Surah al-Qalam and the sanity of prophets

مَاۤ اَنۡتَ بِنِعۡمَۃِ رَبِّکَ بِمَجۡنُوۡنٍ

“Thou art not, by the grace of thy Lord, a madman.” (Surah al-Qalam, Ch.68: V.3)

This verse means that the rewards and bounties showered upon the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, are a proof that he was of sound and pure mind because God Almighty would never grant His divine blessings on an insane person to guide the people of the world.

Consider the life and works of the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as, in light of the above argument of the Holy Quran. The Promised Messiah^as was vouchsafed answers to the objections of Islam’s opponents by God Almighty. He was blessed with reasonable and irrefutable arguments to prove the truthfulness of Islam.

Hence, the great work that the Promised Messiah^as did to break the cross and dismantle Christianity gave a new life to Islam, hugely acknowledged by both friends and foes. Maulvi Nur Muhammad Sahib Naqshbandi Deobandi, a well-known Muslim scholar of the Indian subcontinent, who did not accept Islam Ahmadiyyat, writes:

“In that era, Bishop Lefroy came from abroad with a large group of priests and took an oath that he would soon convert all of India to Christianity. He entered India and caused a great surge after being assisted through huge amounts of money from overseas English people and constant promises of future help … In his view, the fact that Prophet Jesus^as was alive in the heavens with his physical body and all other prophets were buried in the earth, proved an effective attack on the people. Then, Maulvi Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian stood up and told Lefroy and his party, ‘The person who you call Jesus has died and was buried like other human beings and I am that Jesus whose coming was foretold. So accept me if you are from the righteous.’ Through this strategy, he defeated the clergy from India to abroad.” (Debacha Mujiz Numa Aksi Quran al-Majid, translated by Maulvi Ashraf Ali Thanwi, p. 30)

A religious debate was held in 1893 between the Promised Messiah^as and priests of Amritsar which was called Jang-e-Muqaddas (The Holy War) by the Christian clerics. Soon after this, in 1894, an international clergy conference was held in London where the Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, the Right Reverend Charles John Elliot informed the Christian world with great concern and said on 29 May 1894:

“But perhaps the movement in Mohammedanism is the most striking. I learn from those who are experienced in these things that there is now a new kind of Mohammedanism showing itself in many parts of our empire in India, and even in our own Island here at home, Mohammedanism now speaks with reverence of our blessed Lord and Master, but is not the less more intensely monotheistic than ever. It discards many of those usages which have made Mohammedanism hateful in our eyes, but the False Prophet holds his place no less preeminently than before. Changes are plainly to be recognised; but Mohammedanism is not the less aggressive, and alas! to some minds among us (God grant that they be not many) even additionally attractive.” (The Official Report of the Missionary Conference of the Anglican Communion, 29 May 1894, p. 64)

The Christian bishop singled out only one sect in the international conference of clergies from all the sects of Islam, which clarifies that the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat had managed to draw their attention, not because he was insane, but by refuting their fundamental doctrines and beliefs.

The Promised Messiah^as passed away in 1908. There came a revolution in the world’s mightiest Christian Empire of Russia and the new government announced in 1917 that they no longer abided by Christianity.

Hence, a few years following the demise of the Promised Messiah^as, the biggest Christian government declared that Christianity would not be their official religion. The Promised Messiah^as was granted divine signs and the power to show miracles.

Consequently, the Promised Messiah^as invited his opponents to witness miracles at his hand and even challenged them to contest in the miracles of healing. The Promised Messiah^as states:

“Dear [Mian Abdul Haq]! Have some fear of God as there is no surety of life. God Almighty manifest signs at my hand, but according to the sunnah, which He keeps with respect to His divinely commissioned from ancient times. Hence, even if a person comes as an embodiment of satan, he will still be persuaded by divine signs according to this sunnah without a doubt. However, if they want to witness [signs] opposed to the earlier sunnah of God, then they have no share in that blessing. Surely, they shall perish deprived just as Abu Jahl etc. saw deprived deaths. My dear, keeping my divine appointment in mind, you are welcome to bring a party of the disabled, blind, deaf and other sick people. Then, by drawing lot, if I am defeated [and unable to heal] the group that will be handed over to me by God, I will be entitled to all the abuse you have given in your announcement, otherwise all that abuse will return to you.” (Tohfa Ghaznawia, Ruhani Khazain, Vol. 15, pp. 559-560)

