Sign of the Eclipses

In-depth analysis of the Ramadhan eclipse signs that happened for the truth of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian in 1894 AD/1311 Hijri. Its sister article is View of Scholars – Sign of the Eclipses.

Introduction

This article refutes the century-long deception done by non-Ahmadis regarding the Ramadhan eclipse signs that happened for Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) in 1894 AD/1311 Hijri. It has 9 vistas and each way of approaching this sign is by itself enough to completely refute the liars, they are:

1. The sign of the eclipses was demanded by the Mullahs if Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) was the Mahdi before they happened in 1894 AD
2. The men who accepted Ahmadiyyat due to the the panic of the Mullahs at the sign (the hypocrisy of the Mullahs), and the sign itself, this is the large-scale acceptance in British India
3. The large-scale acceptance of people (Makkah) of the sign of the eclipses in 1894 AD
4. The acceptance of the prayer made by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) in the month preceding the eclipses (Feb 1894 AD)
5. Categorical proof from the Holy Quran that eclipses are signs of the Mahdi/Masih
6. Categorical proof from the authentic and weak Ahadith that eclipses in Ramadhan are signs of the Mahdi with refutations of famous allegations
7. Categorical proof that the majority of scholars before and during the time of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) believed eclipses would happen as signs for the Mahdi
8. Among the scholars, saints had revelation that eclipses would happen for the Mahdi
9. References from past scriptures that mention eclipses as signs of Judgement Day and the Messiah of the Latter Days

Eclipse Science

One must understand how eclipses happen first.

Lunar Eclipse

Lunar eclipses can only happen on nights of the full moon. This is well-known and one can research it online. The sun, earth, and moon align. The earth’s shadow falls on the moon, making it appear darker or red like blood. That is why lunar eclipses are called blood moons.

The Islamic lunar calender starts with the crescent moon, so obviously the nights of the full moon are on specific days in the lunar month. The full moon nights fall on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of the lunar month – so lunar eclipses can only happen on these nights. These nights are called Layali-al-Abdar (white nights – nights of full moon) in Arabic.

Even the Holy Prophet (saw) has mentioned this in the Ahadith,

Abu Dharr (RA) narrated that The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) commanded us to fast for three days of every month; that is on the days of the full moon; the 13th , 14th , and 15th (of the lunar month).’ Related by An-Nasa’i and At-Tirmidhi and rendered authentic by Ibn Hibban.

[Bulugh al Maram Book 5, Hadith 684]

Solar Eclipse

Solar eclipses can only happen on days of new moon. This is also well-known and one can research it online. The sun, moon, and earth align. But here the moon’s shadow falls on the earth. So wherever this lunar shadow falls on, in that place the people will see a solar eclipse happening. In that place the people would see the sun and moon being brought together in conjuction, and darkness falling on the land.

The days of the new moon in the Islamic lunar month are the 27th, 28th, and 29th – so solar eclipses can only happen on these days. These days are called Ayam-al-Israr (hidden days – days of new moon) in Arabic.

This law of eclipses is simple and straightforward.

Scholars

If a non-Ahmadi Muslim does not want to believe in the law explained above which is science, then categorical statements from scholars also say the same thing,

Nawab Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān (d. 1307H)

Well-known giant Salafi scholar of the subcontinent. His reference is stated in View of Scholars – Sign of the Eclipses article. He mentiond the law of eclipses, and also gave his view on the impossible interpretation,

گو یم خسوف قمرنزدہل نجوم بتقابل شمس بر سہئت مخصوص میشود و در غیر تاریخ سیزدہم و چہاردہم و پانزدہم اتفاقن نمی افتد و ہمچنین کسوف شمس نزدا اقتران قمر ۔ بر شکل خاص در غیر تاریخ بیست و هفتم بیست و هشتم و بست ونہم

“The lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is near the sun, facing it directly, and does not happen except on the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth. Similarly, the solar eclipse does not occur except during the conjunction of the moon in a specific form, and it does not happen outside the dates of the twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, and twenty-ninth…”

[Farsi: Hujuj ul Kiramah pg. 344]

Khwaja Ghulam Farid (d. 1319H)

Well-known saint of Multan, his long testimony in support of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) is in View of Scholars – Sign of the Eclipses article. In it he also outlined the law of eclipses,

بعد انان حضور فرمودند که بیشک معنی حدیث شریف این چنین است که مرزا صاحب بیان کرده چه خسوف قمر همیشه تاریخ سیزدهم یا چہاردہم یا پانزدهم ماه واقع میشود و کسوف شمس همیشه در تاریخ بیست و هفتم یا بیست و هشتم با بیست ونہم

“After this Hudhur [Khwaja Ghulam Farid] related: Indeed the meaning of the noble hadith is this which Mirza Sahib has said. Because the moon always eclipses on the 13th, 14th, and 15th, and the sun always eclipses on the 27th, 28th, and 29th.”

[Farsi: Isharat-e-Fridi pg. 70-72]
[Urdu: Hanfiyyat wa Mirzayyat pg. 109-110, pg. 114]
[English Translation from Urdu PDF]

Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728H)

الشمس لا تكسف إلا وقت الاسترار، وأن القمر لا يخسف إلا وقت الإبدار، ووقت إبداره هي الليالي البيض التي يستحب صيام أيامها : ليلة الثالث عشر والرابع عشر والخامس عشر، فالقمر لا يخسف إلا في هذه الليالي

“Thus Allah has decreed that the sun is eclipsed only in dark nights, and the moon is eclipsed only in white moonlit nights. These are the nights when the moon is full, and during which days the keeping of optional fasts is preferable. These nights are the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth. Hence, the moon is eclipsed only on these nights.”

[Arabic: al-Fatāwā al-Kubrā Vol. 4, pg. 425]

Holy Quran

The Holy Quran makes it clear this law about eclipses specifically will never break as the orbits of the celestial bodies will never break,

And the sun is moving on the course prescribed for it. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing God. And for the moon We have appointed stages, till it becomes again like an old dry branch of a palm-tree. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day. All of them float in an orbit.

[Holy Quran 36:39-41]

So any Hadith that seemingly contradicts this verse, must be interpreted!

Events

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (as) claimed to be both the Imam Mahdi awaited by Muslims, and the Messiah of Muslims in 1891 AD.

For him being the true Imam Mahdi, the Muslims demanded a sign (explain more in ‘Demand’ sub-section), and specifically demanded the sign of the eclipses in Ramadhan which was among the hallmark signs of the Mahdi long-awaited by scholars before Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) as is seen in the article View of Scholars – Sign of the Eclipses.

The sign of the eclipses is based mainly on the following Hadith of the Prophet (saw) narrated by Imam Muhammad bin Ali Baqir (as) (explained more in Ahadith sub-section), the Messenger (saw) said:

عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ قَالَ اِنَّ لِمَهْدِيَّنَا آيَتَيْنِ لَمْ تَكُوْنَا مُنْذُ خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ، تَنْكَسِفُ الْقَمَرُ لأَوَّلِ لَيْلَةٍ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ وَ تَنْكَسِفُ الشَّمْسُ فِي النِّصْفِ مِنْهُ وَلَمْ تَكُوْنَا مُنْذُ خَلَقَ اللّٰهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الأَرْضَ

“Muhammad bin Ali said: For our Mahdi there are two signs which have never appeared before since the creation of the heavens – the moon will be eclipsed on the first night in Ramadan and the sun will be eclipsed on the middle of it. And these signs have not appeared since Allah created the heavens and the earth.”

[Arabic: Sunan Dar Qutni Vol. 4, pg. 209, Hadith 10/1771]

The moon being eclipsed on the 1st night is taken to mean the moon will eclipse on the first night its possible for it to eclipse – 13th Ramadhan. The sun being eclipsed in the “middle of it” is taken to mean the sun will eclipse on the middle day when its possible for it to eclipse – 28th Ramadhan.

Therefore these eclipses happened exactly on these dates in Ramadhan 1894 AD/1311 Hijri, for the truth of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), right after he made his claim!

Correct Interpretation

What are the interpretations of the Hadith from Imam Baqir (as)?

The Hadith says the moon will be eclipsed on the first night in Ramadhan (تَنْكَسِفُ الْقَمَرُ لأَوَّلِ لَيْلَةٍ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ) and the sun will be eclipsed in the middle of it (تَنْكَسِفُ الشَّمْسُ فِي النِّصْفِ مِنْهُ). Some interpreted this to mean the lunar month’s first and middle (14th or 15th of Ramadhan) – these are impossible dates. This interpretation is wrong.

Those that clearly wrote this interpretation are,

• Mujaddid Alf Thani’ Aḥmad al-Fārūqī al-Sirhindī (d. 1034H)
• Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Al-Saffārīnī (d. 1188H)
• Nawab Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān (d. 1307H)
• Nūrul Ḥasan Khān (d. 1335H)
• Another Sunni scholar, Sami al Ghuraryi believed in the anomalous Shia interpretation which says lunar eclipse at the end of Ramadhan, and solar eclipse in the middle

Others interpreted it to mean the first and middle/half on the days when eclipses are possible inside the lunar month instead of the month itself. So since lunar eclipses are only possible on the 13th, 14th, 15th, the “first night in Ramadhan” is 13th Ramadhan. And since solar eclipses are only possible on the 27th, 28th, 29th, the “middle/half of it” is the 28th of Ramadhan. This is the correct interpretation.

The scholars who got the correct interpretation and who wrote that the Mahdi’s eclipses would happen on the 13th & 27th (28th) of Ramadhan are named below. The People of Makkah subscribed to this interpretation and so when they were fulfilled in 1894 AD according to this interpretation there was a great uproar that the Mahdi had arrived! That itself indisputably proves this interpretation, but the other names who did this interpretation include,

• Shah Muhammad Ramzan (d. 1240H)
• Hāfiẓ Muḥammad ibn Barakallāh Lakhnawī (d. 1310H)
• Khwaja Ghulam Farid (d. 1319H)
• Syed Zawar Ḥussain Shah (d. 1400H)
• Muhammad ‘Abd-al Aziz Parharvi (d. 1239H) – said exact year and thus also subscribed to 13th/28th interpretation
• Shah Waliullah Dhelawi (d. 1176H) – this is written in Rashid Ahmad Ganoghi’s reference from the questioner & has evidence from other indications, Rashid Ahmad Gangohi also did not object to this being false information

The reference from Rashid Ahmad Gangohi is interesting as even though the scholar Rashid Ahmad spoke on the dates of 1st/15th, the questioner quoted a pamplet from Imam Shah Waliullah which showed the interpretation of the 13th/28th (or 27th). This shows that this interpretation was in circulation among the people, but when this interpretation was fulfilled for Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian the Muslims lied.

The scholars wrote 27th of Ramadhan in some places instead of 28th because they thought the dates possible for solar eclipses were 26th, 27th, 28th making the “middle of it” the 27th. But when we actually look at the possible dates they are the 27th, 28th, 29th, so this is just a minor error. This interpretation is the 13th/28th Ramadhan interpretation itself.

The majority of scholars quoted in the Views of Scholars took a midler view, they did not interpret the hadith in Dar Qutni, and simply said that it would be fulfilled as a sign of the Mahdi. Meaning to say, any double eclipse in Ramadhan intersecting with the advent of the Mahdi would be great signs for him. Those that clearly wrote this include,

• Shāh Muḥammad Rafīʿ al-Dīn Dehlawī (d. 1233H)
• Abdul Ḥaq Ḥaqqani Dehlvi (d. 1336H)

This 13th/28th interpretation is the only correct and possible interpretation due to the following.

Firstly, as written earlier, the Holy Quran expressly and specifically prohibits the law of eclipses – the orbits of the celestial bodies from being broken. So we must interpret the hadith to mean that the Mahdi’s eclipses will happen on the 13th/28th. Its not possible to throw out the hadith as majority of the Ulema believed it would be fulfilled. This shows the faultiness of the interpretations done by some scholars who said 1st and 15th literally or other impossible dates.

Secondly, the words used by the hadith are (تَنْكَسِفُ الْقَمَرُ لأَوَّلِ لَيْلَةٍ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ) meaning al-qamar الْقَمَرُ will eclipse on the first night in Ramadhan. In other words, on the night the lunar eclipse happens in Ramadhan the moon in the sky will be called al-qamar الْقَمَرُ.

The moon on the actual first night is not called al-qamar – this is not allowed in Arabic as lexicons establish. The first of the lunar month can only be called Hilal (cresent) in Arabic. Al-qamar is a moon, the light of which is tangibly visible. Hilal is a moon which is barely visible. Therefore, it can never be interpreted as the actual 1st/15th of the lunar month – this is an impossible interpretation.

والقَمَرُ: الذي في السماء. قال ابن سيده: والقَمَر يكون في الليلة الثالثة من الشهر، وهو مشتق من القُمْرة، والجمع أَقْمار. وأَقْمَرَ: صار قَمَراً، وربما قالوا: أَقْمَر الليلُ ولا يكون إِلا في الثالثة؛ أَنشد الفارسي:

يا حَبَّذا العَرَصاتُ ليَـ

ـلاً في لَيالٍ مُقْمِرات

“Al Qamar – that which in the sky. Ibn Syeda said: ‘al-Qamar’ happens on the third night of the [lunar] month, it is derived from al-qumurah, and its plural is Aqmar. And ‘aqmara’ means it became like a (qamar) moon. Like the Farsi poet said: Oh, how delightful are the desert plains for me, especially on moonlit (muqmraat) nights….”

[Arabic Lexicon: Lisān al-ʿArab Vol 5, pg. 113]¹

أَبو الهثيم: يسمى القمر لليلتين من أَول الشهر هلالاً، ولليلتين من آخره، ليلة ست وعشرين وليلة سبع وعشرين، هلالاً، ويسمى ما بين ذلك قَمَراً.

“Abu’l Haythim: The moon² is named ‘hilal’ on the first two nights of the [lunar] month, and the last two nights from the end (the nights of the 26th, 27th), it is called ‘hilal’, and whatever is between this period is called ‘qamar’.”

[Arabic Lexicon: Lisān al-ʿArab Vol 5, pg. 113]

الجوهري: القَمَرُ بعد ثلاث إِلى آخر الشهر يسمى قمراً لبياضه

“Al Jauhri: The moon from the third until to the end of the [lunar] month, is called ‘qamar’…”

[Arabic Lexicon: Lisān al-ʿArab Vol 5, pg. 113]

والهِلالُ: غرة القمر حين يُهِلُّه الناسُ في غرة الشهر، وقيل: يسمى هِلالاً لليلتين من الشهر ثم لا يسمَّى به إِلى أَن يعود في الشهر الثاني، وقيل: يسمى به ثلاث ليال ثم يسمى قمراً، وقيل: يسماه حتى يُحَجِّر، وقيل: يسمى هِلالاً إِلى أَن يَبْهَرَ ضوءُه سواد الليل، وهذا لا يكون إِلا في الليلة السابعة. قال أَبو إِسحق: والذي عندي وما عليه الأَكثر أَن يسمَّى هِلالاً ابنَ ليلتين فإِنه في الثالثة يتبين ضوءُه،

“And ‘al-hilal’: the cresent of the moon when people observe it the beginning of the [lunar] month. It is called ‘hilal’ for the [first] two nights of the lunar [month] then it’s not called so until it reappears in the next month. And it’s said: It is called ‘hilal’ for [first] three nights, then it is called ‘qamar’ and its said it’s called so until it is obscured. And it’s said: It is called ‘hilal’ until its light shines through the darkness of the night, and this does not happen until the seventh night. Abu Ishaq said: According to what I know, and what is commonly held, it is called ‘hilal’ for [first] two nights, as its light becomes apparent on the third night.”

[Arabic Lexicon: Lisān al-ʿArab Vol 11, pg. 702]

[هـ ل ل]

الهِلالُ) ، بِالكَسْر: (غُرَّةُ القَمَرِ) ، وَهِي أَوَّل لَيْلَة، (أَو) يُسَمَّى} هِلَالًا (لِلَيْلَتَيْنِ) مِنَ الشَّهْرِ، ثُمَّ لَا يُسَمَّى بِهِ إِلى أَنْ يَعُودَ فِي الشَّهْرِ الثَّاني، (أَوْ إِلى ثَلَاثِ) لَيَالٍ، ثُمَّ يُسَمَّى قَمَرًا، (أَو إِلى سَبْع) لَيالٍ، وَقَريبٌ مِنْهُ قَوْلُ مَنْ قَالَ: يُسَمَّى هِلَالًا إِلى أَنْ يَبْهَرَ ضَوْؤُهُ سَوادَ اللَّيْلِ، وَهذا لَا يَكُونُ إِلَّا فِي السَّابِعَة. قَالَ أَبُو إِسحاق: وَالَّذي عِنْدِي وَمَا عَلَيْهِ الأَكْثَر أَنْ يُسَمَّى هِلَالًا ابْن لَيْلَتَيْن فَإِنَّهُ فِي الثّالِثَة يَتَبَيَّن ضَوْؤُهُ. (و) فِي التَّهْذيب عَن أَبي الهَيْثَم: يُسَمَّى القَمَرُ لِلَيْلَتَيْن مِنْ أَوَّلِ الشَّهْرِ هِلَالًا، و (لِلَيْلَتَيْن مِنْ آخِرِ الشَّهْرِ سِتٍّ وَعِشْرِينَ وَسَبْعٍ وَعِشْرِين) هِلالًا، (وَفِي غَيْرِ ذلِكَ قَمَرٌ) . وَنَصُّ التَّهْذِيب: وَيُسَمَّى مَا بَيْنَ ذَلِك قَمَرًا

“[H L L] (al-hilal) with a kasrah, is the crescent of the moon, and it is the first night, or it can be called Hilal for [first] two nights of the [lunar] month, then it is not called so until returns in the next month, or for [the first] three nights, then it is called ‘qamar’, or until seven nights, and close to it is the saying of those who say: It is called ‘hilal’ until its light shines through the darkness of the night, and this only happens on the seventh night. Abu Ishaq said: My view, and the common view, is that it is called ‘hilal’ for two nights, because its light becomes apparent on the third. And in the Tahdhib from Abu’l Haythim: The moon is called ‘hilal’ for the first two nights of the [lunar] month, (the nights of the 26th, 27th) – it is called ‘hilal’. The text of the Tahdhib says: What is between this period is called a ‘qamar'”

[Arabic: Taj ul Uroos Vol 31 pg. 144]

هلال

من (هـ ل ل) أول المطر، وغرة القمر إلى سبع ليال من الشهر

“Hilal: the cresent moon up til seven nights of the month”

[Arabic: Sultan Qaboos Encyclopedia of Arabic Nouns Vol 4. pg. 2568]

So the moon cannot be called ‘al-qamar’ until the 2nd, 3rd, or even 7th night. So how can ‘al-qamar’ eclipse on the first night of Ramadhan when that’s not even what the moon is called on the 1st night. It can only refer to the first night of the eclipse (13th), not month.

Some Sunnis like Sana’ullah after being thoroughly refuted because of this answer said the hadith means the moon will eclipse on the first night it can be called ‘qamar’ meaning the 4th night of the lunar month or some other. But he was again thoroughly refuted because there is no exact agreed date the moon stops being called ‘hilal’ and switches to ‘qamar’ so how can he exactify any night? It can be called ‘qamar’ starting from the 3rd night, 4th night, or even 8th night – there remains no exactification of the lunar eclipse’s date and the hadith sign becomes meaningless with this useless interpretation. This weak belief also ignores the plethora of scholars who clarified that the hadith means the 13th/28th of Ramadhan. Weakness upon weakness, cope upon cope.

I believe that I have now provided sufficient answers to the deceptive objections raised by Maulawi Sanaullah in the debate at Mudh. However, I remember that he had also put forth the notion that the hadith that speaks of the solar and lunar eclipse being a Sign of the appearance of the Mahdi, which is recorded in Dar Qutni and Ikmalud-Din, pertains to a lunar eclipse that will take place on some day before the 13th of the lunar month and on a day when the moon can be labelled as qamar. It has to be remembered that this interpretation too is a kind of interpolation committed by the Jews. God has appointed three nights, in accordance with His practice, for the eclipse of the qamar. Similarly, there are three days appointed for the eclipse of the sun. The hadith mentions categorically that at the time of the advent of the Mahdi, the qamar would be eclipsed on the first of the nights appointed for it in the law of nature, while the sun would be eclipsed on the middle day of the days appointed for it by the practice of Almighty God. To discard such a straightforward meaning and wander around lost in other directions – if this is not misfortune what is it?

Apart from this, according to the Arabs, the night in which the hilal is called qamar is not any one specific night concerning which there should be no disagreement. Some say that the moon is hilal for only one night and that on the next night it becomes qamar. Some call the third night moon qamar. While to some the term hilal is applicable for as many as seven nights. Hence, while this is the situation, one cannot specify one specific night for the fulfilment of the prophecy.

And to say that the occurrence of the solar and lunar eclipse, in accordance with the practice of Almighty God, is not any extraordinary phenomenon is yet another act of stupidity. The actual purpose of this prophecy is not to promise the occurrence of an extraordinary phenomenon; the actual purpose is to set forth a Sign which no one else shares [with the Promised Messiah].

Hence, the Sign that has been mentioned in the Hadith is that at the time when the true Mahdi would make his claim, the qamar would be eclipsed in the month of Ramadan on the first night of the nights of the eclipse, and that such an incident would not have taken place ever before. Indeed, never in the time of a false Mahdi has a lunar or solar eclipse taken place on the said dates in the month of Ramadan. If it has taken place, it must be brought to light. Otherwise, while this situation is in itself extraordinary when seen in its entirety, why shall we interpret the prophecy to mean what is contradictory to the practice of Almighty God? What was intended was to show one Sign of the fulfilment of the prophecy, so that was fulfilled. If it has not been fulfilled, you ought to present a precedent of the occurrence of such an event from the annals of history. And, I would like to remind you that you will never be able to do so.

[English: Miracle of Ahmad pg. 53-55]

The only interpretation we have left is that it means the 1st on the days a lunar eclipse is possible – the 13th of Ramadhan. Now we have to be consistent, so the solar eclipse means the “middle” on the days its possible – the 28th.

Thirdly, the moon on the first night (Hilal) is barely visible, this is why Muslims have long debates over the start of the lunar month. If an eclipse happened to the crescent moon on the 1st night in Ramadhan, no one would be able to see it. It would be a useless eclipse sign. Eclipses on the 1st/15th is against common sense.

Fourthly, if the scholars have indeed interpreted it as 13th/28th Ramadhan and this is an accepted interpretation that’s being circulated among people like how it was in circulation among the people of Makkah and India in 1894 AD, THEN that interpretation is clearly fulfilled for a Mahdi claimant, how horrible it is to make excuses and chase loose false interpretations (like 1st/15th) which are doubtful.

Allegations/Arguments

The largest allegations on the eclipse hadith are that its not a hadith and that its a weak hadith. The Holy Quran section, Hadith section, and revelation of Saints, Demand, Prayer, and People of Makkah section refute this meticulously and totally, this is for some general allegations on the interpretation of the hadith + its wordings.

Allegation 1: The supporters of the 1st/15th weak interpretation argue that the words of the hadith (آيَتَيْنِ لَمْ تَكُوْنَا مُنْذُ خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ) ‘these are two signs which have not occurred since the creation of the heavens and earth’ show that the eclipses will happen on impossible dates. Since eclipses on the 13th/28th have happened before but 1st/15th date eclipses have never happened before. This is their argument in trying to prove the interpretation of 1st/15th.

This allegation also encompasses another allegation which is: what is so extraordinary about the 13th/28th Ramadhan eclipses if they have happened many times? Now what would truly be extraordinary is eclipses on impossible dates like 1st/15th. This is their deceit and this is their argument.

Firstly, the Holy Quran explicitly forbids the law of eclipses from being broken as previously stated. The course of the sun is the decree of the Almighty. [Holy Quran 36:39-41], ahadith must be interpreted in light of Holy Quran. Its impossible to interpret the hadith as 1st/15th to begin with.

Secondly, the statement ‘have not occurred since the creation of the heavens and earth – لَمْ تَكُوْنَا مُنْذُ خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ’ is applying to the word ‘آيَتَيْنِ’ not the dates of the eclipses. If it meant the dates of the eclipses it would have been لمْ یَكُوْنَا (lam yakoona) meaning these eclipses have not appeared before since the beginning of the world. This means the hadith is saying never have these Ramadhan eclipses (13th/28th) appeared before as signs to support a claimant, not that these eclipses themselves are extraordinary.

“And in the hadith of Dar Qutni nowhere does it say these lunar and solar eclipse have never happened before, on the contrary it does clearly possess the words that these eclipses have never appeared before as signs. This is because the word لَمْ تَكُوْنَا [these signs have not happened…] is feminine in gender in the text of Dar Qutni. This means that such a sign has never appeared before. If the meaning were that these eclipses have never appeared before then the words لمْ یَكُوْنَا [these eclipses have not happened] which is in the masculine gender should have been used not لَمْ تَكُوْنَا [these signs have not happened…] from which it is clearly ascertained that it was referring to آيَتَيْنِ meaning two signs because this word is also feminine in gender. Therefore, whoever thinks that eclipses have happened many times before then the burden of proof is on him to show any claimant to Mahdihood who showed these eclipses as signs for himself – and this proof should be categorical and indisputable, and this would only happen if a book from this claimant is presented in which in which he claims to be the Mahdi Ma’hood and in which he would write that eclipses in Ramadhan according to the specific dates in Dar Qutni (13th/28th) have happened and they are signs for my truth. So the topic is not that about these eclipses happening thousands of times before, as a sign they have only appeared at the time of one claimant only once…”

[Urdu: Chasma e Ma’rafat pg. 331]

This means the eclipses mentioned in the hadith (regardless of what dates the hadith mentions) have not appeared as signs for any claimant. So this doesn’t prove the interpretation of the 1st/15th at all.

So, in the time of no prophet did Ramadhan eclipses on 13th/28th happen over his country, right when he was alive making his claim, then he showed it for proof as signs. This hasn’t happened since creation of the heavens and the earth, and such eclipse signs would only be unique to the Imam Mahdi. There is no proof that these words (have not happpened…) show that they will happen on impossible dates and the argument of the liars is annihilated.

