The Messiah has Come: God’s Support in Prayer Duels

The Promised Messiah & Imam Mahdi (Guided One), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as)

Raziullah Noman, Canada

ترى كيف نرقى والحوادثُ جمَّةٌ

ويهلك مَن يبْغي هلاكي ويَمكُرُ

‘You Witness how I am progressing despite the hardships facing me on all sides;

He who seeks to destroy me and hatches a plan against me is destroyed.’ [1]

One of the major signs for the truthfulness of a Prophet is the support he is given from Allah. He is granted superiority over all his opponents and Allah the Almighty establishes his truth in many ways. One sign of a true Prophet is that those who lie regarding their claims, never wish for their death and destruction, nor do they succeed in their prayer duels. As for the Prophets, they make this prayer and Allah the Almighty protects them. He establishes their truthfulness through heavenly signs. They also succeed in their prayer duels.

Allah the Almighty states:

قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ هَادُوا إِنْ زَعَمْتُمْ أَنَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ للهِ مِنْ دُونِ النَّاسِ فَتَمَنَّوُا الْمَوْتَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ وَلَا يَتَمَنَّوْنَهُ أَبَدًا بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيْهِمْ ۚ وَاللهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالظَّالِمِينَ

‘Say, ‘O ye who are Jews, if you think you are the friends of Allah to the exclusion of all other people, then wish for Death, if indeed you are truthful.’ But they will never wish for it, because of that which their hands have sent on before them. And Allah knows full well those who do wrong.’ [2]

The Promised Messiah (as) made countless powerful prayers that proved his truthfulness. It is narrated regarding the interaction between Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) and Abdul Haq Ghaznavi:

‘It is significant that during the Mubahala, Ahmad (as) never wished any evil to befall Abdul Haq. All he prayed for was that as his opponents regarded him as an impostor and an infidel, if he was really so, God should curse him in an unprecedented manner’ [3]

Regarding this prayer, the Promised Messiah (as) wrote:

‘As for me, the sole object of my prayer was my own self. I only pleaded in the court of God that if I am a liar, I should be destroyed quite like liars; but if I am truthful, then, may God grant help and succour to me. Eleven years have passed since this mubahalah was held. The help and succour that God accorded me during this period is simply impossible for me to describe in this small treatise. It is no secret to anyone that at the time of the mubahalah, I only had a few followers who could be counted on fingers, but more than 300,000 persons have now entered into the covenant of bai‘at [pledge of allegiance] with me. Financial circumstances were so straitened that even twenty rupees were not received per month and I had to borrow. But now, the monthly income from all branches of the Community amounts to about 3,000 rupees. After this (i.e. the mubahalah [prayer duel]) God manifested mighty Signs. Whoever opposed, perished in the end. As would be evident from a glance at these Signs—some of which have been listed here by way of illustration—God helped me in a variety of ways. Thousands of similar Signs of Allah’s succour have already appeared, of which only a few have been mentioned here as an illustration. These signs should suffice to testify to my truthfulness to anyone who has a sense of modesty and fairness.’ [4]

The Promised Messiah (as) even challenged his opponents to pray against him. He writes:

‘If I am false in my claim, your prayers are bound to be heard. Indeed, you have been praying against me already. But remember, even if you continue to pray thus until your tongues are bruised, and you go on bewailing in your prostrations until your noses are rubbed out, and your tears wipe out your eyelashes, and the weeping reduces your vision, and your brains are so affected that you begin to suffer from epilepsy or melancholia, still your prayers will not be heard; for I have come from God, and anyone who curses me will himself be afflicted with such a curse, though he may not be aware of it. He who enters into a prayer duel with me and supplicates that the one among us who is false may die in the lifetime of the other, will come to the same end which overtook Ghulam Dastgir of Qasur….’ [5]

Those who are false can never speak in such a way or make such claims. When we turn to the prayer duels of the Promised Messiah (as), we see that Allah the Almighty always supported him.

