible for them and what was not? Supportive Position
of Hadith: Of course, the Sunnah, undoubtedly, is a thing which indicated the will of the Quran, and it signifies the path on which the Holy Prophet put his companions. The Sunnah is not a name for the things which came to be written and collected a hundred or a hundred and fifty years afterwards. These are called the Hadith. The Sunnah, on the other hand, is the practical example that has, from the very earliest times, existed, all along, in the practical actions of the Muslims, their number extending to thousands at the most conservative estimate. But even though in a great part of it, the Hadith occupies the position of speculation, still, where it does not run counter to the Holy Quran, it deserves to be accepted, as it serves as a supporter for the Holy Quran and the Sunnah, and contains a large store-house of material relevant to many Islamic questions. Failure to appreciate the Hadith, therefore, is tantamount to cutting off a large part of the body of Islam. But, of course, if a hadith is contrary to the Holy Quran and the Sunnah, and contrary to other ahadith which are in accord with the Holy Book, or if it stands in opposition to the Sahih Bukhari, it should not be accepted, for acceptance thereof would imply rejection of the Holy Quran, and of all those ahadith which are in agreement with the Holy Book. I am satisfied that no righteous person would want to subscribe to such a belief. In any case, give due recognition to the Hadith and derive benefit from it to the fullest possible extent, for these sayings come from the Holy Prophet and unless they are rejected by the Quran and the Sunnah, you should not reject them. You should adhere to the hadith to such an extent that no action of yours, no delay, no action, and no failure to perform any task, should be without basis in the Hadith. But if there is a hadith which seemingly contradicts what has been stated in the Quran, you should think deeply to see if you can interpret it in such a way as would not contradict the Holy Quran. But where no such reconciliation is possible, this hadith should be rejected since it cannot be regarded as having come from the Holy Prophet. But if there is a weak hadith, which stands, nevertheless, in accord with the Holy Quran, it is to be accepted, for the Quran has confirmed it. Criterion for
Judging Ahadith Concerning
Prophecies: The number of ahadith containing prophecies runs into hundreds, and most of these have been held by the muhaddithin to be fabricated or defective. Therefore, when one of these is fulfilled and you try to avoid the point, saying that you could not accept it since it was weak, or since this or that narrator in the link through which it had come was not a righteous man, then such a rejection on your part would be due to your faithlessness, for you would rejecting a hadith of which the reliability had been established by Allah even to the extent of the fulfilment of the prophecy contained in it. Now, suppose there are one thousand ahadith of this kind, held to be weak and unacceptable by the muhaddithin, and suppose again the prophecies contained in them happen to be fulfilled, would you reject them, and also reject all the one thousand arguments in support of the veracity of Islam which the fulfilment of the prophecies stood for? If you do anything of the kind, you will become, thereby, enemies of Islam. Allah says: The Knower of the Unseen, so He makes His secrets known to none, except a messenger whom He chooses…(76:26-27). Therefore, to whom is a true prophecy to be attributed, if not to a true prophet? Is it not more in accord with one’s righteousness of mind to say on such occasions that the muhaddith in question had erred in so far as he had rejected as weak a hadith which, in fact, was quite reliable? Or would it more proper for us to say that in supporting a weak hadith with the testimony of actual events Allah Himself had been guilty of an error? For you, the guiding principle in any case should be that you should follow even a weak hadith, provided it is not contrary to the Holy Quran and the Sunnah, or contrary to other ahadith which are in agreement with the Holy Book. However, great care is needed on this point, for it is a fact that there exists a large number of fabricated ahadith which have caused a great deal of disruption in Islam. All the conflicting sects take as the basis of their authority this or that hadith, as suits their needs, so that even such a clear and well established question as that of the prescribed obligatory prayers has given rise to extreme differences of view. For example, after the recitation of the Al-Fatihah, some say "Amen" in a loud voice, audible to others, while others adhere to the view that this should be done silently in one’s own mind, while others believe that such a recitation spoils one’s prayer and is, therefore, forbidden. Some hold their hands folded on the breast, while others hold them at the navel. The real cause of all these differences can be attributed to the ahadith themselves, as the Holy Quran says: But they became divided into sects, each party rejoicing in that which was in them (23:53). Deliverance from