“The Prophet of God, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, foretold that in the era of the one who claims to be the Mahdi and Messiah, the solar and lunar eclipse would occur in the month of Ramadan, and this has never occurred since the creation of the heavens and earth. Hence, if there is any difficulty from a logical standpoint, those who object to this prophecy, may go ahead and see if they can lessen the grandeur of this prophecy in light of history. In other words, they ought to inform us of an era in time when the solar and lunar eclipse occurred in the month of Ramadan [on 13th/28th], where before the occurrence of this sign, a claimant had already announced his claim. Moreover, they should tell us of any era in which a Prophet prophesied that the solar and lunar eclipses would occur in the month of Ramadan to support the claim of a person who was to appear. However, it is impossible for anyone to show us any other such example.“

[English: Malfuzat Vol 1, pg. 137]

…He submitted to the Promised Messiah (as) that: ‘the One-Eyed Dajjal’ [Dr. Abdul Hakeem the Apostate] has created a great deal of deception and some ignorant and ill-informed people have fallen into his trap. He has documented within his book proof of twenty-five or twenty-six eclipses of the moon and sun during the month of Ramadan.’

Upon hearing this, the Promised Messiah (as) said: I have never said that solar and lunar eclipses have never taken place in the month of Ramadan before. On the contrary, I believe that there is a solar system in operation and I believe that it is quite possible that such an event happened in the past as well. My claim is simply that it has never happened before this time with all the conditions and prerequisites as outlined in the hadith of Darqutni.

For example, the exact date has been fixed in this hadith that the moon would eclipse on the first of the appointed dates of its eclipse and the sun would eclipse on the middle of the dates appointed for its eclipse; that is, the eclipse of the moon would be on the thirteenth [night of the lunar month] and the eclipse of the sun would be on the twenty-eighth [day of the lunar month], and that the claim of the claimant of Mahdi [the Guided One] would already be on record and it is not that he would make the claim after witnessing the solar and the lunar eclipses. His claim would already be there on record and the lunar and solar eclipses would occur in the sky in this fashion in his support and favour. Moreover, he would also substantiate his claim with other heavenly and earthly Signs, and proofs and arguments. And his claim would have already become well known far and wide having been thoroughly publicized.

So, has Abdul Hakeem also presented such proof that any of those earlier eclipses that occurred in Ramadan took place in accordance with these conditions and prerequisites, and restriction of dates? Also, was there anyone claiming to be the Messiah and Mahdi present at that time before this kind of prophesied solar and lunar eclipses occurred, who had already publicized his claim openly through books and his claim had already become well known in the world? Moreover, were there any heavenly or earthly Signs and Divine support accompanying him? Or, did he have proofs from the Quran and Hadith backing him? My demand is for anyone to prove the occurrence of solar and lunar eclipses with these conditions and prerequisites.

Take note that this event was reported even by the English newspapers like the Civil and Military [Gazette] and The Pioneer, etc., that no event of this form has ever occurred before. What can be more deceiving and dishonest than to raise an objection by taking only one aspect into account while ignoring all the other necessary considerations? What he needed to do was to show that some claimant was also present before such a Sign became manifest on the specified dates, and that the claimant had already made the claim, publicized that claim, and also proven it with heavenly and earthly Signs and markers, and irrefutable arguments. Just moving the tongue in criticism amounts to nothing. Otherwise, prophethood in its entirety could be nullified in this way.

[English: Malfuzat Vol 10, pg. 235-236]

“The second objection is that even if they concede that the first night of the moon [to eclipse] means its 13th night and the middle of the days for the sun means the 28th day, what is so extraordinary about it? Has there never occurred a lunar and solar eclipse in the month of Ramadan? The answer is that this hadith does not mean that the two eclipses have never happened together in the month of Ramadan. Rather, it means that the two eclipses have never occurred together in the month of Ramadan during the time when anyone claimed to be a Messenger or a Prophet. This is borne out by the explicit wording of the hadith. In case someone claims that both these eclipses did, in fact, take place together in the month of Ramadan during the time when someone claimed to be a Prophet or Messenger, it is incumbent upon him to provide its proof. In particular, who does not know the fact that, during the 1,300 years of the Islamic calendar, many impostors claimed to be the Promised Mahdi by way of fabrication and even engaged in fighting? But who can prove that, in their time, both the lunar and the solar eclipses occurred together in the month of Ramadan? So long as this evidence is not produced, such an event, without a doubt, qualifies as supernormal; for, this is what is called supernormal—that the like of it is not found in the world.”

[English: Haqiqatul Wahi pg. 244-245]

Secondly, this allegation also ignores the fact that the interpretation of the 1st/15th is impossible in and of itself as the word ‘qamar’ refutes it as previously explained.

Thirdly, this allegation also labels the scholars who interpreted the 13th/28th of Ramadhan and all the people of Makkah in 1894 AD as fools. Its clear they also believed in the fact that the eclipses themselves aren’t on impossible dates, but that eclipses happening on these dates in Ramadhan (13th/28th) while the Mahdi claims Mahdihood is the extraordinary event which has not happened since the creation of the heavens and the earth. Did the scholars not know that eclipses have happened on 13th/28th Ramadhan before?!

After this, the liars mention some eclipses that have happened at the 13th/28th in Ramadhan and mention random claimants all over the world like Baha’ullah, Dowie (who is a Christian?!), and Mahdi Sudani, trying to prove Ahmadis wrong. As of yet, not one of them has proved that both eclipses happened right after the claimant made his claim to be the Imam Mahdi, that both eclipses in Ramadhan were visible over the claimants area shutting the mouths of his opponents, and that both eclipses were claimed as signs by the Mahdi claimant. But not one of these random claimants even made a passing remark on Ramadhan eclipses let alone claim them as signs, and both eclipses did not even happen over their area as per the hadith. The burden of proof is on the liars who mention these irrelevant random claimants/eclipses to prove that the eclipses were even claimed by them.

Allegation 2: The following Sahih Hadith refutes the possibility of any eclipse happening in support of the truth of the Mahdi,

 النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم‏.‏ ‏ “‏ إِنَّ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ لاَ يَخْسِفَانِ لِمَوْتِ أَحَدٍ وَلاَ لِحَيَاتِهِ، وَلَكِنَّهُمَا آيَتَانِ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ، فَإِذَا رَأَيْتُمُوهَا فَصَلُّوا ‏”‏‏.‏

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the death or life (i.e. birth) of someone but they are two signs amongst the signs of Allah. When you see them offer the prayer.”

[Sahih al-Bukhari 1042]

Firstly, in no way do any of the words of this Hadith refute eclipses happening in support of the Mahdi’s claim. This hadith specifically says that the sun and moon do not eclipse for the birth or death of anyone – the eclipses in Ramadhan are not to show the birth of the Mahdi – its supposed to signify when he claims being the Mahdi as per the command of Allah.

Secondly, no scholar brought this narration to refute the narration on eclipses for the Mahdi, in fact even the words of the two ahadith are similar and help clarify the meaning, this hadith says eclipses are آيَتَانِ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ (two signs among the signs of Allah), and the eclipse hadith relates لِمَهْدِيَّنَا آيَتَيْنِ (For our Mahdi are two signs), so the eclipses of the Mahdi are infact signs of Allah in support of the Mahdi’s advent and they will not happen for the birth of the Mahdi (God Forbid).

Thirdly, when the eclipses happened for the truth of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) in 1894 AD, the Mullahs said the narration in Dar Qutni means that eclipses would happen before the Mahdi to signify his birth, so the 1894 AD eclipses are moot. These scholars were thoroughly refuted as how can eclipses happen in some distant year and the Mahdi be born decades later – the sign wouldn’t remain a sign at all. This hadith also refutes their interpretation and in fact supports Ahmadis who say eclipses would happen to support the advent and claim of the Mahdi not his birth.

Ways of Fulfilment

There are some extraordinary points of wisdom in this short hadith narrated from Imam Baqir (as), it was fulfilled in multiple different ways.

For the lunar eclipse, the hadith says: تَنْكَسِفُ الْقَمَرُ لأَوَّلِ لَيْلَةٍ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ ‘the moon will eclipse on the first/starting night in Ramadhan’. This has two indications,

1. The lunar eclipse will happen on the first of the 3 nights – 13th of Ramadhan
2. The lunar eclipse will happen at the start of the night لأَوَّلِ لَيْلَةٍ (first/start of the night itself)

For the solar eclipse, the hadith says: وَ تَنْكَسِفُ الشَّمْسُ فِي النِّصْفِ مِنْهُ ‘the sun will eclipse in the middle/half of it’, this also has multiple indications and ways of fulfilment.

1. It will happen on the middle day out of the 3 days solar eclipses are possible – 28th Ramadhan
2. It will happen in such a way as to split the 3 days of the eclipse in half (happen exactly as the sun reaches noon on the middle day which splits the 3 solar eclipse days in half)
3. The solar eclipse will be seen over an entire hemisphere (half earth), and not just be a regular solar eclipse over a short area
4. The solar eclipse will happen over one half of the earth first (Eastern Hemisphere) and also then happen in the the other half (Western Hemisphere) later

Out of these, point #2, the solar eclipse happening in such a way as to split the 3 days in half (which means that the solar eclipse would need to happen as the sun reaches noon) is also prophesized in the Bible,

⁹ Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel, both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

¹⁰ For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

¹¹ “And I will punish the world for their evil and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

[Isaiah 13:9-10]

This text says a sign of Qiyamah is that the sun will be eclipsed as it rises up and reaches noon as seen in other translations (suraj tulu’ hotay hotay gehna jai ga), this also prophesizes the exact time of the solar eclipse.

The eclipse happening right before noon is also prophesized in another famous hadith narrated alongside the eclipse hadith by many Ulema. Ali bin Abdullah bin Abbas narrates a hadith,

عن علي بن عبد الله بن عباس قال: لا يخرج المهدي حتى تطلع مع الشمس آية

“Ali bin Abdullah bin Abbas: The Mahdi will not emerge the sun rises with a sign”

This tradition is quoted alongside the Dar Qutni narration by many Ulema. Few examples are Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī (d. 911H), Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d. 974H), and Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi (d. 975H). Its authenticity will be discussed in Hadith section.

What this hadith means is that the rising sun (as it rises to noon) will have a sign with it for the Mahdi. This can only mean that the rising sun (as it reaches noon) will be eclipsed and this will be a sign of the Mahdi. This is why the scholars quoted it alongside the Dar Qutni hadith, to prevent any contradiction between the two ahadith!

The words “لَمْ تَكُوْنَا مُنْذُ خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ” (these signs have not happened since the creation of the heavens and the earth) being repeated twice also indicate that this pair of eclipses will happen twice and both times it will serve as a sign.

The words “لَمْ تَكُوْنَا مُنْذُ خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ” (these signs have not happened since the creation of the heavens and the earth) also connect to the Dajjal, as the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) said about him, “مَا بَيْنَ خَلْقِ آدَمَ إِلَى قِيَامِ السَّاعَةِ خَلْقٌ أَكْبَرُ مِنَ الدَّجَّالِ” (There would be no creation (creating more fitnah) than the Dajjal right from the creation of Adam to the Last Hour. Sahih Muslim 2946a). Since Dajjal would be the worst fitnah from the creation of Adam, the Mahdi would have such signs that would be unprecedented since the creation of Adam. They are intertwined ahadith.

This section also answers the query, why didn’t the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) just explicitly say that the eclipses would happen on 13th and 28th with the numbers, and instead said it in this way. The answer is that the Holy Prophet (saw) said his words are Jawami al Kalam (he (saw) says very concise words with very deep meanings) – this hadith applies to both the Holy Quran and Ahadith according to Sunni sources.

Now one can see how deep the few words of the Holy Prophet (saw) were regarding these Ramadhan eclipse signs and why he (saw) didn’t just use numbers!

I heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) saying, “I have been sent with Jawami al-Kalim (i.e., the shortest expression carrying the widest meanings), and I was made victorious with awe (cast into the hearts of the enemy), and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the earth were brought to me and were put in my hand.” Muhammad said, Jawami’-al-Kalim means that Allah expresses in one or two statements or thereabouts the numerous matters that used to be written in the books revealed before (the coming of) the Prophet.”

[Sahih al-Bukhari 7013]

Prophecy of Two Testimonies

Apart from the hadith in Dar Qutni, Hazrat Ahmad (as) also published his revelations long before in the book Brahin e Ahmadiyya that he would recieve two great shahadat (testimonies) from God for his truth. In Brahin e Ahmadiyya Part III published in 1882 AD, he (as) published the revelation,

قُلْ عِنْدِي شَهَادَةٌ مِّنَ اللهِ فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنُونَ؟ قُلْ عِنْدِي شَهَادَةٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ؟

Say: ‘I have with me shahadat (testimony/proof) from Allah, then will you believe or not?’ Say: ‘I have with me shahadat (testimony/proof) from Allah, then will you accept it or not?’

[English: Brahin e Ahmadiyya Part III, pg. 208]

So it clearly narrated two testimonties from Allah would be shown for the truth of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) in the future. By repeating it twice it shows two testimonies.

Moreover in his book Nishan-e-Asmani published in June 1892 AD, he (as) wrote the entire Qasida of Imam Ni’matullah about the Mahdi’s advent, in which he (as) also wrote the couplet of double eclipse being a sign of the Mahdi in his book, therefore Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) did write and publish about the sign of the eclipses for the Mahdi before they occured that these are among signs of the Mahdi.

ماه را روسیاه مے نگرم

مهر را دل فگار مے بینم

مهدی وقت و عیسی دوراں
هر دو را شہسوار می بینم

“I see the face of the moon darkened

And the heart of the sun I see wounded.”

“I see that he is the Mahdi and the Messiah of the age
And he is the champion in both capacities.”

[English: Nishan-e-Asmani pg. 5-6]
[Urdu Manuscript June 1892: Nishan-e-Asmani pg. 4-5]

So the argument that Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) did not write anything of the sign of the eclipses of the Mahdi before their occurance is baseless.

The reason the official publication regarding eclipses in Ramadhan was published after their occurance in 1894 AD is because obviously first the signs must occur first, then they are proclaimed. Such a point doesn’t even need explaination.

Eastern Hemisphere 1894 AD

The moon eclipsed on its first night in Ramadhan – the 13th of Ramadhan (1311 Hijri), on March 21 1894 AD. It was right at the start of the night as well, and not later – between 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. All visible over Qadian, India.

The sun eclipsed on its middle day in Ramadhan – the 28th of Ramadhan (1311 Hijri), on April 6 1894 AD. This was a special hybrid solar eclipse which is extremely rare.

Eclipses usually happen in a small restricted area but this special eclipse covered almost an entire hemisphere – a vast part of Asia. It happened while the sun reached noon and rose up between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. It fulfilled all the prophecies and was visible over Qadian, India.

Here are some viewings from some places in British India of the solar eclipse on April 6 1894 – 28th Ramadhan 1311H.

Ramadhan 1894 Date Chart

A chart showing when they happened, the lunar day is from sunset to sunset,

Ramadhan indeed started at the sunset of March 9 1894 which gives these exact dates for the eclipses.

The well-known newspaper in British India named Paisa Akhbar recorded that the start of Ramadhan 1311 Hijri was on March 9 1894 in India, meaning the evening of March 9 just like the chart shows.

“9th March 1894 AD corresponding to first Ramadhan 1311H”

[Urdu: Paisa Akhbar (9 March 1894) pg. 1]

Moreover, in the news from Makkah about the lunar and solar eclipses of 1311 Hijri being signs of the Mahdi, it says April 6 1894 is 29th Ramadhan, meaning the evening of April 6 1894. So, the morning of April 6 1894 is the 28th of Ramadhan. Refer to the chart!

“6th April 1894 AD corresponding to 29th Ramadhan 1311H”

[Urdu: Paisa Akhbar (6th April 1894) pg. 8]

The lunar month only starts when the crescent moon becomes visible, and that happened on the evening of March 9 1894, and everyone agreed on the same starting date of Ramadhan 1894 AD in British India as is clear from the newspaper.

On the evening of March 8 1894, the crescent was not properly seen in India, so Ramadhan did not, could not, and would not start.

On March 9 1894 it became clearly visible for everyone in British India therefore it started in the evening of March 9 1894 for everyone there. This information is quite obvious like the newspaper says.

So it is impossible to contest the dates of the eclipses in 1894. And when the people of Makkah also believed these were an exact fulfilment of the Mahdi’s signs on those dates (13th & 28th), the one who tries to contest the dates of the 1894 eclipses is a great deceiver who has no answer for clear evidence.

Western Hemisphere 1895 AD

Since the Imam Mahdi is supposed to be sent to the whole world, after the sign took place visible in Qadian (India) of the Eastern Hemisphere (where the claimant of Mahdihood was challenged to bring this sign), it also took place in the Western Hemisphere to complete the argument.

The eclipses of the Eastern Hemisphere are the main signs, due to the eclipses of the Eastern Hemisphere, the eclipses of the Western Hemisphere can be taken as even more proof. This refutes the argument that the eclipses of the Western Hemisphere can’t be signs since they were not visible in the area of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as).

The moon eclipsed on March 11 1895 AD on the Western Hemisphere, while the date in Qadian was 13th Ramadhan.

The sun eclipsed on March 26 1895 AD on the Western Hemisphere. while the date in Qadian was 28th Ramadhan.

This double fulfilment of the eclipse sign for the Mahdi was clearly written in many sources and indicated in the Dar Qutni hadith itself. The article about the Views of Scholars shows that scholars quoted the following narration from Kitab ul Fitn in many places with different wordings,

Al Qurtubi, Al Muttaqi al Hindi, recorded the narration with the wording that the sun (al-shams) would eclipse twice in Ramadhan,

ويروى من حديث شريك أنه بلغه أن قبل خروج المهدي تكسف الشمس في رمضان مرتين

It is narrated from the hadith of Sharik that he heard that before the advent of the Mahdi, the sun would be eclipsed twice in Ramadan

Al Suyuti, Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, Sheikh Mar’ee, Al Barzanji, Al Saffarini, Nurul Hasan Khan, Tahir-ul-Qadri recorded the narration with the wording that the moon (al-qamar) would eclipse twice in Ramadhan,

 عن شريك قال : بلغني أنه قبل خروج المهدى ينكسف القمر في شهر رمضان مرتين

“Sharīk (ra) has related: It has reached him that before the advent of Mahdi, the moon will be eclipsed twice in Ramadhan”

This obviously does not mean that the lunar eclipse will happen twice in a single year’s Ramadhan, this would contradict the Dar Qutni narration about a solar AND lunar eclipse happening in one Ramadhan.

Nurul Hasan Khan, and Al Barzanji have both written that this narration does not contradict Dar Qutni’s narration. What it means is that the double eclipse in Ramadhan (as Dar Qutni wrote) would happen twice – 2 years in a row, this reconciles them both.

This is whats clarified by Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan, and Abdul Haq Dhelvi.

در رساله حشریه نوشته علامت این قصه آنست که پیش ازیں کہ ماہ رمضان گزشته باشد. دو دے دو کسوف شمس و قمر شده باشد – انتهای و در اشاعت گفته دو بار در رمضان خسوف قمر شود

“In the Risalah Hashriyyah, it is written that the sign of this event is that before the ending of Ramadhan two lunar and solar eclipses will have happened. And in the publication its stated that there will be two lunar eclipses in Ramadhan.”

[Farsi: Hujuj ul Kiramah pg. 344]

نہ اس مہینے دو بار کسوف و خسوف ہوا

“Neither in that month did a lunar and solar eclipse happen twice [for Mahdi Jaunpuri]”

[Urdu: Ḥaqqānī ʿAqāʾid al-Islām pg. 182-183]

So the fulfilment in the Western Hemisphere (1895 AD) was also prophesized and fulfilled clearly.

Demand of the Opponents

The greatest miracle of the sign of the eclipses is that the opponents of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) demanded that he bring the sign of the eclipses in Ramadhan if he was indeed the true Mahdi. In direct response to this challenge and demand from the opponents the eclipses magnificently took place over Qadian, India as per the command of God.

This refutes all allegations on the authenticity of the hadith/interpretation of the hadith. If the opponents themselves demanded that eclipses happen on 13th/28th as per books of contemporary scholars like Hāfiẓ Muḥammad ibn Barakallāh Lakhnawī (d. 1310H). Then the eclipses happen in response to their demands, one has no choice but to accept the sign and reject the hypocrisy and disbelief of the opponents. This shows 4 points,

1) The eclipses happened in response to the challenge/demand of the Mullahs, the chain of the hadith doesn’t affect the clear miracle
2) The Mullahs themselves accepted the eclipse hadith
3) They themselves accepted the meaning of 13th/28th of Ramadhan
4) After it occurred, they called the hadith weak, and that it didn’t happen on the correct dates

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) called out the Mullahs for this two-faced hypocrisy in many places.

Reprimand of Imam Mahdi (as)

Proclaiming the Eclipses

اسی بات کے لیے سورج چاند کو رمضان میں مقر رہ تاریخوں پر پیش گوئی کے موافق گرہن لگا۔ یہ مولوی جب تک یہ واقع نہ ہوا تھا۔ مہدی کی علامتوں میں بڑے زور شور سے منبروں پر پڑھ پڑھ کر اس کو بیان کرتے تھے لیکن اب جبکہ خدا تعالیٰ نے اپنے وقت پر اس نشان کو ظاہر کر دیا تو میری مخالفت کے لیے یہ خدا تعالیٰ کے اس جلیل الشان نشان کی بے حرمتی کرتے ہیں اور رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کی پاک پیشگوئی کی توہین کرتے ہوئےحدیثوں کو جھوٹا قرار دیتے ہیں !!! افسوس ۔

“Due to this, the sun and moon were eclipsed in Ramadhan on specific dates according to the prophecy. These Maulvis, until this sign did not occur, continously climbed the Minbars and mentioned it [the eclipses] among the signs of the Mahdi loudly and with vigour. But now when God Almighty has caused this sign to manifest at its time of occurance, due to opposition against me, they desecrate this shining and mighty sign of God Almighty, and while dishonouring this holy prophecy of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) they mention the Ahadith as fabricated !!! Pity.“

[Al Hakam June 17. 1902, no 22, pg. 5]

In the time of Hazrat Ahmad (as) the opponents frequently mentioned the famous sign with great zeal atop the minbars, to point out the fact that this sign was not fulfilled for him (as). There vigourous and zealous proclaimation of this sign proves they were essentially demanding that Hazrat Ahmad (as) bring forth this sign if he was indeed the true Mahdi.

Hiding the Signs; Making Excuses

“For example, during the days when the almanacs were widely reporting that both the sun and the moon would be eclipsed in the coming month of Ramadan, many people had began to think that perhaps this was the sign of the advent of the Promised Imam. This caused the Maulawis to fear lest people should incline towards me, for I was the only one claiming to be the Mahdi and the Messiah. In order to conceal this sign, some of them began to proclaim that the eclipse of the sun and the moon would not take place in the coming month of Ramadan, and that it would only take place when their Imam Mahdi appeared. But when the eclipses of the sun and the moon did take place in the month of Ramadan, they started making excuses and saying that these eclipses were not in conformity with the words of Hadith […]”

[English: Darurat ul Imam (The Need for the Imam) pg. 64]

Denial after Occurrence

کیا کسوف و خسوف کا کوئی چھوٹا نشان تھا اس کے پور ا ہونے سے پہلے تو اس کو نشان قرار دیتے رہے مگر جب پورا ہو گیا تو اس کو بھی مشکوک کرنے کی کوشش کی بہرحال مخالفوں کی کور چشمی اور تعصب کا کیا علاج ہو سکتا ہے ؟

“Was the Sign of the eclipse of the Sun and the Moon an unimportant one? Before this event took place, the other people had proclaimed it to be a Sign of great importance, but as soon as it took place they started casting doubts on it. The truth is that nothing can be done to remedy the prejudicial attitude of the people.”

[Al Hakam Nov 24. 1902, no. 42, pg. 2]

Maulvis Panicking at the Signs

ایک حدیث جس کو یہ لوگ رورو کر پڑہا کرتے یہ ہے کہ مہدی کی زمانہ میں رمضان کے مہینہ مین سورج کو اور چاند کو گہن لگیگا ۔ حدیث کے مطابق یہ بات نہ ایک دفعہ بلکہ دہ دفعہ وقعہ ہو گئی ایک دفعہ مشرقی کرہ ارض میں اور ایک دفعہ مغربی کرہ ارض مین ۔ مولوی محمد لکھو کے والے نے اپنی کتاب احوال الآخرت میں بھی اس کا مفصل ذکر کیا تہا اور تاریخیں بھی لکہی تہین یہ حدیث تھی جس کو واعظ اور مولوی لوگ ممبرون پر چڑ مکہ پر ہا کرتے ہے اور لوگوں کو تشفی دیا کرتے تھے ۔کہ مہدی آئیگا اور یہ اس کے نشانات ہین ۔ لیکن افسوس ہے کہ جب وہ دن آگیا اور نشان پورا ہو گیا ۔ تو سب سے پہلے انکار کرنے والے بھی یہی لوگ ہوئے ۔ کیا یہ لوگ چاہتے ہیں کہ اسلام کے واسطے اقبال ک دن کبہی نہ آوین ۔ ۔ ایک مولوی کا ذکر ہے جس کا نام غلام مرتضےا تہا کہ وہ عین رمضان کے مہینہ میں جبکہ کسوف خسوف واقعہ ہوا تو نہایت دردناک ہو کر اپنی رانوں پر ہاتھ مارتا تھا اور کہتا تاکہ اب دنیا گمراہ ہوگی کیا یہ لوگ خداتعالیٰ سے زیادہ دنیا کے خیر خواہ ہیں کیا خدا تعالی یہ چاہتا ہے کہ دنیا مین گمراہی پھیلی رہے

“Another hadith which these people would mention weeping and crying is the one about a solar and lunar eclipse happening in Ramadhan in the era of the Mahdi. According to the hadith this happened not once but twice, once in the eastern hemisphere, and once in the western hemisphere. Maulawi Muhammad of Lakhu mentioned this clearly in his book “Ahwaal ul Akhirat”, and also wrote the dates. This is the same hadith which the preachers and Maulawis would mention climbing atop the Minbars and they used to reassure the people that the Mahdi shall come and these are his signs. But its pitiful that when that day arrived and the sign was fulfilled the first ones to reject were these very same people. Do these people want that the days of Islam’s grandeur should never come? Theres a mention of Maulawi whos name was Ghulam Murtaza who, right in the month of Ramadhan when the lunar and solar eclipse happened, was quite painfully beating his thighs. He would say, “Now the world will become misguided”, are these people greater well-wishers of the world than God Almighty, does God want misguidance to stay in the world?“

[Al Badr Jan 17. 1907, Vol. 6, no. 3, pg. 13]

External References

After looking at the above references, one asks are there external references proving that the opponents of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) challenged him to bring this sign?