Likewise, the Promised Messiah^as challenged a Christian, Dr John Alexander Dowie, who claimed to have healed scores of sick people. The Promised Messiah^as said:

“It is important to note that the art of healing diseases from its very nature and its prevalence among different people apart from divine inspiration and irrespective of religious sanctity, cannot serve as a criterion of truth. A sort of therapeutics which may appear supernatural to superficial observers, has been practiced among various nations from time immemorial. It is practiced by the Hindus. Among the Jews it was a common thing to effect the cure of certain diseases by means apparently inexplicable. Even now there are men among the Mohammedans who lay claim to the healing of diseases exactly in the manner in which Dr Dowie does it. The truth is that the healing of diseases is not a proper criterion for judging the falsehood of religious principles, for adherents of any system may be able to practice it. The Gospels themselves relate incidents showing that there were contemporaries of Jesus who were reputed for curing the sick in the same manner as Jesus did, and yet these thaumaturgists were not among his followers. There was even a pool at the time a dip in which had the miraculous power of removing bodily infirmities. The mere capacity to heal certain diseases cannot, therefore, be a serve test for the truth of a religion. In one case only can it serve as a criterion, viz., when two parties each claiming the truth for himself, divide by lot a number of sick men between themselves, in such a case, the party who is able to heal the greater number in comparison with his antagonist, is entitled to claim it as a supernatural sign of the efficacy of prayer in his favor and hence as evidence of his truth.

“Some time ago I invited my opponents to ascertain the truth or falsity of my claims by this test but no one accepted this challenge. I am certain that if Dr Dowie or any one of his co-religionists stands forth even now to meet me on this ground, my God shall surely disgrace him, for he is a liar and his god is an embodiment of falsehood.” (The Review of Religions [English], September 1902, pp. 345-346)

The Promised Messiah^as was taught Arabic through revelation and his opponents were unable to write answers to any of his Arabic books. In the Holy Quran, Allah the Almighty gave glad tidings to Prophet Abraham^as and said:

وَ اَذِّنۡ فِی النَّاسِ بِالۡحَجِّ یَاۡتُوۡکَ رِجَالًا وَّ عَلٰی کُلِّ ضَامِرٍ یَّاۡتِیۡنَ مِنۡ کُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِیۡقٍ

“And proclaim unto mankind the Pilgrimage. They will come to thee on foot, and on every lean camel, coming by every distant track.” (Surah al-Hajj, Ch.22: V.28)

Similarly, addressing the Promised Messiah^as, Allah the Almighty informed him:

اَلَا اِنَّ نَصْرَ اللّٰهِ قَرِيْبٌ۔ يَاْتِيْكَ مِنْ كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيْقٍ يَاْتُوْنَ مِنْ كُلِّ فَجٍّ عَمِيْقٍ

“Hearken, the help of Allah is near. His help will come to you from every distant track. People will come to help you from every distant track.” (Tadhkirah, p. 57)

This was foretold that inanimate objects, for instance gifts, money, clothes etc. would come to him and intellectual people would also flock to him. The world witnessed that this glad tiding of God Almighty proved true during the life of the Promised Messiah^as when scores of people came to visit him from far off lands and brought all sorts of gifts.

Even after his demise, these blessed tidings are being fulfilled at the hands of his Khulafa. The above brief description shows that the Promised Messiah^as received abundant rewards and bounties of God Almighty, which clearly shows that he was the chosen one of God and not a mentally ill person.

