…Continued
Surah Fatihah is not just a mere teaching, but also contains a grand prophecy. That is to say, God has described His four attributes: Rabubiyyat [providence], Rahmaniyyat [graciousness], Rahimiyyat [mercy] and Malikiyyat-e-Yawm-id-Deen i.e. the power to reward and punish; and after elaborating upon His all-encompassing omnipotence, God then teaches the following prayer in the subsequent verses:
‘Our Lord! Make us heirs to the pious Prophets and Messengers of the past. Open for us their path and bestow on us the blessings that were bestowed on them. Our Lord! Protect us from becoming like those people upon whom your punishment descended in this very life, i.e. like the Jewish people in the time of Jesus the Messiah, who were destroyed by the plague. Our Lord! Protect us from becoming like those people who were not guided by You and were thus led astray in the manner of the Christians.’
Hence, this prayer contains an underlying prophecy that there would be some from among the Muslims who will become heirs of the past Prophets on account of their truth and sincerity, and will be bestowed with the blessings of prophethood and messengership. And also that others would become like the Jews and punishment would descend upon them in the present life; while others still would cloak themselves in the garb of the Christians. The unchangeable custom discernible in God’s Word is that when a certain people are forbidden from committing a certain act, as per the knowledge of God, some from among them will commit it, whereas others will choose righteousness and virtue. Since the remotest ages, it has been the eternal practice of God that whenever He reveals a book in which He forbids a nation against an evil act or urges towards a good act, He knows for certain that some people will obey while others will not. And so, the chapter under discussion prophesied that someone from among this Ummah will appear in the perfect manner of Prophets so that the prophecy derived from the verse [34]
may be perfectly and comprehensively fulfilled. Then, a group from among this Ummah are bound to appear, who shall be like those Jews who were cursed by Jesus and then afflicted by the punishment of God so that the prophecy contained in the verse [35]
may be manifested. Another group still from among them will become like the Christians who, on account of their drunkenness, moral permissiveness, sinfulness and immorality were left deprived so that the prophecy expounded in the verse [36]
may be fulfilled.
It is part of the doctrine held by the Muslims that in the Latter Days, many thousands of ‘so-called’ Muslims will come to resemble the Jews. This has been prophesied in the Holy Quran at many an instance. Moreover, one can easily notice and observe that thousands of Muslims are either converting to Christianity or choosing to live entirely free and unrestrained lives like those of the Christians. In fact many such people who are still referred to as Muslims prefer the Christian way of life. Despite their being referred to as Muslims, they hold a strong aversion towards prayer, fasting and the injunctions which relate to lawful and unlawful matters. It can be seen that both these classes of people, who have become like the Jews and Christians, are prevalent in this country. Thus, the two aforementioned prophecies of Surah Fatihah have been fulfilled before your very eyes. One can observe how the Muslims have come to resemble the Jews and have donned the garb of the Christians. Therefore, the third part of the prophecy is also worthy of being readily accepted. For just as the Muslims would imitate the Jews and Christians and partake of the unrighteousness found to exist within them, there was bound to be others from among the Muslims who would be entitled to achieve the rank and status of those holy personages of the Children of Israel who once lived. To entertain that God referred to the Muslims as Jews and Christians because they followed the evil ways of both, yet entirely deprived this Ummah from attaining the rank of their past Prophets and Messengers, is to think ill of God Almighty. In these circumstances how is one to consider this Ummah as the very best? Rather, it would be the worst Ummah, for it would have adopted every evil but missed out on every virtue. Is it not necessary that someone from among this Ummah should appear as a Prophet or Messenger and be the heir and reflection of all the Prophets of the Children of Israel? It is far from the mercy of God Almighty that he should raise in this Ummah thousands of persons in this age who possess the characteristics of the Jews and allow thousands more to convert to Christianity and yet not raise a single person who would be the heir of the past Prophets and partake of their blessings. It is necessary that the prophecy contained in the verses,
[37]
be fulfilled just like the already fulfilled prophecy, which states that the Muslims would become like the Jews and Christians. This Ummah has been given thousands of terrible names and it is evident from the Holy Quran and the Hadith that they were also destined to become like the Jews. Thus, in such circumstances, in keeping with the grace of God, it was only essential that where the Muslims took on the evils of the past Christians, they should have also inherited that which is virtuous. It is for this reason that in the following verse of Surah Fatihah, [38]
God Almighty proclaimed the good news that some people from among this Ummah would be bestowed the same blessings as the Prophets of the past. They were not destined to solely adopt the bad habits of the Jews and Christians while completely forgoing their virtues.