Khwaja Ghulam Farid (d. 1319H)

Khwaja Ghulam Farid is the external source proving that the opponents were hypocritical after the sign of the eclipses happened.

“When the sun and moon were eclipsed on 6th April 1894, Mirza Sahib – to complete the argument – sent this annoucment everywhere in the world that what the Holy Prophet (saw) said in regard to the advent of the Mahdi has now been fulfilled. The confession and acceptence of my being the Mahdi is now important. So at this, the Maulvis started asking child-like questions, that the meaning of the Hadith Sharif is that the lunar eclipse will happen on the first night of Ramadhan and in that same Ramadhan the sun will also eclipse, however this [lunar] eclipse happened on the 13th and the solar eclipse happened on the 28th of Ramadhan – and this is against the hadith. And the lunar and solar eclipse that will happen for the true Mahdi will be another one that will occur in another era.

After this Khwaja Ghulam Farid said: SubhanAllah, now listen to the meaning that Mirza Sahib has related and with which he answered to the Maulvis which rejected.”

[Farsi: Isharat-e-Fridi pg. 70-72]
[Urdu: Hanfiyyat wa Mirzayyat pg. 109-110, pg. 114]
[English Translation from Urdu PDF]

He was and still is a giant among the saints of the sub-continent and lived during the time of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as). This means he was there to witness the entire series of events of the Mullahs demanding the sign, then rejecting.

This makes it clear that the Mullahs themselves accepted and awaited this hadith and sign of the eclipses in Ramadhan for the Imam Mahdi. They challenged Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as). However, when this grand sign occurred as per their challenge, they started making child-like excuses and rejected the Hadith in Dar Qutni. When the eclipses happened in direct response to the challenge of the opponents, how can anyone even begin to question this miracle? The only reason Khwaja Sahib would say they started asking child-like excuses is if the truth of the eclipse sign had already become manifest unto them and if they themselves demanded the sign beforehand.

Demand from Mahdi Jaunpur

Many of the Islamic scholars demanded the eclipse sign from false claimants of Mahdihood. Abdul Ḥaq Ḥaqqani Dehlvi (d. 1336H), Muhammad Ibn ‘Uthmān Al-Miknāsī (d. 1202), Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d. 974H), Al-Muttaqi al-Hindi (d. 975H) demanded the eclipse sign from the false claimants of their time (the Daghistani of al-Miknasi’s time, and most demanded the eclipses from Mahdi Jaunpur).

This makes it indisputable that the people at the time of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) would also demand from him the sign of the eclipses as well just like they asked Mahdi Jaunpur. But they actually happened for this Mahdi claimant of the 14th Century.

Silence in Response to Reprimand

The final point that makes it certain that the opponents challenged Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) to bring the sign is that not one opponent denied the reprimand of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as).

If Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) was lying when he reprimanded the opponents for demanding this sign, the bloodthirsty Mullahs would have written mountains of books calling him (as) out on this blatant lie – but not one of them denied it! This proves that the information shared by him (as) regarding the opponents demanding this sign and then becoming hypocrites is true and certain.

If anyone says otherwise they are challenged to bring a single book in which the Mullahs called out Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) for lying on them – that they did not demand any eclipse.

These 3 points along with the references of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) and the next section make it irrefutable that the Mullahs indeed challenged him (as) to bring this sign!

★ Mass Belief in India, Companions Testify

Many scholarly and saintly men became Ahmadi due to the two-faced serpent-like hypocrisy of the Mullahs and the magnificent sign itself. That they at first demanded and proclaimed this sign among the masses, then rejected it when it occurred. Many men testified in their personal villages and areas that the Mullahs were actually panicking because of the sign. These men later became Ahmadi. To say these references can’t be used since they are from “Ahmadi” sources is senseless since,

1. It was due to the eclipse sign itself & the hypocrisy of the Mullahs that they became Ahmadi in the first place!
2. To falsify the collective experiences of dozens of men is against common sense and honesty.
3. If these men lied about these personal experiences why didn’t anyone call them out? The bloodthirsty wolf-like Mullahs were always out for blood! The falsifier is challenged to bring any book which proves these men lied about their personal experiences in their villages.
4. The era of these men is not far off, many of them passed away in the 1920s-1990s, therefore there are many non-Ahmadis & Ahmadis alike who can testify to their character. For example, I – the writer of this article – can personally testify to the truthfulness of Maulvi Ghulam Rasool Rajeki (ra) as my elder (who I know spoke truth their entire life) testified that he (ra) spoke truth his entire life. There are hundreds if not thousands of men still alive who can testify for the truthfulness of these men still alive today.
5. Even external sources like Khwaja Ghulam Farid testified to the same thing these men said, so rejecting these references doesn’t change the recorded truth

Therefore, due to these 5 points, its impossible to ignore and falsify these references from these men who later became Sahaba! You will also notice how many scholarly men became Ahmadi due to the reference of Hāfiẓ Muḥammad ibn Barakallāh Lakhnawī who clearly related the exact dates of the Mahdi’s eclipses (13th/27th (28th)) interpreting the Dar Qutni hadith beforehand.

These references help us understand that the masses of that time and pious scholars all accepted this categorical sign, while the anomalous Dajjal-like Mullahs and people who denied were of the minority.

Hazrat Maulvi Ghulam Rasool Rajeki (ra)

One of the reasons he did the pledge of allegiance (ba’ait) was that he witnessed the hypocrisy of the Mullahs in Lahore. And he witnessed the huge Ahl-e-Hadith scholar (Hāfiẓ Muḥammad ibn Barakallāh Lakhnawī (d. 1310H)) accept before his death due to the eclipses.

حضرت مولوی غلام رسول صاحب بیان فرماتے ہیں کہ ”۱۸۹۴ء میں جب سورج گرہن اور چاند گرہن ہوا اس وقت میں لاہور میں مولوی حافظ عبدالمنان صاحب سے ترمذی شریف پڑھتا تھا۔ علماء کی پریشانی اور گھبراہٹ نے میرے دل پر اثر کیا۔ گو علماء لوگوں کو طفل تسلیاں دے رہے تھے مگر دل میں سخت خائف تھے کہ اس سچے نشان کی وجہ سے لوگوں کا بڑی تیزی سے حضرت اقدس کی طرف رجوع ہو گا ۔ ۔ ۔

“Hazrat Maulvi Ghulam Rasul Sahib says that “In 1894, when the solar eclipse and lunar eclipse happened, at this time I was learning Tirmidhi Sharif in Lahore from Maulvi Hafiz Abd al Manan Sahib. My heart was affected by the stress and worry of the Ulema [regarding the eclipses]. Though the Ulema were giving consolation to people, in their hearts they were extremely afraid that due this true sign people will swiftly turn to Hazrat Aqdas [Promised Messiah] […]”

[Urdu: Ashab e Ahmad. Vol 10. pg 178, narration of Maulana Ghulam Rasool Sahib]

Hazrat Mian Abdul Aziz (ra)

“My (Maulvi Zahoor Hussain) father Mian Abdul Aziz Mughal, who was one of the earliest companions of the Promised Messiah once related to me “It was in 1894 that the great eclipses occured during the month of Ramadhan. Initially the sun had darkened only partially but soon afterwards the whole celestial body was fully darkened so much that people started running outside their homes in abject terror. One of the bitter opponnents of the Promised Messiah, who lived next door to us, tore his clothes and started shouting from his housetop, ‘Oh, God, what have you done. Everybody will now say that Mirza (Hazrat Ahmad) is the true Mahdi. ‘ “

[English: A Call to Islam in the USSR pg. 80 footnote]

Hazrat Syed Abdul Majid (ra)

He was a direct descendent of Imam Baqir (as) – the narrator of the hadith in Dar Qutni – and a descendent of the Holy Prophet (saw). This makes him (ra) also a descendant of Hazrat Muhammad (saw). He and his family bore witness to the fulfilment of the hadith in Dar Qutni in 1894 AD. The descendants of Hazrat Syed Abdul Majid (ra) (who are in turn also the descendants of Imam Baqir (as)), Khizr and Uzair, narrate their family history,

“The story begins with our great great great grandmother from the year 1894 AD, she was sitting in the yard in a town called Bahawalpur, Eartern India during the month of Ramadhan. Infront of her was a bucket of water, and in the reflection on the water she could see solar eclipse taking place. When the eclipse finished and she saw the whole thing, she fell into Sajda, then she gets up, and she annouces to the whole family. She says, ‘All of you bear witness that I have believed, I have believed in the Imam Mahdi'”

[Sunni to Islam Ahmadiyya: Syed Abdul Majid 4:54-5:35]

Due to this event, Hazrat Syed Abdul Majid (ra) later accepted Ahmadiyyat, he was a very accomplished scholar. Another point to observe is that the direct descendants of the great Imam Baqir (as) accept the hadith he narrated and the Imam Mahdi whereas these non-Ahmadis Muslims do not.

Hazrat Mian Imamudin (ra)

His father (Maula Baksh) was a famous preacher and scholar among Ahl-e-hadith in Jalandhar, when the 1894 AD eclipses were fulfilled, he gave a sermon on the signs in great detail that the Mahdi had come, but when his son found out about Ahmadiyyat.from Al-Hakam he became angry at him and kicked him out! Later his grandson (Hazrat Abu’l Ata’ Jalandhari (ra)) was also an Ahmadi. This shows the foolishness of opponents, on the one hand they accept the sign of the Mahdi, and then don’t accept the only claimant.

میرے دادا قاضی مولا بخش صاحب گاؤں کے خطیب تھے وہ سورج اور چاند گرہن کے نشان کے ظاہر ہونے پر خطبہ دے چکے تھے کہ یہ امام مہدی کے ظہور کا نشان ہے اب ہمیں انتظار کرنا چاہیئے کہ امام موعود کبک اور کہاں سے ظاہر ہوتا ہے ؟ حضرت والد صاحب مرحوم اخبار الحکم پڑھ کر احدیت سے متاثر ہوئے اور آخرا نہوں نے جلدی احمدیت کو قبول کر لیا

“My (Abu’l Ata’ Jalandhari) grandfather, Qazi Maula Baksh Sahib, was the preacher of the village, and he had already delivered sermons upon the appearance of solar and lunar eclipses, stating that these were signs of the advent of Imam Mahdi. He emphasized that we should now wait for the appearance of the Promised Imam and ponder where and when he would manifest. Upon reading the newspaper Al-Hakam, Hazrat Walid Sahib (Mian Imamudin) became deeply influenced and ultimately embraced Ahmadiyyat.”

[Urdu: Al Furqan October 1967, pg. 43-44]

Hazrat Maulana Ibrahim Baqapuri (ra)

He relates an event that opens the eyes to the hypocrisy of the Mullahs and their earlier belief regarding the Dar Qutni hadith. Understand that the Abdul Jabbar here is the famous scholar Abdul Jabbar Ghaznavi renowned in India and an opponent of Hazrat Ahmad (as). Obviously, such events that show hypocrisy of ‘famous’ Ulema who rejected the truth will rarely be found recorded in the books of the non-Ahmadis.

’دو شخص جو باپ بیٹے تھے مولوی عبدالجبار کے پاس آ کر کہنے لگے کہ وہ حدیث جس میں کسوف و خسوف کا ذکر امام مہدی کے ظہور کے لئے آیا ہے صحیح ہے؟ مولوی صاحب نے کہا کہ حدیث تو صحیح ہے مگر مرزا صاحب کے پھندے میں نہ پھنس جانا کیونکہ وہ اس کو اپنے دعوے کی تصدیق میں پیش کرتے ہیں اور یہ حدیث امام مہدی کی پیدائش کے متعلق ہے نہ کہ دعوے کی دلیل کے لئے ہے۔ باپ نے کہا مولوی صاحب! جو بات میں نے آپ سے پوچھی اس کا جواب آپ نے دے دیا ہے۔ باقی رہا یہ کہ وہ کس پر چسپاں ہوتی ہے تو اس کے متعلق عرض ہے کہ میری ساری عمر مقدمہ جات میں گزری ہے مگر مجھے سرکار نے کبھی گواہ لانے کے لئے نہیں کہا تھا جبتک کہ میں پہلے دعویٰ نہ کرتا۔ یہی حال مرزا صاحب کا ہے کہ ان کا دعویٰ تو پہلے سے ہی ہے اور اب یہ کسوف و خسوف ان کے دعوے کی دلیل کے طور پر ہیں۔ اس پر مولوی صاحب خاموش ہو گئے اور دونوں باپ بیٹا اپنے گاؤں چلے گئے۔

“Two men, a father and son, went to Maulvi Abdul Jabbar (Ghaznavi) and asked him whether the Hadith mentioning the signs of solar and lunar eclipses for the advent of Imam Mahdi was Sahih. Maulvi Sahib replied that the Hadith was indeed Sahih, but they should not get caught up in Mirza Sahib’s trap, as he presents it as evidence for his claim, while the Hadith is actually about the birth of Imam Mahdi, not a proof for his claim. The father said, “Maulvi Sahib! You have answered that which I wished to ask you about. Then about whom it applies to, then regarding that, I have spent my entire life in court cases, but the authorities never asked me to testify until I made my claim. Similarly, Mirza Sahib already has his claim, and now these signs of eclipses serve as evidence for his claim.” Upon this, Maulvi Sahib fell silent, and both the father and son returned to their village.”

[Register Riwayat Sahaba (unpublished), Vol. 8, pg. 4 Riwayat Hazrat Maulana Ibrahim Sahib Baqapuri)

Hazrat Mian Abdullah Ahmadi (rh)

He read Imam Lacknavi’s book, “Ahwaal ul Akhirat” and this made it certain for him that the Imam Mahdi had arrived who was Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as).

جب مجھے معلوم ہوا کہ آپ نے (مرزا غلام احمد صاحب قادیانی نے مہدی ہونے کا دعوی کیا ہے ۔ اور فرماتے ہیں کہ عیسی علیہ السلام فوت ہو گئے ہیں ۔ نیز ان کی جگہ بھی میں ہی آیا ہوں ۔ میں نے یہ سن کر بہت فکر کیا ۔ کہ بڑے بڑے علماء ان کے مرید بھی ہیں اور مخالف بھی ہیں ۔ جیسے کے مولوی نور الدین صاحب شاہی حکیم جموں نے آپ کی بیعت کرلی اور میاں نذیر حسین صاحب دہلوی نے آپ پر کفر کا فتوی لگایا ہے۔ میں ان علماء کا معتقد تھا ۔ اس لئے بہت ہی فکر دامنگیر ہوا ۔ اور رات دن میں اسی فکر میں رہتا کہ خداوندا مجھے خود تو کوئی علم نہیں ۔ اور علماء کوئی کچھ کہتا ہے کوئی کچھ ۔ کس طرح فیصلہ ہو ۔ اسی خیال میں میں ایک دن راجپوتانہ میں چلتا چلتا ٹھہر گیا ۔ تو ایک غیب سے زور کی آواز آئی ۔ کہ دعا کرو ۔ یہ آواز سن کر مجھے بہت خوشی ہوئی ۔ اور تھوڑی دیر تک میں بھاگتا ہی چلا گیا ۔ اور ۔۔۔۔۔ سر سجدہ میں رکھ دیا ۔ اور دعامانگنی شروع کر دی ۔ اور ان الفاظ میں دعائیں شروع کیں ۔ کہ الہی مجھے تو کوئی علم نہیں ۔ تو سب کچھ جانتا ہے ۔ اور یہ تیرا ہی مہدی ہے تو مجھے اپنے فضل سے سمجھ عطا فرما کہ تا میں ان کی بیعت کرلوں ۔ اگر سچا نہیں تو مجھے بچا۔ غرض جب مجھے چار ماہ دعائیں مانگتے مانگتے گزر گئے اور میں نے بڑے درد دل اور جوش اور عاجزی سے دعائیں کیں تو ایک دن کا ذکر ہے کہ میں حافظ محمد کھوکے کی تصنیف احوال الآخرت میں علامت مہدی پڑھ رہا تھا۔ جب میں نے یہ شعر پڑھا کہ
تیرھویں چن ستیویں سورج گرہن ہوسی اوس سالے
تو مجھے اللہ تعالیٰ نے اس طرح بتایا ۔ جس طرح کوئی استاد شاگرد کو بتاتا ہے ۔ فرمایا مرزا غلام احمد ہی مہدی ہے ۔ اور مجھے حضرت مرزا غلام احمد کا نام کہ یہی سچا مهدی اس وقت ہے مفصل طور پر بتایا گیا کہ کوئی شک نہ رہا ۔

“When I found out that he (Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Sahib Qadiani) has claimed to be the Mahdi, and that he said Isa (as) has passed away and that I (Mirza Ghulam Ahmad) have come in his place. Hearing this I was really worried. That huge scholars had become his followers and also his opponents. For example Maulvi Nuruddin Sahib, Hakim of the Shah of Jammu did ba’ait to him, and Mian Nazir Hussain Sahib Dhelvi issued the fatwa of kufr against him [Mirza Ghulam Ahmad]. So I became very worried. And day and night I used to be worried that, “God, I myself do not have any knowledge, and among the Ulema some say this and others say that, how should a decision be made?” With this state of mind, one day while traveling in Rajputana, I stopped walking. Then a voice came from the unseen, “Do Dua (Prayer)” Hearing this voice, I became very happy and started running for a while. And…I put my head in prostration, and started praying, and started praying with these words, “My God, as for myself, I have no knowledge, You know everything, if this is truely your Mahdi then grant me understanding with Your grace, so that I may do his ba’ait. If he is not truthful then save me. So, when four months passed in me doing these prayers, and I did these prayers with great pain in my heart, passion, and humility, that one day I was reading the signs of the Mahdi in Hafiz Muhammad of Lakhu’s book “Ahwaal ul Akhirat”, when I read the couplet, “On the 13th does the moon, on the 27th does the sun eclipse in that year” Allah Almighty informed me [of the truth] through this, like a teacher tells a student. That Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is indeed the Mahdi. And I was told the name of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad – that he is indeed the true Mahdi – in such detail that no doubt remained.”

[Register Riwayat Sahaba (unpublished), Vol 2, pg. 139]

Hazrat Mir Salaah Muhammad (rh)

He also read Imam Lacknavi’s book, and understood that the Imam Mahdi had arrived due to the Ramadhan eclipses, and accepted Ahmadiyyat later on due to spending a long time investigating.

آپ کے بیٹے مکرم میر غلام احمد صاحب نسیم کا بیان ہے کہ آپ قبول احمدیت کا واقعہ یوں بیان فرماتے تھے کہ بچپن میں ہم ایک کتاب “احوال الآخرت ” پڑھا کرتے تھے۔ اُس میں حضرت امام مہدی علیہ اسلام کے چودھویں صدی میں ظہور کا ذکر تھا ۔ نیز ظہور کے وقت کی علامات بھی مذکور تھیں جب ۱۳۱۱ ہجری میں رمضان کے مہینہ میں سورج اور چاند گرہن کا نشان ظاہر ہوا تو ہمیں یقین ہو گیا کہ حضرت امام مہدی کا ظہور ہو چکا ہے۔ چنانچہ آپ اور آپکے ایک اور دوست سمی میاں منگا صاحب لوہار کے والے نے تلاش و تحقیق شروع کر دی ۔

“His son Respected Mir Ghulam Ahmad Sahib Nasim says, that he (Mir Salaah Muhammad) used to mention his story of accepting Ahmadiyyat, ‘In our childhood we used to read a book called ‘Ahwaal ul Akhirat’. In it Hazrat Imam Mahdi (as)’s advent in the 14th Century [Hijri]. Further, the signs of his advent was also written. During 1311 Hijri, when the solar and lunar eclipse manifested, so I became certain that Hazrat Imam Mahdi had arrived.’ Therefore, he and another friend Mian Manga Sahib of Lauhar started to look for him [Mahdi] and started researching”

[Urdu: Tārīkh-e-Ahmadiyyat Kashmir pg. 77]

Hazrat Qazi Muhammad Akbar (ra)

The Imam of his area, observing the eclipse sign, he understood the Mahdi had arrived. He sent 3 men (Maulvi Abdul Wahid, Mian Ghulam Qadir, Mian Diwan Ali) to Qadian who also believed in the clear sign to investigate the claimant. Muhammad Hussain Batalvi himself knew that people were flocking to Qadian due to sign of eclipses to investigate so he would always stop the travellers from going to Qadian.

اسد اللہ قریشی صاحب حضرت قاضی محمد اکبر صاحب رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ کے بارے میں تحریر کرتے ہیں کہ ’’حضرت قاضی صاحب رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ حلقہ بگوش احمدیت ہونے سے قبل اہلحدیث تھے۔ حضرت مولوی برہان الدین صاحب جہلمی سے مراسم تھے۔ اپنے علاقے کے امام تھے۔ علاقے کے لوگوں کی دینی تعلیم اور تدریس میں مشغول تھے کہ کسوف خسوف کا نشان آسمان پر ظاہر ہوا۔ آپ اس امر سے پہلے ہی آگاہ تھے کہ امام مہدی علیہ السلام کے ظہور کا زمانہ قریب ہے۔ کسوف خسوف کے عظیم الشان نشان کے ظاہر ہونے پر اپنے طلباء اور حلقہ احباب میں تذکرہ ہونے لگا۔ بشیر احمد صاحب جو اُن کے پوتے ہیں وہ کہتے ہیں کہ میں نے یہ بیان میاں منگا صاحب سے سنا ہے کہ ہم قاضی صاحب سے پڑھتے تھے کہ سورج اور چاند گرہن کا نشان رمضان میں ظاہر ہوا تو قاضی صاحب نے فرمایا کہ امام مہدی علیہ السلام کے ظہور کا نشان تو ظاہر ہوگیا ہے ہمیں ان کی تلاش کرنی چاہئے۔ ان ایام میں چارکوٹ کے لوگ سودا سلف کے لئے جہلم جایا کرتے تھے۔ قاضی صاحب نے جہلم آنے والے احباب کے سپرد یہ کام کیا کہ حضرت مولوی برہان الدین صاحب رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ سے ملاقات کریں۔ ان سے پوچھ کر آئیں کہ سورج چاند گرہن کا یہ نشان تو ظاہر ہو گیا آپ امام مہدی علیہ السلام کے بارے میں ہماری رہنمائی فرمائیں۔ چنانچہ وہ لوگ حضرت مولوی صاحب سے ملے۔ حضرت مولوی صاحب نے چند کتب اور ایک خط حضرت قاضی صاحب کی طرف بھیجا۔ خط اور کتب کی وصولی سے قبل آپ نے رؤیا میں دیکھا۔ کسی نے آپ کو تین کتابیں پڑھنے کے لئے دی ہیں۔ ان میں سے پہلی کتاب پڑھنے کے لئے آپ نے کھولی تو اس کے اندر گند بھرا ہوا تھا اور بدبو آ رہی تھی۔ اس پر آپ نے وہ کتاب پھینک دی۔ پھر دو کتابوں کو دیکھا کہ ان سے نور کے شعلے نکل رہے ہیں۔ حضرت مولوی برہان الدین صاحب رضی اللہ عنہ کی بھجوائی ہوئی کتب کی وصولی پر آپ کا رؤیا اس طرح پورا ہو گیا کہ حضرت مولوی صاحب نے جو کتب آپ کو بھجوائیں ان میں ایک کتاب حضرت اقدس مسیح موعود علیہ السلام کے دعاوی کی تردید کے متعلق تھی۔ آپ نے پہلے اسی کو پڑھنا شروع کیا۔ جب اس میں حضرت مسیح موعود علیہ السلام کے متعلق دلآزار الفاظ دیکھے تو اس کو پڑھنا ترک کر دیا اور پرے پھینک دیا اور دوسری دو کتب اور خط پڑھے تو انہیں اپنی رؤیا کے عین مطابق پایا اور آپ کو تحقیقات کی مزید تحریک ہوئی۔ چنانچہ آپ نے تحقیقات کے لئے تین افراد پر مشتمل وفد قادیان بھجوایا اور ان تینوں نے قادیان پہنچ کر حضرت مسیح موعود علیہ السلام کے دست مبارک پر بیعت کی سعادت حاصل کی۔ اور یہاں یہ امر بھی قابل ذکر ہے جس طرح کہ روایات میں آتا ہے اور ہر جگہ ہر ایک کے ساتھ ہی ہوتا ہے کہ جب یہ وفد بٹالہ پہنچا تو مولوی محمد حسین بٹالوی نے انہیں بھی روک لیا۔ کچھ خاطر مدارات بھی کی اور کہا آپ لوگ خوامخواہ کئی دنوں کے پیدل سفر کی تکالیف برداشت کر کے قادیان جاتے ہیں۔ آپ چونکہ دور دراز علاقے کے رہنے والے ہیں اس لئے آپ کو علم نہیں۔ مرزا صاحب کا سارا کاروبار جھوٹا ہے۔ اس لئے آپ لوگ واپس چلے جائیں۔ چنانچہ مولوی صاحب نے انہیں نہ صرف یہ کہا بلکہ واپس شہر کے کنارے تک، باہر تک چھوڑ کر گئے۔ مگر ان سے رخصت ہونے کے بعد یہ تینوں پھر بجائے واپس جانے کے قادیان پہنچ گئے اور وہاں آ کر اللہ تعالیٰ کے فضل سے بیعت کر لی۔ اس کے بعد قاضی صاحب نے پہلے تحریری بیعت کی اور پھر قادیان پہنچ کر دستی بیعت کا شرف حاصل کیا

“Hazrat Qazi Sahib (ra) was Ahl-e-Hadith before becoming a devoted Ahmadi. He had friendly relations with Hazrat Maulvi Burhanuddin Sahib Jhelmi. He was the Imam of his area and was busy in providing religious education and guidance to the people of his locality when the sign of the lunar and solar eclipse manifested in heaven. Before this event, he was already aware that the time for the advent of Imam Mahdi (as) was near. Upon the occurrence of the lunar and eclipse eclipse which was a magnificent sign, discussion started among his students and circle of associates. Bashir Ahmad Sahib, who is his grandson, mentioned that I heard this account from Miyan Manga Sahib that we used to study under Qazi Sahib. When the solar and lunar eclipses occurred during Ramadan, Qazi Sahib remarked, ‘The sign of the advent of Imam Mahdi (peace be upon him) has appeared, and we should seek him.’ In those days, people from Charkot used to go to Jhelum for trade purposes. Qazi Sahib entrusted the task of those coming from Jhelum to Hazrat Maulvi Burhanuddin Sahib (ra) to meet him, ask him about the sign of the solar and lunar eclipses, and seek guidance regarding Imam Mahdi (as). Consequently, those people met Hazrat Maulvi Sahib. And Hazrat Maulvi Sahib sent some books and a letter to Hazrat Qazi Sahib. Before receiving the books and letter sent by Hazrat Maulvi Sahib, he saw a dream in which someone gave him three books to read. When he opened the first book, it was filled with filth and was emitting a foul odor, so he threw it away. Then he saw rays of light emanating from the other two books. Upon receiving the books and letter sent by Hazrat Maulvi Sahib, his dream was fulfilled in such a way that one of the books sent by Hazrat Maulvi Sahib was about refuting the claims of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as). He began reading it first. When he came across disrespectful words about Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), he left it and threw it away. Then, when he read the other two books and the letter, he found them exactly as he had seen in his dream, and it further spurred his investigations. So he sent a delegation of three people to Qadian for investigation and all three of them reached Qadian and obtained the privilege of pledging allegiance to the blessed hands of Hazrat Masih Maud (as). It is worth mentioning here, as it is mentioned in the narrations seen happening everywhere and with everyone, that when this delegation reached Batala, Maulvi Muhammad Hussain Batalvi also tried to stop them. He also rasied some objections, and said to them, ‘You all uselessly bear travelling on foot with such difficulty to Qadian. You are not knowledgeable because you come from a distant area and so you are not aware. Mirza Sahib’s entire business is false. Therefore, you should return.’ Consequently, Maulvi Sahib not only said this but also left them at the outskirts of the city upon their departure. However, after their departure, instead of returning, these three individuals still reached Qadian and, by the grace of Allah, pledged allegiance there. After that, Hazrat Qazi Sahib first pledged allegiance in writing and then reached Qadian and obtained the honor of pledging allegiance personally.”