Further, in Surah al-Qalam, God Almighty states:

وَ اِنَّ لَکَ لَاَجۡرًا غَیۡرَ مَمۡنُوۡنٍ

“And for thee, most surely, there is an unending reward.” (Surah al-Qalam, Ch.68: V.4)

This verse means that rewards of the Holy Prophet’s^sa efforts and works will never end, but they will always bring good results. On the other hand, the actions of mentally impaired people who claim to be sent from the Divine are always futile and non-beneficial. Ponder over the matter of the Promised Messiah^as in view of the argument presented in the above verse. His books are still being translated and published in dozens of languages around the world. We are witnessing the results of preaching Islam, which he instilled in the hearts of members of the Jamaat more than a century ago.

In every part of the world where preaching is legally allowed, his followers are working day and night to convey the message of Islam. Translations of the Holy Quran have been published in more than 70 languages by the Jamaat. The constructions of mosques and mission houses are expanding by the day. Noble souls are accepting Islam.

Today, there is no area on this planet where the message of Islam is not reaching through MTA. There are eight institutions of Jamia Ahmadiyya across the globe where young people take admission by dedicating their lives and are carrying out the duty of promulgation of Islam in the world after getting religious education. By showing the world the fruitful results of the efforts of the Promised Messiah^as, God Almighty is practically testifying that he was not mentally ill or insane, but had been raised by God.

In the next verse of Surah al-Qalam, Allah Almighty says:

وَ اِنَّکَ لَعَلٰی خُلُقٍ عَظِیۡمٍ

“And thou dost surely possess high moral excellences.” (Surah al-Qalam, Ch.68: V.5)

That is, the high moral qualities and attributes of the Holy Prophet^sa rebut this accusation that he was a madman because the speech of mentally ill individuals is often incoherent and inconclusive. At times, they use bad language and misbehave with other people. Those who sit next to them and listen to their gibberish speech and wild actions become disgusted with and walk away from them. Look at this argument in the context of the Promised Messiah^as.

If, God forbid, his character or actions had given a hint of insanity, those who came to him and observed his state of mind, would have abandoned him in utter disgust. On the contrary, those who read his writings were impressed, those who listened to his words were moved and those who sat in his company grew in love and devotion and offered every kind of sacrifice for him. Had the Promised Messiah^as been a madman or a delusional person, the great and eminent scholars of the subcontinent would not have been saddened by his death, but would have been happy. Even they acknowledged his noble character and paid glowing tributes to the valuable services he performed in favour of Islam.

Following the demise of the Promised Messiah^as, the newspaper, Wakeel of Amritsar wrote:

“That man – a colossal man – whose pen was magic and diction enchanting; the man who was a paragon of the marvels of mind; whose glance would cast a spell and whose voice was the clarion call of resurrection; whose fingers were connected with the live wires of revolution and whose fists were two charged batteries of electricity; the man who, for 30 years, was like the earthquake and storm to the world of religion; who sounded like the trumpet of doom and continued to awaken those who were deep in the slumber of mortal existence – he departed this world all by himself. … The death of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahib of Qadian is not something from which one may not draw any lesson and just consign it to the ever-receding time and be content. Such personages who bring about revolutions in the religious or intellectual world do not always visit this world. They are the pride of human history; their appearance on the world scene is very rare and they depart only after having wrought revolutions in the world …

“The literature produced by Mirza Sahib during his confrontation with the Christians and the Aryas bears the seal of popular acclaim and he needs no introduction in this specialty. We have to heartily acknowledge the value and greatness of that body of literature, now that it has accomplished its task. This is so because we can never efface from the template of our hearts, the time when Islam was surrounded by the incursions of its enemies … Then the Muslim resistance began, of which Mirza Sahib’s contribution forms part. It not only blew to pieces the initial influence secured by Christianity – which was due to the tutelage of the British Government and was, in fact, its mainstay – causing hundreds of thousands of Muslims to escape its much more dangerous and likely-to-succeed attack, but even the magic of Christianity itself started to blow up in smoke.” (Wakeel, Amritsar, 30 May 1908 [Mahzarnama – The Memorandum, pp. 142-143])