It is this very point which has also been indicated in Surah Tahrim, that some people from among this Ummah would resemble Mary the Truthful, who lived a life of chastity. Then, the soul of Jesus was breathed into her womb and he was born to her. This verse signifies that someone from among this Ummah would first be conferred the station of Mary and then the soul of Jesus would be breathed into him. Then would Jesus emerge from Mary. That is to say, the attributes of the person who resembles Mary would be transformed into those of Jesus. In other words, the quality of being Mary’s likeness would give birth to one who takes on the form of Jesus. In this way such a person would be referred to as ‘the Son of Mary’. Thus, in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah, I was first given the name Mary, as can be inferred from the revelation on page 241: [39]
. That is, O Mary! Wherefrom did you attain this blessing? A revelation on page 226[40] also makes reference to this: 
. That is, O Mary! Shake the trunk of the palm tree. And then on page 496 of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah the following revelation is present:
That is, O Mary! Enter heaven with your companions. I have breathed into you from Myself the Soul of Truth. In this revelation God has referred to me the Soul of Truth. This is a reference to the verse [41]
. Thus, in this instance, the soul of Jesus is metaphorically referred to as having been breathed into the womb of Mary and named the Soul of Truth. Finally on page 556 of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah a revelation was received about the birth of that Jesus who was once in the womb of Mary.
It is as follows:
[42]
Here, I have been named Jesus and the revelation discloses the fact that the Jesus who was breathed into Mary as referred to on page 496 has appeared. So, in this respect, I have been named Jesus son of Mary because my status as Jesus emerged from my initial status as Mary, through the breath of God. See pages 496 and 556 of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah. It is this very phenomenon of the birth of Jesus son of Mary in this Ummah, which has been vividly prophesied in Surah Tahrim, wherein it is explained that someone from among this Ummah will firstly be transformed into the likeness of Mary. Thereafter the soul of Jesus will be breathed into this Mary. As such, for a period of time this person will be nurtured in the womb of Mary before being born as the spiritual manifestation of Jesus. And in this way, such a person will come to be known as Jesus son of Mary. This is the prophecy regarding the Son of Mary who would be from among the Ummah of Muhammad[sa], which was revealed almost 1300 years ago in Surah Tahrim of the Holy Quran. Then, in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah, God Almighty Himself has expounded on the verses of Surah At-Tahrim. The Holy Quran is with you. If one were to study the Holy Quran with Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah and ponder over this matter with fairness, reason and piety, one would be able to see how the prophecy in Surah Tahrim — that a person from among this Ummah would also be named Mary and would then be transformed therefrom into Jesus, i.e. be born from Mary — was fulfilled in the revelations of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah. Is this within the power of man? Did I have any control over this affair? Was I present when the Holy Quran was being revealed so that I could request for a verse to be sent down which would make me the Son of Mary and thereby alleviate any future accusations relating to my being referred to as the Son of Mary?
Moreover, was it possible, that twenty or twenty-two years ago, rather, even before this, I could have crafted the plan to forge a revelation so that I may first be referred to as Mary, and then gone on to concoct a revelation which suggested that like the Mary of the past, the soul of Jesus was also breathed into me; and then finally on page 556 of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah written that from Mary I had now emerged as Jesus?
My dear ones! Reflect and fear God. This is surely not the work of man. Wisdoms as profound and subtle as these transcend the understanding and judgement of man. If, long ago, during the publication of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah, I had plotted such a thing, why then would I have written that the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary will descend to return from heaven in the same book? For God knew that if I had knowledge of this point, my present argument would fall weakly. So although God referred to me as Mary in the third part of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah, and as is evident from the treatise itself, for two years I was nurtured in the likeness of Mary and continued to develop in the cloak of secrecy. Then after two years had passed, as it is recorded in the fourth part of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah on page 496, like Mary, the soul of Jesus was breathed into me, and in metaphorical terms, I was impregnated. Then, after a period of no more than ten months, through the revelation recorded towards the end of the fourth part of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah on page 556, from Mary I was transformed into Jesus. And thus, I became the Son of Mary. However, God did not inform me of this hidden secret at the time of the publication of Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah, even though all the divine revelations in which these hidden secrets were found were sent down to me and were recorded in Barahin. But, I was not made aware of their meaning and sequence. As mentioned, I therefore also recorded the traditional doctrine of the Muslims in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah [that Jesus will descend from heaven physically]. And this testifies to my sincere and straightforward nature. My opponents cannot hold me accountable for……[43] recording this traditional creed, which was not based on revelation because I do not claim to know anything of the unseen until it is explained to me by God Almighty Himself. Thus, in that period of my life God desired in His wisdom that part of the import of the revealed secrets recorded in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah should remain beyond my understanding.
