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Ahmadiyya Movement South Africa court case (1982-1985) Contents of the Evidence 8. Muslim saints and sufis in India 
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Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad |
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8.1: IntroductionPeople who are God-fearing and fair-minded should take a look at the spiritual thought prevailing in the environment in which Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad appeared, in the cities of Punjab and of the Indian sub-continent generally where there now remained just memorials of the great Sufi saints and savants of Islam. These were the cities of Ajmer, Sirhind, Sialkot, Lahore, Pak Patan, Sultan Bahu, Tonsa, Chachar, Delhi, Deoband, Thana Bhoon, Gangoh, Bareli, etc. If the opponents of the Ahmadiyya Movement would read the pronouncements and writings of the saints who arose in these places, they would not raise objections to Hazrat Mirza’s explanations of the fine points and truths of Tasawwuf and Tariqat (the spiritual side of Islam). A person who reads the revelations and writings of Hazrat Mirza in the light of the views of these eminent saints would not only comprehend the intricate concepts and terms of Tariqat, but would be convinced of the greatness of Hazrat Mirza, and would not hesitate in classing him with the most renowned elders of Islam.8.2: Pronouncements of saints1. Khawaja Mu‘in-ud-Din Chishti of Ajmer (d. 1236 C.E.)He was the mujaddid of his time and the saint who laid the foundations of the propagation of Islam in India. He wrote the following verses:
2. Shaikh Ahmad of Sirhind (d. 1624 C.E.)Known in India and Pakistan as Mujaddid Alif Sani (Mujaddid of the second millenium of Islam), this saint and scholar wrote:
3. Khawaja Habib-ullah Attar of Kashmir (15th century saint)He instructed a disciple of his as follows about the Kalima:“Lengthen your saying of la ilaha [‘There is no god’], and efface the thought of all others than God from the heart. After that, ill-Allah [‘except Allah’] should be stressed, and you should consider me to be the messenger of Allah.” 4. Baba Dawud KhakiHe wrote the following in praise of his spiritual guide Hazrat Makhdum of Kashmir:“As the Holy Prophet Muhammad has said that the spiritual guide is like a prophet, 5. Ali Hujwiri, Data Ganj Bakhsh (d. 1071 C.E.)This renowned saint of Lahore, author of the acclaimed Persian classic Kashf al-Mahjub, wrote:
6. Farid-ud-Din Shakar Ganj of Pak Patan (d. 1265 C.E.)He says in a poetic verse:“I am wali [saint], I am Ali, I am nabi [prophet].” 7. Anwar as-SufiyyaIn this Lahore monthly magazine, it said in an article under the heading Sainthood:“What greater proof of the truth of the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and his blessings can there be than the fact that whoever follows him perfectly receives a ‘reflected’ (zilli) prophethood from God, is given the task of preaching to mankind, and is appointed a khalifa or deputy for the support of the religion of Islam. There have been such exalted persons in every age, and there will continue to be such persons in the future, regarding whom the Holy Prophet has said: ‘The learned ones of my nation are like the prophets of Israel’.” 8. Sultan Bahu (d. 1691 C.E.)He was the first Punjabi mystical poet. He wrote:
9. Khawaja Shah Sulaiman Tonsovi (d. 1852 C.E.)
10. Hazrat Said Ameer of Koth (d. 1877 C.E.)He was a well-known saint of Koth, district Mardaan, (North-West province of Indian sub-continent) during the late nineteenth century.