[Urdu: Tārīkh-e-Ahmadiyyat Kashmir pg. 57-59]

Hazrat Maulvi Abdul Wahid (ra)

He was among the 3 sent to Qadian by Hazrat Qazi Muhammad Akbar (ra) to Qadian due to the eclipses to investigate, he became Ahmadi and did the pledge of allegiance. This is all due to the eclipse sign which manifested in the sky!

چنانچہ آپ نے تحقیق کے لئے تین افراد پر مشتمل وفد قادیان بھیجوایا جن کے اسمائے گرامی یہ ہیں مولوی عبد الواحد رضی اللہ عنہ ۔ میاں غلام قادر رضی اللہ عنہ اور میاں دیوان علی رضی اللہ عنہ تینوں نے قادیان پہنچکر حضرت مسیح موعود علیہ اسلام کے دست مبارک پر بعیت کی سعادت حاصل کی

“So, he [Qazi Muhammad Akbar] sent a group of three men to Qadian to investigate, whos names are Maulvi Abdul Wahid (ra), Mian Ghulam Qadir (ra), Mian Diwan Ali (ra). All three reached Qadian and recieved the honour to do their pledge of allegience at the blessed hand of the Promised Messiah (as)”

[Urdu: Tārīkh-e-Ahmadiyyat Kashmir pg. 58]

Hazrat Mian Ghulam Qadir (ra)

Among the 3 sent to Qadian by Hazrat Qazi Muhammad Akbar (ra) to Qadian due to the eclipses to investigate and who became an Ahmadi mentioned previously.

Hazrat Mian Diwan Ali (ra)

Among the 3 sent to Qadian by Hazrat Qazi Muhammad Akbar (ra) to Qadian due to the eclipses to investigate and who became an Ahmadi mentioned previously.

Hazrat Ghulam Muhammad (ra)

حضرت غلام محمد صاحب رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ بیان کرتے ہیں کہ خاکسار کے گاؤں میں پہلے پہل ایک صاحب مولوی بدرالدین صاحب نامی تھے۔ ان دنوں میں فدوی کی عمر قریباً پندرہ برس کی ہو گی۔ بندہ مولوی بدرالدین صاحب کے گھر کے سامنے ان کے ہمراہ کھڑا تھا کہ دن میں سورج کو گرہن لگا اور مولوی صاحب نے فرمایا: سبحان اللہ! مہدی صاحب کے علامات ظہور میں آ گئے اور ان کی آمد کا وقت آ پہنچا۔ بعد کچھ عرصہ گزرنے کے مولوی صاحب احمدی ہو گئے۔ مولوی صاحب بہت ہی مخلص اور نیک فطرت اور پُر اخلاص تھے۔ انہوں نے اپنے والدین اور بیوی کو ایک سال کی کوشش کر کے احمدی کیا

“Hazrat Ghulam Muhammad Sahib (ra) narrates that in the village of this humble one, there was initially a man named Maulvi Badr-ud-Din Sahib. During those days, this humble one was about fifteen years old. I was standing with him in front of Maulvi Sahib’s house when the solar eclipse [1894 AD] occurred, and Maulvi Sahib exclaimed, “Subhan Allah! The signs of the advent of the Mahdi Sahib have appeared, and the time of his coming has arrived.” After some time passed, Maulvi Sahib embraced Ahmadiyyat. Maulvi Sahib was very sincere, of good nature, and devoutly faithful. He persuaded his parents and wife to embrace Ahmadiyyat after a year of effort.”

[Register Riwayat Sahaba (unpublished), Vol. 6, pg. 305-306, Riwayat Hazrat Ghulam Muhammad Sahib, father of Ali Baksh Sahib]

Mass Belief of Makkah

This refute-all reference categorically proves the eclipse sign is authentic. Its been spoken of and quoted many times before, but in this section, its explained how it refutes all allegations.

مُراسلات مکّہ مُعَظمہ زاد اللّہ شر فھا
مکرمی ایڈیٹر پیسیہ اخبار زاد عنا یتہ

السلام علیکم آج کل مکہ معظّمہ میں ایک عجیب ہل چل مچی ہوئی ہے جو لوگ امام مہدی علیہ السلام کے منتظر ہیں اُن کے لیے عجیب دلچسپی کا موقع ہاتھ آیا ہے، کوئی جلسہ، کوئی محفل، کوئی گھر اس تذکرہ سے خالی نہیں جہاں امام مہدی کے ظہور کا اس رمضان میں ذکر نہ ہو۔ جب سے یہ بات محقق ہوگئی ہے کہ اسی سال رمضان میں کسوف و خسوف دونوں ایک ہی مہینے میں ہیں اُس وقت سے اُن کے خیال کو اور بھی زیادہ ترقی ہے اور ہر کس وناکس کی طبیعت میں ایک نیا جوش اور ولولہ ہے۔ بعض منچلوں نے تو اپنے ہتھیار جو برسوں سے پڑے پڑے بیکار اور زنگ آلود ہوگئے تھے، کار آمد کر لیے۔ میں نہایت حیرت کے ساتھ حالات دیکھ رہا ہوں العلم عند اللّہ مین پہر کسی وقت انشاء اللّہ اِسکے متعلق کچھ لکہونگا

“News: Makkah Mu’azzamah May Allah enrich it
Respected Editor Paisa Akhbar, may he be enriched
Peace be upon you. These days there is a strange uproar in Makkah Mu’azzamah. For those people who were awaiting the Imam Mahdi AS, there is a strange and interesting event at hand. There is no Jalsa, gathering, or house that is empty of the mention of the Imam Mahdi’s advent in Ramadhan since it has been established that in this very year in Ramadhan the lunar and solar eclipse will occur in one month. Since then, their expectation has advanced even more, and the obedience of everyone high and low has a new zeal and fervor. Few bold persons have even started using their age-old weapons which were left unused for many years and which started developing rust. I am looking at this scene with great amazement – All knowledge is with Allah. I, at another time – InshAllah – will write something about this topic!”

[Urdu: Paisa Akhbar (6th April 1894) pg. 8]

This reference proves,

1) The people of Makkah accepted the hadith in Dar Qutni and the Ramadhan eclipse sign as completely authentic and dared not to weaken it
2) They accepted the interpretation of 13th/28th of Ramadhan and testified to its fulfilment in 1894 AD
3) They understood that even though eclipses have happened before in Ramadhan, never before had they happened in that specific circumstances in the 14th Century which made them unparalleled and clear signs for the Mahdi

Knowing all of this, the people of Makkah eagerly and excitedly awaited the Mahdi. The only Mahdi present in the world was Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) who was the only one clearly connected to these eclipses, and for whose truth they occurred.

Arabs accepting Truth

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) also wrote this famous news from Makkah in his book Nur ul Haqq Part 2,

 اور اہل مکہ میں ایک جوش پیدا ہوا ہے جو ان خبروں کی تصدیق کرتا ہے اور مَیں نے ایک خط میں پڑھا ہے کہ وہ خسوف اور کسوف کے سخت انتظار کر رہے ہیں اور اس کی ایسی انتظار کر رہے ہیں جیسا کہ ہلال عید کی انتظار ہوتی ہے اور مکہ میں کوئی ایسا گھر باقی نہیں رہا جس گھر کے باشندے سوتے جاگتے یہی ذکر نہ کرتے ہوں سو یہ اس خدا کی طرف سے تحریک ہے جس نے ان نوروں کا پھیلنا ارادہ فرمایا ہے

“And in the people of Mecca, there has arisen an uproar that confirms these news. And I have read in a letter that they are awaiting the lunar and solar eclipse with great anticipation, like one anticipates the Eid crescent (Hilal). And there is no house left in Mecca where the inhabitants do not mention this while awake or asleep. So, this is a movement from that God who has wished for the spread of these lights.”

[Urdu: Nur ul Haqq Part 2, pg. 197]

Acceptance of Prayer

After the Mullahs made their rejection apparent and crossed all bounds in the takzib (rejection) of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), he wrote a long, powerful, and heart-wrenching prayer in the first part of his Arabic book called Nur ul Haqq Part 1. This was all published in February 1894, only one month before the Ramadhan eclipses took place.

يا رب يا رب الضعفاء والمضطرين، ألست منك؟ فقُل وإنك خير القائلين. كثر اللعن والتكفير ، ونُسِبتُ إلى التزوير، وسمعت كله ورأيت يا قدير ، فافتح بيننا بالحق وأنت خير الفاتحين. ونجني من علماء السوء وأقوالهم، وكبرهم ودلالهم، ونَجِّنى من قوم ظالمين. وأُنْزِلُ نصرًا من السماء ، وأَدْرِك عبدك عند البلاء ، ونَزِّلُ رجسك على الكافرين. وصرت كأذلة مطرود القوم ومورد اللوم، فانصرنا كما نصرت رسولك ببدر في ذلك اليوم، واحفظنا يا خير الحافظين. إنك الرب الرحيم، كتبت على نفسك الرحمة، فاجعل لنا حظا منها وأرنا النصرة، وارحمنا وتب علينا وأنت أرحم الراحمين

O God! O Lord of the weak and oppressed, am I not from Thee? Curse and denial have now become excessive. Judge between us and our people with justice for Though art the Best of those who judge. O God! please send Thy succour for me from the heaven/sky and help Thy servant in the time of adversity. I have become like the weak and disgraced and people have rejected me and reproached me. So Though come to my help as Though helped the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, on the Day of Badr. And protect us O Best of Protectors. Though art the Lord, the Merciful. Though has taken upon Thyself to show mercy, grant us portion of it and show the help and have mercy on us and turn to us with compassion and Though art the Most Merciful of all who show mercy.

[Urdu: Nur ul Haqq Part 1, pg. 184]

Only a month afterwards, in the month of Ramadhan which fell in March/April, the eclipses happened in clear answer to this prayer.

There are many ways this dua was literally answered,

1) He (as) asked for help from the sky من السماء , and the eclipses are the sign that occurred in heaven/sky literally
2) He (as) asked to be helped like the Day of Badr, Badr was Yaum al Furqan (The day when good and bad were clearly differentiated) and the eclipses differentiated between the truth of the Hazrat Ahmad (as) and falsehood of the Mullahs
3) He (as) asked for help like the Day of Badr, so Badr was fought in Ramadhan and the eclipses happened in Ramadhan, and the solar month in which the battle of Badr’s Ramadhan happened was March, so the eclipses happened in the same solar month!

These points cannot be coincidences.

The truth of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) was clearly distinguished and the Mullahs were left speechless. After the eclipses occurred Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) expounded this grand sign in the second part of the same book – Nur ul Haqq Part 2, he wrote in Part 2 that Allah had accepted his prayer after his people rejected him,

إني رأيت بهجر قوم فارقوا

میں نے اس قوم کی جدائی میں جو جدا ہوگئی

حالا كحالة مُرسَل كَنعاني

وہ حالت دیکھی جو یعقوب علیہ السلام کی حالت سے مشابہ ہے

وسألت ربّى فاستجاب لِي الدُّعا

اور میں نے اپنے رب سے سوال کیا اور اس نے میری دعا قبول کی

فرجعتُ مَجْلُوا من الأحزان

پس میں غموں سے نجات یافتہ ہو گیا

“I saw in this nation which was estranged, alienated,

The same condition likened to Ya’qub (as)

And I asked my Lord, and He accepted my prayer

Aye, I became one protected from grief.”

[Urdu: Nur ul Haqq Part 2, pg. 224]

Observe the favour of Allah Almighty, in one book a prayer was made, in the next part of the same book the dua was visibly answered, and the Great Madhi’s truth was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Holy Quran

The Holy Quran read with Sahih Ahadith clearly relate in multiple places that eclipses are a sign of the Masih/Mahdi and Qiyamah. This section alone like all the sections in this article are enough by themselves to refute all objections against this sign, because the Hadith in Dar Qutni is not even needed to establish this sign!

Surah al-Qiyamah

یَسۡـَٔلُ اَیَّانَ یَوۡمُ الۡقِیٰمَۃِ فَاِذَا بَرِقَ الۡبَصَرُ وَخَسَفَ الۡقَمَرُ وَجُمِعَ الشَّمۡسُ وَالۡقَمَرُ یَقُوۡلُ الۡاِنۡسَانُ یَوۡمَئِذٍ اَیۡنَ الۡمَفَرُّ

He asks, ‘When will be the Day of Resurrection?’ When the eye is dazzled, And the moon is eclipsed, And the sun and the moon are brought together, On that day man will say, ‘Whither to escape?’

[Holy Quran 75:7-11]

This verse states the sign of Qiyamah is that a lunar and solar eclipse will happen as a pair. The sun and moon being brought together in conjunction is a solar eclipse. These signs of Qiyamah are signs of the Messiah.

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) came to us all of a sudden as we were (busy in a discussion). He said: What do you discuss about? They (the Companions) said. We are discussing about the Last Hour. Thereupon he said: It will not come until you see ten signs before and (in this connection) he made a mention of the smoke, Dajjal, the beast, the rising of the sun from the west, the descent of Jesus son of Mary (Allah be pleased with him), the Gog and Magog, and land-slides in three places, one in the east, one in the west and one in Arabia at the end of which fire would burn forth from the Yemen, and would drive people to the place of their assembly.

[Sahih Muslim 2901a]

Since the Messiah is a sign of Qiyamah, and the Quranic eclipses are also signs of Qiyamah. This makes it clear that the Quranic eclipses are signs of the Messiah. All signs of Qiyamah in turn become signs of the Messiah/Imam Mahdi and vice versa. These Quranic eclipses must happen in the time of the Messiah/Imam Mahdi.

Signs of Qiyamah

Allegation: The pair of Quranic eclipses will occur on the Day of Judgement itself, and is not a sign of it.

The answer is that eclipses are dependent on the established system and orbit of the sun, moon, and earth. The verse clearly relates that a lunar eclipse (khusuf) will manifest, then a solar eclipse. On the Day of Judgement, Allah Almighty has promised that He will completely annihilate the current system of the Universe, and everything will be in utter chaos, so no eclipse can happen then.

The Holy Quran mentions the perfect established system of the celestial bodies in the following verses,

And the sun is moving on the course prescribed for it. That is the decree of the Almighty, the All-Knowing God. And for the moon We have appointed stages, till it becomes again like an old dry branch of a palm-tree. It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day. All of them float in an orbit.

[Holy Quran 36:39-41]

Then the Holy Quran relates that Allah Almighty will destroy this Universe, and roll up the heavens on the Day of Judgement,

And they do not esteem Allah with the esteem that is due to Him. And the whole earth will be but His handful on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand. Glory to Him and exalted is He above that which they associate with Him.

[Holy Quran 39:68]

How will a lunar eclipse (khusuf) happen right on the Day of Judgement when the definition of a lunar eclipse (khusuf) is when the moon and earth come together in a perfect way due to the perfect orbit of the celestial bodies.

Since eclipses are dependent on this worldly system and at Qiyamah the heavens will be rolled up and this worldly system will be annihilated by Allah, these Quranic eclipses cannot occur then. This makes it clear that the Quranic eclipses will happen in this world, and are a sign for the nearness of Qiyamah, not what will literally happen at Qiyamah.

Solar Eclipse

Allegation: “the sun and the moon are brought together” means the sun and moon will bodily collide/combine/fuse and does not mean a solar eclipse.

Firstly, the Holy Quran expressly forbids the sun and moon from bodily and literally combining it says,

It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day. All of them float in an orbit.

[Holy Quran 36:41]

or it can be translated

It is not permissible for the sun to approach the moon, nor may the night outstrip the day. All glide along in an orbit.

[Holy Quran 36:41]

Since the sun and moon cannot literally approach, reach, or overtake one another, the verse “the sun and moon are brought together” can only mean that they will come together in conjunction producing a solar eclipse. This is the only meaning or the Quran will have contradictions.

This is also inline with the previous verse which speaks of a lunar eclipse so obviously the next verse will relate to it.

Secondly, the very next verse says that after these signs “On that day man will say, ‘Whither to escape?’”. If the sun and moon were to bodily combine, mankind and all life on earth would be immediately destroyed, how can man ask “wither to escape” afterwards.

In Ma’ariful Quran, a popular and largely accepted tafsir written and edited by the giants of the Hanafi Deobandis it relates that the meaning of “the sun and the moon are brough together” is a solar eclipse. Although it interprets it to be among the scenes of Qiyamah which is wrong, this is being shown to prove that its clear that the verse means a solar eclipse.

“The verb khasafa is derived from khusuf which means ‘to lose light and become dark’. The verse purports to say that the moon will lose its light or will be eclipsed. The statement that ‘the sun and the moon will be joined together’ signifies that not only the moon will lose its light, but also the sun will be eclipsed.“

[English: Ma’ariful-Quran (Surah Qiyamah), Vol 8, pg. 655]

So in sum, the verses in Surah Qiyamah clearly relate that a pair of a lunar/solar eclipse is a sign of the Messiah and the Day of Judgement. This is indisputable.

Surah at-Takwir

The Holy Quran also clearly relates a solar eclipse is among the signs of the Messiah’s advent in another place.

اِذَا الشَّمۡسُ کُوِّرَتۡ وَاِذَا النُّجُوۡمُ انۡکَدَرَتۡ وَاِذَا الۡجِبَالُ سُیِّرَتۡ وَاِذَا الۡعِشَارُ عُطِّلَتۡ

When the sun is wrapped up, And when the stars are obscured, And when the mountains are made to move, And when the she-camels, tenmonth pregnant, are abandoned,

[Holy Quran 81:2-5]

The Holy Prophet (saw) prophesied that camels would be abandoned exactly when the Messiah is sent down in Sahih Muslim,

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger or Allah (ﷺ) observed:

I swear by Allah that the son of Mary will certainly descend as a just judge and he would definitely break the cross, and kill swine and abolish Jizya and would leave the young she-camel and no one would endeavour to (collect Zakat on it). Spite, mutual hatred and jealousy against one another will certainly disappear and when he summons people to accept wealth, not even one would do so.

[Sahih Muslim 155c]

So, all the other signs of Surah at-Takwir must also happen during the Messiah’s advent. The very first verse clearly relates a solar eclipse (sun is wrapped up). So the occurrence of a special solar eclipse is certainly among the signs of the Messiah. There is no doubt in it. Infact the entire surah is named after this verse about the sun being eclipsed – at-Takwir.

The sun being wrapped up must happen in this world, because the Messiah will descend before Qiyamah – not at Qiyamah. We also have clear references in the Quran that the solar and lunar system do not break as per the decree of Allah, so it is clear this verse refers to a solar eclipse (when the sun is darkened/vieled/wrapped up).

So the Quran clearly mentions that a solar eclipse will happen when the Messah will come, and the Quran also mentions that a lunar and solar eclipse will happen as a sign for Qiyamah. Leaving no doubt that the eclipses would happen in the latter days (ie close to Qiyamah) at the coming of the Messiah! Another hadith which ties this whole Surah to Qiyamah is,

The Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever wishes to look at the Day of Resurrection, as if he is seeing it with this eye, then let him recite: ‘When the sun Kuwwirat’ and ‘When the heaven is cleft sunder (Infatarat) and ‘When the heaven is split asunder.’”

[Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3333]

This hadith in Tirmidhi read along with the hadith that connects Surah at-Takwir to the Messiah makes it clear that the surah is mentioning the signs of the Masih/nearness of Qiyamah. The hadith in Sahih Muslim has connected it to the Messiah who comes before Qiyamah, while this connects it to Qiyamah itself. So the verses in Surah Takwir are mentioning the signs of the Messiah near Qiyamah!

Sahih Bukhari

In Sahih Bukhari it is written that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) was afraid it was Qiyamah when a solar eclipse occured in his time – which proves a solar eclipse is among the signs of Qiyamah.

Narrated Abu Musa:

The sun eclipsed and the Prophet (ﷺ) got up, being afraid that it might be the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment). He went to the Mosque and offered the prayer with the longest Qiyam, bowing and prostration that I had ever seen him doing. Then he said, “These signs which Allah sends do not occur because of the life or death of somebody, but Allah makes His worshipers afraid by them. So when you see anything thereof, proceed to remember Allah, invoke Him and ask for His forgiveness.”

[Sahih al-Bukhari 1059]

Signs of Qiyamah are signs of Messiah/Mahdi.

Ways of Fulfilment

There are also some extraordinary points of wisdom in the verses of the Holy Quran regarding the eclipses.nnn

1. The Holy Quran says, “the moon will be eclipsed, and the sun and moon will be joined together”. The Holy Quran gives the order of the pair of eclipses that will happen for the Imam Mahdi/Masih, meaning the moon will eclipse first then a solar eclipse will happen afterwards.
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2. The Holy Quran mentioning them together like this clearly proves its a pair of eclipses, and pairs of eclipses happen in a single lunar month. So the Holy Quran has clearly said that a pair of eclipses will happen in one lunar month as signs of Qiyamah/Masih.
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3. The Holy Quran uses the words خَسَفَ الۡقَمَرُ, meaning al-qamar will be eclipsed, so this is talking about an eclipse on a possible date within a lunar month, not on an impossible date like the 1st of Ramadhan. Al-qamar cannot be used on the 1st.
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4. The Holy Quran says “the sun and moon will be brought together” in conjunction. It gives a literal description of a solar eclipse instead of saying “the sun will eclipse” (kusoof al-shams). Why has it done this? This is because if the Holy Quran literally said “kusoof” then even more explanation would be needed, one would have to explain the science behind eclipses and how they happen.
   ​
   But since Holy Quran mentioned the literal description “sun and moon are brought together” it explains the natural order of Allah in simple words – so you can even more easily understand the time of the prophesied eclipse is at the end of Ramadhan on a possible date, rather than an impossible date like the 15th. This sun-moon conjunction in the verse can only happen during the phase of the new moon at the end of the lunar month!
   ​
   Since the Dar Qutni hadith uses the words “kusoof al shams”, non-Ahmadis due to their lack of understanding think it may possibly refer to impossible dates but the Holy Quran uses explicit words describing the solar eclipse which helps us understand that 13th/28th interpretation is correct.
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5. Notice that the Holy Quran has described a pair of eclipses in Surah al-Qiyamah as a sign of the Masih, and then mentioned a solar eclipse in Surah at-Takwir separately again as a sign of the Masih. This shows that two solar eclipses will happen as the sign of the Masih. How will that happen? It can only happen if the pair of eclipses in Surah al-Qiyamah happens twice over two years. So the Holy Quran has also prophesied both the 1894 AD & 1895 AD eclipses in Ramadhan.
   ​
6. By clearly relating that the pair of eclipses of the Masih/Qiyamah will happen on days possible within the lunar month rather than on impossible dates, it also refutes the allegation that how are the eclipses on 13th/28th special? The answer is that why did the Holy Quran prophesy eclipses on dates possible within the lunar month rather than impossible dates if they couldn’t be special? The Ahmadis are correct in their interpretation.
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7. The very next verse says that after the pair of eclipses in one lunar month, man will ask “where is the place to escape?” (On that day man will say, ‘Whither to escape?’). This means that after the occurrence of the Quranic eclipses, the opponents will be left with no route of escape from the signs due to their clarity. And this is exactly what happened in 1894 AD. After the eclipses, the narrations previously shown show the panic of the Mullahs, for example,

“My (Maulvi Zahoor Hussain) father Mian Abdul Aziz Mughal, who was one of the earliest companions of the Promised Messiah once related to me “It was in 1894 that the great eclipses occured during the month of Ramadhan. Initially the sun had darkened only partially but soon afterwards the whole celestial body was fully darkened so much that people started running outside their homes in abject terror. One of the bitter opponnents of the Promised Messiah, who lived next door to us, tore his clothes and started shouting from his housetop, “Oh, God, what have you done’ Everybody will now say that Mirza (Hazrat Ahmad) is the true Mahdi. ‘ “

[English: A Call to Islam in the USSR pg. 80 footnote]

This “no room for escape” for the liars due to the eclipses was also prophesied in the Bible, it said (this is a literal translation from Urdu)

²⁹ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken,

³⁰ and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then shall all the tribes of the earth shall beat their chests (or mourn), and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and with great glory.