Regarding prayer duels, Allah the Almighty states:

فَمَنْ حَاجَّكَ فِيهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ فَقُلْ تَعَالَوْا نَدْعُ أَبْنَاءَنَا وَأَبْنَاءَكُمْ وَنِسَاءَنَا وَنِسَاءَكُمْ وَأَنْفُسَنَا وَأَنْفُسَكُمْ ثُمَّ نَبْتَهِلْ فَنَجْعَلْ لَعْنَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَاذِبِينَ

‘Now whoso disputes with thee concerning him, after what has come to thee of knowledge, say to him, ‘Come, let us call our sons and your sons, and our women and your women, and our people and your people; then let us pray fervently and invoke the curse of Allah on those who lie.’ [6]

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) writes:

‘Moreover, I am not perturbed by the fact that my opponents, both internal and external, are wholly dedicated to slandering me; for this, too, proves a miraculous Sign in my favour. The reason being that if I possess within me every kind of evil and I am, as they allege, a defaulter, a liar, an antichrist, an impostor, a deceiver and corrupt; if I have created a schism between the people; if I am a mischief monger, a transgressor and immoral; if I have imputed falsehood to God for almost thirty years, and used abusive language against good and righteous people; if in my soul there is nothing else but mischief, evil, malefaction, and selfishness; if I have set up a business for simply deceiving the world; if, according to them, God forbid, I do not even believe in God; if there is no evil that is not to be found in me and I possess all the sins of the world, and my soul is replete with every kind of wrongdoing; if I have usurped the wealth of many and abused many (who were as pure as angels); and if I have surpassed all in every evil and fraud; then what is the mystery behind this that—albeit I was the one who was evil, wicked, perfidious, and a liar—whenever a so-called ‘saintly’ person arose to confront me, he himself was destroyed; whosoever initiated a mubahalah [prayer duel] against me, he himself was ruined; whosoever cursed me, himself fell prey to his own curse; and whosoever filed a case against me in court, was himself defeated?’ [7]

Prayer Duel With Charagh Din

Regarding the prayer duel which took place between himself and Charagh Din, the Promised Messiah (as) writes:

‘He received satanic revelation that he was a Messenger and was from among the Apostles, and Hadrat ‘Isa [Jesus (as)] had given him a staff with which to kill the Dajjal—and he declared me as the Dajjal. Eventually, in accordance with the prophecy recorded in the treatise Dafi‘ul-Bala’i wa Mi‘yaru Ahlil-Istifa’ [‘Defence Against the Plague and a Criterion for the Elect of God’], he died of plague at a young age along with his two sons. A few days before his death, he even published an article in the manner of a mubahalah [prayer duel], referring to me by name, that out of the two of us, may God destroy the one who is a liar. Consequently, on 4 April 1906, he, along with both of his sons, died of the plague.’ [8]

Prayer Duel with Alexander Dowie

Regarding the prayer duel which took place between the himself and Alexander Dowie, the Promsied Messiah (as) writes:

‘There was a person named Dowie, living in America. He claimed to be a Prophet. He was a bitter enemy of Islam and aspired that he would exterminate Islam. He believed Hadrat ‘Isa to be God. I wrote to him, challenging him to a mubahalah [prayer duel] with me. With it, I also wrote that even if he did not accept the challenge, God would still destroy him. This prophecy was published in a number of American newspapers and also in our own English magazine. The end result of this prophecy was that he was dispossessed of property worth hundreds of thousands of rupees. He was utterly disgraced, and he was stricken with paralysis to the extent that now he cannot move a single step on his own. People carry him everywhere. According to the American doctors, he is beyond treatment and will probably die within a few months.’ [9]

Prayer Duel With Maulawi Zanul-Abidin

Regarding the prayer duel which took place between himself and Maulawi Zainul-Abidin, the Promised Messiah (as) wrote:

‘Miyań Mi‘raj Din writes from Lahore: ‘Maulawi Zainul-‘Abidin, who had passed his exams with Honours in Arabic and Persian, and was related to Maulawi Ghulam Rasul of Qila, had graduated in theological studies and was a popular teacher in the Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam, Lahore. At a shop in the Kashmiri Bazaar, he entered into a mubahalah [prayer duel] with Maulawi Muhammad ‘Ali of Sialkot regarding the truth of Your Holiness’s claim. Then, a few days later, he died of plague. Not only he but his wife, too, died of plague, and his son-in-law, who was an employee of the Accountant General’s Department, also died of plague. Similarly, seventeen members of his family died of plague after the mubahalah.’’ [10]

