Knowledge of Arabic and the Holy Qur’an as Signs of Divine Support — Essence of Islam Vol. 3
Introduction
In this discourse from Essence of Islam (Volume 3), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, expounds upon Knowledge of Arabic and the Holy Qur’an as Signs of Divine Support, presenting profound spiritual insights and scriptural verities.
Book Series: Essence of Islam (Volume 3)
Author: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (AS)
Section: Part 13: Repeated Challenges
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Muhammad Hassan of Bhin. He is even free to employ three or four Arab scholars who posses literary qualifications for this purpose. These commentaries should not be less than four juz242 each…. If any of us fails to publish such a commentary within the appointed term—between 15 December 1900 and 25 February 1901—he will be considered false in his claim, and no further proof of his falsehood will be necessary. Peace be upon those who follow the guidance. Announced by: Mirza Ghulam Ahmad From Qadian, 15 December, 1900.
[Arba‘in No. 4, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 17, pp. 479-484]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 360]
‘The Gracious One has taught thee the Qur’an. O Ahmad, grace flows from thy lips.’
[Tiryaq-ul-Qulub, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 15, pp. 230-231]
From this revelation I understood that God had, as a miraculous sign, bestowed two types of bounties on me with reference to the Holy Qur’an and its language.
(1) One is that I have been instructed, in an extraordinary manner, in the high insights of the Holy Qur’an, in respect of which no one can compete with me. (2) Secondly, I have been bestowed such proficiency in the language of the Holy Qur’an, namely Arabic, that all the opposing divines combined will not be able to compete 242 One Juz comprises 16 pages. [Firozul-Lughat, Published by Feroz Sons, Lahore, p. 458] Repeated Challenges 361 with me, and they will see that the sweetness, eloquence and mastery of Arabic that characterises my composition cannot be equalled by them, their friends, their teachers or their revered ones. After receiving this revelation, I wrote a commentary on some Surahs and passages of the Holy Qur’an and compiled several books in fluent Arabic, and invited my opponents to compete with me and offered them large sums of money as award in case of their success. The leaders among them, like Miań Nadhir Hussain of Delhi and Abu Sa‘id Muhammad Hussain of Batala, who is the editor of Isha‘at-us-Sunnah, were repeatedly invited that if they claimed to possess some knowledge of the Holy Qur’an or had any proficiency in Arabic or if they considered me false in respect of my claim of being the Promised Messiah, they should put forth matching instances of the verities and insights which I have presented fluently in these books claiming that they are beyond human capacity and constitute the signs of God Almighty. But they failed altogether to take up my challenge. Neither of them set forth a matching instance of the verities and insights which I had described in my commentaries on some of the passages and verses of the Holy Qur’an, nor was any of them able to compose even two lines in Arabic like the books that I had published in eloquent Arabic. Anyone who has read my books Nur-ul-Haq, Karamat-us-Sadiqin, Sirr-ulKhilafah, Itmam-ul-Hujjah, etc, and the Arabic portions of Anjam-i-Atham and Najm-ul-Huda, will have clearly recognized their high literary standard, both in prose and poetry; and will also have observed how forcefully I have challenged all opposing divines that if they laid claim to some knowledge of the Holy Qur’an and have any degree of proficiency in Arabic, they should produce a match of these books; otherwise, they should acknowledge that this enterprise of mine has been undertaken under Divine direction and should confess that these books of mine are a sign of my truth. Alas, they neither abandoned their opposition nor were able to match my books. In any case, the message of God Almighty was conveyed fully to them and they were proven guilty of having disobeyed a commissioned one of God.
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 360]
To disabuse the minds of the common people that Miań Muhammad Hussain Batalavi, or other like-minded opposing clerics who share his views and mistakenly believe him to possess a high degree of proficiency in Arabic and in the verities of the Word of God, it has been considered proper to publish this monograph in a final effort to expose the myth of Batalvi and the divines associated with him, concerning their knowledge of Arabic and their comprehension of Divine verities. This booklet comprises four Arabic odes and a commentary on Surah Al-Fatihah. Though these odes have been completed within one week, in a few hours in fact, but for the sake of carrying the matter to the final conclusion, I hereby solemnly promise that if within one month of the publication of this booklet, they publish their matching booklet exhibiting the same high degree of literary merit and comprising the same number of Arabic verses that are comprised in my booklet, along with a commentary of the Surah Al-Fatihah matching mine in every respect, I shall pay them one thousand rupees as reward….