But, when the time arrived, these secrets were revealed to me. It was then that I realised that my claim to being the Promised Messiah was nothing that had not been referred to before; rather, it was the same claim that had been repeatedly and clearly recorded in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah. Here, I also wish to remark on another revelation, though I cannot recall whether it has hitherto been published in any of my previous treatises or announcements. Nevertheless, I do remember that I disclosed it to hundreds of people. This is recorded in my personal notebook of revelations. It dates back to the time when God first conferred upon me the title of ‘Maryam’ and when I received revelation regarding the breathing of the spirit. After this, I received the following revelation:
That is, then the pain of delivery caused Mary; that is myself, to go towards the trunk of a date palm. In other words, I was confronted with the common masses, the ignorant, and their benighted scholars who did not possess the fruit of belief. They rejected and ridiculed her and unleashed a storm of invective. Then did Mary say: ‘Would that I had died before this and become a thing forgotten.’ This refers to the clamour first raised by the Muslim clerics on the whole, who found my claim to be intolerable. They exhausted every possible means to destroy me. Thus, in the above revelation, God Almighty has illustrated the pain and suffering that overwhelmed my heart as a result of the hue and cry raised by the ignorant. There are other revelations to this effect. For example:
Related to this also is the revelation on page 516 of Barahin-e- Ahmadiyyah as follows:
See the twelfth and thirteenth lines of page 516 of Barahin-e- Ahmadiyyah.
Translation: “And the people said: ‘O Mary! What a contemptible and despicable act you have committed, far from virtue. Your father[44] and mother were never like this.’ But God will establish the innocence of His servant from such allegations. And, We will make him a sign for the people. This had been decreed since the very beginning and it was bound to be fulfilled. He is Jesus son of Mary, but the people doubt it though this is the truth.”
All this is taken from Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah and these revelations are actually Quranic verses which relate to Jesus and his mother. In these verses, Allah the Exalted says that the very same Jesus who was accused by the people of being an illegitimate child would be made a sign of God. This is the Jesus whom you await. The Jesus and Mary referred to in the above revelations are none other than me. It is I, about whom it has been said that God will make him a sign and I am the Jesus son of Mary whose advent was awaited and about whom they harbour misgivings. However, this is the truth and I am the one whom you await. Doubts stem merely from ignorance. Those who fail to understand God’s hidden secrets and who only see what is in front of them, are unable to discern the inner truth.
Know well that one of the great objectives of Surah Fatihah is also to teach the prayer:
[45]
In the prayer of the Gospel while one is taught to supplicate for their daily bread, in the above prayer, all the blessings and rewards that were bestowed on the Prophets and Messengers of the past have been sought from God Almighty. It is worth deliberating over this difference. Nevertheless, just as the prayer of the Messiah was accepted and the Christians have received their daily bread in abundance, similarly, this Quranic prayer was accepted through the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and those who were pious and virtuous from among the Muslims, and the most excellent from among them in particular, were made heirs to the Israelite Prophets. In actuality, the birth of the Promised Messiah in this very Ummah is also a fruit of the acceptance of this very prayer. For although many saints and holy persons partook of similarities between the Israelite Prophets under the cloak of secrecy; but by the command and order of God, the Promised Messiah of this Ummah was publicly commissioned in the likeness of the Israelite Messiah so that the resemblance between the Mosaic dispensation and that of Muhammad[sa] be understood.