[Matthew 24:29-30]

It clearly relates that after the sign of the Messiah will appear in heaven – the lunar and solar eclipse, the people of earth will mourn or beat their chests at the sign. This is exactly what the Mullahs did at the time of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) like the experience with Hazrat Mian Abdul Aziz (ra)

The words, (On that day man will say, ‘Whither to escape?’) also show that the eclipses in Ramadhan would be harbingers of punishment from God and signs of in-coming destruction. Since the argument would be completed on the opponents due to the eclipses in Ramadhan, their persistence in denial would lead to Divine Chastisement. So this is exactly what happened. Since the stone-hearted Mullahs denied even the great sign of the eclipses by bringing child-like excuses, God punished them with the plague in a couple of years (1899 & onwards).

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) warned them of the incoming punishment in his book Nur ul Haqq Part 2 which was a publication explaining the eclipse sign in Ramadhan right after its occurrence.

پھر جان کہ خدا تعالیٰ نے میرے دل میں پھونکا کہ یہ خسوف اور کسوف جو رمضان میں ہوا ہے یہ دو خوفناک نشان ہیں جو ان کے ڈرانے کے لئے ظاہر ہوئے ہیں جو شیطان کی پیروی کرتے ہیں جنہوں نے ظلم اور بے اعتدالی کو اختیار کر لیا۔ سو خدا تعالیٰ ان دونوں نشانوں کے ساتھ ان کو ڈراتا ہے اور ہر یک ایسے شخص کو ڈراتا ہے جو حرص و ہوا کا پیرو ہوا اور سچ کو چھوڑا اور جھوٹ بولا اور خدا تعالیٰ کی نافرمانی کی پس خدا تعالیٰ پکارتا ہے کہ اگر وہ گناہ کی معافی چاہیں تو ان کے گناہ بخشے جائیں گے اور فضل اور احسان کو دیکھیں گے اور اگر نافرمانی کی تو عذاب کا وقت تو آ گیا

“Then know that God Almighty has blown it in my heart that these lunar and solar eclipses which have happened in Ramadhan, these are two alarming signs which have been manifested to cause fear to enter into those who follow Satan – those who adopted curelty and intemperance. So God Almighty scares them with these two signs, and he causes fear to enter into every such man who follows greed, and leaves the truth. He who lies, and disobeys God Almighty. So, God Almighty calls them that if they want to be forgiven for their sins, then they will be forgiven, and will see grace and blessings. And if they disobeys then the time of punishment has arrived […]”

[Urdu: Nur ul Haqq Part 2, pg. 227-228]

Accordingly, the punishment of the plague fell upon the rejectors a few years later. This in turn proves the authenticity of the sign of the eclipses. The plague was an indisputable prophecy in and of itself.

Ahadith

This section refutes the most important allegations against the hadith in Dar Qutni.

The biggest deceptions against the hadith in Dar Qutni, is that its 1) not a hadith, and 2) not authentic.

Status as a Hadith

The most famous hadith narrated about the Mahdi’s eclipse signs in Ramadhan is the one from Dar Qutni,

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو سَعِيدٍ الْإِصْطَخْرِيُّ , ثنا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ نَوْفَلٍ , ثنا عُبَيْدُ بْنُ يَعِيشَ , ثنا يُونُسُ بْنُ بُكَيْرٍ , عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ شِمْرٍ , عَنْ جَابِرٍ , عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ , قَالَ: إِنَّ لَمَهْدِيِّنَا آيَتَيْنِ لَمْ تَكُونَا مُنْذُ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ , تَنْكَسِفُ الْقَمَرُ لَأَوَّلِ لَيْلَةٍ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ , وَتَنْكَسِفُ الشَّمْسُ فِي النِّصْفِ مِنْهُ , وَلَمْ تَكُونَا مُنْذُ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ

Abū Saʿīd Al-Iṣṭakhri narrated to us, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Naufal told us, ʿUbayd ibn Yaʿīsh told us, Yūnus ibn Bukayr told us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Shimr, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of Muḥammad bin ʿAlī, he said: Indeed, for Our Mahdi there are two signs which have never appeared before since the creation of the heavens and the earth – the moon will be eclipsed on the first night in Ramadan, and the sun will be eclipsed in the middle of it. And these signs have not appeared since Allah created the heavens and the earth.”

[Arabic: Sunan Dar Qutni Vol. 4, pg. 209, Hadith 10/1771]

The sanad of this hadith ends with Imam Muhammad bin Ali and is not raised to the Prophet Muhammad (saw). This is the illustrious Imam Muhammad bin Ali al Baqir (as) of the Ahlul Bayt revered by both Sunnis and Shias. Theres no debate on this according to all scholars (Views of Scholars). Clearly written by Imam Haytami etc. Some Muslims have deceptively written this is Muhammad bin Ali al-Hanafiyya, but this is a lie.

The non-Ahmadis have deceived the masses into thinking that since the chain ends at Imam Baqir (as) – a Tabi’i (generation after Sahaba), therefore its only a qawl (saying) of the Imam, and not a hadith. This is a complete lie – this is indisputably a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (saw).

1. According to the Sunni Muhadithun when a Tabi’i such as Imam Baqir (as) narrates a matter of the unseen like prophecies or matters of the afterlife. Then, this is considered to be a Marfu’ hadith, i.e its directly raised/attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (saw). This is because the Tabi’i has no power or knowledge of unseen matters, and could only be narrating a hadith, and conveying news from the Prophet (saw) without explicitly mentioning him.
    
2. According to Sunni Muhadithun, when the Ahlul Bayt such as Imam Baqir (as) narrate, they usually narrate Mursal³ Ahadith without explicitly mentioning the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Since the Ahlul Bayt were descendants of the Prophet (saw), they narrated on the authority of their forefathers all the way up to the Prophet (saw), so they didn’t think explicitly mentioning the whole chain or the Prophet Muhammad (saw) was necessary. Many Shi’i ahadith are like this. But Sunni sources also prove this principle

Both these principles are why the Hadith in Dar Qutni is considered a hadith of the Prophet (saw) – as it cannot be anything else. Imam Baqir (as) is only a narrator, not the prophet who is making this prophecy!

Imam Suyuti

Principle of Tabi’un

Imam Suyuti has explained this principle about the Tabi’een. In fact, he has also proven the 2nd principle that the Ahlul Bayt (ex. Imam Baqir (as) & his father Ali bin Hussain) usually narrated without explicitly mentioning the Prophet Muhammad (saw). This reference completely refutes all allegations against the status of the Dar Qutni hadith.

هَذَا كُلُّهُ إِذَا صَدَرَ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الصَّحَابِيِّ فَيَكُونُ مَرْفُوعًا مُتَّصِلًا، فَإِنْ صَدر ذَلِكَ مِنَ التَّابِعِيِّ فَهُوَ مَرْفُوعٌ مُرسَل، كَمَا ذَكَرَ ابن الصلاح ذَلِكَ فِي نَظِيرِ الْمَسْأَلَةِ، وَصَرَّحَ الْبَيْهَقِيُّ فِي هَذه الْمسْأَلَةِ بِخُصُوصِهَا، فَإِنَّهُ أَخْرَجَ في شُعَبِ الْإِيمَانِ بِسَنَدِهِ عَنْ أبي قلابة قَالَ: «فِي الْجَنَّةِ قَصْرٌ لِصُوَّامِ رَجَبٍ» ، ثُمَّ قَال: هَذَا الْقَوْلُ عَنْ أبي قلابة، وَهُوَ مِنَ التَّابِعِينَ، فَمِثْلُهُ لَا يَقُولُ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا عَنْ بَلَاغٍ مِمَّنْ فَوْقَهُ عَمَّنْ يَأتيهِ الْوَحْيُ.

“All of this, when it comes from a Companion, it is considered Marfu’ (raised) Mutassil. But if it comes from a Tabi’i (Successor), it is considered Marfu’ (raised) but Mursal, as Ibn al-Salah mentioned in a similar issue, and al-Bayhaqi explicitly stated regarding this matter. He narrated in Shu’ab al-Iman with its chain from Abu Qilabah (a Tabi’i) who said: ‘In Paradise, there is a palace for the one who fasts in Rajab.’ Then he said: ‘This statement is from Abu Qilabah, who is from the Tabi’in (Successors). Such a statement can only be said based on transmission from one greater than him who receives revelation.”

[Arabic: al-Hawi al Fatawa, Vol. 2, pg. 171-173]

He explains earlier, that if a Sahabi narrates a matter of the unseen without mentioning the Prophet (saw), then the narration is considered a Marfu’ Mutassil (raised to the Prophet (saw) and directly connected to him) hadith, as the Sahabi cannot gain such news from anyone but the Prophet (saw).

But if a Tabi’i narrates a matter of the unseen and attributes it to himself, then it’s considered a Marfu’ Mursal hadith (raised to the Prophet (saw) where Tabi’i does not mention the Sahabi he narrated from), as the Tabi’i also cannot gain such news from anyone but the Prophet (saw) who is one greater than the Tabi’i who receives revelation. Imam Suyuti (rh) gives more examples of such narrations.

وَأَخْرَجَ الْبَيْهَقِيُّ أَيْضًا فِي ” شُعَبِ الْإِيمَانِ ” بِسَنَدِهِ عَنْ أبي قلابة قَالَ: «مَنْ حَفِظَ عَشْرَ آيَاتٍ مِنْ سُورَةِ الْكَهْفِ عُصِمَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ الدَّجَّالِ، وَمَنْ قَرَأَ الْكَهْفَ فِي يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ حُفِظَ مِنَ الْجُمُعَة إِلَى الْجُمُعَةِ، وَإِنْ أَدْرَكَ الدَّجَّالَ لَمْ يَضُرَّهُ، وَجَاءَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَوَجْهه كَالْقَمَرِ لَيْلَةَ الْبَدْرِ، وَمَنْ قَرَأَ يس غُفِرَ لَهُ، وَمَنْ قَرَأَهَا وَهُوَ جَائِعٌ شَبِع، وَمَنْ قَرَأَهَا وَهُوَ ضَالٌّ هُدِيَ، وَمَن قَرَأَهَا وَلَهُ ضَالَّةٌ وَجَدَهَا، وَمَنْ قَرَأَها عِنْدَ طَعَامٍ خَافَ قِلَّتَهُ كَفَاهُ، وَمَنْ قَرَأَهَا عِنْدَ مَيِّتٍ هُوِّنَ عَلَيْهِ، ومنْ قرَأهَا عِنْدَ وَالِدَةٍ عَسُرَ عَلَيْهَا وَلدُهَا يُسِّرَ عَلَيْهَا، وَمَنْ قَرَأَهَا فَكَأَنّمَا قرَأ الْقُرْآنَ إِحْدَى عَشْرَةَ مَرَّةً، وَلِكُلّ شَيْءٍ قَلْبٌ، وَقَلْبُ الْقُرْآنِ يس.»

ثُمَّ قَالَ عقبه: هَكَذَا نُقِلَ إِلَيْنَا عَنْ أبي قلابة، وَهُوَ مِنْ كِبَارِ التَّابِعِينَ، وَلَا نَقُولُ ذَلِكَ إِنْ صَحَّ عَنْهُ إِلَّا بَلَاغًا.

“And al-Bayhaqi also narrated in ‘Shu’ab al-Iman’ with its chain from Abu Qilabah who said: ‘Whoever memorizes ten verses from Surah Al-Kahf will be protected from the trial of the Dajjal (Antichrist), and whoever recites Surah Al-Kahf on Friday will be protected from Friday to Friday, and if the Dajjal appears, he will not harm him. And on the Day of Resurrection, his face will shine like the full moon of the night of Badr. Whoever recites Surah Yasin, his sins will be forgiven, and whoever recites it while hungry will be satisfied, and whoever recites it while lost will find guidance, and whoever recites it while having lost property will find it. Whoever recites it at a meal will be satisfied with his portion, and whoever recites it in the presence of a deceased person, it will ease his suffering, and if recited in the presence of a mother, it will ease her childbirth. Whoever recites it, it is as if he has recited the Quran twelve times. Indeed, everything has a heart, and the heart of the Quran is Surah Yasin.'”

“Then he (al-Bayhaqi) said after that: ‘This is how it was conveyed to us from Abu Qilabah, and he is among the senior Tabi’in. We do not accept it as true unless it was simply a conveyance [of a Hadith]'”

[Arabic: al-Hawi al Fatawa, Vol. 2, pg. 171-173]

An example where a great Tabi’i, Abu Qibalah, narrated a matter of the unseen (protection from Dajjal), so Imam Bayhaqi clarified that although Abu Qibalah mentioned it like it was his own narration, and did not explicitly mention the Prophet (saw), its clear that the narration is a hadith, because Abu Qibalah – a Tabi’i has no power over such matters, and can only be conveying a hadith!

وَرَوَى الْإِمَامُ مَالِكٌ فِي ” الْمُوَطَّأِ ” عَنْ يحيى بن سعيد أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ: «إِنَّ الْمُصَلِّيَ لَيُصَلِّي الصَّلَاةَ وَمَا فَاتَهُ وقتُهَا، وَلَمَا فَاتَهُ مِنْ وَقْتِهَا أَعْظَمُ أَوْ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ أَهْلِهِ وَمَالِهِ» .

قَالَ ابْنُ عَبْدِ الْبَرِّ: هَذَا لَهُ حُكْمُ الْمَرْفُوعِ؛ إِذْ يَسْتَحِيلُ أَنْ يَكُونَ مِثْلُهُ رَأْيًا، ويحيى بن سعيد مِنْ صِغَارِ التَّابِعِينَ، وَرَوَى مالك فِي الْمُوَطَّأِ أَيْضًا عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ: «مَنْ صَلَّى بأَرْض فَلَاةٍ صَلَّى عَنْ يَمِينِهِ مَلَكٌ وَعن شِمَالِهِ مَلَكٌ، فَإِنْ أَذَّنَ وَأَقَامَ صَلّى ورَاءَهُ مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ أَمْثَالُ الْجِبَالِ»

قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: هَذَا لَا يُقَالُ بِالرَّأْيِ فَهُوَ مَرْفُوعٌ.

“And Imam Malik narrated in ‘Al-Muwatta’ from Yahya bin Sa’id that he used to say: ‘Even if someone manages to pray before the time of the prayer has passed, the time that has passed him by is more important, or better, than his family and wealth.'”

Ibn Abdul Barr said: “This has the ruling of Marfu’, as it is impossible for it to be an opinion. Yahya bin Sa’id is among the junior Tabi’in. And Malik also narrated in Al-Muwatta’ from Sa’id bin al-Musayyib that he used to say: ‘Whoever prays on waterless, desolate land – an angel prays on his right and an angel prays on his left. When he calls both the adhan and the iqama for the prayer, or calls out the iqama, angels like mountains pray behind him.'”

“Some of them said: ‘This cannot be said to be based on personal opinion, so it is considered Marfu’ (elevated).”

[Arabic: al-Hawi al Fatawa, Vol. 2, pg. 171-173]

Another example where other great Tabi’iun, Yahya bin Sa’id and Sa’id bin al-Musayyib narrate matters of the unseen, the scholars like the illustrious Ibn Abdul Barr all gave the ruling that such narrations are ahadith of the Prophet (saw) and these Tabi’un are only narrating ahadith without explicitly mentioning the Holy Prophet (saw) since its obvious.

وَهَذَا اسْتَدَلَّ بِهِ السبكي فِي ” الْحَلَبِيَّاتِ ” عَلَى حُصُولِ فَضِيلَةِ الْجَمَاعَةِ بِذَلِكَ، وَرَوَى عبد الرزاق عَنْ عكرمة قَالَ: «صُفُوفُ أَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ عَلَى صُفُوفِ أَهْلِ السَّمَاءِ، فَإِذَا وَافَقَ آمِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ آمِينَ فِي السَّمَاءِ غُفِرَ لِلْعَبْدِ» – أَوْرَدَهُ الحافظ ابن حجر فِي ” شَرْحِ الْبُخَارِيِّ ” فِي تَفْسِيرِ قَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ” «فَمنْ وَافَقَ تَأْمِينُهُ تَأْمِينَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ» ” وَقَالَ: مِثْلُهُ لَا يُقَالُ بِالرَّأْيِ، فَالْمَصِيرُ إِلَيْهِ أَوْلَى، وعكرمة تَابِعِيٌّ، وَهَذَا الْأَثَرُ الَّذِي نَحْنُ فِيهِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، فَإِنَّهُ مِنْ أَحْوَالِ الْبَرْزَخِ الَّتِي لَا مَدْخلَ لِلرَّأْيِ وَالِاجْتِهَادِ فِيهَا، وَلَا طَرِيقَ إِلَى مَعْرِفَتِهَا إِلَّا بِالتَّوْقِيفِ وَالْبَلَاغِ عَمَّنْ يَأْتِيهِ الْوَحْيُ، وَقَدْ قَالَ ذَلِكَ عُبَيْدُ بْنُ عُمَيْرٍ وطاوس، وَهُمَا مِنْ كِبَارِ التَّابِعِينَ، فَيَكُونُ حُكْمُهُ حُكْمَ الْحَدِيثِ الْمَرْفُوعِ الْمُرْسَلِ، وَإِنْ ثَبَتَت صُحْبَةُ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ عُمَيْرٍ فَحُكْمُهُ حكمُ المَرْفُوعِ الْمُتَّصِلِ.

“And this was cited by As-Sabki in ‘Al-Halabiyat’ as evidence for the virtue of congregational prayer, and Abdul Razzaq narrated from Ikrimah who said: ‘The ranks of the people on earth correspond to the ranks of the people in the heavens, so when someone says ‘Ameen’ on earth, ‘Ameen’ is said in the heavens, and forgiveness is granted to the servant.’ Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar included it in his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari in explaining the Prophet’s saying, peace be upon him: ‘So whoever’s utterance coincides with that of the angels, their sin will be forgiven.’ And he said: ‘Such statements cannot be based on personal opinion, thus recourse to them is preferable. Ikrimah was a follower (Tabi’i), and this is the tradition we follow in such matters, as they pertain to the states of Barzakh (the intermediary realm between death and resurrection) which do not admit personal opinion or independent reasoning, and there is no way to know them except through transmission and conveyance from one who receives revelation. Ubayd ibn Umayr and Tawus both asserted this, and they are among the senior Tabi’in. Therefore, its ruling is akin to that of a Marfu’ (raised) al Mursal (Mursal). And if the companionship of Ubayd ibn Umayr is confirmed, then its ruling would be akin to that of a Marfu’ (raised) Mutassil.”

[Arabic: al-Hawi al Fatawa, Vol. 2, pg. 171-173]

Another example. Ibn Hajar al Asqalani in Fath-ul-Bari quoted a narration from Ikrimah, a Tabi’i, about angels saying Ameen in heaven. Ibn Hajar al Asqalani explained that since such narrations cannot be from personal views or opinions (ijtihad) its obvious that the Tabi’i is just gaining this news from the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and conveying it without explicitly mentioning him (saw).

Its further written that Tawus, and Ubayd ibn Umayr, other great Tabi’un all knew of this principle, and the ruling of such narrations is Marfu’ Mursal unless a Sahabi also narrated it without mentioning the Prophet Muhammad (saw). If that’s the case then its Marfu’ Mutassil.

قَالَ ابْنُ عَبْدِ الْبَرِّ فِي ” التَّمْهِيدِ ” فِي شَرْحِ حَدِيثِ فِتْنَةِ الْقَبْرِ وَسُؤَالِهِ: أَحْكَامُ الْآخِرَةِ لَا مَدْخَلَ فِيهَا لِلْقِيَاسِ، وَالِاجْتِهَادِ، وَلَا لِلنَّظَرِ وَالِاحْتِجَاجِ، وَاللَّهُ يَفْعَلُ مَا يَشَاءُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ.

وَقَالَ القرطبي فِي ” التَّذْكِرَةِ “: هَذَا الْبَابُ لَيْسَ فِيهِ مُدْخَلٌ لِلْقِيَاسِ، وَلَا مَجَالَ لِلنَّظَرِ فِيهِ، وَإِنَّمَا فِيهِ التَّسْلِيمُ وَالِانْقِيَادُ لِقَوْلِ الصَّادِقِ الْمُرْسَلِ إِلَى الْعِبَادِ، انْتَهَى.

Ibn Abdul Barr said in “At-Tamhid” in the explanation of the hadith concerning the trials of the grave and questioning therein: “The rulings of the Hereafter have no place for analogy, independent reasoning, speculation, or argumentation. Allah does what He wills, and He has no partner.”

And Al-Qurtubi said in “At-Tadhkirah”: “This chapter does not admit analogy, nor is there room for speculation in it. Rather, it entails submission and adherence to the truthful Messenger’s statement conveyed to the servants. End.”

[Arabic: al-Hawi al Fatawa, Vol. 2, pg. 171-173]

Both Ibn Abdul Barr, and Imam Qurtubi also quoted this principle, matters of the unseen can only be ahadith of the Holy Prophet (saw) narrated by Tabiun without explicit mention of the Prophet (saw).

★ Principle of A’immah (Imams) of Ahlul Bayt

The next and main example Imam Suyuti quotes indisputably proves that the narration from Imam Baqir (as) in Dar Qutni is a hadith of the Prophet (saw).

وَيُؤَيِّدُ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ أَنَّ هَذِهِ الْأُمورَ إِذَا صَدَرَتْ مِنَ التَّابِعِينَ تُحْمَلُ عَلَى الرَّفْعِ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – مَا أَخْرَجَهُ ابْنُ أَبِي الدُّنْيَا بِسَنَدِهِ، عَنْ أبي جعفر محمد بن علي قَالَ: كَانَ علي بن حسين يَذْكُرُ «أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا احْتُمِلَ إِلَى قَبْرِهِ نَادَى حَمَلَتَهُ إِذَا بُشِّرَ بِالنَّارِ فَيَقُولُ: يَا إِخْوَتَاهُ، مَا عَلِمْتُمْ مَا عَايَنْتُ بَعْدَكُمْ، إِنْ أَخَاكُمْ بُشِّرَ بِالنَّارِ، فَيَا حَسْرَتَاهُ عَلَى مَا فَرَّطْتُ فِي جَنْبِ اللَّهِ، أَنْشُدُ بِاللَّهِ كُلَّ وَلَدٍ أَوْ جَارٍ أَوْ صَدِيقٍ أَوْ أَخٍ إِلَّا احْتَبَسَنِي عَنْ قَبْرِي، فَإِنَّهُ لَيْس بَيْنَ صَاحِبِكُمْ وَبَيْنَ النَّارِ إِلَّا أَنْ توَارُوهُ فِي التُّرَابِ، وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يُنَادُونَ: امْضِ عَدُوَّ اللَّهِ، فَإِذَا دَنَا مِنْ حُفْرَتِهِ يَقُولُ: مَا لِي مِنْ شَفِيعٍ مُطَاعٍ وَلَا صَدِيقٍ حَمِيمٍ، ثُمَّ إِذَا أُدْخِلَ الْقَبْرَ ضُرِبَ ضَرْبَةً تَذْعَرُ لَهَا كُلُّ دَابَّةٍ غير الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ.

What we have mentioned concerning the fact that if these matters came from the Tabi’een, they are taken to be raised to the Messenger of God (saw) – [supporting this is] what was narrated by Ibn Abi Al-Dunya with his chain of transmission, on the authority of Abu Ja’far Muhammad bin Ali, who said: ‘Ali ibn Husayn used to mention, ‘When the servant is carried to his grave and is informed of the news of the Fire, he will call out to his bearers, ‘O my brothers, do you not know what I have witnessed after you, surely your brother is given the tidings of the Fire, so woe to me for what I neglected in the sight of Allah. I seek refuge from Allah, there is no child, neighbor, friend, or brother, except that they have deserted me at my grave. Indeed, there is nothing between your companion and the Fire except to hide him in the soil And the angels call out, ‘O enemy of Allah, proceed!’ When he nears his pit, he will say, ‘I have no intercessor to obey or close friend to protect me.’ Then, as he is placed in the grave, a blow will be struck that will cause every creature except jinn and humans to tremble.'”

[Arabic: al-Hawi al Fatawa, Vol. 2, pg. 171-173]

وَأَمَّا وَلِيُّ اللَّهِ إِذَا احْتُمِلَ إِلَى قَبْرِهِ وَبُشِّرَ بِالْجَنَّةِ نَادَى حَمَلَته: يا إِخْوَتَاهُ، أَمَا عَلِمْتُمْ أَنِّي بُشِّرْت بَعْدَكُمْ بِالرِّضَا مِنَ اللَّهِ، وَالْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّجَاةِ مِنْ سَخَطِ اللَّهِ وَالنَّارِ، فَعَجِّلوا بِي إِلَى حُفْرَتِي فَ {يَالَيْتَ قَوْمِي يَعْلَمُونَ – بِمَا غَفَرَ لِي رَبِّي وَجَعَلَنِي مِنَ الْمُكْرَمِينَ} [يس: ٢٦ – ٢٧] ، وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يُنَادُونَ: امْضِ وَلِيَّ اللَّهِ إِلَى رَبٍّ كَرِيمٍ يُثِيبُ بِالشَّيْءِ الْيَسِيرِ الْعَظِيمَ الْجَزِيلَ، اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهَا غُدْوَةً أَوْ رَوْحةً إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ، فَإِذَا أُدْخِلَ الْقَبْر تُلُقِّيَ بِحُزْمَةٍ مِنْ رَيْحَانِ الْجَنَّة، يَجد رِيحَهَا كُلُّ ذِي رِيحٍ غَيْرَ الْإِنْسِ وَالْجِنِّ.»