11. Maulana Abdullah GhaznaviHe was a disciple of Hazrat Said Ameer, and it is recorded about him that he received many Divine revelations which contained verses from the Holy Quran. See Section 4.3, extract no. 18.12. Shah Wali-ullah of Delhi (d. 1763 C.E.)This renowned Islamic philosopher, writer and theologian, recognised as mujaddid of his time, wrote:“It was put into my mind to convey to the people that this poor one has been taught many languages ... The teaching which was given to Adam was me, the Divine help which Noah received during the flood was me, the fire which cooled for Abraham was me, the Torah revealed to Moses was me, the miracle of raising the dead granted to Jesus was me, the Quran given to Muhammad the Holy Prophet was me. All praise is due to God, the Lord of all the worlds.” 13. Sayyid Muhammad Ismail Shaheed (d. 1831 C.E.)He writes in praise of his leader Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi (Muslim religious and military leader in North-West India in early nineteenth century) as follows:“Joseph has now come to Egypt from Canaan, and a whole world has come for his purchase.The name ansar is applied to a group of the Companions of the Holy Prophet. Here Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi has been called Joseph, Jesus, Ahmad (Holy Prophet Muhammad), and even the Last of the Prophets. His companions have been called Companions of the Holy Prophet. Such expressions are used because of the similarity and likeness which the saints bear to prophets. 14. Khawaja Mir Dard of Delhi (d. 1785 C.E.)This famous saint, author and poet, wrote:“Every perfect man is the Jesus of his time due to the all-encompassing power of God. And every moment he faces for his own self the affair of the soul of Jesus.” 15. Shah Niyaz Ahmad of Delhi (d. 1834 C.E.)He described his spiritual experiences as follows:“Sometimes I am Idris [Biblical Enoch], sometimes Seth, sometimes Noah, sometimes Jonah, sometimes Joseph, sometimes Jacob, and sometimes Hud. Sometimes I am Salih, sometimes Abraham, sometimes Isaac, sometimes Yahya [Biblical John, the Baptist], sometimes Moses, sometimes Jesus, and sometimes David.” 16. Khawaja Muhammad Nasir Muhammadi (d. 1758 C.E.)He wrote in his famous work Nala-yi-Andalib (‘Lamentation of the Nightingale’):“There have been perfect, and still more perfect, saints among the Muslims. In terms of their spiritual progress and path of development, some were like Adam, some like Noah, some like Abraham, some like David, some like Jacob, some like Moses, some like Jesus, and some were like Muhammad.” 17. Shaikh Sabir KalyariHe wrote of Sufi Sayyid Abid Mia Usmani Naqshbandi as follows:“I call him Ka‘ba, or Quran, or Prophet, or God.” 18. Nasir-ud-Din Chiragh of Delhi (d. 1356 C.E.)He was the successor of the famous saint Nizam-ud-Din Auliya. In a verse of poetry, he says:“O you outwardly pious one! What do you ask me concerning the rank of qurb [nearness to God]. It is in me and I am in it, as fragrance is in the rose.” 19. Shah Sharf Abu Ali Qalendar of Panipat (d. 1323 C.E.):“Moses fainted upon seeing the Divine fire manifested in a tree, 20. Maulana Abu Muhammad Abdul Haqq HaqqaniThis modern theologian writes in his Urdu commentary of the Quran:“A follower of the Holy Prophet may be granted that pure soul which reflects his [the Holy Prophet’s] light, just as a mirror reflects the light of the sun. Then, occasionally, supernatural signs which are known as karamat begin to be shown at his hand. Such a person is called a saint. There are many types of saints, such as ghaus and qutb etc., but there is no scope to discuss it in detail here.” 21. Shaikh Abdul Haqq Muhaddis of Delhi (d. 1642 C.E.)He was an expert of Hadith and a most famous theologian of India. In his commentary on Abdul Qadir Jilani’s book Futuh-ul-Ghaib, he wrote:“Sainthood is the image (zill) of prophethood.” 22. Allama Dr Sir Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938)This renowned poet and philosopher of modern India and Pakistan composed the following verses in praise of the saint of Delhi Nizam-ud-Din Auliya:“What the angels read, that is your name. Great is your status, widespread is your grace. 23. Maulana Mahmud-ul-Hasan of Deoband (d. 1920)He was a very well-known teacher at the Deoband theological school. He wrote a long poem in eulogy of his two spiritual guides, Maulavi Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (d. 1905) and Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotavi (d. 1880), who founded the school in 1867. Some verses are given below:“Qasim the good and Rashid Ahmad, both possessors of glory, the two of them were the Messiah of the age and Joseph of Canaan.Lamenting the demise of Maulavi Rashid Ahmad Gangohi, he wrote: “Those who follow their low desires are perhaps proclaiming: Glory to Hubal! [a god of pre-Islamic Arabs], because one like the Founder of Islam has departed from the world. The Messiah of the age has gone to the sky, leaving everyone behind. 24. Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (d. 1943)He was a well-known Deobandi theologian of earlier this century. In his magazine he published a letter from a disciple, explaining the following problem:“I see in a dream that while reciting the Kalima, ‘There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’, I am using your name instead of Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Thinking that I am wrong, I repeat the Kalima, but despite wishing in my heart to say it correctly, my tongue involuntarily says Ashraf Ali instead of the Holy Prophet’s name. ... When I wake up and remember my mistake in the Kalima, ... to make amends for the mistake I send blessings upon the Holy Prophet. However, I am still saying: ‘O Allah, bless our master, prophet and leader Ashraf Ali,’ even though I am awake and not dreaming. But I am helpless, and my tongue is not in my control.”The reply given by the Maulana, printed after the letter, is as follows: “In this incident, it was intended to satisfy you that the one to whom you turn [for spiritual guidance, i.e. Ashraf Ali] is a follower of the Holy Prophet’s example.” 