It is for this reason that the present Messiah has been made to perfectly resemble the Son of Mary, to the extent that this Son of Mary has been tried in the same manner as the Israelite one. Firstly, just as Jesus son of Mary was born of the very breath of God, this Messiah was also born from within Mary by the breath of God in accordance with the promise of Surah At-Tahrim. Moreover, just as a great uproar was raised at the birth of Jesus son of Mary and ignorant opponents said to Mary, [46]
, so too was my case as a vehement uproar was raised against me. Furthermore, when the Mary of the Israelites gave birth to her son, God responded to the allegations of her opponents with the following proclamation regarding Jesus:
[47]
God Almighty responded to my opponents with the very same answer in Barahin-e-Ahmadiyyah at the time of my spiritual birth, which has been described in metaphor. God made clear to my opponents saying, ‘Your machinations can do him no harm and I shall make him a sign of mercy for the people.’ And this was destined by Him since the beginning. Similarly, the Jewish scholars issued an edict of disbelief against Jesus, which was prepared by a mischievous Jewish scholar and endorsed by other priests. Even the Jewish scholars and priests of Bayt-ul-Maqdas, most of whom were Pharisees and who numbered in the hundreds, put their seals of attestation on this edict of disbelief against Jesus.[48] This is exactly what happened with me. Then, after this edict had been issued against Jesus, he was greatly harassed. Terrible abuse was hurled at him, and offensive and defamatory books were published against him. The same happened to me. After 1800 years, it was as if the very same Jesus and the very same Jews had been born again. Alas, this was the meaning of the prophecy [49]
which God had explained beforehand. But, these people were not content until they became like the Jews and incurred the wrath of God. One of the similarities between Jesus and I was established by the hand of God Himself when He raised me as the Messiah of Islam precisely at the head of the fourteenth century, just as He had raised the previous Messiah son of Mary at the head of the fourteenth century. God continues to show many powerful signs in my favour. And there is no one under the canopy of heaven from opposing Muslims, Jews and Christians etc., who possesses the power to match these signs. After all, how can a weak and lowly human contend against God? I am a foundation stone set by God Himself. Whosoever shall try to break this stone will be thwarted. Instead, when it falls on them, they will be crushed, for this stone belongs to God and it has been laid by the hand of God. And the second stone has been prepared and put forth in contestation by my opponents. In their opposition towards me they followed in the footsteps of the Jews of the past to the extent that they even sought my end by bringing a murder case against me, of which God forewarned me.
This case against me was far graver than the one brought against Jesus son of Mary, for the case against Jesus was based merely on a theological disagreement, which in the eyes of the ruler was of little importance; rather, it equated to nothing. However, the case crafted against me was one of attempted murder. During the Messiah’s trial, Jewish priests testified against him, therefore, it was but necessary that certain Muslim clerics testified against me also. And so for this task, God chose Maulvi Muhammad Husain Batalvi. He arrived to provide his testimony draped in a long cloak in the same manner that the High Priest came to testify in court against the Messiah, and have him put to the cross. The only difference between the two was that the High Priest was given the right of a seat in the court of Pilate, as was the norm for respected Jewish personalities under the Roman government. In fact, some of them were even appointed honorary magistrates. Therefore, the High Priest was provided with a seat as per the rules of the court, while the Messiah son of Mary was made to stand like a common criminal in court. However, during my trial, the exact opposite occurred. That is to say, contrary to the hopes of my opponents, Captain Douglas, who took the place of Pilate as presiding judge in my case, allowed me to be seated. Hence, this Pilate proved himself far more virtuous than the Pilate of the Messiah son of Mary. For, in issuing his verdict, he courageously and stringently remained committed to the rules of the court and paid no heed to any external pressure, nor was he prejudiced by religion or ethnicity. He held court so impeccably that if his person was held up as a means of pride for the nation and as an example for his fellow judges, it would be entirely justified. To pass fair judgment is a difficult task. Unless one breaks off all their ties they cannot rightly fulfil the duties of this office. But I can honestly testify that this Pilate faithfully discharged his duty — whereas the first Pilate of Rome was unable to fulfil his duty so faithfully. His cowardice led to great hardships for the Messiah. Thus, this difference ought to always be remembered by our community for as long as the world exists and as the community grows into the hundreds of thousands and millions, this noble judge will be fondly remembered. It was his good fortune that God chose him for this task. It must be extremely trying for a judge to confront two parties, one of whom is a missionary