“As for the friend of Allah, when he is carried to his grave and informed of Paradise, he calls out to his bearers: ‘O my brothers, do you not know that I have been given glad tidings, after you, of Allah’s pleasure, Paradise, and salvation from the wrath of Allah and the Fire. Hurry me to my grave, so that [I may say], ‘Oh, I wish my people could know, of how my Lord has forgiven me and made me of the honored.’ (Quran 36:26-27). And the angels call out: ‘Proceed, O friend of Allah, to a generous Lord who rewards greatly and abundantly with the smallest yet most immense reward.’ O Allah, make it a dawn or an evening to Paradise. When he is placed in the grave, a bundle of the fragrance of Paradise is cast upon him, its scent perceivable by every creature except humans and jinn.”

[Arabic: al-Hawi al Fatawa, Vol. 2, pg. 171-173]

This is a narration of the Ahlul Bayt. Imam Baqir (as) is narrating from his father Imam Ali bin Husayn (Imam Zayn ul Abideen). Imam Zayn ul Abidin narrated information as the sole narrator about the matters after death without any mention of a Sahabi, or the Prophet Muhammad (saw).

قَالَ أبو جعفر: كَانَ علي بن حسين إِذَا ذَكَرَ أَشْبَاهَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ بَكَى ثُمَّ يَقُولُ: إِنِّي لَأَخَافُ اللَّهَ أَنْ أَكْتُمَهُ، وَلَئِنْ أظْهَرْتُهُ لَيَدْخُلَنَّ عَلَيَّ أَذًى مِنَ الفسقة، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ علي بن حسين ذَكَرَ حَدِيثَ الَّذِي يُنَادِي حَمَلَتَهُ، فَقَالَ ضمرة بن معبد – رَجُلٌ مِنْ بَنِي زُهْرَةَ – وَاللَّهِ يَا علي بن حسين لَوْ أَنَّ الْمَيِّتَ يَفْعَلُ كَمَا زَعَمْتَ بمناشَدَتِكَ حَمَلَتَهُ إِذًا لَوَثَبَ عَن أَيدِي الرَّجُلِ مِنْ سَرِيرِهِ، فَضَحِكَ أُنَاسٌ مِنَ الْفسَقَةِ، وَغَضِبَ علي بن حسين وَقَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّ ضمرة كَذَّبَ بِمَا جَاءَ بِهِ مُحَمَّد رَسُولُكَ، فَخُذْهُ أَخْذَ أَسِفٍ، فَمَا لَبثَ ضمرة إِلَّا أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً حَتَّى مَاتَ فَجْأَة.

Abu Ja’far said: “When Ali ibn Husayn mentioned something similar to this hadith, he would cry, then say: ‘Indeed, I fear Allah to conceal it [the narration]. But when I reveal it, I face harm from the wicked.’ This is because Ali ibn Husayn mentioned the hadith in which he calls out to his bearers. Then Zimra bin Ma’bad, a man from the Banu Zuhrah tribe, said: ‘By Allah, O Ali ibn Husayn, if the deceased were to do as you claim with your plea to his bearers, he would leap from the hands of the man carrying him!’ Some wicked individuals laughed, angering Ali ibn Husayn, who said: ‘O Allah, indeed Zimra has lied about what Muhammad, your Messenger, brought. So, take him with a seizing punishment.’ Zimra did not live more than forty nights after that, until he suddenly died.”

[Arabic: al-Hawi al Fatawa, Vol. 2, pg. 171-173]

It further says, Imam Zayn ul Abidin would always be sorrowful in narrating this narration, because people used to mock at it, saying how can such things happen after death while being carried to the grave?! Once a man named Zimra bin Ma’bad mocked at the narration while Imam Zayn ul Abidin was narrating it saying how can such nonsensical events happen. At this Imam Zayn ul Abidin became furious and he told Zimra that he had made fun of a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Due to this curse, Zimra did not even live forty days afterwards.

قَالَ أبو جعفر: فَأَشْهَدُ عَلَى مسلم بن شعيب مَوْلَاهُ – وَكَانَ مَا عَلِمْنَاهُ خِيَارًا – أَنَّهُ أَتَى علي بن حسين لَيْلًا فَقَالَ: أَشْهَدُ أَنِّي سَمِعْتُ ضمرة أَعْرِفُهُ كَمَا كُنْتُ أَعْرِفُ صَوْتَهُ حَيًّا وَهُوَ يُنَادِي فِي قَبْرِهِ: وَيْلٌ طَوِيلٌ لضمرة إِلَّا أَنْ يَتَبَرَّأَ مِنْكَ كُلُّ خَلِيلٍ، وَحَلَلْتَ فِي نَارِ الْجَحِيمِ فِيهَا مَبِيتُكَ وَالْمَقِيلُ، فَقَالَ علي بن حسين: نَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ الْعَافِيَةَ، هَذَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ ضَحِكَ وَأَضْحَكَ النَّاسَ بِحَدِيثِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

Abu Ja’far said: “So I testify regarding Muslim ibn Shu’ayb, his freed slave – and what we knew of him was good – that he came to Ali ibn Husayn one night and said: ‘I bear witness that I heard Zimra, whom I knew well, as I recognized his voice when he was alive, calling out from his grave: ‘Woe, an everlasting woe to Zimra, unless every friend distances himself from you. You have become lawful fuel for the Hellfire, where you will stay and be burned.’ Ali ibn Husayn responded: ‘We ask Allah for safety. This is the recompense for one who laughed and made people laugh with the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.’

[Arabic: al-Hawi al Fatawa, Vol. 2, pg. 171-173]

Then, a man who knew Zimra, Muslim ibn Shu’ayn heard Zimra from his grave, he heard his voice while he was regretting his afterlife. He told this to Imam Zayn ul Abidin (as) and he (as) responded this is the fate of those who mock at the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw).

The conclusion Imam Suyuti wrote is,

فَانْظُرْ كَيْفَ ذَكَرَ علي بن حسين الْحَدِيثَ أَوَّلًا مِنْ غَيْرِ تَصْرِيحٍ بِعَزْوِهِ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، اتكالا عَلَى عِلْمِ ذَلِكَ؛ لِأَنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِمَّا يُقالُ مِنْ قِبَلِ الرَّأْيِ، وَإِنَّمَا مُعْتَمدُهُ التَّوْقِيفُ وَالسَّمَاعُ، ثُمَّ لَمَّا وَقَعتْ هَذهِ الْقِصَّةُ صَرَّحَ بِأَنَّهُ حَدِيث جاءَ بِه رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم، وَبِالْجُمْلَةِ فَالْحُكْمُ عَلَى مِثْل هَذَا بِالرَّفْعِ مِنَ الْأُمُورِ الَّتِي أَجْمَعَ عَلَيْهَا أَهْلُ الْحَدِيثِ.

So observe how Ali ibn Husayn mentioned the hadith initially without explicitly attributing it to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, relying on his knowledge of it, because it is not something that can be deduced through personal opinion; rather, its foundation is based on tradition and transmission. Then, when this incident occurred, he explicitly stated that it was a hadith brought by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. In conculusion, the ruling regarding such matters is to raise them to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, as agreed upon by the scholars of hadith.

[Arabic: al-Hawi al Fatawa, Vol. 2, pg. 171-173]

Initially, Imam Zayn ul Abidin narrated the hadith without explicitly mentioning the Messenger of Allah (saw) as this was obvious and understood by everyone, but after this story occurred he (as) explicitly said this is a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw). This proves from Sunni sources that the Ai’mmah Ahlul Bayt especially had a habit of narrating without explicitly mentioning the Prophet Muhammad (saw), and even though the chains of their narrations ended at themselves, it was obvious it was a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw)! Remember the narrators of this incident are Imam Baqir (as), and his father Imam Zayn ul Abidin (as).

This reference clearly proves two things,

1. If a Tabi’i narrates a matter of the unseen attributing it to himself, its understood the Tabi’i is narrating a hadith without explicitly mentioning the Prophet Muhammad (saw)
2. Specifically, when the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt narrate a matter of the unseen and attribute it to themselves, then its obviously a hadith. The Ai’mmah of the Ahlul Bayt often narrated without explicitly mentioning the Prophet (saw). Now this principle is indisputably proven from Sunni sources although its well-known among Shias.

Since the narration from Imam Baqir (as) is a matter of the unseen, and since Imam Baqir (as) is both a Tabi’i and an illustrious Imam of the Ahlul Bayt, so its qati’ (certain) that the narration in Dar Qutni is a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw) and Imam Baqir (as) is simply a narrator! This is the end of it.

These two principles were well-known by the Sunni scholars of hadith, and among them, many clarified that the Dar Qutni narration from Imam Baqir (as) is a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw).

★ Imam Baqir (as) narrated Marasil

The giants of hadith science also clearly wrote that Imam Muhammad bin Ali al Baqir (as) used to narrate Mursal ahadith a lot

In Imam al-Dhahabi’s Siyar A’lam al-Nubala’ it testifies that Imam Muhammad b. ‘Alī al-Bāqir (rh) narrated mursal ahadith from the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw):

١٥٨ – ابنه أبو جعفر الباقر (ع)

روى عن جَدَّيْه : النبي ﷺ ، وعلي رضي الله عنه مرسلاً، وعن جَديه وعائشة مرسلاً، الحسن والحسين مرسلاً أيضاً، وعن ابن عباس، وأم سلمة

“Abū Ja‘far al-Bāqir […] He narrated hadith from his ancestors—the Prophet Muhammad, ‘Alī [b. Abī Ṭālib], al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn with mursal chains of narration. He also narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās, Abū Hurayra, Samura b. Jundub, Umm Salama, ‘Ā’isha with mursal chains of narration.”

[Arabic: Siyar A’lam al-Nubala’, no. 158, Vol. 4, pg. 401]
[English: Biography of Muhammad al-Baqir (d. 732) in al-Dhahabi’s “Siyar A’lam al-Nubala’” (ca. 1340)]

In Imam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani’s Tahdhib al Tahdhib it testifies that that Imam Muhammad b. ‘Alī al-Bāqir (rh) narrated mursal ahadith on the authority of his forefathers (Ai’mmah Ahlul Bayt):

ع – محمد بن على بن الحسين بن على بن ابي طالب الهاشمي ابو جعفر الباقرامه بنت الحسن بن على بن ابي طالب، روى من ابيه وجديه الحسن والحسين وجدابيه على بن ابي طالب مرسل

“(Muhammad) b. ‘Alī b. al-Ḥusayn b. ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib Al Hashmi Abū Ja‘far al-Bāqir. His mother is the daughter of al-Ḥasan b. ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib • narrated from his father—’Ali ibn Hussain, his grandfather—Hussain ibn ‘Ali, granduncle—Hassan ibn ‘Ali, ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (Mursal)…“

[Arabic: Tahdhib al Tahdhib, Vol. 9, pg. 350]
[English: Narrations of Imam al Baqir]

This proves Imam Baqir (as) used to narrate Mursal ahadith, on the authority of his forefathers (Ai’mmah Ahlul Bayt) and other Sahaba.

This and the principle of Ai’mmah Ahlul Bayt narrating without explicitly mentioning the Prophet Muhammad (saw), and the Tabi’un narrating matters of the unseen without mentioning the Prophet Muhammad (saw), prove without a shadow of a doubt that the narration in Dar Qutni is a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw).

Al-Shawkānī (d. 1250H)

The great scholar Al-Shawkani wrote all narrations on Mahdi/Messiah have the rank of Marfu’ ahadith (directly attributed to the Prophet (saw)) as no one other than the Prophet (saw) can prophecy. Hazrat Masih Maud (as) quoted him in his book,

شوکانی اپنی کتاب توضیح میں لکھتا ہے کہ آثار واردہ جو مسیح اور مہدی کے بارے میں ہیں وہ رفع ۔ میں ہیں کیونکہ پیشگوئیوں میں اجتہاد کو راہ نہیں ۔ مگر میں کہتا ہوں کہ بہت کی پیشگوئیاں مہدی اور مسیح کے بارے میں ایسی ہیں جو باہم تناقض رکھتی ہیں یا قرآن شریف کے مخالف ہیں یا سنت اللہ کی ضد ہیں اس صورت میں اگر ان کا رفع بھی ہوتا تاہم بعض اُن میں سے ہرگز قبول کے لائق نہ تھیں۔ ہاں حسب اقرارشوکانی صاحب کسوف خسوف کی پیشگوئی بلا شبہ رفع کے حکم میں ہے بلکہ یہ پیشگوئی مرفوع متصل حدیث سے بھی صد ہا درجہ قوی تر ہے۔ کیونکہ اس نے اپنے وقوع سے اپنی سچائی آپ ظاہر کر دی اور قرآن شریف نے اس کے مضمون کی تصدیق کی اور نیز قرآن شریف نے اس کے مقابل کی ایک اور پیشگوئی بیان فرمائی یعنی اونٹوں کے بیکار ہونے کی پیشگوئی ۔ اس زمینی نشان کا ذکر آسمانی نشان یعنی کسوف خسوف کا مصدق ہے۔ کیونکہ یہ دونوں نشان ایک دوسرے کے مقابل پڑے ہیں اور ایسا ہی تو ریت کے بعض صحیفوں میں اس کی تصدیق موجود ہے اور یہ مرتبہ ثبوت کا کسی دوسری حدیث مرفوع متصل کو جس کے ساتھ یہ لوازم نہ ہوں حاصل نہیں ۔ منہ

“Shawkani writes in his book “Tawdhih” that Athar about the Masih and Mahdi are in the category of Rafa’ (raised directly to the Messenger SAW) as prophecies cannot have personal opinion (ijtihad). However, I say that many prophecies about the Mahdi and Masih are such that contradict each other, or are against the Holy Quran, or are against the Sunnat of Allah (practice of God), in such a case even if they were Rafa’ some among them are still not worthy of being accepted. Yes, according to the view of Shawkani Sahib, the prophecy of the lunar and solar eclipse no doubt holds the rank of Rafa’, in fact it is much stronger than even a Marfu’ Mutassil hadith. This is because it has showed its own truth by being fulfilled, and the Holy Quran testifies to its subject-matter, and the Holy Quran further mentions another prophecy in comparison to it, i.e the prophecy of camels being rendered useless. This sign relating to the earth is a testement to the heavenly sign of the lunar and solar eclipses. This is because these two signs match one another. And just like this, some references of the Torah also testify to it, and no other Marfu’ Mutassil hadith having all these requirements, holds this level of proof.”

[Urdu: Nur ul Haqq Part 2, pg. 194]

Nūrul Ḥasan Khān (d. 1335H)

A huge Salafi scholar, son of Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan. He explained the Ramadhan eclipses are among the signs of the Mahdi, he quoted the original source of this sign which is the hadith in Dar Qutni from Imam Baqir (as), he clarified regarding this Dar Qutni narration and several other narrations about the Mahdi narrated by the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt,

۔ ۸ رمضان میں سورج چاند کو گہن لگنا یہ روایت امام محمد بن علی باقر سے ہے انہوں نے کہا ہمارے مہدی کے لئے دو نشانیاں ہیں کہ جب سے خدا نے آسمان زمین کو پیدا کیا ہے آجتک نہیں ہوئین ایک یہ کہ پہلی رات رمضان کو کسوف قمر کا ہو گا دوسرے نصف رمضان میں سورج کو گہن لگیگا . رواه الدار قطني في سننه وعن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما قال لا يخرج المهدى حتى تطلع من الشمس اية رواه البيهقي ونعيم بن حماد ۔

مہدی اولاد فاطمہ میں ہونگے اسلئے ائمہ اہلبیت کو زیادہ تر اعتناء اونکی علامات ظہور سے رہا کیا ہے یہ روایات اگر چه آثار ہین لکن حکم مرفوع میں ہین اسلئے کہ اجتہاد کو ایسے احوال مین کچه دخل و مجال نہیں ہے

8. The eclipse of the sun and moon in Ramadhan, this narration is from Imam Muhammad bin Ali Baqir, he stated for our Mahdi are two signs which have not occured since God created the skies and earth have not happened to this day, the first is that on the first night in Ramadhan a lunar eclipse will happen, and the second that in the middle of Ramadhan a solar eclipse will take place, narrated Dar Qutni in his Sunan, and Ibn Abbas (ra) said: The Mahdi will not emerge until a sign comes from the sun, narrated al-Bayhaqi and Nu’aym bin Hammad. […]

“The Mahdi will be from the children of Fatima, this is why there is greater attention from the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt regarding the signs of his advent, these narrations – although they are athar– their hukm (rank) is Marfu’ (hadith directly attributed to the Prophet Muhammad SAW), due to the fact that Ijtihad (personal opinion) has no place or power over these matters (prophecies)”

[Urdu: Iqtirab al-Sa’ah 106-107]

So, he clearly wrote the narration from Imam Baqir (as) in Sunan Dar Qutni is a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw), and is raised directly to him.

Sami al-Ghurayri

In his footnotes of Sheikh Mar’ees book on the endtimes, he not only accepted the Dar Qutni hadith and explained the sign as authentic, but he wrote clearly in the footnote that this is a Mursal hadith not a random qawl.

أنظر ، سنن الدار قطني : ٦٥/٢ – ١٠- علامات يوم القيامة للإمام الحافظ القرطبي أن ٦٧١ ها، طبع المكتبة التوفيقية ، أمام الباب الأخضر – سيدنا الحسين : ١٥ و ١٠٤، القول المختصر : ٢٠ – ٣ مرسلاً.

“(4) Look in Sunan Dar Qutni 2/65. Signs of the Qiyamah Imam Hafiz al-Qurtubi 671. […] Mursal“

[Arabic: Farāʾid Fawāʾid al-Fikr fī al-Imām al-Mahdī al-Muntaẓar pg. 255-256 footnote (3)]

Imam Dar Qutni

Obviously, Imam Dar Qutni knew these principles of hadith science. He recorded the narration of Imam Baqir (as) about eclipses among the ahadith of the Holy Prophet (saw) in the Chapter on eclipses. This proves that the status of this narration as a hadith was well-known.

These are all the ahadith under, ‘Bab Sifati Salati al Khusuf wal Kusuf wa Haiaatihimaa (Chapter on description of Lunar eclipse and solar eclipse prayers and their forms)‘ in which 10/1771 is the narration from Imam Baqir (as). This is the list,

(Under the chapter, highlighted in green are the other narrations, highlighted in purple is the narration from Imam Baqir (as))

Bab Sifati Salati al Khusuf wal Kusuf wa Haiaatihimaa (Chapter on the description of Lunar eclipse and solar eclipse prayers and their forms)

1/1762: Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saw)
2/1763: says along the lines of “same narrated on the authority of Al Zuhri”
3/1764: Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saw)
4/1765: Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saw)
5/1766: Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saw)
6/1767: Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saw)
7/1768: Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saw)
8/1769: Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saw)
9/1770: Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saw)
10/1771: Eclipse narration from Imam Baqir (as) of the Ahlul Bayt. (highlighted in purple)
11/1772: Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (saw)

Therefore, it is clear and obvious Imam Dar Qutni considered the narration from Imam Baqir (as) a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (saw), otherwise, such an organization makes no sense. Imam Dar Qutni included the eclipse narration of Imam Baqir (as) among the ahadith, as a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw).

The Imam also obviously knew the principle of the Ahlul Bayt, and Marfu’ Mursal, so such an organization makes complete sense. In sum, Imam Dar Qutni himself knew this narration was a hadith.

Shia Sources

Although the Dar Qutni narration being a hadith has been indisputable proven from Sunni principles, in the Shia sect, the principle of the Ahlul Bayt narrating the ahadith of the Prophet (saw) without a chain of narration up to the Prophet Muhammad (saw) is also well known. There are thousands of ahadith in the Shia sect like this.

Another narration is found in Bihar al Anwar, this narration is from the same narrators who narrated the eclipse hadith. ‘Amr bin Shimr, and Jabir al Ju’fi. Therefore we know that the narrations from these two narrators on the authority of Imam Baqir (as) are Marfu’ ahadith despite the weakness of the narrators.

۲۷ – جا : ابن قولويه ، عن ابن عيسى ، عن هارون بن مسلم ، عن ابن أسباط ، عن ابن عميرة ، عن عمرو بن شمر ، عن جابر قال : قلت لأبي جعفر ا : إذا حد تتني بحديث فأسنده لي . فقال : حدثني أبي ، عن جدي ، عن رسول الله صلوات الله عليهم ، عن جبرئيل ، عن الله عز وجل، وكل ما أحدثك بهذا الإسناد

“Ibn Qulawayh reported from Ibn Isa, from Harun bin Muslim, from Ibn Asbat, from Ibn ‘Umayr, from ‘Amr bin Shimr, from Jabir who said: I said to Abu Ja’far (Imam Baqir): ‘When you narrate a Hadith to me, please provide me with the isnad (full chain of narrators)’ He said: ‘My father narrated to me from his grandfather, from the Messenger of Allah (saw), from Gabriel (), from Allah Almighty. And everything I narrate to you, it is from this sanad (chain).’

[Arabic: Bihar ul Anwar, Vol. 2, pg. 178]

The next two narrations from Imam Abu Abdullah Ja’far al Sadiq (as) are quite famous and are often quoted by Shias to show the principle of the Ahlul Bayt,

ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ سَالِمٍ وَحَمَّادِ بْنِ عُثْمَانَ وَغَيْرِهِ قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الله  يَقُولُ حَدِيثِي حَدِيثُ أَبِي وَحَدِيثُ أَبِي حَدِيثُ جَدِّي وَحَدِيثُ جَدِّي حَدِيثُ الْحُسَيْنِ وَحَدِيثُ الْحُسَيْنِ حَدِيثُ الْحَسَنِ وَحَدِيثُ الْحَسَنِ حَدِيثُ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ  وَحَدِيثُ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَدِيثُ رَسُولِ الله ﷺ وَحَدِيثُ رَسُولِ الله قَوْلُ الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

14. Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from ‘Umar ibn ’Abd al-‘Aziz from Hisham ibn Salim, Hammed ibn ‘Uthman and others who have said the following. “Abu ‘Abdallah  said, ‘My Hadith is the Hadith of my father. The Hadith of my father is the Hadith of my grandfather. The Hadith of my grandfather is the Hadith of Imam Husayn. The Hadith of Imam al-Husayn is the Hadith of Imam al- Hassan. The Hadith of Imam al-Hassan is the Hadith of Imam Ali . The Hadith of Imam Ali is the Hadith of the holy Prophet (s.a.) and the Hadith of the holy Prophet is the words of Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious.’”

[Al Kafi, Vol. 1, Book. 2, Ch. 17, no. 14]

ـ وَعَنْهُ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ عَنِ الْقَاسِمِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ عَنْ أَبِي بَصِيرٍ قَالَ قُلْتُ لابِي عَبْدِ الله  الْحَدِيثُ أَسْمَعُهُ مِنْكَ أَرْوِيهِ عَنْ أَبِيكَ أَوْ أَسْمَعُهُ مِنْ أَبِيكَ أَرْوِيهِ عَنْكَ قَالَ سَوَاءٌ إِلا أَنَّكَ تَرْوِيهِ عَنْ أَبِي أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ وَقَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ الله  لِجَمِيلٍ مَا سَمِعْتَ مِنِّي فَارْوِهِ عَنْ أَبِي.

4. It is narrated from him from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from al-Husayn ibn Sa‘id from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad from Ali ibn abu Hamza from abu Basir who has said the following: “Once I asked Abu ‘Abdillah , ‘Can I narrate a Hadith I hear from you as a Hadith of your father or narrate what I have heard from your father as your Hadith?’ The Imam said, ‘It is all the same. However, I would love if you narrate from my father.’ Abu ‘Abd Allah , once said to Jamil, ‘What you hear from me you may narrate as a Hadith of my father also.’”

[Al Kafi, Vol. 1, Book. 2, Ch. 17, no. 4]

Therefore all the ahadith of the Ahlul Bayt are just narrated on the authority of their forefathers, its all the same. They just dont explicitly mention the full chain as its obvious. This is now proven from both Sunni/Shia sources.

Holy Quran

The Holy Quran finishes all arguments. It says that clear knowledge of the unseen, like clear prophecies are only revealed to the Messenger of Allah.

عٰلِمُ الۡغَیۡبِ فَلَا یُظۡہِرُ عَلٰی غَیۡبِہٖۤ اَحَدًا اِلَّا مَنِ ارۡتَضٰی مِنۡ رَّسُوۡلٍ

He is the Knower of the Unseen, and He does not disclose His Unseen to anyone other than to a Messenger whom He chooses 

[Holy Quran 72:27-28]

Since the hadith in Dar Qutni is a prophecy, it can only be a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Imam Baqir (as) had no power or authority to share such a prophecy from himself. This verse is enough as proof.

Hazrat Hakim Nuruddin Khalifatul Masih al Awal (ra)

سوال – کیا مرزا صاحب مہدی تھے

۔ جواب ہاں مہدی تھے۔ آپؐ کے صدق کی دلیل وہ حدیث ہے جو دار قطنی صفحہ ١٨٨ میں اہل بیت سے مروی ہے کہ ماہ رمضان میں سورج گرہن لگنے کی درمیانی تاریخوں میں اور چاند گرہن لگنے کی پہلی تاریخ میں ہوگا۔ یہ نشان آپ کے دعوای کے ساتھ ظاہر ہوا۔

Question: Is Mirza Sahib the Mahdi?

Answer:: Yes, he was the Mahdi. The proof for his (as) truthfulness is that hadith which is narrated by the Ahlul Bayt in Dar Qutni Page 188. That in Ramadan, the solar eclipse will happen on its middle date, and the lunar eclipse will happen on its date of it eclipse. This sign was manifested with his claim.