Sin Lies in Perfect Conviction: Always remember, therefore, that you cannot come out of the darkness without firm conviction, nor can you receive the Holy Spirit without it. Blessed are they who have this faith and blessed are they who have been delivered from uncertainties and doubts, for they alone will be delivered of sin. Blessed will you be when this great treasure of unshakeable faith is given to you, since on that day sin for you will come to an end. Sin and faith cannot exist together. Will you ever knowingly put your hand into a hole when you can see for yourself that it is occupied by a poisonous snake? Or will you remain standing where a shower of red-hot stones is coming down from some belching volcano? Or will you stand at a place where a thunderbolt is about to strike from above, or where a ferocious lion is likely to attack at any moment? Or will you live in a place where a dangerous plague is destroying mankind? So, if you believe in Allah with the same firmness of conviction as you believe in the danger from a snake, or a thunderbolt, or a lion, or from the plague, it is not possible for you to defy Him by disobedience and so incur punishment thereby, or for you to wish to break the bond of sincerity and loyalty which binds you to Him. O you people who have been called to righteousness and truth, rest fully assured that Divine attraction will take its birth in you and you will be washed clean of the ugly stain of sin only when your hearts become filled with firm conviction. Perhaps you will say that you have this conviction, but you should take care to remember that this feeling is not more than a delusion on your part. That firm conviction is most certainly not yet yours for you do not fulfil the conditions which necessarily must attend it at all times. You have not yet given up your sinful ways. You have not yet taken the first step which you ought to have taken the moment this firm conviction became yours. You do not yet fear sin as you should. You can very well solve the question in your own mind. A man never puts his hand into a hole which he knows is occupied by a poisonous snake, nor does he ever knowingly partake of a food he has reason to believe has been poisoned. Nor will he thoughtlessly walk into a clump of trees which harbours a lion. Then how can your hand and feet, your eyes and ears, dare to sin when you have the same degree of certainty in regard to the punishment and reward from Allah concerning your conduct in life? How in the name of reason can you throw yourself into a fire which you know will burn you to ashes? And always remember that the defensive ramparts built by firm conviction against sin are veritably as high as the heavens so that Satan cannot scale them to get to you once you have properly built them up. Everyone who is purified is purified through firmness of faith. It is faith which gives you the strength to bear hardships, even to the extent of persuading a king to abdicate his royal throne and choose the life of a mendicant. Faith dissolves all difficulties. Faith enables a man to see Allah. All ideas of any atoning sacrifice are false, for every kind of purity comes only from firm conviction. They only thing which delivers a man from sin and advances him in sincerity and steadfastness for ahead of the angels themselves is faith and faith alone. All religions which fail to create this firmness of conviction are false. All religions which fail to show God by means beyond any shadow of a doubt are false. And false also are all those religions which contain nothing more than a handful of tales and fables about what happened in the past. Do not be Satisfied
with Fables: As a man is drawn towards the joys of this world when he sees its attractions with his own eyes, similarly is he drawn towards Allah when he comes to know with perfect certainty that the spiritual joys are even sweeter. The magnetism of Divine beauty exercises such a power on his mind that everything else appears to him to have no more value than mere trash. Man is freed from sin only when he comes to know with perfect faith of the power of Allah and the certainty of Divine retribution. Ignorance is the root of every boldness and no one will be found devoid of the fear of Allah even to the least extent if he partakes of Divine knowledge. When a householder knows that a dangerous flood is rising towards his house or that it has been surrounded by fire on all sides, he will at once flee from it. Then, how can you dare to leave your ways of life unaltered if your belief in the existence of Allah, in Divine retribution and reward, has solidified into a firm, unshakeable conviction? Therefore, open your eyes and carefully study the law of Allah which operates throughout the universe. Do not be like rats which only continue digging and descending deep into the earth; be like a dove capable of soaring to the heavens – a dove which feels happy only when it is flying in the pure air of the loftier regions. After taking the bai‘at of repentance at my hand, make sure that you do not remain shackled to your former sinful ways. Do not be like a snake that remains as much of a snake after it has shed its skin as ever it was before. Remember death which approaches you every moment, though you remain unaware. Do your best to purify yourself, for a man can attain nearness to the Source of purity par excellence only when he himself becomes pure to the limit of his capacity. The Way to Attain
Purity is through Prayer Offered in True Humility of
Spirit: The most important question is how to win these blessings. To this question Allah Himself has given the answer. He says: Seek help from Allah with prayer and perseverance (2:153). What is salah? It is a prayer addressed to Allah in true humility of spirit and with the fullest awareness of His purity, His praiseworthiness, His holiness, coupled with a burning desire on the part of the devotee for Divine forgiveness, and for blessing on the Holy Prophet (may the peace and blessing of Allah be on him). Therefore, when you stand up for prayer, do not, like ignorant people, confine yourself to the prescribed Arabic text, for the prayer and the istighfar (prayer for forgiveness) of many people are only formal, with no substance in it. When you stand up for prayer, do not, like ignorant people, limit yourself to the prescribed Arabic text. Over and above the prayers found in the Quran, which is the Word of God, and in the Hadith, which is the word of the Holy Prophet, address your petitions to the Lord in your own language, with heartfelt humility which should leave a lasting effect on your mind. Different States of
