English translation of Inqilab-e-Haqiqi
An address by Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmadra, Khalifatul Masih II, al-Musleh al-Maud
Delivered at Jalsa Salana Qadian on 28 December 1937
Religious law
The second [great] religious age began with Noahas. He appeared at a time when human beings had developed an understanding of the attributes of God, and an understanding of religious law can only follow on from this. That is why, with regard to Noah, the Holy Prophetsa said:
اَوَّلُ نَبِیٍّ شَرَعَتْ عَلٰی لِسَانِہِ الشَّرَائِعُ
“Noahas was the first Prophet to whom a law was revealed and it was through him that the principles of civilisation were turned into codified rules of living.” (Al Jami‘ li Ahkamil Qur‘an, Muhammad bin Ahmad al Qurtubi, Vol. 7, p. 221, 2006 Lebanon. [Publishers])
In this age, human beings had advanced to a level of intelligence that demanded new forms of guidance. The Holy Quran also sheds light on this hadith. Allah the Exalted says:
إِنَّآ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ كَمَآ أَ وْحَيْنَآ إِلٰی نُوْحٍ وَّالنَّبِيّٖنَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهٖ
(“Surely, We have sent revelation to thee, as We sent revelation to Noah and the Prophets after him.” [Surah al-Nisa, Ch.4: V.164] [Publishers])
That is, “O Muhammadsa, We have sent revelation to you, as We have sent revelation to Noahas and prophets after him.” Thus, the first revelation that related to a religious code of conduct was revealed to the Prophet Noahas, resulting in the manifestation of the knowledge of the attributes of God.
The intellectual capabilities of the human mind had advanced greatly and human beings had begun to comprehend the attributes of the Divine. However, a number of misunderstandings had led them to the path of idolatry. Indeed the mention of polytheistic beliefs in the Holy Quran begins with Noahas.
Noahas was the first law-bearing prophet in the sense that in his age, humanity was confronted by the subtle complexities of spiritualism, heralding his quest to penetrate the knowledge of metaphysics.
The age of Abrahamas
The third [religious] age was that of Abrahamas. Although we learn from the Holy Quran that idolatry emerged in the time of Noahas and that he fought against it, his age, albeit in initial stages, was characterised more by an increasing comprehension of the attributes of God. The idolatrous practices that existed during his time were unsophisticated. Some people worshipped icons of their elders; others were prey to other basic forms of idol worship. However, by the time of the advent of Abrahamas, idolatry was a complex philosophical ideology. Philosophical ideas had begun to greatly influence human thought. Even the concept of the unity of God had gained greater complexity, and it had become more difficult to comprehend the true nature of His oneness.
The example of this is much like the existence of idol worship today. Nowadays when idolaters are asked why they worship idols, they claim that in truth they do not worship the idol itself; rather, it is used to help focus their attention [on God]. In this way idolatry still exists as it did before, but it assumed a different form. Likewise, in the time of Abrahamas, idolatry was given a new guise.
It is because of this that the [Holy Quran] constantly refers to Abrahamas with the words:
وَمَاکَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِکِیْنَ
(“And [he] was not of those who set up equals to Him.” [Surah al-Nahl, Ch.16: V.124])
while not once does it speak of Noahas in these terms. In the time of Noahas the concept of idolatry had not fully developed. It was practised superficially.
Deliverance from this form of idolatry did not require much intellectual persuasion. The point of contention, [that is] whether to bow before the idols or not, was clear to everyone. However, by the time of Abrahamas, idolatry had transitioned from the outward rituals and penetrated into the inner beliefs [and the way of thought of the society]. Although people no longer prostrated before idols, due to developments in philosophical and scholarly thought, a new form of intellectual idolatry was established, which Abrahamas would subdue.
Abraham’sas message
Thus, the words:
وَمَاکَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِکِیْنَ
can be more readily applied to a perfect believer of the unity of God living in the time of Abrahamas. Hence it is he and not Noahas who is referred to in this manner.
However, this does not mean Noahas was not a monotheist. Abrahamas is mentioned in five passages of the Holy Quran along with the words:
وَمَاکَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِکِیْنَ
These words do not appear once with regard to Noahas. There is no question that Noahas also fought against idolatrous practices, but because these had [not yet fully developed] or become widespread, there was no need to speak of him in this way. The fact that he did not prostrate before idols was evidence enough for his contemporaries that he was not an idolater.
For instance, many women know how to stitch; yet not every woman is a dressmaker. The use of such terms demands a certain level of expertise. Likewise, although it is undeniable that Noahas too fought against idolatry, for Abrahamas this struggle permeated every aspect of his life and [in a sense] was his area of expertise. So it was said about him:
وَمَاکَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِکِیْنَ
Thus in the time of Abrahamas, apart from superficial forms of idolatry, such idolatrous ideas also appeared which embedded themselves in the psyche and philosophical approach [of his contemporaries]. Idolatry was no longer confined to merely prostrating oneself before a statue.
By contemplating the intricacies and relationship between love and hate, human understanding had evolved considerably and gave birth to more latent forms of idolatry even without overtly practising idolatry. This is why Noahas was not commanded by God [to say]:
اَسْلِمْ
(“Submit” [Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.132] [Publishers])
nor did he reply by saying:
اَسْلَمْتُ لِرَبِّ الْعٰلَمِیْنَ
(“I have submitted to the Lord of the worlds.” [Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.132] [Publishers])
Instead, it was Abrahamas who was told اَسْلِمْ, not just in terms of shunning idol worship, but also by making the reflections of his heart completely obedient to God. Abrahamas replied to this command with the words:
اَسْلَمْتُ لِرَبِّ الْعٰلَمِیْنَ
By this he meant:
“O God! Every fibre of my being is devoted to Your cause, my intellect, my knowledge and my spirit are resigned to Your will and all my strengths and qualities are spent in Your path.”
