Did Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (A.S) die of Cholera?

Introduction

In this article, we will refute another allegation of the Anti-Ahmadis who claim the Promised Messiah (A.S) died of cholera. They claim that since he died of cholera, he is a false prophet. This is not only baseless but also contradictory to the primary sources that describe the death of the Promised Messiah (A.S).

Refutation

1) Promised Messiah A.S did not have any symptoms of cholera

Given the statement from the medical doctor at that time, it is clear that the Promised Messiah did not have cholera. His symptoms negate this lie. 

Cholera is caused by a bacterial infection that can cause watery diarrhea via increased sodium ions in the intestine, which in turn increases the intake of water. This can cause continuous diarrhea which can be up to 1 liter per hour. Looking at the stools, one can predict cholera given the unique characteristic of pale, milky appearance that resembles water in which rice has been rinsed.

The symptoms of cholera include using the washroom continuously and vomiting continuously. However, the Promised Messiah (as) only had stomach problems and vomited. This shows that it was diarrhea and dehydration and not cholera. He also did not use the washroom for many hours before passing away. This is proven by eyewitness accounts as seen below: 

“Around 2-3 am, Promised Messiah (A.S) got loose motion and due to which his pulse could not be felt and was called with Maulvi Hakeem Noorudin (R.A), Khawaja Kamaludin and Dr Mirza Yaqub Baig. When Mirza Yaqub arrived, Promised Messiah (A.S) called him and told him of the situation and asked him to recommend medicine. He also said in reality the medicine is in the heavens. He said you should try to heal and pray for me.

His treatment started and was going successfully while we were standing there. But the pulse was not felt so much so that around 10 am in the morning is when Promised Messiah (A.S) soul met with his truest love i.e God. (“Verily we belong to allah, and verily to him do we return.”)

During this period, promised messiah as kept saying this in an extremely loving tone:

“O my Beloved, O my Beloved, O my Beloved Allah, O my Beloved Allah”

And when he heard the azan for the fair prayer, he asked whether it was time to pray. And even with extreme weakness, he made intention and prayed salat. During this moment, mother of the faithful, Amma Jan (R.A) (wife of the Promised Messiah) showed an exemplary character. She was sitting with her burga on and she would sometimes fall in prostration while repeating these words, “O Living God, O my beloved God. O Knower of all, O Resurrectors of the dead, help us. O my only God, forgive my sins, I am a sinner. O my Allah, give my life to him [Promised Messiah]”

[Al Badr, June 2nd, 1908, pg 4]

2) None of the doctors with him thought he had cholera

He was accompanied by multiple doctors during his last days such as Hazrat Maulvi Noorudin RA, Mirza Yaqub Baig, and Dr Syed Muhammad Hussain Shah. None of them came to the conclusion that he had cholera or treated him for it. Neither did they quarantine him or burnt his belongings in fear of the spread of the disease. The Promised Messiah AS stayed in the same bed with his wife, Hazrat Amma Jaan until he passed away around 10 am in the morning.

3) Medical certificate confirmed he died of Diarrhea

The Promised Messiah AS died in Lahore. He was buried in Qadian. For a body to be transported on train/rail the body must be examined by a government medical doctor and then given a certificate confirming that it had no infectious disease. This was done due to the rampant waves of epidemics across the globe at this time. In the British Indian Railway rulebook, it says:

A Corpse will not be conveyed by Train, unless it is in a properly secured air-tight Coffin, and is accompanied by a Doctor’s certificate, that death has not been caused by any infectious disease.

[Book of Fares, Rates, Rules and Instructions for the passenger and coaching traffic, pg 35]

یہ حضرت مسیح موعود علیہ السلام کا ذاتی خیال تھا جبکہ حضور کی نعش مبارک کو ریل میں لے کر جانے کے لئے آپ کے معالج ڈاکٹر سدر لینڈ پرنسپل میڈیکل کالج لاہور کی تصدیق پر افسر مجاز سول سرجن لا ہور ڈاکٹر ستلھم نے سر ٹیفکیٹ دیا کہ حضور کی وفات اعصابی تھکان سے اسہال کی وجہ سے ہوئی تھی اس لئے ریل میں لے جایا جا سکتا ہے۔

To take the blessed body of the Promised Messiah AS via rail [to Qadian], on the testimony/authentication of his doctor and principal of Medical College Lahore, Dr. Sutherland, Maijaz Rasul(officer) and Dr. Cunningham (Surgeon at Lahore) gave a [Medical] Certificate that Hudhur AS died due to Diarrhea/uncontrolled bowel movements. 

[Hayat-e-Nasir, pg 13]

4) No one else in his family/friends got cholera

Another reason that proves he did not have Cholera is that all of his family members, friends, and his companions, did not get Cholera. Even though they were living with him, eating the same food and drinking the same water, while in the same environment. As it is commonly known, Cholera spreads through food and water, it would be near impossible that no one else in his company contracted Cholera.

5) No cholera wave in Punjab during May 1908

Another consideration is the seasonal variation of cholera. As seen in this study of cholera, it clearly states that in the Punjab region, the disease has a tendency to reach epidemic portions only during the monsoon months. The Promised Messiah died in May, which is the dry season in India. Not only do the symptoms not match, but the time of the season was not even in line with cholera at that time.