25. Maulana Ahmad Raza Khan (d. 1921)He founded the Barelvi group at the end of the nineteenth century, which is much opposed to the Deobandis. It is recorded about him:“Issue no. 2: The Darood [prayers to invoke blessings upon the Holy Prophet Muhammad], instead of being invoked upon the Holy Prophet, should be invoked upon ‘his eminence’ [Ahmad Raza Khan], as his disciples are always saying in his honour: ‘Allah bless and send peace upon the servant of the Holy Prophet, Maulana Ahmad Raza’.” 26. Shaikh Sadiq GangohiThis saint told a disciple to say:“There is no god but Allah, and Sadiq is the messenger of Allah.” 27. Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi (d. 1977)He was an Indian religious scholar of recent times. Regarding the use of the word nabi for saints, who are not prophets, he once wrote in his newspaper as follows:“Recently, by co-incidence, I found an example of it in the poetry of Maulana Rumi. And that too, not in some apocryphal work, but in the renowned and famous, authentic book Masnawi. Regarding the status and excellence of the spiritual guide it is written: 28. Pir Jama‘at Ali ShahIt is written about him in a poem:“Madina is holy and blessed, and so is Alipur. It is well to go there, and well to come here. 29. Allama Sir Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938)In praise of the perfect believer, he writes in a poem:“He is Kalim [Moses], he is Masih [Messiah], he is Khalil [Abraham]. 8.3: ConclusionMany more pronouncements and writings of Islamic religious scholars, saints and divines can be presented, but we rest with the above. This was the prevailing environment of Islamic spiritual thought in which Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad appeared. He was the Reformer, not only of the formal side of Islam (broadly termed Shari‘ah), but also of the spiritual and mystic sides which pertain to spiritual development and are known as Tariqat and Tasawwuf. Hence he has employed and explained the terms and concepts of this aspect of Islam as well.It must be remembered that these terms of Tariqat are not un-Islamic. It is just that the concepts expressed by the Quran and Hadith in terms such as khilafat (successorship to Holy Prophet), wilayat (sainthood), imamat (religious leadership), mujaddidiyyat, muhaddasiyyat, etc. are referred to by the men of Tariqat as ‘reflected prophethood’, ‘manifested prophethood’, ‘metaphorical prophethood’ etc. (zilli, buroozi, majazi nubuwwat.) All these terms of Tariqat had been well-known and in vogue since close to the beginning of Islam. And the great theologians of Hazrat Mirza’s time knew that, despite the fact that the Holy Prophet Muhammad was the last and final Prophet, it is not prohibited in Islam for a perfect follower who reaches the stage of fana fir-rasul to use for himself the words ‘prophet’ and ‘messenger’ in a literal, non-technical sense. In fact, this was a standard mode of expression amongst the Sufis. So it was that when Hazrat Mirza, in his first book entitled Barahin Ahmadiyya, published in four parts between 1880 and 1884, quoted his revelations containing the words nabi and rasul referring to him, there was no criticism, and indeed, lavish tributes were paid to this work. For instance: 1. Maulavi Muhammad Husain Batalvi, a leader of the Ahl-i Hadith sect, wrote in a review: “Few are as well acquainted as ourselves with the life and views of the author of Barahin Ahmadiyya. So we shall give our opinion of it in brief words without exaggeration. In our opinion this book, at this time and in view of the present circumstances, is such that the like of it has not appeared in Islam up to now, while nothing can be said about the future. Its author too has been so constant in the service of Islam, with his money, life, pen and tongue, and personal experience, that very few parallels can be found in the Muslims.”2. Maulana Sana-ullah of Amritsar, a staunch opponent of Hazrat Mirza and the Ahmadiyya movement, wrote in a book: “My relations with Mirza sahib can be divided into two phases: the period of Barahin Ahmadiyya and the period afterwards. During the period of Barahin Ahmadiyya [i.e. before his later books], I took a favourable view of Mirza sahib. Thus, once when I was about 17 or 18 years old, I was so eager to visit Qadian that I walked there alone from the town of Batala.”3. In his obituary of Hazrat Mirza, the editor of the newspaper Wakeel of Amritsar, Maulana Abdullah Al-Imadi, wrote: “Though some Muslim religious leaders may now pass an adverse verdict on Barahin Ahmadiyya, ... the best time to pass judgment was 1880 when it was published. At that time, however, Muslims unanimously decided in favour of Mirza sahib.”4. More recently, Mr Abdullah Malik has written: “The trouble is that all this examination is being done now, over sixty years after the death of Mirza sahib. And as to the books and writings of Mirza sahib, a century is now passing over them. So this analysis too must be done with reference to those times. And it must be accepted that at that time, due to various factors of the period, a whole world was deeply impressed by the knowledge, scholarship and writings of Mirza sahib.” |
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