[Al Badr August 22 1912. no. 8, pg. 3]
[Khalifa Awal (ra) Q/A – Basics about Ahmadis]

He (ra) became the first Khalifa of Islam Ahmadiyya, and was a great famous Muhaddith in India. He (ra) has testified to the narration’s status as a hadith of the Prophet (saw) narrated through the Ahlul Bayt.

Imam Mahdi (as)

“The third objection that is raised is that this hadith is not Marfu‘ Muttasil and is merely a statement of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, may Allah be pleased with him. The answer is that it was the practice of the Imams belonging to the Holy Prophet’s House that, on account of their personal eminence, they did not consider it necessary to record the chain of reporters by name, reaching all the way to the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. This practice of theirs is quite well known. Thus, there are hundreds of ahadith of this kind in the Shi‘ah sect; moreover, Imam Dar Qutni has included it in his collection among the sequence of the ahadith.

Furthermore, this hadith comprises a matter of the unseen that has actually manifested after 1300 years. It says, in brief, that, ‘At the time of the Promised Mahdi, the lunar eclipse will take place on the 13th night of Ramadan, and the solar eclipse will take place on the 28th day of the same month; and an event such as this will not happen in the time of any other claimant except the Promised Mahdi.’ It is quite obvious that no one except a Prophet can so vividly tell about a matter belonging to the unseen. Allah the Exalted says in the Holy Quran:

عٰلِمُ الۡغَیۡبِ فَلَا یُظۡہِرُ عَلٰی غَیۡبِہٖۤ اَحَدًا اِلَّا مَنِ ارۡتَضٰی مِنۡ رَّسُوۡلٍ

Meaning that, God does not communicate His knowledge of the unseen to anyone except His chosen Messengers. Now, since this prophecy has been fulfilled to the letter, claims that the hadith is inauthentic, or that it is a saying of Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, are lame excuses”

[English: Haqiqatul Wahi pg. 245-246]

Therefore, the narration in Dar Qutni is undoubtedly a hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saw).

Authenticity

The next greatest allegation is that the hadith in Dar Qutni is fabricated and weak and therefore cannot be used as evidence.

This is due to the narrators in the chain (عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ شِمْرٍ, عَنْ جَابِرٍ), ‘Amru bin Shimr, and Jabir al-Ju’fi who are narrating on the authority of Imam Baqir (as). The scholars of hadith have written about the weakness of these narrators, for example, Yahya bin Ma’in and Imam Dahabi have called these narrators weak.

Even though the weakness of these narrators is recognized, this allegation is baseless, this hadith can be used as evidence due to many reasons.

Mullah’s Hypocrisy

Ahmadis are not even obliged to establish the individual authenticity of the hadith in Dar Qutni, the miracle of the eclipses is not affected at all by it.

The Mullahs themselves accepted this hadith and challenged Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) to bring forth this sign, so the eclipse sign happened in response to their demand and the prayer of the Mahdi as previously explained. So to speak on the narrators of the hadith after such an incident is extreme hypocrisy.

View of Scholars

The scholars accepted this hadith in Dar Qutni, and continuously wrote that it would be fulfilled for the Mahdi for 1100 years. Not one of the great Muhatithun weakened. They had good reason to do so, they knew this eclipse sign was authentic.

In fact, the giant Deobandi Sunni scholar Rashid Ahmad Gangohi explicitly said the Dar Qutni hadith has never been rendered. While the great Abdul Jabbar Ghaznavi orally answered the hadith is Sahih as Hazrat Maulana Ibrahim Baqapuri (ra), an Ahmadi witness testified.

External Sources

This hadith is based off the Holy Quran and is a commentary of it, The Holy Quran already established Messiah/Mahdi’s eclipse signs independently, without any need of the Dar Qutni hadith.

Moreover, Ulema received Wahi’ (look in Wahi’ of Ulema section) about this eclipse sign. And the Bible also independently establishes this sign. This shows that this hadith is genuine and not a lie.

Imam Dar Qutni

Imam Dar Qutni himself wrote that Jabir ul Ju’fi’s narrations can be accepted if they are confirmed through other paths on the authority of the great scholars (Ai’mmah) of hadith.

١٤٣ – جابر بن يزيد الجعفي.
إن اعتبر له بحديث بعد حديث صالح إذا كان / عن الأئمة

“143 – Jabir bin Yazid al-Ju’fi.

If he is corroborated by another hadith which is on the authority of the A’immah, then his hadith can be considered authentic.”

[Arabic: Al-Dhu’afa’ wal Mutarukun pg. 99]

Its established below that the hadith in Dar Qutni is indeed established through many paths on the authority of the Ai’mmah (Tabi’un), so the Dar Qutni hadith is no doubt authentic according the principle of Imam Dar Qutni himself. It now makes sense why Imam Dar Qutni chose to write down this hadith in his Sunan.

Support from Sahih Ahadith

Why did the scholars believe that the sign of the eclipses in Dar Qutni was an authentic hadith regarding the Mahdi despite the weakness of the narrators ‘Amru bin Shimr, and Jabir al-Ju’fi? The answer is that although this lone narration in Dar Qutni is weak in and of itself, it has support from other Sahih ahadith which the scholars used to quote alongside the Dar Qutni hadith! This is why the hadith in Dar Qutni was also considered authentic.

 أخبرنا أبو نَصْر ابنُ قَتَادَة، حدثنا محمدُ بنُ أحمدَ بنِ حَامِد العَطَّار، أخبرنا أحمدُ بنُ الحَسن بنِ عَبدِ الجَبَّار، حدثنا يَحيى بنُ مَعِين، حدثنا عبدُ الرَّزاق، أخبرنا مَعْمَر ، عن ابْنِ طَاوُس، عَن عَلِي بنِ عبد الله بنِ عَباس قال: لا يَخرُجُ المَهدِيُّ حتى تَطْلُعَ مَع الشَّمسِ آيَةٌ

Abu Nasr ibn Qatada informed us, Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hamid al-Attar told us, Ahmed ibn al-Hasan ibn Abdul Jabbar narrated to us, Yahya ibn Ma’in narrated to us, Abdul Razzaq informed us, Ma’mar narrated to us, from Ibn Tawus, from Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Abbas who said: “The Mahdi will not emerge until a sign appears with the sun.”

[Arabic: al-Bă’th wăl-Nūshūr pg. 136-137]

Imam Bayhaqi wrote this authentic narration in his book under the chapter on the Mahdi’s advent, and Imam Nu’aym bin Hammad did the same. When Sunni scholars, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), or Ahmadis say that the hadith in Dar Qutni is also recorded by al-Bayhaqi, this narration is meant.

حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، وَابْنُ ثَوْرٍ، وَعَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ، عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ طَاوُسٍ، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ: لَا يَخْرُجُ الْمَهْدِيُّ حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ آيَةً

مقطوع صحيح الإسناد

“951 – Ibn al-Mubarak, and Ibn Thawr, and Abdur-Razzaq narrated from Ma’mar, from Ibn Tawus, from Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Abbas who said: ‘The Mahdi will not emerge until the sun rises as a sign.'”

Maqtu’ Sahih-al-Isnad

[Arabic: Kitabul Fitn edited by Abdullah al-Sissi, Vol. 1, pg. 566]

Abdullah al-Sissi the research scholar has clearly written its Sahih. This Sahih narration is Hadith Maqtu’ (Tabi’i narration) but has the hukm (rank) of a Marfu’ hadith as explained in the section of Tabi’un narrating ahadith without explicitly mentioning the Messenger of Allah (saw). It speaks about the same sign as the hadith in Sunan Dar Qutni.

Imam Suyuti, Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan, and especially Nurul Hasan Khan and al Barzanji, all quoted this narration in support of the hadith in Dar Qutni, pointing to the fact that these narrations mention the same eclipse sign for the Mahdi. This not only proves that these scholars accepted the hadith in Dar Qutni but also that the hadith has support from Sahih paths according to these scholars. As Nurul Hasan Khan clearly wrote,

۔ ۸ رمضان میں سورج چاند کو گہن لگنا یہ روایت امام محمد بن علی باقر سے ہے انہوں نے کہا ہمارے مہدی کے لئے دو نشانیاں ہیں کہ جب سے خدا نے آسمان زمین کو پیدا کیا ہے آجتک نہیں ہوئین ایک یہ کہ پہلی رات رمضان کو کسوف قمر کا ہو گا دوسرے نصف رمضان میں سورج کو گہن لگیگا . رواه الدار قطني في سننه وعن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما قال لا يخرج المهدى حتى تطلع من الشمس اية رواه البيهقي ونعيم بن حماد ۔

مہدی اولاد فاطمہ میں ہونگے اسلئے ائمہ اہلبیت کو زیادہ تر اعتناء اونکی علامات ظہور سے رہا کیا ہے یہ روایات اگر چه آثار ہین لکن حکم مرفوع میں ہین اسلئے کہ اجتہاد کو ایسے احوال مین کچه دخل و مجال نہیں ہے

“8. The eclipse of the sun and moon in Ramadhan, this narration is from Imam Muhammad bin Ali Baqir, he stated for our Mahdi are two signs which have not occured since God created the skies and earth have not happened to this day, the first is that on the first night in Ramadhan a lunar eclipse will happen, and the second that in the middle of Ramadhan a solar eclipse will take place, narrated Dar Qutni in his Sunan, and Ibn Abbas (ra) said: The Mahdi will not emerge until a sign comes from the sun, narrated al-Bayhaqi and Nu’aym bin Hammad. […]”

[Urdu: Iqtirab al-Sa’ah 106-107]

He brought the Sahih hadith from Ali bin Abdullah bin Abbas (ra) in support of the hadith in Dar Qutni, saying they mention the same sign. This proves the hadith in Dar Qutni has support from Sahih sources.

The sign emerging from the sun is the solar eclipse that is supposed to happen for the Mahdi in Ramadhan.

Hazrat Ahmad (as) writes,

وأخرج مثله البيهقي وغيره من المحدثين

اور اسی کی مانند بیہقی اپنی کتاب میں ایک حدیث لایا ہے اور ایسا ہی بعض دوسرے محدث بھی

“And similar to it [Dar Qutni hadith], a hadith has been brought forward by Bayhaqi in his book, and just like this other Muhadiths have done so as well”

[Urdu: Nur ul Haqq Part 2, pg. 196]

These are the other three sahih ahadith that support the Dar Qutni hadith,

قَالَ الْوَلِيدُ: فَأَخْبَرَنَا صَفْوَانُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ جُبَيْرِ بْنِ نُفَيْرٍ، عَنْ كَثِيرِ بْنِ مُرَّةَ الْحَضْرَمِيِّ، قَالَ: آيَةُ الْحِدْثَانِ فِي رَمَضَانَ عَلَامَةُُ فِي السَّمَاءِ، بَعْدَهَا اخْتِلَافٌ فِي النَّاسِ، فَإِنْ أَدْرَكْتَهَا فَأَكْثِرْ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ مَا اسْتَطَعْتَ

مقطوع صحيح الإسناد

He said: “Al-Waleed informed us, Safwan ibn Amr, from Abdul Rahman ibn Jubayr ibn Nufayr, from Kathir ibn Murrah al-Hadrami, who said: The sign (aya) of disaster in Ramadan will be a sign (‘alama) in the heavens. After that there will be differences between the people, so if you live to see that, prepare as much food as you can”

Maqtu’ Sahih-al-Isnad

[Arabic: Kitabul Fitn edited by Abdullah al-Sissi, Vol. 1, 363-364]

حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَيَّاشٍ، عَنْ صَفْوَانَ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ جُبَيْرٍ، عَنْ كَثِيرِ بْنِ مُرَّةَ، قَالَ: لَأَنْتَظِرُ آيَةَ الْحِدْثَانِ فِي رَمَضَانَ مُنْذُ سَبْعِينَ سَنَةً

مقطوع صحيح الإسناد

Narrated to us Ibn Wahb, from Ibn Ayyash, from Safwan ibn Amr, from Abdul Rahman ibn Jubayr, from Kathir ibn Murrah, who said: “I have expected the sign of disaster during Ramadan for seventy years.”

Maqtu’ Sahih-al-Isnad

[Arabic: Kitabul Fitn edited by Abdullah al-Sissi, Vol. 1, 363-364]

 حَدَّثَنَا جُنَادَةُ بْنُ عِيسَى، عَنْ أَرْطَاةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ جُبَيْرٍ، عَنْ كَثِيرِ بْنِ مُرَّةَ، قَالَ: إِنِّي لَأَنْتَظِرُ آيَةَ الْحِدْثَانِ فِي رَمَضَانَ مُنْذُ سَبْعِينَ سَنَةً

مقطوع صحيح الإسناد

Narrated to us Junadah ibn ‘Isa, from Artah, from Abdul Rahman ibn Jubayr, from Kathir ibn Murrah, who said: “Indeed, I have expected the sign of disaster during Ramadan for seventy years.”

Maqtu’ Sahih-al-Isnad

[Arabic: Kitabul Fitn edited by Abdullah al-Sissi, Vol. 1, 363-364]

These are also Maqtu’ but hold the rank of Marfu’ due to the principle previously explained. Imam Kathir is narrating a matter of the unseen – a prophecy, without explicitly mentioning the Messenger of Allah (saw).

Imam Muttaqi al-Hindi wrote a huge text about the eclipse sign and brought these sahih ahadith to support the hadith in Dar Qutni clarifying the eclipse sign is authentic.

Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan also brought these narrations from Imam Kathir to support the hadith in Dar Qutni, about the eclipse sign in Ramadhan. Therefore its certain that the Dar Qutni hadith is authentic due to support of other sahih ahadith which the scholars brought to light.

Kathir bin Murra al-Haydrami preceded Imam Baqir (as). Imam Kathir passed away in 80-90H while Imam Baqir (as) passed away in 114H and was born in 57H. So this proves that the Ramadhan eclipses signs for the Mahdi were well-known even before Imam Baqir (as).

Imam Kathir was among the greatest Tabi’un, and a senior Tabi’i. He met 70 Badri Sahaba and collected ahadith from them. The father of the great Umar bin Abdul Aziz (Umar II), ‘Abdul ‘Aziz ibn Marwan asked Imam Kathir to share the ahadith he collected except for the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (ra) which ‘Abdul ‘Aziz already had.

Infact, Imam Kathir may have been the earliest collector of ahadith, preceding Imam Zuhri. This shows the immense status of this Tabi’i. Obviously he received this news about signs in heaven in Ramadhan from the various Sahaba he met from the Messenger of Allah (saw). And this caused him to wait 70 years for the fulfilment of this sign.

The fact that he waited so long shows that he wouldn’t be waiting, especially 70 years, for something which was speculative which he got from other religious scriptures like the Ahlul-Kitab. This adds another layer of certainty to these being ahadith of the Prophet (saw) though that was already proven clearly.

The meaning of “sign of disastor is a sign in the heavens in Ramadhan” is that this sign in the sky (eclipses) in the month of Ramadhan will be a forerunner to some sort of disastor. And this was also fulfilled in 1894 AD as those eclipses that happened to support Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) were forerunners to the punishment of the plague that happened a few years later. The reason why the plague happened was due to the argument being clinched on the opponents as previously explained.

Other weak narrations also clearly prove the sign of the eclipses in Ramadhan. Though these are weak, they prove that the sign of the eclipses are ahadith of the Prophet (saw). The following narrations are very important and support the Dar Qutni hadith.

حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدُ أَبُو عُثْمَانَ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ، عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ، قَالَ: «إِذَا بَلَغَ الْعَبَّاسُ خُرَاسَانَ طَلَعَ بِالْمَشْرِقِ الْقَرْنُ ذُو الشَّفَا، وَكَانَ أَوَّلَ مَا طَلَعَ بِهَلَاكِ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ حِينَ غَرَّقَهُمُ اللَّهُ، وَطَلَعَ فِي زَمَانِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ حَيْثُ أَلْقَوْهُ فِي النَّارِ، وَحِينَ أَهْلَكَ اللَّهُ فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَنْ مَعَهُ، وَحِينَ قُتِلَ يَحْيَى بْنُ زَكَرِيَّا، فَإِذَا رَأَيْتُمْ ذَلِكَ فَاسْتَعِيذُوا بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شَرِّ الْفِتَنِ، وَيَكُونُ طُلُوعُهُ بَعْدَ انْكِسَافِ الشَّمْسِ وَالْقَمَرِ، ثُمَّ لَا يَلْبَثُونَ حَتَّى يَظْهَرَ الْأَبْقَعُ بِمِصْرَ

مقطوع ضعيف

Narrated to us Sa’id Abu ‘Uthman, from Jabir, from Abu Ja’far, who said: “When the Abbasid reached Khurasan, the comet Dhul-Sineen rose in the east.! The first time it rose was for the destruction of the people of Noah, when God flooded them, and then it rose during the time of Abraham when they threw him into the Fire.’ Then when God caused Pharaoh and those with him to perish, and when John son of Zachariah was murdered—so when you see this, take refuge in God from the evil of the tribulations. Its rising will be after the eclipsing of the sun and the moon, then they will not be long until the Spotted One (al-abqa`) appears in Egypt.”

Maqtu’ Da’if

[Arabic: Kitabul Fitn edited by Abdullah al-Sissi, Vol. 1, 355]

In some books its written, the comet’s rising will be before the eclipsing of the sun and moon, like in some manuscripts of Imam Muttaqi al Hindi’s book. This hadith is also from Imam Baqir (as), and it speaks about a comet called Dhul Sineen. It appeared many times over history and would appear close to the time of the lunar and solar eclipse. These are the same lunar and solar eclipses of the Mahdi in the Dar Qutni hadith narrated by the same Imam Baqir (as).

This was also fulfilled in the time of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), in 1882 AD, the Dhul Sineen comet appeared (the Great September Comet of 1882). The scholars of Islam testified that this is the Dhul Sineen comet of the Mahdi like Nawab Siddiq Hasan Khan wrote. A few years later, in 1894 AD, the eclipses of the sun and the moon happened in Ramadhan. Can signs get more clearer?

The ‘weak’ narrator Jabir al Ju’fi is also in this chain, but his narrations were fulfilled with such clarity, its impossible to continue calling him a liar. Some Sunni scholars (ex. Sufyan at Thawri) strengthed Jabir al Ju’fi while some weakened him, it seems the first view proved correct due to the clear fulfilment of his ahadith. According to the Shia sect, Jabir al Ju’fi was a very pious man and a close companion of Imam Baqir (as), the Shia sect’s view on this man has been proven true by God by fulfilling multiple ahadith he narrated.

 قَالَ ابْنُ لَهِيعَةَ: فَأَخْبَرَنِي عَبْدُ الْوَهَّابِ بْنُ بُخْتٍ، عَنْ مَكْحُولٍ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: فِي رَمَضَانَ فِي السَّمَاءِ آيَةٌ لِلَيْلَتَيْنِ خَلَتَا أَوْ بَقِيَتَا، وَفِي شَوَّالٍ الْمَهْمَةُ، وَفِي ذِي الْقَعْدَةِ الْمَعْمَعَةُ، وَفِي ذِي الْحِجَّةِ النَّزَائِلُ، وَفِي الْمُحَرَّمِ وَمَا الْمُحَرَّمُ؟

مرفوع مرسل ضعيف

Ibn Lahia’a said: “Abdul Wahhab ibn Bukht informed me, from Mak’hul, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: The Messenger of God said: In Ramadan there will be a sign in the heavens either two nights from the beginning or the end [of the month], then in Shawwal, waste, and in Dh al-Qa‘da, an uproar, in Dht al-Hijja, things coming down (naza’il), and in Muharram, what a Muharram!'”

Marfu’ Mursal Da’if

[Arabic: Kitabul Fitn edited by Abdullah al-Sissi, Vol. 1, 357]

This Makhul, is the great Tabi’i, Makhul al Shami al Dimishqi, a contemporary of Imam Baqir (as), he narrated straight on the authority of the Prophet (saw) about eclipse sign. In the Urdu translation from Sunnis it further clarifies:

مکحول شامی سے روایت ہے کہ رسول اللہ ﷺ نے فرمایا ۳۰ رمضان یا ۲۸ رمضان کو آسمان پر ایک علامت دکھائی دے گی، ماہ شوال میں بلا و آفت نازل ہوگی، ذی قعدہ میں فنا ہوگا ، ذی الحجہ میں حجاج کو لوٹے جانے کے حادثات ہوں گے اور محرم تو کیا ہے محرم؟

“Makhul Shami narrates that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: On 30th Ramadhan or 28th Ramadhan a sign will be seen in the sky, there will be a calamity and epidemic in the month of Shawwal, in Dhu al-Qi’dah there will be annihilation, in Dhu al-Hijjah there will be incidents with the Hajj pilgrims, and as for Muharram, what a Muharram!”

[Urdu: Kitabul Fitn pg. 128]

So the Messenger of Allah (saw) clearly narrated that a sign will occur in the sky on either the 30th or 28th of Ramadhan. The solar eclipse happened on the 28th of Ramadhan in 1894 AD as per the 13th/28th Ramadhan interpretation. This refutes the 1st/15th interpretation, and was clearly fulfilled. It also proves that the narration of Imam Baqir (as) in Dar Qutni was a hadith of the Prophet (saw).

In other narrations there is some discrepancy as it says sound in Ramadhan, and in some other narrations it says sign in heavens. The sign in heavens is also accurate as Imam Kathir etc. also narrated sign in heaven in Ramadhan.

حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، عَنْ مَسْلَمَةَ بْنِ عُلَيَّ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيِّبِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عن النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: «تَكُونُ آيَةٌ فِي شَهْرٍ رَمَضَانَ، ثُمَّ تَظْهَرُ عِصَابَةٌ فِي شَوَّالٍ ، ثُمَّ تَكُونُ مَعْمَعَةٌ فِي ذِي الْقَعْدَةِ، ثُمَّ يُسْلَبُ الْحَاجُّ فِي ذِي الْحِجَّةِ، ثُمَّ تُنْتَهَكُ الْمَحَارِمُ فِي الْمُحْرِمِ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ صَوْتُ فِي صَفَرٍ، ثُمَّ تَنَازَعُ الْقَبَائِلِ فِي شَهْرَيْ رَبِيعٍ، ثُمَّ الْعَجَبُ كُلُّ الْعَجَبِ بَيْنَ جُمَادَى وَرَجَبٍ، ثُمَّ نَاقَةٌ مُقْتِبَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِنْ دَسْكَرَةٍ تَغِلُّ مِائَةَ أَلْفٍ .

مرفوع ضعيف جدا

“Narrated by Abu Huraira: The Prophet (saw) said: There will be a sign in the month of Ramadan, then a group will appear in Shawwal, then there will be annihilation, then in Dhul Hijja the pilgrimage will be pillaged, then sanctities will be violated in Muharram, then there will be a sound in Safar, the tribes will fight in the [two] months of Rabi, then there will be what an amazing thing in Jumada al-Rajab! Then a saddled she-camel would be better than a village yielding 100,000 [dirhams].”

Marfu’ Da’if Jiddan (very weak)

[Arabic: Kitabul Fitn edited by Abdullah al-Sissi, Vol. 1, 359]

Though weak in chain, these narrations prove that this eclipse sign is from the Prophet Muhammad (saw), and are further proof for the hadith in Dar Qutni.

These weak and sahih narrations prove without a shadow of a doubt that the hadith in Dar Qutni is Sahih in meaning.

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) said,

وللحديث طرق أخرى من الثقات فلتنظر ما اخرجه نعيم بن حماد و ابو الحسن الخيري في الجزئيات روايتا عن على بن عبد الله بن عباس فتفكر كذوى الدرايات واخرج مثله الحافظ ابوبكر بن احمد بن الحسن وكذلك عن كثير بن مرة الحضرمي والبيهقي | والقرآن مهيمن على كلها بالبينات المحكمات

“And the hadith has other paths through reliable narrators. Look at what Nu’aym ibn Hammad and Abu al-Hasan al-Khayri have narrated in detail from Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Abbas. Ponder upon them like someone endowed with discernment. Similarly, al-Hafiz Abu Bakr bin Ahmad bin al-Hasan has narrated the same, as well as Kathir bin Murrah al-Haydrami and al-Bayhaqi. And the Qur’an dominates over all of them with clear, decisive evidences.”

[Arabic Footnote 17: Nur ul Haqq Part 2, pg. 262]

So Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) also know that the hadith in Dar Qutni had support through other reliable chains and narrators. He quoted all the examples previously explained, and quoted by other scholars. But at the end, since the Holy Quran also clearly mentions the eclipse sign, what argument is left? The hadith in Dar Qutni has gained support from the Word of God.

Another famously quoted hadith to support Mahdi’s eclipses is found in almost every reference on the Views of Scholars article, its originally from Kitabul Fitn,

قَالَ: وَحُدِّثْتُ عَنْ شَرِيكٍ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ: بَلَغَنِي أَنَّهُ قَبْلَ خُرُوجِ الْمَهْدِيِّ تَنْكَسِفُ الشَّمْسُ فِي شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ مَرَّتَيْنِ

“He said: And it was narrated on the authority of Sharik, he said: ‘It reached me that before the advent of the Mahdi, the sun will eclipse twice in the month of Ramadhan.'”

[Arabic: Kitabul Fitn pg. 229-230]

This narration is also weak in chain, but adds further support. It was fulfilled clearly (showing its Sahih), and was famously quoted by the scholars. This Sharik is Sharayk bin ‘Abdullah al-Qazi (Judge).

Mahdi Ahadith: Most Weak

All Mahdi hadith have jarh (criticism) on the narrators of the hadith, so to only call out the jarh (criticism) on this one narration due to ‘Amr bin Shimr and Jabir al Ju’fi, but accept the other ahadith about the Mahdi without question is hypocrisy. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) writes,

It is not the principle of Muhadditheen that a hadith is immediately declared fabricated just by a minor criticism of a narrator. After all, by what rank are the hadiths believed about the Mahdi? Are all their narrators free from criticism? Rather, as Ibn Khaldun has written, all the people of hadith know that not a single hadith of the Mahdi is free from [Jarh] criticism. Yet accepting those Mahdi hadiths as if rejecting them is disbelief, even though they are all filled with [Jarh] criticism. And to reject a hadith that is also proven through other methods, and whose purport is verified by the Quranic verse “The sun and the moon are brought together”, is this faithfulness? The collectors of ahadith did not throw away every hadith with some criticism, otherwise it would have been difficult for them to collect all the reports and narrations. These things are known to everyone, but now envy is raging.”