[Karamat-us-Sadiqin, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 7, pp. 47-49]
I further promise that, upon publication of the booklet, if their odes and their commentary are found free from grammatical or idiomatic errors and are acknowledged to be superior to my odes and commentary, and, what is Repeated Challenges 363 more, if they are able to point out any mistakes in my compositions, I shall pay them five rupees for every such mistake. Remember, it is easy to criticize, even an ignorant person can do this much; but it is difficult to establish high merit. In respect of the commentary, it should be remembered that a commentary written by merely copying other commentaries will not be acceptable. It must comprise new verities and insights, provided they are not opposed to the Holy Qur’an and to whatever the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has said.
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 362]
Some opponents of Islam put forward the objection that, although it seems reasonable that the Word of God should be matchless, yet how can the matchlessness of any book be established by plain reasoning. They demand that if the Holy Qur’an is matchless, this quality should be established by some convincing arguments, inasmuch as its high literary excellence can be appreciated only by one whose mother tongue is Arabic, and it does not constitute a proof of matchlessness for others, nor can others benefit from it. The answer is that this objection is raised only by people who have never sincerely tried to ascertain the matchlessness of the Holy Qur’an from someone possessing knowledge of it. Instead, they avoid the light of the Holy Qur’an, lest they should be affected by it. The matchlessness of the Holy Qur’an is so patent and obvious in the estimation of seekers after truth, that it spreads its rays in all directions, like the sun, in the comprehension of which one need encounter no doubt or difficulty. If there is no intervening darkness of bigotry and hostility, that perfect light can be appreciated with even a little attention. It is true that some aspects of the matchlessness of the Holy Qur’an are such as to require some knowledge of Arabic for their comprehension, but it is a mistake resulting from ignorance to imagine that the entire range of the miraculousness of the Qur’an depends upon the knowledge of Arabic, and that all Qur’anic wonders and all the great qualities of this discriminating Book can be appreciated only by the Arabs, and that non-Arabs are barred from them. This is utterly wrong. It is clear to every knowledgeable person, that most of the aspects of the matchlessness of the Holy Qur’an are so simple and easy to understand that no knowledge of Arabic is needed. They are so manifest and clear that minimal intelligence, which should be characteristic of every human being, suffices for their understanding. For instance, one aspect of its matchlessness is that, despite its brevity, to the extent that if it is written out by an average pen it can be comprised within a few pages, it comprehends all religious verities which lay scattered in diverse books and in the scriptures of previous Prophets. Furthermore, it also possesses the distinction that whatever verities a person might discover by diligence, effort and search in religious fields through the exercise of his intelligence and perception, or whatever new verities and insights or proofs and arguments he might set forth by the exercise of his reason, or should offer the subtlest verity which the ancient philosophers may have discovered through great labour for a comparison, or should wish to discover from the Holy Qur’an the remedy for the inner disorders and the spiritual maladies from which most people suffer, he can test the Qur’an in whichever aspect and by whatever method he might desire, and he will find that, in setting forth its truth and wisdom, the Holy Qur’an encompasses everything like a circle and no Repeated Challenges 365 religious verity is left out by it. Indeed the Holy Qur’an improves and corrects the statements of philosophers that were defective due to their limited knowledge or defective reasoning. Besides, the Holy Qur’an sets out accurately and correctly truths that no philosopher or thinker has set out, and to which no intellect has gained access. It sets out in full all the fine points relating to knowledge of the Divine which were scattered in hundreds of collections and comprised of many lengthy volumes, but were still imperfect and incomplete. It leaves no room for any wise person in future to set forth a new point. Despite all this, the whole script of the Holy Qur’an does not exceed 80 pages of normal handwriting. This is an aspect of matchlessness that a person of average intellect cannot doubt.
[Brahin-e-Ahmadiyyah, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 1, pp. 247 -277]
Every reasonable person can appreciate that it is not within the power of man or any other creature to set out all religious truth, all insights relating to the subject of divinity, all arguments and proofs in support of true principles resulting from intellectual exercises of all thinkers, ancient and modern, with such completeness in a book of moderate size from which no verity has been left out.