The editor of Curzon Gazette, Dehli, Mirza Hairet Dehlvi Sahib wrote:

“The sterling services rendered by the deceased in favour of Islam, against the Aryas and the Christians, are indeed worthy of effusive praise. He completely transformed the style of religious debate and laid the foundation of modern literature in India. As a Muslim and also as a researcher, I acknowledge that even the greatest among the great Aryas or the greatest among the great padres did not have the courage to open their mouth in opposition to the deceased. … Although the deceased hailed from the Punjab, yet his pen possessed such power that there is no writer in contemporary Punjab or northern India who could write with such forcefulness. … His forceful literature is unique in its majesty, there is no doubt that by reading some of his writings, one is thrilled in raptures of ecstasy …” (Curzon Gazette, Dehli, 1 June 1908 [Mahzarnama – The Memorandum, p. 144])

The newspaper, Pioneer of Allahabad stated:

“If any one of the Israelite prophets of the past could descend from heaven to preach in the present age, then in the circumstances of the twentieth century, he would be as odd as was Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahib of Qadian … Mirza Sahib never had any doubts about his claim and he believed with absolute faith and sincerity that the Divine word was revealed to him and that he was endowed with a supernatural power … He once challenged Bishop Weldon [correct name: Bishop Lefroy] to compete him in showing a sign. Mirza Sahib was ready to satisfy Bishop Sahib as he wished according to the measures of that age, so that no trickery or deception would be used in showing the sign … The people who caused a revolution in the religious field of the world, their natures possess striking resemblance with Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahib than the Lord Bishop of England … However, the Prophet of Qadian was one of those who are rarely born in the world.” (Pioneer, Allahabad, 30 May 1908 [Silsila Ahmadiyya, Vol. 1, pp. 191-192])

Delivering a lecture at Strachey Hall, Aligarh MAO College, Dr Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal said:

“To me the ideal of character, foreshadowed by Alamgir is essentially the Muslim type of character and it must be the object of all our education to develop that type … In the Punjab, the essentially Muslim type of character has found a powerful expression in the so called Qadiani sect.” (The Muslim Community – A Sociological Study, Allamah Dr Mohammad lqbal, p. 23)

Hence, even opponents in the time of the Promised Messiah^as were convinced that he was sincerely devoted to the service of Islam and never considered him delusional or insane. Thus, it seems absurd for the opponents of today, after more than 100 years, to argue that the founder of Ahmadiyya Jamaat was mentally unstable.

After explaining the above matters in Surah al-Qalam, Allah Almighty states:

فَسَتُبۡصِرُ وَ یُبۡصِرُوۡنَ۔ بِاَٮیِّکُمُ الۡمَفۡتُوۡنُ

“And thou wilt soon see and they too will see, which of you is afflicted with madness.” (Surah al-Qalam, Ch.68: V.6-7)

This means that the Prophet will see and his opponents will also witness whose endeavors prove whom to be insane and who is proved to be supported by God Almighty. Hence, if the opponents, really consider the Promised Messiah^as to be insane in their hearts, then what has happened to them that they are spending all their energies, day and night, against the founder of Ahmadiyya Jamaat and not against those enemies of Islam who are sane and wise. Their behaviour and approach make it clear that deep down, they know the truth but envy the progress of the Promised Messiah^as and Ahmadiyya Muslim Community under the leadership of Khalifatul Masih and are busy spreading false propaganda in order to deceive the general public.

Their conditions are described in the Holy Quran by Allah Almighty in the following verse:

وَ جَحَدُوۡا بِہَا وَ اسۡتَیۡقَنَتۡہَاۤ اَنۡفُسُہُمۡ ظُلۡمًا وَّ عُلُوًّا ؕ فَانۡظُرۡ کَیۡفَ کَانَ عَاقِبَۃُ الۡمُفۡسِدِیۡنَ

“And they rejected them wrongfully and arrogantly, while their souls were convinced of them. See then, how evil was the end of those who acted corruptly!” (Surah al-Naml, Ch.27: V.15)