This is confirmed by the following source:

Nevertheless, in certain non-endemic areas, e.g., in the Punjab, the disease has a tendency to reach epidemic proportions only during the monsoon months.

[CHOLERA STUDIES, Swaroop PhD]

Refutations of further allegations

We have proven with ample evidence that the Promised Messiah AS did not have cholera. Now we will refute the common objections that the Anti-Ahmadis bring up regarding it.

Allegation 1: Promised Messiah AS claimed he had cholera

They claim that the Promised Messiah AS himself said he had cholera as per the quote in Hayat-e-Nasir.

حضرت صاحب جس رات کو بیمار ہوئے اس رات کو میں اپنے مقام پر جا کر سو چکا تھا۔ جب آپ کو بہت تکلیف ہوئی تو مجھے جگایا گیا تھا۔ جب میں حضرت صاحب کے پاس پہنچا اور آپ کا حال دیکھا تو آپ نے مجھے مخاطب کر کے فرمایا۔ میر صاحب مجھے وہائی ہیضہ ہو گیا ہے۔ اس کے بعد آپ نے کوئی ایسی صاف بات میرے خیال میں نہیں فرمائی۔

The night Hazrat Sahib became sick, that night I had already gone to sleep in my quarters. When he was greatly afflicted, I was awoken. When I reached Hazrat Sahib, and saw his condition, he saw me and remarked, “Mir Sahib, I have (have I) been afflicted with epidemic cholera.(?)

[Hayat-e-Nasir, pg. 13]

Firstly, even if we accept the words at face value, it is possible that they were stated as a question, and not as a statement of fact. In Urdu, sometimes a simple change in the tonation of the sentence makes it into a question. The same is found in other languages.

For example, “You went to the store.” can be changed with a simple change in intonation from a statement to a question: “You went to the store?”. It is thus possible that the Promised Messiah (AS) was asking a question and not making a statement, in which case the translation would be “Do I have cholera?”.

Secondly, if it was not a question, it is also possible that the Promised Messiah (AS) was wrong about what he thought at that moment while he was extremely sick. It is not a far-fetched idea that he made such a mistake. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) also did something similar during his last illness. He thought that somehow the poison that he did not even ingest in Khaibar (3-4 years earlier) may be the cause of his illness, even though this was not medically possible and against the Quran itself. The narration says:

The Prophet (ﷺ) in his ailment in which he died, used to say, “O `Aisha! I still feel the pain caused by the food I ate at Khaibar, and at this time, I feel as if my aorta is being cut from that poison.”

[Sahih al-Bukhari 4428]

While the Quran says that whoever lies about God Almighty, Allah will cut off their aorta:

And if he had forged and attributed any sayings to Us,

We would surely, have seized him by the right hand,

And then surely, We would have severed his life-artery,

[Quran 69:43-45]

Allegation 2: Promised Messiah AS used Chlorodyne

They claim that Promised Messiah AS used Chlorodyne in Lahore, a few days before his death. Chlorodyne is a medicine used for Cholera. thus, he died of Cholera. The narration they use is the following:

This was written to me by Peer Muhammad Manzoor sahab thru Molvi Abdur Rehman Mubashar that hazrat sahab while in Lahore, perhaps a day before his death once he came out from inside and said I have had excessive loose motion today so I took three drops of Chlorodyne. This humble self says that hazrat sb had the complaint of loose motion most of his life time. But during last days he suffered from it one night before his death. It is however, possible that he might have slightly suffered from loose motion one or two days before his death and then it has suppressed.

[Seeratul Mahdi, vol 3,pg 721]

It is true that Chlorodyne is a medicine for cholera but along with it, it is also used to cure Diarrhea, Dysentery, Fever, Spams e.t.c. This is proven by the following advertisement of the same medicine from the time of Promised Messiah (AS). Thus, to use this medicine to prove he had cholera while ignoring the other diseases it is used for is a stretch. Especially since we know that the Promised Messiah (AS) had the disease of diarrhea all his life.

A similar Ad is seen in Paisa Akhbar Lahore from 1898 where Cholorodyne is used to treat all kinds of illnesses as described above.

Allegation 3: Vakil Newspaper said Promised Messiah had Cholera

LATE MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD

The day of 26 May 1908 will be remembered in latest religious history of India for long time when at about 10 am Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiyani died of cholera disease or as per saying of few due to some other disease.

Late Mirza was staying at Lahore for the treatment of his wife and change of climate but the powerful order of Allah and time of departure which rich and poor common men and Nabi of great caliber have to face, has come for a person who by his amazing claims had created a tremor amongst religious ranks.

[Vakil, May 30th, 1908, pg. 1]

The newspaper quote says that Cholera could be one of the possibilities of his death and does not state that he definitively did die of Cholera. It is clear the newspaper does not have any clear sources rather it is speculating based on what others have said including the mischief-mongering opponents of the Promised Messiah (AS). Thus, it is deceptive and dishonest to even attempt to use this as evidence by Anti-Ahmadis.

Conclusion

This article has categorically proven that the Promised Messiah (AS) did not die of Cholera. His death certificate, along with the lack of symptoms of Cholera is the biggest proof of it. May Allah guide those who continuously lie on the Prophet of Allah. Ameen.