Mind in Five Daily Prayers: The first of these is when you are warned that you are about to be afflicted with a calamity. For instance, imagine that a warrant has been issued for your presence in court. This is the first condition which disturbs your serenity and contentment. This condition resembles the time when the sun begins to decline, as on the receipt of the court warrant. Corresponding to this condition, the noon prayer (Zuhr) has been prescribed, the time of which begins with the decline of the sun. You experience the second condition when you are drawn close to the place of the calamity. For instance, when having been taken into custody under the warrant you are presented before the magistrate. At that time you are in terror and the light of security seems as if it were about to depart from you. This condition resembles the time when the light of the sun diminishes and the human eye can fix itself upon the sun and it becomes obvious that the time of its setting is near. Corresponding to this spiritual condition the afternoon prayer (‘Asr) service has been prescribed. The third condition sets in when you lose all hope of deliverance from the calamity. For instance, when, after the recording of the prosecution evidence, which is designed to bring about your ruin, you are charged with an offence and a charge-sheet is prepared. At this time you almost lose you senses and you begin to think of yourself as a prisoner. That condition resembles the time when the sun sets and hope of daylight comes to an end. The sunset prayer service (Maghrib) is prescribed in relation to this spiritual condition. The fourth condition is when you are afflicted by the calamity and its deep darkness envelops you completely. For instance, when, after the close of the evidence you are convicted and sentenced and are committed to the custody of the police. This condition resembles the time of nightfall, when everything falls into deep darkness. The evening prayer service (‘Isha) is prescribed in conformity with this spiritual condition. When you have spent a certain time in the darkness of the affliction, Divine mercy surges up and delivers you from the darkness, as the dawn succeeds the darkness of the night and daylight begins to appear. The dawn prayer service (Fajr) is prescribed corresponding to this spiritual condition. Allah, Most High, in view of your five changing states of mind has prescribed five prayer services for you. You can thus understand that these services have been prescribed for the benefit of your soul. If you desire security against these calamities, you should not neglect the five daily services as they are a reflection of your inner and spiritual conditions. Prayer is a remedy for the calamities that may threaten. You know not what type of circumstances the new day may confront you with. So, before the beginning of the day, entreat your Divine Master earnestly that the day may prove to be a source of benefit and blessing for you. Exhortation to the
Rich and Wealthy: O wise ones! This world will not last forever. Take hold of yourself and be steady. Give up every excess. Leave all intoxicants. Wines, beer, whiskey and the like are not the only harmful drinks. Opium, marijuana, charas, bhang, taree (Indian intoxicants) and all other intoxicants to which you become addicted all have a deadly effect on the brain and in the end prove fatal. You should keep away from all such things. In fact, we cannot understand at all how and why you habituate yourselves to the use of things which, in front of your own eyes, every year prove to be the undoing of thousands of people and even bring about their death, while the punishment to come in the world hereafter is something quite apart, over and above the disadvantages which go with these things here. Become righteous and God-fearing, so that you should live longer lives, and be blessed by Allah. Too much indulgence in luxurious, easy, irresponsible living is a curse, as it is ill-mannered and heartless to be indifferent to the sufferings of others. Every rich man is as much answerable for the due discharge of his obligations to his Creator and his fellowmen as is a poor man. In fact, a rich man is even more answerable. Indeed, how unfortunate is he, who for the sake of this brief life in this world, completely turns away from Allah; who uses forbidden things with such fearlessness as if they were quite lawful; who, when angry, rails against people like a madman, using abusive language, ready to wound and kill; and who, in the pursuit of his lust, becomes shameless to the extreme. Such a one will never know real prosperity. My dear people! You are in this world only for a short time, of which a large part has already passed. Do not displease your Master. Even a temporal government, if displeased with you, can destroy you. Therefore, how much more is it incumbent on you not to displease your Creator. No one can destroy you if you are held righteous in the eyes of the Lord. He, Himself, will protect you, and no enemy thirsting for your blood will be able to harm you. Otherwise, there is no protection for you, and you will have to live in constant fear of your enemies, uneasy and restless and full of forebodings, and the later days of your lives will pass in great anguish of mind. Allah, Himself, becomes the protection of those who stand with Him. Therefore, come to Him and leave off all kinds of opposition to Him. Never be negligent in fulfilling the obligations He has laid on you. Never oppress His creatures, with hand or word of mouth, and always remain in fear of the wrath of heaven, for herein lies the only way to salvation. | |||