for his religion and the other holds a belief that is at variance with his own, especially when the judge has been informed that the latter holds stark religious differences. But this courageous Pilate resiliently took on this test, despite the fact that he was shown passages from my books, which owing to a lack of erudition, were interpreted as unduly hostile to Christianity. But, despite this opposing effort, his facial expressions remained impassive, for his enlightened conscience had already arrived at the truth. And because he pure-heartedly sought the truth behind the case, God helped him and revealed upon his heart the truth, and as a result the reality was disclosed to him. He was gladdened for having been able to find the path of justice. Indeed, it was only due to his fairness that he gave me a seat just as was given to the plaintiff. But, when Maulvi Muhammad Husain came to provide his testimony against me in the way that the High Priest had testified, he found that I was seated. As such, his eyes did not look upon me in the state of disgrace that he so desired. At this, he thought to himself that equal treatment would have to suffice and so he requested a chair for himself from our Pilate. However, he reprimanded him and loudly proclaimed that neither he nor his father had ever been given the right of a chair [in any government institution] and that there was no official instruction to provide him a seat. The difference ought to be noted that the earlier Pilate due to his fear of the Jews offered a chair to some of the revered among them who came as witnesses, while keeping the Messiah standing, who had been presented as a criminal, despite the fact that he was sincerely well-intentioned towards him, rather, he may even be likened to a disciple. In fact, his wife was a particular devotee of the Messiah and was renowned for her saintliness. But so unnerved was he by his fear that he unjustly handed over this innocent Messiah to the Jews. Unlike myself, he was not even accused of murder, only a minor religious dispute existed. However, this Pilate of Rome was not strong of heart and was frightened by the threat that he would be reported to Caesar.
A further parallel between the Roman Pilate and this Pilate is worth remembering here. When the Messiah son of Mary was brought before the court, the earlier Pilate said to the Jews that he saw no wrong in him. Similarly, when the Messiah of the Latter Days, that is myself, was presented before the Pilate of this age, he asked that he be given a few days to prepare his defence to this charge of murder, but the Pilate of this age said: ‘I accuse you not of anything.’ The verdicts of both Pilates were exactly the same. If there is a difference, then only inasmuch that the earlier Pilate was unable to stand by his conviction. When Pilate was threatened with being reported to Caesar he grew apprehensive and despite knowing the truth, gave the Messiah over to the bloodthirsty Jews even though he and his wife were both perturbed by this decision for they were both strong believers of the Messiah. But, when confronted by the fury and outrage of the Jews, cowardice got the better of him. Nevertheless, he did make great attempts in secret to have the Messiah delivered from death on the cross and he was successful in this effort as well, but only after the Messiah was first hung on the cross and due to immense pain was overcome by a death-like swoon. In any case, ultimately through the efforts of the Pilate of Rome, the life of the Messiah son of Mary was saved. And for his deliverance, the prayer of the Messiah had already been accepted — see Hebrews chapter 5 verse 7.[50] After this, the Messiah secretly left this land and migrated towards Kashmir and it is here that he passed away.
As has previously been mentioned his tomb is situated in Mohalla Khanyar, Srinagar. All this was on account of Pilate’s efforts. But, nevertheless, the endeavours of this earlier Pilate were tainted somewhat by cowardice. After stating that he found no sin in the Messiah, Pilate could have easily released him for he had the power to do so. However, he was subdued by the threat of being reported to Caesar. In contrast, the Pilate of this age stood firm against the uproar of the clergy. This land too is ruled by an imperial power. But the Empress of today is infinitely better than the Caesar of the past. Therefore, it was not possible for anyone to pressurise the judge into forgoing justice by threatening to report him to the Empress. In any case, the Messiah of this age was subject to greater intrigue and uproar than the Messiah of the past. My opponents and the leaders of all communities came together. But the Pilate of this age gave preference to the truth and stood by his word to me that he did not find me guilty of murder. Thus, he acquitted me in a very straightforward and courageous manner. While the first Pilate was forced to employ schemes in order to save the Messiah, this Pilate dutifully fulfilled his obligations of court and all without the slightest tinge of cowardice. On the same day that I was acquitted, a thief belonging to the Salvation Army was also brought for trial. This was so because a thief was tried alongside the first Messiah as well. However, the thief apprehended along with the Messiah of the present age was not hung on the cross, nor did he have his bones broken like the first, rather, he was only given a three month prison sentence.
Continues…