Again it was for these reasons that God used the words:
وَمَاکَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِکِیْنَ
It is this level of submission which those who trust in God refer to as monotheism. True monotheism is based on submission to God’s will and complete trust in Him to the extent that human beings reach a stage whereby the affairs of the world hold no significance for them. They eat, drink, live, travel, sleep, wake, exist and die for the sake of their God.
Keeping this in mind, it is worth noting [another essential] difference between Noahas and Abrahamas.
When Noahas was to be saved from the flood, Allah the Exalted commanded him to build the Ark so that Noahas may protect himself and his companions. And God made the Ark for him [by teaching him how to construct it]. But when Abrahamas was commanded by God to leave his son Ishmaelas in a barren valley, [unlike Noahas] he was given no guidance about how to provide them with food and water. He was only told to leave his wife and child in the desert. Therefore, Abrahamas left them in the middle of an inhospitable wasteland certain in his mind that the God Who had provided them with sustenance in their home, would also provide for them in this [barren and uncultivable] terrain.
Thus, Abrahamas possessed a greater level of submission and trust in God than Noahas did. Thus the state of having complete submission to God’s will and trust in Him, is equal to the state of complete monotheism as is displayed by Abrahamas.
Abraham’sas role in the perfection of humanity
Humanity was also perfected at the hands of Abrahamas. The perfection of humanity and absolute belief in the oneness of God are inextricably linked. Human beings cannot attain perfection until this belief is completed and until humanity is perfected nor is belief in the unity of God. Hence why some mystics adhere to the maxim:
مَنْ عَرَفَ نَفْسَہٗ فَقَدْ عَرَفَ رَبَّہٗ
“One who has recognised himself, has recognised God.” (Mouzuat-e-Kabeer, Mulla Ali Qari, p. 318, 2008 Lahore. [Publishers])
As human thought and intellect evolved during the age of Abrahamas and the philosophy of religion began to demonstrate its greatness, humanity was also perfected through Abrahamas. (By “perfection”, it is meant) that humanity was made distinct from the rest of creation, therefore human sacrifice was declared unlawful. Previously no value had been attached to human life. It was of little consequence whether a person lived or died. But in the time of Abrahamas a distinction was made between human beings and the rest of creation.
Again, prior to this, no considerable difference was acknowledged between humans and animals. After all, both were dependent on food, both reproduced and both travelled with the use of their legs. The only obvious distinction was that the mental capabilities of human beings exceeded those of other creatures.
Therefore up until that point, human beings were also offered up for ritual sacrifice, because [as mentioned before] no clear distinction had been made between the two. And if any difference existed between them it was in the fact that human beings were slightly more prized and valued than the animals.
However, in the time of Abrahamas, when human beings began to understand monotheism, God declared human sacrifice to be unlawful, for humanity had risen beyond an animalistic state and had been perfected. Further, human life had acquired a purpose.
Hence, just as Adamas is referred to as the father of mankind, Abrahamas is spoken of as the father of the prophets by virtue of enabling human beings to reach such a high level of (spiritual) development.
It was during the time of Abrahamas that human beings began to truly comprehend the concept of judgement and atonement after their death. They were told that the purpose of their life was the attainment of the love of God.
Unless the sacrificing of human life was necessary and unavoidable, human sacrifice was to be seen as something wrong for it invalidated the very purpose of human existence. The act of sacrifice had taken root in the realm of philosophy and intellect and crossed the boundaries of superficiality and tradition.
For example, it is an accepted principle that [soldiers] were called upon to volunteer and often sacrificed in the field of battle. If the question of human sacrifice arose, one could argue in favour of the legitimacy of sacrificing life for the greater good, rather than the greater good being forfeited for the sake of one life. In this way the concept of sacrifice became subject to philosophical and intellectual modes of reasoning that would determine under which conditions human sacrifice was legitimate and under which conditions it was not.
Once humanity had become distinguished from the rest of creation [by virtue of the fact that their existence was defined by a purpose], ideas of mysticism began to surface. People began to reflect on their creation and its purpose of seeking the pleasure and love of God. In this way, Abrahamas laid the foundations of the future development of mystical thought.
The moment human sacrifice was made unlawful, on the grounds that human beings had been created to attain God’s love, the wise began to reflect over how the pleasure and love of God could be attained resulting in the beginning of mysticism.
Abrahamas laid the foundations for the perfection of civilisation and culture
When human sacrifice was made unlawful, the human mind was gradually drawn towards the idea that the whole of creation was for the benefit of humanity. As this notion grew, people began to conduct even deeper scientific inquiries into the natural world and advanced towards a state of cultural perfection. Abrahamas was the initiator of this move forward.
Prior to this, human beings merely saw themselves as lovers of God. The concept of attaining God’s love had not developed, as humanity had not passed through the required evolutionary cycle. It was feared that such ideas could have hindered its progress. The human mind was not as yet capable of absorbing such intricate philosophical concepts. However, by the time of Abrahamas, humanity had made the necessary progress and was ready to embrace such beliefs. Abrahamas showed people that they could be loved by God and because a lover cannot bear to see the life of their beloved go to waste, human sacrifice was made unlawful and this signified the first age of mysticism.
The age of Abrahamas was also characterised by attempts to understand the nature and the philosophy of human existence. The idea that life was not futile, but rather a great favour and blessing and a means of hoarding the treasures of [spiritual] advancement was put before the people of the time.
(To be continued…)