“It
should be borne in mind that we do not raise objections against the
inoculation. In fact we acknowledge its advantages and the great benefit it
possesses. We admit that it carries cure for the people without any fear or
concern. It was for this reason that once the government realised that the
outbreak of plague was reaching its peak and its devastation was spreading to
the extreme, it [the government] gave preference to the inoculation over every
other remedy and spending a lot of money, provided for its means and out of
compassion made every effort for the ones affected by plague, so as to sheath
the sword of the plague.
“This practice was being carried out for several years
and we had not heard about its harmful affect from any reputable person. In
truth, the wise would praise this remedy and considered it a fast acting remedy
and the most effective means of cure. This situation continued until I wrote my
book Noah’s Ark, and under divine guidance of Allah the Exalted, I
refused to use the inoculation and said that pure, eternal and complete
protection that does not involve painful torment is with us and not with those
who receive the vaccine.
“Thus, if I am proven wrong in this matter, I am not from Allah the Almighty. Consequently, stern voices were raised and they [the opponents] said that I oppose this method whereas safety depends upon it, and the revelation that I am mentioning is nothing and I will return after facing embarrassment. Or, calamity would befall me and my associates. [They said] complete safety and well-being exists in taking the inoculation. [They said that] as the experts have tested it, there will be no fear for those who take it and they will not be plagued. On this occasion, my heart was filled with emotions and tears ran down my eyes because I had witnessed such actions of people that were contradictory to the practices of Muslims. I realised that they acknowledge the remedies of people but do not believe in the promises of Rabbul-Alamin [the Lord of All the Worlds].
“They take refuge of the expert but do not come in the
refuge of Allah who is very near. They listen to the speculators but do not
adhere to that Being under whose commandment exists the order of deaths. Hence,
I presented a complaint before God Almighty that He may exonerate me from the
assertions of the people, deliver me from the blame and silence the mouths of
the opponents and return the blessings of welfare and safety back to us. [I
asked God to] prove the inoculation as ineffective, manifest certain defects in
it and show to the people that they have made a mistake in declaring me a
wrongdoer. This is so that they understand the cure is in the hands of the
Creator and not the creation.
“Thus, I continued to pray and carried out prayers
with extreme humility and repeatedly submitted before the court of Allah, the
Omnipotent and All-Powerful, so much so that the signs of the acceptance of
prayer became visible and the previously written prophecy proved truthful and
that promise was fulfilled which was repudiated. The inoculation infiltrated
the courtyards of God’s creation like a lion creeps in and people witnessed its
harmful effects through their own eyes … This is the reality behind that
unfortunate incident which took place in Malakwal.” (Mawahib-ur-Rahman,
Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 19, pp. 263-265)
Highlighting the above-mentioned extract of the
Promised Messiahas from the book Mawahib-ur-Rahman published
in 1903, the opponents raise an objection that the founder of the Ahmadiyya
Jamaat, while referring to his book Noah’s Ark, stated:
“Hence, I presented a complaint before God Almighty
that He may exonerate me from the assertions of the people, deliver me from
blame and silence the mouths of the opponents, and return the blessings of
welfare and safety back to us. [I asked God to] prove the inoculation as
ineffective, manifest certain defects in it and show to the people that they
have made a mistake in declaring me a wrongdoer. This is so that they
understand the cure is in the hands of the Creator and not the creation. Thus,
I continued to pray and carried out prayers with extreme humility and
repeatedly submitted before the court of Allah, the Omnipotent and
All-Powerful, so much so that the signs of the acceptance of prayer became
visible and the previously written prophecy proved truthful”.
Opponents allege that these words are nowhere to be
found in Noah’s Ark. Moreover, they ask why the Promised Messiahas
carried out such an accursed prayer and desired death and destruction of the
people?
Pondering over the aforementioned excerpt, it becomes
significantly clear that the only words referred to the book Noah’s Ark by
the Promised Messiahas are:
“This situation
continued until I wrote my book Noah’s Ark and under the divine guidance
of Allah the Exalted I refused to use the inoculation and said that pure,
eternal and complete protection which does not involve painful torment is with
us and not with those who receive the vaccine. Thus, if I am proven wrong in
this matter, I am not from Allah the Almighty.”
The Promised Messiahas is simply referring
to the fact that people began to mock him when he announced in his book Noah’s
Ark that he will not take the inoculation for the plague. Therefore, he
submitted to God Almighty and prayed, so that others may understand.
Consequently, the incident of Malakwal took place, in
which 19 individuals, who had received the plague vaccine, lost their lives and
God’s promise was fulfilled. This indicated that the real remedy of the plague
is to seek forgiveness and come into the refuge of the Creator.
Reading the complete extract with the context, the
readers may have realised that the Promised Messiahas in his book Mawahib-ur-Rahman
has not referred to Noah’s Ark regarding a prayer or a curse. The prayer
that the Promised Messiahas has mentioned was carried out after the
publication of Noah’s Ark when people went against him considering the
inoculation to be the only cure. Hence, opponents have intentionally tried to
deceive the general public by presenting the statement of the Promised Messiahas
out of context.