[Urdu: Tohfa Golarviyya pg. 133-137]

Fulfilment: Greatest Testimony

Besides hadith science, since the hadith is fulfilled then its sahih without a shadow of a doubt. How can God fulfil a fabrication in support of a fabricator Mahdi using eclipses in heaven?! The hadith has shown its own authenticity.

This is the principle of the Holy Quran, Sahih Ahadith, and pious scholars. Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) has explained this in detail.

Shaykh Hamood bin ‘Abdullah at-Tuwayjiri (d. 1413H)

A huge Salafi scholar and Sheikh. He wrote in his book on end times,

وبعض الأمور التي ورد الإخبار بوقوعها لم ترو إلا من طرق ضعيفة، وقد ظهر مصداق كثير منها، ولا سيما في زماننا، وذلك مما يدل على صحتها في نفس الأمر، وكفى بالواقع شاهدا بثبوتها وخروجها من مشكاة النبوة، وأنا أذكر منها ما تيسر، وأنبه على ما يحتاج إلى التنبيه عليه إن شاء الله تعالى.

“Some of the matters whose occurrence was reported were narrated only from weak paths, and many of them have been fulfilled, especially in our time, which indicates their authenticity in the same matter, and it is sufficient in fact as a witness to their proof and their emergence from the niche of prophethood. I will mention what is available, and point out what needs attention, Insh’Allah.”

[Arabic: I’thaf al-Jama’ah bima ja’a fi al-Fitn wa al-Malahim wa Ashrāt al-Sā’ah pg. 12]

The fulfilment of weak narrations is enough proof that they were truely from the Prophet Muhammad (saw).

Ahmad al-Ghumari (d. 1380H)

He wrote in support of a weak hadith relating to the state of Muslims saying since its clearly fulfilled, how can it be denied?

…اللهم لا يدركني زمان، ولا تدركوا زماناً لا يتبع فيه العليم، ولا يستحيا فيه من الحليم، قلوبهم قلوب الأعاجم، وألسنتهم السنة العرب

فكيف يكون الحديث ضعيفاً وقد ظهر مصداقه بعد مضي أزيد من ألف سنة ؟

“‘O Allah may the time not overtake me, and may you not be overtaken by the time in which Al Aleem is not followed, and in which no one feels ashamed of Al Haleem. Their hearts are like the hearts of the strangers, and their tongues the Arabic tongue.’ […]

So how can a Hadith be weak when its truth has been revealed after more than a thousand years have passed?!“

[Arabic: Al-Madawi l’al Al Jami As-Saghir Wa-sharhi Al-Manawi, Vol. 2, pg. 169-170]

Holy Quran

According to the Holy Quran, a clear prophecy (unseen) cannot by revealed to anyone other than a Messenger of God,

عٰلِمُ الۡغَیۡبِ فَلَا یُظۡہِرُ عَلٰی غَیۡبِہٖۤ اَحَدًا اِلَّا مَنِ ارۡتَضٰی مِنۡ رَّسُوۡلٍ

He is the Knower of the Unseen, and He does not disclose His Unseen to anyone other than to a Messenger whom He chooses 

[Holy Quran 72:27-28]

So, if ‘Amr bin Shimr, and Jabir al Ju’fi fabricated this hadith about eclipses and falsely attributed it to Imam Baqir (as), then there was no way for it to be fulfilled. However, since it was fulfilled clearly after 1300 years, that is indisputable proof that the hadith was from the Messenger of Allah (saw). No lying narrator has power over the unseen.

The Holy Quran also states that if an unreliable person narrates some news to you then confirm it, but it does not say that you must immediately reject it as fabricated information,

یٰۤاَیُّہَا الَّذِیۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اِنۡ جَآءَکُمۡ فَاسِقٌۢ بِنَبَاٍ فَتَبَیَّنُوۡۤا اَنۡ تُصِیۡبُوۡا قَوۡمًۢا بِجَہَالَۃٍ فَتُصۡبِحُوۡا عَلٰی مَا فَعَلۡتُمۡ نٰدِمِیۡنَ

O ye who believe! if an unrighteous person brings you any news, ascertain the correctness of the report fully, lest you harm a people in ignorance, and then become repentant for what you have done.

[Holy Quran 49:7]

The eclipse hadith has been confirmed through multiple paths, and the Holy Quran. And Allah Almighty Himself has confirmed the hadith by fulfuling it for a claimant of Mahdihood so there is no doubt the hadith is Sahih. Saying anything else is disrespectful to God.

ؕ اِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا یُغۡنِیۡ مِنَ الۡحَقِّ شَیۡئًا

Mere conjecture is incomparable with absolute certainty.

[Holy Quran 10:37]

Conjecture (zann) is what the science of ahadith is based off of. However. for the Dar Qutni hadith and other fulfilled ahadith, suspicion on narrators has no weight in front of the clear fulfilment of the prophecy (absolutely certainty).

Messenger of Allah (saw)

The Messenger of Allah (saw) also confirmed this principle that seeing the fulfilment of a prophecy is greater than any suspicion due to the the criticism on narrators. This is found in the famous hadith,

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: ليس الخبر كالمعاينة

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: Obtaining news (hearing) is not like seeing (experiencing it fully)

[Musnad Ahmad 1842]

Therefore, seeing and experiencing a prophecy of a hadith being visibly fulfilled is above any criticism based on the jarh of narrators (hearing/obtaining news on the narrators from books).

This golden principle is timeless. A fulfilled hadith is experiencing that hadith with one’s own eyes, and that would be beyond any criticism done by a scholar of hadith on the precepts of obtaining news from historical sources which is conjecture and probability.

Since the Dar Qutni hadith was clearly fulfilled to the letter, the jarh on the narrators has no effect on the authenticity of the hadith.

Imam Mahdi (as)

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) has eluciadated this principle in many places,

یادر ہے کہ کسی حدیث کی سچائی پر اس سے زیادہ کوئی یقینی اور قطعی گواہی نہیں ہو سکتی کہ و ہو سکتی کہ وہ حدیث اگر کسی پیشگوئی پر مشتمل ہے تو وہ پیشگوئی صفائی سے پوری ہو جائے کیونکہ اور سب طریق اثبات صحت حدیث کے ظنی ہیں مگر یہ حدیث کا ایک چمکتا ہوا زیور ہے کہ اس کی سچائی کی روشنی پیشگوئی کے پورے ہونے سے ظاہر ہو جائے کیونکہ کسی حدیث کی پیشگوئی کا پورا ہو جانا اس حدیث کو مرتبہ ظن سے یقین کے اعلیٰ درجہ تک پہنچا دیتا ہے اور ایسی حدیث کے ہم رتبہ اور یقینی مرتبہ میں ہم پلہ کوئی حدیث نہیں ہو سکتی گو بخاری کی ہو یا مسلم کی ۔ اور ایسی حدیث کے سلسلۂ اسناد میں گو بفرض محال ہزار کذاب اور مفتری ہو اس کی قوت صحت اور مرتبہ یقین کو کچھ بھی ضرر نہیں پہنچا سکتا کیونکہ وسائل محسوسہ مشہودہ بدیہہ سے اُس کی صحت کھل جاتی ہے اور ایسی کتاب کا یہ امر فخر ہو جاتا ہے اور اس کی صحت پر ایک دلیل قائم ہو جاتی ہے جس میں ایسی حدیث ہو پس دارقط ہے جس میں ایسی حدیث ہو پس دار قطنی کا فخر ہے جس کی حدیث ایسی صفائی سے پوری ہوگئی ۔ منہ

“* Remember that for any hadith, there is no testimony more certain and indisputable (qati’), than – if that hadith is based upon a prophecy – that the prophecy is clearly fulfilled. Because all other methods of verifying the authenticity of a hadith are suspect, however it is the shining jewel of a hadith that the light of its truth is manifested through the fulfillment of its prophecy. That is because the fulfilment of the prophecy in a hadith raises it from the rank of uncertainty to the high rank of certainty, and no hadith can match the status and high rank of certainty that this hadith possesses – be it from Bukhari or Muslim. And suppose, even if such hadith, in its sequence of narrators (silsila isnad) has a thousand fabricators and liars – no harm is done to the health of its authenticity and its rank of certainty, since its authenticity is revealed through visible, tangible, and evident means. And, it is a matter of pride for such a book, and a proof of its authenticity is established, which possesses such a hadith. Therefore, it is the pride of Dar Qutni, whos hadith was fulfilled with such clarity.”

[Urdu: Tohfa Golarviyya pg. 140]

“And if there is a Hadith containing a prophecy, which is considered inauthentic by experts of Hadith, but the prophecy contained in it is fulfilled, either in your lifetime or from before, you ought to accept such a Hadith to be true and consider the scholars and narrators of the Hadith, who considered it to be weak and fabricated, as being mistaken or even liars. Hundreds of Hadith which contain prophecies are considered doubtful, fabricated, or weak by Hadith scholars. If any such Hadith happens to come true, and you refuse to accept it on the grounds that it is weak, or one of its narrators lack in piety, you will only establish your own faithlessness for having rejected a Hadith which was shown to be truthful by God. Reflect for a moment, if a thousand such Hadith existed but scholars of Hadith considered them to be weak, yet a thousand prophecies contained in these Hadith were fulfilled, would you declare all these Hadith to be weak and thus waste a thousand proofs in support of Islam? In this way, you will become enemies of Islam. Allah Almighty says: (عٰلِمُ الۡغَیۡبِ فَلَا یُظۡہِرُ عَلٰی غَیۡبِہٖۤ اَحَدًا اِلَّا مَنِ ارۡتَضٰی مِنۡ رَّسُوۡلٍ) Thus, true prophecies can only be attributed to truthful Messengers. In such instances, is it not closer to piety to suggest that a Hadith scholar has mistakenly declared an authentic Hadith as weak, than to say that God has erroneously authenticated a false one?”

[English: Noahs Ark. pg. 101-102]

“The allegation is that some of the narrators of this hadith are not among the reliable ones. The response to this is that if some of the narrators were indeed of a lower rank, then the objection would be against Daraqutni, for why did he write and include such a hadith in his Sahih, deceiving the Muslims? In other words, if this hadith was not reliable, then why did Daraqutni include it in his Sahih, when he is a person of such high stature, who even criticizes Sahih Bukhari, and whose criticism no one can object to. And more than a thousand years have passed since his work, but not a single scholar has brought this hadith under discussion and declared it fabricated, nor said that no other evidence supports its authentication. Rather, since the time this book has been published in the Islamic world, all the earlier and later scholars (mutaqaddimin and muta‘akhirin) and jurists have continued to include this hadith in their books. So if any of the great Muhadittheen have declared this hadith as fabricated, then present the statement or action of such a renowned Muhaditheen who has written that this hadith is fabricated.”

[Urdu: Tohfa Golarviyya pg. 133-137]

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) is not saying Dar Qutni didn’t record weak narrations, the point is that Dar Qutni did not say that such-and-such narration was fabricated due to the criticism on such-and-such, he recorded these narrations and left them as there is always a probablity that the narration is true.

“If you can prove from the work of any renowned Muhaddith that this hadith is fabricated, then we will immediately offer you a reward of one hundred rupees, which you may collect from wherever you wish. Otherwise, fear Allah, who knows that you are declaring authentic hadiths written by pious scholars as fabricated, when even Imam Bukhari has narrated from some Rafidites and Kharijites, all of whose hadiths you consider authentic.”

[Urdu: Tohfa Golarviyya pg. 133-137]

“The decision is clear for the observers – if anyone declares this hadith as fabricated, they must present evidence from the testimony of the great Muhadditheen. We make a firm promise that we will give them a reward of one hundred rupees, which you may collect from Maulvi Abu Saeed Muhammad Hussain Sahib, subject to the conditions mentioned above. And if this hadith is not fabricated and its skirt is pure from the accusation of slander, then it is the demand of piety and faithfulness that you accept it.”

[Urdu: Tohfa Golarviyya pg. 133-137]

“Except that, when the purport of this hadith, which contains news of the unseen, has come true, then according to the noble verse “And He does not disclose His [knowledge of the] Unseen to anyone except him whom He chooses as His Messenger.

We have to accept with absolute certainty that this hadith is from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and its narrator is also one of the great Imams, namely Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (may Allah be pleased with him).

Now, after the testimony of the noble Quranic verse “He does not disclose His [knowledge of the] Unseen to anyone except Him whom He chooses as His Messenger”, which has confirmed that this hadith is from the Messenger (peace be upon him), then is it a pious way to still not consider it a hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him)?”

[Urdu: Tohfa Golarviyya pg. 133-137]

“And do you people believe that anyone other than the Messengers of Allah ☆ can be capable of making a prediction of such a high degree? And if not, then why don’t you acknowledge that, based on the Quranic testimony, this hadith is the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)?

And if, according to you, someone else can also be capable of making such a prediction, then present an example of when anyone other than a messenger or liar has ever predicted that a certain month will have a solar and lunar eclipse, and on certain dates, and that this will be a sign for the verification of someone commissioned by Allah, whose rejection would be tantamount to disbelief.”

[Urdu: Tohfa Golarviyya pg. 133-137]

“And this kind of sign has not manifested in the world from the beginning to the end. And I confidently say that you will never be able to present its parallel. In reality, from Adam until now, no one has ever made such a prediction. And this prediction has four aspects:

(1) The lunar eclipse occurring on the first of its appointed nights.

(2) The solar eclipse occurring on the middle one of its appointed days.

(3) The month being Ramadan.

(4) The presence of the claimant whose rejection has taken place.”

[Urdu: Tohfa Golarviyya pg. 133-137]

“So if you deny the grandeur of this prediction, then present its parallel from the history of the world. And until you are able to present a parallel, this prediction is superior to all those predictions to which the meaning of the verse “He does not disclose His [knowledge of the] Unseen to anyone except Him whom He chooses as His Messenger” can be applicable, because it is stated that its parallel has not occurred from Adam until the end.”

[Urdu: Tohfa Golarviyya pg. 133-137]

“Then, when one hadith is strengthened by another hadith, reaching the level of certainty, to then claim that the hadith which has gained strength from the Word of Allah is fabricated and rejected, that is the work of those who do not fear Allah, even though the need for tracing this hadith back to the Prophet (peace be upon him) has never arisen, nor has its authenticity ever been questioned. But Allah Himself has made this hadith Marfu’ Mutassil through His two testimonies – the verse “He does not disclose His [knowledge of the] Unseen to anyone except Him whom He chooses as His Messenger” and the verse “The sun and the moon are brought together””

[Urdu: Tohfa Golarviyya pg. 133-137]

“So undoubtedly, through the Quranic testimony, this hadith is now an Marfu’ Mutassil one, because the Quran absolves all such precise predictions that are completely fulfilled, from the accusation that anyone other than the Messenger of Allah has reported them. God forbid, to deny this would be to reject the Word of Allah, who has clearly stated that He does not grant the ability to make such clear and precise predictions to anyone other than His Messenger. But contrary to this, if someone else claims that such predictions can also be made by others, then present an example of that.”

[Urdu: Tohfa Golarviyya pg. 133-137]

☆Footnote: It should be remembered that the testimony of the Holy Quran regarding the authentic hadith of the Lunar and Solar Eclipse is not just one testimony but two testimonies. The first being وَجُمِعَ الشَّمۡسُ وَالۡقَمَرُ (And the sun and the moon are brought together, 75:10), which is telling through way of prophecy that near the Day of Judgement – when it the time for the appearence of the Mahdi of the latter days – the sun and moon will be eclipsed in one month. The second testimony is concerning this hadith being Sahih and Marfu’ Muttasil in the verse: لَا یُظۡہِرُ عَلٰی غَیۡبِہٖۤ اَحَدًا اِلَّا مَنِ ارۡتَضٰی مِنۡ رَّسُوۡلٍ (He reveals not His secrets to any one, except to he whom He chooses, Except to him whom He chooses, namely a Messenger of His, 72:27-28). This verse limits the knowledge of the unseen which is Sahih and clear to Messengers only, from which it is necessarily determined that the “Our Mahdi…[the Eclipse hadith in Dar Qutni]” is without doubt the hadith of the Holy Prophet (SAW)”

[Urdu: Tohfa Golarviyya pg. 133-137]

Salafi Hypocrisy

When the Salafis of Islamqa were asked about the Dar Qutni hadith, they said,

واعلم أن الحكم بصحة الحديث أو ضعفه إنما يتم بالنظر لسنده لا بالنظر للواقع

“And know that the judgment on the authenticity or weakness of a hadith is only based on the chain of transmission, not on fulfilment.”

[Fatwa 55108]

But when asked about the fulfilled hadith concerning black banners of the Mahdi they said,

لو ورد حديث ضعيف يخبر عن وقوع شيء ما ووقع كما ورد في هذا الحديث، فهذه قرينة يتقوى بها الحديث

“If there is a weak hadith which relates that something will occur, and it occurs just as it was mentioned in that hadith, then this is evidence (qarinah) that strengthens the hadith.”

[Fatwa 15838]

So, the fulfilment of a hadith does show its authenticity, but when it comes the hadith in Dar Qutni, non-Ahmadis show hypocrisy.

Ibn Taymiyyah

Non-Ahmadis often quote this statement of Ibn Taymiyyah from Wikipedia to try to prove the eclipse hadith in Dar Qutni is a fabrication among fabrications. On the translation of Wikipedia, it says Ibn Taymiyya said Dar Qutni recorded his Sunan for people to recognize the unreliable among ahadith.

This translation is deceitful, in fact Ibn Taymiyya said that Dar Qutni used to collect the غرائب السنن, meaning the lesser-known practices among the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw). And this is why Imam Dar Qutni mentioned a lot of weak and fabricated ahadith in his Sunan.

وغاية ما يعزى مثل ذلك إلى كتاب الدارقطني، وهو قد قصد به غرائب السنن، ولهذا يروي فيه من الضعيف، والموضوع ما لا يرويه غيره، وقد اتفق أهل العلم بالحديث على أنّ مجرد العزو إليه لا يحيى الاعتماد عليه، .

And the utmost attribution of such narrations [about reciting Basmallah outloud] is to the book of Ad-Daraqutni, who intended to compile peculiarities among the Sunnah, leading him to narrate weak and fabricated Ahadith, and what others did not narrate, and scholars of Hadith unanimously agreed that mere attribution to him does not establish reliability.”

[Arabic: Kitab al-Dalil al-Mughni li-Shuyukh al-Imam Abi al-Hasan al-Daraqutni pg. 48-49]

Dar Qutni intended to compile a Sunan which had lesser known practices among the Sunnah, and this is the reason why many of the ahadith in Dar Qutni would be weak. Books of Sunan in the language of hadith scholars are books of hadith that contain hadith dealing with law (احكام), organized by the sections of fiqh. This book is not a collection of Maudo’aat (fabricated traditions) or Da’if traditions.

Ibn Taymiyyah further says that just because a hadith is found in Sunan Dar Qutni does not make it automatically reliable, and this is obvious and true information that doesn’t affect the eclipse hadith. If this is true, then a hadith being in Dar Qutni does not automatically make it unreliable either according to the Imam.

Ibn Taymiyyah has only said many of the ahadith in Dar Qutni would be weak due to Imam Dar Qutni’s intention of collecting غرائب السنن, not that every hadith is weak. Ibn Taymiyyah is not saying that the intention of Imam Dar Qutni was to collect fabrications, but it was to collect lesser-known practices!

Even an ignorant one in hadith science knows that books like Sunan ibn Majah have Da’if and Sahih Ahadith, the presence of Da’if Ahadith along with Sahih Ahadith, do not mean the Sahih hadith is also weak as knowledge of ahadith is based on isnad (chains) and matn (text of narrations) not on the basis of what book it is in. Its a case-by-case basis.

So, obviously, not every single hadith in Sunan Dar Qutni is fabricated. Many of them are also Sahih, and many are weak since its a Sunan. The Imam Baqir (as) hadith is also among the authentic ahadith according to the principle of Imam Dar Qutni himself (regarding Jabir al Ju’fi), it has corroborating evidence from other authentic paths, so its authentic

Moreover, this specific narration from Imam Baqir (as) was accepted by 25+ scholars, many of whom were actual Muhadithun.

And whatever Ibn Taymiyya may have said about the whole book, Hazrat Ahmad (as) challenge was to show a Muhadtith who brought this hadith under discussion specifically and called it fabricated among the Illustious Muhadithun, which no one did

Shia Ahadith

After being thoroughly refuted regarding the authenticity and use of the hadith in Dar Qutni, non-Ahmadis make the argument that the books of the Shia hold different renderings of the eclipse hadith in Dar Qutni which possess different dates so why should we accept the hadith in Dar Qutni when its contradicted by other ‘better’ narrations from the books of the Shia.

This is the other rendering of the hadith which instead of first night for lunar eclipse, and middle day for solar eclipse in Ramadhan, says the middle of Ramadhan for solar eclipse, and the end of Ramadhan for the lunar eclipse. This narration flips/switches the dates.

Wahi’ of Ulema

Among the scholars who testified to the sign of the eclipses, many of them relied on narrations but some of them received direct revelation from God authenticating this sign. These saints are Imam Ni’matullah and Imam Parharvi.

Shāh Ni’matullāh Wali (d. 834H)

In his famous Qasida about the Mahdi based on direct revelation, translated by Mawlavi Fīrūz al-Dīn (d. 1368H).

ماه را روسیاه مے نگرم
ہوگا ظاہر اک بڑا چاند گرہن
مهر را دل فگار مے بینم
متصل سورج گرہن کے ایک بار

“I see the face of the moon darkened
– A big lunar eclipse will manifest

And the heart of the sun I see wounded.
– Along with it shall a solar eclipes happen, once”

[Urdu: Qasida Zahoor Mahdi pg. 47]

He also prophesied in another places the exact year of these eclipses of the Mahdi, which was recorded by Baha’ al-din al-‘Amili (d. 1030H) in his compendium, though narrated by Muhaqqiq al-Tusi, non-Ahmadi sources confirm this is from Imam Ni’matullah

در الف و ثلاثین دو قرآن میبینم
وز مهدی و دجال نشان میبینم
یا ملک شود خراب یا گردد دین
سریست نهان و من عیان میبینم

“In thousand and three hundred (1300 Hijri) years I see two eclipses happen
I see that they are signs for the Mahdi and Dajjal
Governace is destroyed while religion is corrupted
These are hidden matters I see manifestly”

[Arabic/Farsi: Kashkūl pg. 573]

And so the eclipses happened in 1311 Hijri serving as signs for the advent of the Mahdi.

This reference from Kushkul may be the most amazing reference about eclipses. How did this Shia scholar come across a couplet with the exact year group of the Ramadhan eclipses. It also clearly says these will be signs for the Mahdi, meaning a Mahdi claimant would claim these eclipses in the 1300H year group as signs. This gives three pieces of information,

1. The true Mahdi claimant will emerge in 1300H
2. Eclipses will happen for him over his area
3. They will be signs for him so he obviously has to claim them

How did this couplet of Persia know these three pieces of information about someone 300 years in the future in India – a different country? Though Eclipse Almanacs can predict when eclipses happen, how did the couplet know the Mahdi would be present there at that exact time. This is not deduced from any scientific source.

Muhammad ‘Abd-al Aziz Parharvi (d. 1239H)

در سن غاشی ہجری دو قران خواهد بود

از پۓ مهدی و دجال نشان خواهد بود

“In the year 1311 (Gashi) Hijri, two eclipses will manifest

They will constitude as signs for the Mahdi and Dajjal”

[Urdu: Ahwaal o Asaar Abd-al Aziz Parharvi pg. 133-134]

This saint’s couplet based on revelation was fulfilled so clearly no further comment is needed. In 1894 AD/1311 Hijri the Ramadhan eclipses happened serving as signs for the Mahdi Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as).

Fulfilment

So how can the hadith in Dar Qutni be a fabrication when saints of Allah received direct revelation about this sign separately? This shows both the authenticity of the hadith and its rank as a hadith of the Prophet (saw).

Other scriptures

The Bible in multiple places testifies to the signs of the eclipses for the Messiah and as signs for the Day of Judgement. These have been explained in depth in the other article, though the prophets who spoke of this sign are listed,

1. Prophet Jesus (as)
2. Prophet Joel (as)
3. Prophet Solomon (as)
4. Prophet Ezekiel (as)
5. Prophet Isaiah (as)
6. Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa (saw)

So if 5 Israelite prophets, and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), along with the writer of the Book of Revelation all related the eclipse sign, will you accept the prophets or the egotistical mind of the opponents?

Its not possible for a Muslim to deny these biblical sources either, due to their redundancy across the Bible, and since Islamic sources say the same thing. This is all explained in the other linked article about these Israelite prophets in depth.

Conclusion

There is no possible way to reject the signs of the eclipses due to these 9 avenues. Every angle one looks at it from proves the eclipse sign. This sign is enough to refute people of all religions and sects of Islam.

1. Click on ‘Arabic’ to be taken to website text, ‘Lexicon’ to be taken to the book PDF, and ‘Lisan al-‘Arab….’ to be taken to the exact page highlighted scan
2. This says al-qamar is named Hilal on the first two nights of the lunar month, so a possible inquiry is that doesn’t this prove that the moon can be called qamar & hilal on the first two nights? No it cannot this is wrong, the sense in which this context says ‘al-qamar’ is in the sense I say “the moon can be called so-and-so on the 8th night” etc. Here al-qamar is generally being used to mean “the moon” as in the thing in space, not its appearence/phase in the sky. When its taking about its appearence/phase in the sky as known by people, that is when the lexicon says ‘qamar’ only happens after 2nd night, and before that it cannot be called ‘qamar’ on the days of ‘hilal’! The lexicon clarifies this in the same sentence and every other reference here.
3. Ahadith narrated by a Tabi’i without mentioning the Sahabi