For every person, literate or illiterate, there is a clear and straight way for testing this aspect of the Holy Qur’an. If anyone should be in doubt about the Holy Qur’an comprising all Divine verities, we are prepared to undertake that a seeker after truth, after making a written promise that if he is satisfied he would accept Islam, should set forth a certain number of religious verities out of a Hebrew, Greek, Latin, English, Sanskrit or any other book, or should set forth some subtle points relating to any subjects of divinity out of his own intellect. If he does so, we shall produce for him the same out of the Holy Qur’an.
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 363]
The truth is that if any cleric of this country should wish to compete with me in respect of Qur’anic insights, and I should write a commentary on a chapter of the Holy Qur’an and he should write a commentary on the same chapter, he would certainly be humbled and would not be able to stand against me. That is why, despite my insistence, the Maulavis do not respond to my challenges. This is a great sign, but only for those who possess faith and a sense of justice.
[Anjam-e-Atham, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 11, pp. 292-293]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 365]
I desire to demolish the Arabs’ claim to literary excellence and eloquence. Let these journalists, who call themselves masters of the language having written a few lines, come forth, if they dare, to challenge this sign. Their pens will be broken. If they have any power or proficiency, they can take up this challenge individually or collectively. They will then realize the truth, and the lie which the ignorant are wont to repeat, that I get my books written by Arabs on payment of thousands of rupees, will also be exposed. Then it will also become clear as to who is the Arab that can write a book of such high literary standard and full of such verities and insights. The books that these claimants of proficiency in literary qualities write are like a pile of hard and soft, white and black pieces of stones. While my books, which contain analysis of Qur’anic verities and insights, are sweet and delicious. That which is composed with the support of the Holy Spirit and the words that are inspired by it, possess a unique sweetness, splendour and power which others cannot master. This will be a great sign indeed!
[Malfuzat, vol. 2, p. 375]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 366]
Though I have so far published nearly seventeen matchRepeated Challenges 367 less books in Arabic, against which my opponents have not published even one during the past ten years, it occurred to me today that as those books not only possess high literary merit but also comprise many Qur’anic truths and insights, it is possible that my opponents might make the excuse that they are not conversant with truths and insights, and that if it had been an Arabic poem of high merit like the average type of odes, they would certainly have produced its match. It also occurred to me that if Maulavi Thana’ullah Sahib were invited to compose a book matching my book I‘jaz-ul-Masih, he would be sure to demand proof that the book had been written within seventy days. If he were to claim that I had taken two years in writing this book and that he too should be allowed two years for writing a comparable book, it would be difficult to convince him that I had written my book within seventy days. I, therefore, thought it proper to supplicate to God Almighty that He should enable me to compose, with the help of the Holy Spirit, an ode describing the debates that took place at Mud, so that no one should find it difficult to determine the period during which the ode was composed. My supplication was accepted and I completed the compilation of the ode within five days. If I had not been otherwise engaged, the ode could have been composed in one day, and if no delay had been encountered it could have been published on 9th November, 1902. This is a great sign, to which Maulavi Thana’ullah Sahib is himself a witness, as the ode itself shows that it was written after the debate to which he was a party. The debate took place on 29th and 30th October 1902, and I started writing the ode on 8th November upon the return of our friends. It was completed on 12th November along with this Urdu writing. As I am certain that this ode is a great sign of Divine support, so that God may put my opponents to shame and silence them, therefore I present this sign to Maulavi Thana’ullah Sahib and his helpers with an offer of a reward of ten thousand rupees. If, within five days, they compose a matching ode together with an Urdu writing of the length of this writing, which is also a sign, I shall immediately pay them ten thousand rupees. In addition, I can allow them one week for printing and two days for its transmission through the mail. Thus if fourteen days after receiving my ode and its accompanying Urdu portion, they publish the same number of verses possessing the same high literary merit, I shall pay them ten thousand rupees as reward. They will be free to seek the help of Maulavi Muhammad Hussain Sahib or any other gentleman. Another reason why they should make this effort is that in one of my announcements I have predicted that by the end of December 1902, an extraordinary sign would be manifested in my support. Though such a sign has already been manifested in other forms, if Maulavi Thana’ullah and other clerics whom I have addressed, fail to respond to this challenge, this will also be a sign in fulfilment of my prediction. So it is incumbent upon them, if they consider my claim to be the result of my own design, that they should accept my challenge and frustrate this sign. I affirm on oath that if, individually or collectively, they publish within the time prescribed an ode in Arabic supplemented by an Urdu writing corresponding to the ode and the Urdu writing that I have composed, and mail them to me within twelve days, I shall not only pay them ten thousand rupees as an award, but their success will prove my falsehood, and Maulavi Repeated Challenges 369 Thana’ullah Sahib and his friends will no longer have to invent lies against me, and they will achieve an easy victory. Failing this, they will no longer have any justification for calling me false or denying my signs.