Many of the Deobandi clerics try to hide the interaction which took place between the Promised Messiah (as) and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, one of their leading scholars. The Promised Messiah (as) writes:

‘Some bitter enemies, who by way of mubahalah [prayer duel] had pronounced لَعْنَتَ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَاذِبِينَ [‘The curse of Allah be upon the liars’], died as divine chastisement overtook them; for example, Maulawi Rashid Ahmad Gangohi first became blind and then died of a snake bite.’ [11]

©Shutterstock

Many other famous non-Ahmadi Muslim scholars perished because of a prayer duel. The Promised Messiah (as) writes:

‘Some died after becoming insane; for example, Maulawi Shah Din of Ludhiana. Maulawi ‘Abdul-‘Aziz, Maulawi Muhammad and Maulawi ‘Abdullah of Lodhana—who were my worst enemies—all three passed away. Similarly ‘Abdur-Rahman Muhy-udDin of Lakhukay, after his own revelation that the chastisement of God would descend upon the one who is the liar, passed away.’ [12]

Prayer Duel with Ghulam Dastagir

Another famous Sunni scholar who passed away because of cursing the Promised Messiah (as) was Ghulam Dastagir of Qasur. The Promised Messiah (as) writes:

‘Then Maulawi Ghulam Dastagir of Qasur was the renowned person who, with a view to proving my ‘disbelief ’, had procured edicts to this effect from Holy Makkah. He, too, died after declaring his unilateral mubahalah [prayer duel].’ [13]

Prayer Duel with Lekh Ram

There was also a prayer duel with a famous Hindu named Lekh Ram. The Promised Messiah (as) writes:

‘Indeed, this prophecy of mine was against Lekh Ram and was in the form of a mubahalah [prayer duel]. The books by Lekh Ram are still available and are very well known among the Aryas wherein Lekh Ram has recorded the prophecy ascribing it to his Parmeshwar. Similarly, my own prophecy that stipulated Lekh Ram’s death within six years had become famous among hundreds of thousands of people. For example, this prophecy was recorded in my book Karamatus Sadiqin, published in Safar 1311 Hijrah, which is an Arabic book; its translation is as follows:

‘After granting my prayer concerning Lekh Ram, God has informed me that he would perish within six years, and his crime is that he vilified the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and reviled him with blasphemous language.’

Five years prior to Lekh Ram’s death, this book had been widely published in Punjab and [the rest of ] India. And then, in the public announcement of 22 February 1893 which forms part of my book, A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, I had prophesied unequivocally, long before his death, that Lekh Ram would be cut to pieces like the calf of Samiri, and this indicated the fact that the fate of Lekh Ram would be like that of the calf of Samiri that was cut to pieces on a Saturday. And it alluded to his assassination. Accordingly, Lekh Ram was assassinated on Saturday.’ [14]

Prayer Duel with Sa`dullah

Regarding the prayer duel with Sa’dullah, the Promised Messiah (as) wrote:

‘And just as he had sought my death during his own lifetime by way of the mubahalah [prayer duel] in his book Shahab-e-Thaqib [‘The Piercing Flame’], so did I, challenging him, seek from my God the death of whichever one of us two is the liar, within the lifetime of the one who is truthful. This is why in the eighth couplet given above, I have said that, O Sa‘dullah, you have given me immense pain; thus, if you did not die a shameful death—that is, if in accordance with the aforesaid mubahalah, you fail to die a death marked by frustration during my own lifetime—I would be proven to be a liar. And in the fourth couplet, it also has been indicated clearly that Sa‘dullah would die of the pneumonic plague. The term ta‘nah indicates the term ta‘un, that is, plague, and najla’ in Arabic means a vast wound. And this indeed is exactly what happens in the case of pneumonic plague, the lung becomes sore and bursts, resulting in a vast lesion. Even more remarkable is the fact that this prophecy was made when there was no trace of the plague in this country. This is, indeed, an example of the utmost depth and profundity of the knowledge of the Omnipotent and Omniscient God, that He intimated the very nature of Sa‘dullah’s death at a time when this entire country was free from the plague’. [15]