The opponents raise an objection against the prayer of
the Promised Messiahas and say he was wrong in beseeching a curse by
praying against the inoculation as it involved death and destruction of people.
It should be noted for the record, in the past,
opponents have objected to another prayer which was carried out by the Promised
Messiahas for the eradication of the plague and emphasised that it
was against the practice of earlier prophets like Noahas etc. Hence,
opponents are not satisfied either way whether the Promised Messiahas
prayed for the eradication of the plague or prayed against the inoculation – to
bring people closer to God Almighty because they were entirely dependent on the
vaccine and forgot their Creator. It would not be inaccurate to say opponents
are raising allegations just for the sake of going against the Promised Messiahas
because the above assertion contradicts their own viewpoint.
Earlier prophets, regardless of their immense
compassion for mankind, always chose upholding God’s honour over the safety of
mankind.
For instance, at the occasion of Battle of Uhud when Muslims were nearly defeated and the Quraish were arrogantly chanting against them, the Holy Prophetsa instructed the Muslims to remain quiet for the safety of Muslims. However, when Abu Sufiyan said اعل ھبل i.e. “Glory be to [the idol] Hubul”, the Holy Prophetsa ordered his companions to reply by saying, اللہ اعلی واجل i.e. “Allah is the Greatest and the Most Glorious.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Maghazi)
The Promised Messiahas prayed to God
Almighty when the people of his time declared that the inoculation was enough
for their safety and turned away from seeking forgiveness. This prompted the
torment of God. The same prayer was carried out by Noahas when his
people transgressed, despite all efforts and Allah Almighty told him that they
would not believe, as it is stated in the Holy Quran:
وَ قَدۡ
اَضَلُّوۡا کَثِیۡرًا ۬ۚ وَ لَا تَزِدِ الظّٰلِمِیۡنَ اِلَّا ضَلٰلًا ۔ مِمَّا
خَطِیۡٓــٰٔتِہِمۡ اُغۡرِقُوۡا فَاُدۡخِلُوۡا نَارًا ۬ۙ فَلَمۡ یَجِدُوۡا لَہُمۡ
مِّنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰہِ اَنۡصَارًا ۔ وَقَالَ نُوۡحٌ رَّبِّ لَا تَذَرۡ عَلَی
الۡاَرۡضِ مِنَ الۡکٰفِرِیۡنَ دَیَّارًا
“And they have led many astray; so increase
Thou not the wrongdoers but in error. Because of their sins they were drowned
and made to enter Fire. And they found no helpers for themselves against Allah.
And Noah said, ‘My Lord, leave not on the land a single dweller of the
disbelievers.’” (Surah Nuh, Ch.71: V.25-27)
Prophets perform their tasks in light of God’s
directions. Owing to the compassion and love of mankind, they effort day and
night to convey the message of God and show various signs to make people
understand. However, when their nation excel in mockery and reproach, the
prophets are left with no other choice than to pray for torment from God. In
the incident of Mosesas, it is stated in the Holy Quran that he
prayed in the following words:
وَ قَالَ
مُوۡسٰی رَبَّنَاۤ اِنَّکَ اٰتَیۡتَ فِرۡعَوۡنَ وَ مَلَاَہٗ زِیۡنَۃً وَّ
اَمۡوَالًا فِی الۡحَیٰوۃِ الدُّنۡیَا ۙ رَبَّنَا لِیُضِلُّوۡا عَنۡ سَبِیۡلِکَ ۚ
رَبَّنَا اطۡمِسۡ عَلٰۤی اَمۡوَالِہِمۡ وَ اشۡدُدۡ عَلٰی قُلُوۡبِہِمۡ فَلَا یُؤۡمِنُوۡا
حَتّٰی یَرَوُا الۡعَذَابَ الۡاَلِیۡمَ ۔ قَالَ قَدۡ اُجِیۡبَتۡ دَّعۡوَتُکُمَا
فَاسۡتَقِیۡمَا وَ لَا تَتَّبِعٰٓنِّ سَبِیۡلَ الَّذِیۡنَ لَا یَعۡلَمُوۡنَ
“And Moses said, ‘Our Lord, Thou hast
bestowed upon Pharaoh and his chiefs embellishment and wealth in the present
life, with the result, our Lord, that they are leading men astray from Thy
path. Our Lord! Destroy their riches and attack their hearts and they are not
going to believe until they see the grievous punishment.’ He said, ‘Your prayer
is accepted.’”(Surah Yunus, Ch.10: V.89-90)
Similarly, the Holy Prophetsa prayed
against his opponents when they rejected Islam with great enmity and sought to
destroy it. As a result, famine overtook them for one year and destroyed every
kind of life to such an extent that the people were compelled to eat the dead
and carcasses. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Istisqa)
Hence,
the Promised Messiahas was a prophet of God Almighty and he
performed the task of reforming mankind, following God’s guidance and the practice
of earlier prophets. Opponents must have realised from these examples that had
they pondered over the Holy Quran and Ahadith, they would have easily found out
the answers to their assertions.