[I‘jaz-e-Ahmadi, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 19, pp. 145-148]
I call heaven and earth to witness that I place my reliance from today onwards on this sign. If my claim is true, and God Almighty knows that it is true, it will not be possible for Maulavi Thana’ullah, or any other Maulavi associated with him, to compose an ode and an Urdu writing like mine within five days, as God Almighty will break their pens and will make their minds dull. Maulavi Thana’ullah cannot claim that I composed this ode in advance, since it is about the debate which was held at Mud. If I had composed it in advance, then they must acknowledge that I possess knowledge of the unseen, which would still constitute a sign. So they have no way of escape now. Today the revelation has been fulfilled in which God said: The affairs decreed by the All-Powerful God have been manifested; Those who issued declarations of kufr have been apprehended.
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 366]
Is it not a Divine sign that the one concerning whom it was said that he was an ignoramus and did not know a single rule of grammar, calls upon all the Maulavis who denounce him as a disbeliever to compete with him in writing a commentary for which he would award them a thousand rupees, and to write a book matching his book Nur-ul-Haq for which he is prepared to deposit five thousand rupees in advance to be awarded to them; and not one of them has the courage to come forward and accept his challenge…. I have called them repeatedly and most emphatically to come forward but they have paid no attention to my invitations. In order to expose Sheikh Sahib’s lack of knowledge of Arabic, I announced in Nur-ul-Haq that if he publishes within three months a book matching it in every respect, he would be awarded three thousand rupees in cash, and would, in this easy manner, prove my revelations to be false. Otherwise, he would not only be defeated but would be accounted as having acknowledged the truth of my revelations. But Sheikh Sahib paid no attention to any of this. Why such indifference? The only reason is that it is beyond his capacity to take up my challenge…. God Almighty designed to humiliate this arrogant one and to show him how He helps His servants. These books, therefore, were written through the capacity bestowed by God and His special help and under His direction. I had fixed the end of June 1894 as the last date for the acceptance of my challenge relating to the matching of Karamat-us-Sadiqin and Nur-ul-Haq, and that date is now past.
[Sirrul-Khilafah, Ruhani Khaza’in vol. 8, pp. 398-400]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 369]
If Hadrat Sayyed Maulavi Muhammad Nadhir Hussain Sahib or Maulavi Abu Muhammad ‘Abd-ul-Haq Sahib consider that I am mistaken in my view on the question of the death of Jesus, and imagine that my viewpoint goes against the Holy Qur’an and Hadith, it is incumbent upon them that, in order to safeguard the public against being misled by me, they should debate the question with me in this city of Delhi. I propose only three conditions with regard to the holding of the debate. 1. They should assume the responsibility for persuading the authorities to make arrangements for maintaining law and order … since I am only a visiRepeated Challenges 371 tor in the city and am an object of abuse and vilification at the hands of my Muslim brethren…. 2. The debate should be conducted in writing. Each party should draw up and sign its question or answer, as the case may be, in the meeting and deliver it to the other party, as oral statements cannot be preserved accurately…. 3. The subject of the debate shall be the life and death of Jesus and neither party shall rely on any authority other than the Holy Qur’an and the books of Hadith; but Bukhari and Muslim shall have priority over other compilations, and Bukhari shall have priority over Muslim, since it has been accounted the most accurate book after the Book of God.
[Majmu‘ah Ishtiharat, vol. 1, pp. 234-235]
I promise that if, through this method, it is proved that Jesus son of Mary is still alive, I shall give up my claim of being a recipient of revelation as I realize that no revelation that is opposed to the Holy Qur’an can be true.
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 370]
In the Name of Allah the Glorious, a Plea to Maulavi Sayyed Nadhir Hussain, for a Debate on the Life or Death of Jesus son of Mary
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 371]
Book Series: Essence of Islam (Volume 3)
Author: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (AS)
Section: Part 13: Repeated Challenges
Navigation: Book Table of Contents | « Previous: An Invitation to Pir Mehr ‘Ali Shah of Golrah | Next: In the Name of Allah the Glorious, a Plea to Maulavi Sayyed Nadhir Hussain, for a Debate on the Life or Death of Jesus Son of Mary »