One of the most famous Ahle-Hadith scholars also perished because of his opposition to the Promised Messiah (as). His name was Nadhir Hussain and he is still followed by many Muslims today. The Promised Messiah (as) wrote:

‘As of today, twelve years, three months, and a number of days have passed since the announcement of this mubahalah. Following this mubahalah [prayer duel] most of them fell silent. Of those who did not desist from maligning me, there would be only a few who escaped tasting death or suffering humiliation. For example, Nadhir Husain of Delhi, who was a leading figure in my opposition and was at the forefront of those invited to join in a mubahalah, after witnessing the death of his very competent son, himself died leaving behind no progeny.’ [16]

Prayer Duel with Maulawi Asghar Ali

One opponent named Maulawi Asghar Ali was also punished by Allah, as The Promised Messiah (as) writes:

‘On the same page, number 70, is entered the name of Maulawi Asghar ‘Ali. He, too, did not desist from using abusive language against me until he lost an eye on account of the wrath of God.’ [17]

Prayer Duel with Maulawi Abdul Majid

Another well-known opponent named Maulawi Abdul Majid of Delhi was also punished. The Promised Messiah (as) writes:

‘In like manner, the name of Maulawi ‘Abdul-Majid of Delhi is included in the list concerning the mubahalah, and he died of cholera in Delhi during February 1907.’ [18]

The Promised Messiah (as) then writes:

‘When I first visited Delhi, ‘Abdul-Majid himself came to my residence and said, ‘These revelations are satanic.’ He compared me to Musailimah al-Kadhdhab [the Great Liar], and added, ‘If you do not repent, you will face the consequences of falsehood and pretence.’ I replied, ‘If I am an impostor, I shall of course suffer the consequences of imposture; otherwise, whoever denounces me to be an impostor, shall not escape the reckoning.’ In the end ‘Abdul-Majid died in my lifetime after this verbal mubahalah. He had also published at the time a harsh public announcement against me which was probably sold at the rate of pennies.’ [19]

Prayer Duel with Abdul Qadir

Then regarding the mubahalah [prayer duel] with Abdul Qadir, a well known physician, the Promised Messiah (as) writes:

‘This Sign is comprised of a mubahalah [prayer duel] of a certain individual. In other words, he unilaterally sought a verdict about me from God Almighty. After imputing a number of indescribable beliefs and actions to me, he sought the adjudication of Allah the Exalted. As a result, he died of plague only a few days after the prayer. The details of this relate to a person named ‘Abdul-Qadir, a resident of the village Talibpur Pindori, District Gurdaspur, who was known as a Tabib [i.e. a physician using traditional remedies].’ [20]

Prayer Duel with Hakim Hafiz Muhammad Din

Another well known Sunni scholar named Hakim Hafiz Muhammad Din also died because of a mubahalah [prayer duel] with the Promised Messiah (as). He writes:

‘Sixth Sign [195]—Is the death of Hakim Hafiz Muhammad Din which took place after a mubahalah. The details of this entail a person, resident of Moza Nankar near the Kahna railway station in the District of Lahore, who had employed several words about me by way of a mubahalah in his book and requested Allah’s wrath and curse for the one who is the liar. He died one year and three months subsequent to this request which he made in several places throughout his book that he had named Faisala-e-Qur’ani aur Takdhib-e-Qadiani [‘The Quranic Verdict and Refutation of the Qadiani’].’ [21]

These prayer duels show the love and support Allah the Almighty gave to Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as). Those who lie against Allah are destroyed –the Promised Messiah (as) was given heavenly support throughout his life, while his opponents, who were the so-called inheritors of the Prophet Muhammad (sa), came to ruin because of their opposition of the Imam Mahdi.

ENDNOTES

[1] The Miracle of Ahmad, Page 127

[2] The Holy Qur’an, 62:7-8

[3] Life of Ahmad (as), Page 374

[4] Haqiqatul Wahi, Page 308

[5] Arba’in, No. 4, Ruhani Khazain, vol. 17, p. 471-472

[6] The Holy Qur’an, 3:62

[7] Haqiqatul Wahi, Pages 2-3

[8] Haqiqatul Wahi, Page 63

[9] Haqiqatul Wahi, Page 274

[10] Haqiqatul Wahi, Page 290

[11] Haqiqatul Wahi, Page 291