My question concerns with the previous question almost, that’s about the astrology, what about the stars we believe in? Again the same is the answer. If the reading of stars is taken to be a science of influences of cosmic forces, there is nothing wrong because the Holy Quran establishes this, that everything in the universe is influencing other things. And the Promised Messiah in interpretation of certain verses of the Holy Quran has said it in so many words, that the things which are happening in the cosmos are constantly changing and having their influence on the world here, on the earth here, and everything is participating towards making of man in a very delicate way, but everything is participating.
And scientifically also it is established that during the sunspots, certain isotopes of carbon for instance, are excessive in number than in the normal conditions. And during other certain changes in the cosmos, such changes do take place which can, whose presence can be felt scientifically and demonstrated, so that the age in which those changes occur can be traced back from the wood which was born in those days, if that wood is available. And scientific experiments can be carried and that age particularly can be determined.
For instance, this higher activity of sun which caused certain isotopes of carbon to become excessive in the plant life, were witnessed during the time of Hazrat Nussi, Hazrat Jesus Christ peace be upon him. So the wood which was created in those times, if it is available today, would tell the tale. So there are so many things happening in this universe, so minutely and quietly, that of some we have gained knowledge and of billions and untold number of others we have no knowledge.
So in principle we must admit that the cosmos is influencing what is happening on earth. And the childbirth is also influenced to some extent. If there is a certain charge in the air, it may tend to make a child irresistible or short of temper, and certain conditions in the air or atmosphere may cause him to be born a more docile and well-tempered child. And the time of birth also has something to play, some part to play. For instance, the child, children born in the summer, extreme conditions where the child even after birth becomes irritable throughout, will definitely have some influence over his nature and his behaviour.
So to that extent, if somebody can claim that I can read the stars, I know the science of the stars to such minute detail, that I can also read their influences on human birth, on individual human birth, there is nothing wrong religiously against it. But it’s a very tall claim, at least I won’t subscribe to this claim. Because things involved are so minute and so delicate and so elusive, that it’s impossible for an ordinary person, who is not even a scientist, to claim, to make such a claim. But if he says that having read the history of many people, and having read the history of the stars which happened to be rising or setting in that time, or were found to be in a certain constellation at that time, we can infer that perhaps the influence of these stars over the birth, over human birth, is of this nature.
To that extent, he has some legibility to his claim. But the exceptions are so many, that everything said and done, the claim of these star readers, astronomers, does not justify serious attention, in my opinion. I have studied it. But religiously you can say that there is no objection. If you believe in scientific sign reading, then there is no objection. But if you claim, as other readers of faith through palm of the hand, palmists are concerned, that they can predict as if the fate is written and the stars make the fate, this is totally wrong. We cannot subscribe to any such view, because this is sheer and simple idolatry, or believing in partners with Allah. I quote in the end one short instance, a short experience.
Some years ago, somebody from Canada wrote to me, told me in fact when he met me, that there is a faith reader, who is a lady, who bases her knowledge of the lives of people on the time of birth, and the date of birth, and also the name of the person, although the name has nothing to do with such things. And she predicts very fairly accurately, and she predicts that during certain phases of the year, people would face certain conditions, and during certain other phases they would face such hazards, and during certain other periods maybe they come across good fortune and so on and so forth. So he said, I want her to make your prediction about your future, so would you permit me? So I said, I don’t believe in it, but I want to make it, to find out how she does it, and I want to disprove her, so let her make it and send me the cassette.
So he sent me a cassette prepared by that lady, I still hold. It was proved entirely wrong, but this gentleman would not be convinced, because she had said certain things in that, which I am quite certain were conveyed inadvertently by my friend to that lady, because she had mentioned that I was a religious minded person, I was a leader, I had a sway over others, and she addressed me as master. So from that I inferred that this gentleman, either intentionally or perhaps unintentionally, had let her know that the person about whom he is speaking is held in reverence and in esteem. So, they are very clever people you know, she guessed the rest and started talking, and he was impressed, so to undo the impression which he received, I sent to him the name and the birth time and date of my deceased brother Mirza Khalil Ahmed Sahib, and my deceased brother-in-law Syed Mir Dawood Ahmed Sahib, and said thank you very much, she had mentioned certain things of course, which I can’t deny.
So please, to further strengthen my views, you better ask her to predict about these two gentlemen, what the next year has in store for them. So I received two tapes full of this, hocus-pocus, said Mirza Khalil Ahmed has a very lucky period in September, and he has danger to his life on that period, you know, walk very carefully, particularly he may face dangers from his own family members, you know, and so on and so forth, such rubbish, and also the same rubbish was repeated about Mir Dawood Ahmed Sahib, and when he telephoned me, excitedly, that have you found those cassettes, and what’s your opinion, I said I don’t want to express my opinion, but I want to reveal the names of these two people, one is Mirza Khalil Ahmed deceased, and the other is, so he said, oh, finished.
No, I know, you know, he said. These people are very clever, you know, they guess things, and most of it is guesswork. If they claim it is guesswork, then we have no objection, because then it’s not falsehood. When they make it appear to be truth, and based on solid foundations, then we can’t be a party to the condonement of falsehood.
That is our attitude. You know that Najumi Muhammad Ali Sahib, a man who was Muhammad Ali Najumi, he was called even Najumi after he had become an Ahmadi, when he was a non-Ahmadi Najumi, he was very famous for his predictions, and people held him in awe for his future reading capabilities. So when he became an Ahmadi, he asked Hazrat Musleh Maud, he said no, no, no earning from this, but as a plaything you may indulge, and to please children, and things.
So he used to tell us his tricks, and all the various things which he told us were very interesting, you know. He admitted that everything was just a fraud, only a fraud plus some intelligence. He said, we are meeting so many people, and we have been doing it for generations, we judge people and their behaviour and their conduct. And he said mostly we base, now we have recourse to the psychological tendencies of the people who would like to support us rather than deny us.
They want to talk of it, that I met such a Najumi who had said this thing, and he had no knowledge of this and that. He said, he told me that sometimes to surprise people, I also used to indulge in the trick of declaring suddenly, suddenly that you have a black dot here on your left shoulder. And he said I would hold a short pencil, soft pencil, which would leave a mark. He said I had pointed, I had pinpointed certain places where generally marks are found. So most often than not, the mark would be found there, and everybody would be flabbergasted. And he would say that I had never shown him this part of the body. But if the mark was not there, then the pencil would come in handy.
I would make the mark, and he said, according to my experience, such person would never tell others that there was no mark. He said, you see, the mark was discovered by such a person. This is the true nature of these things. Let’s say azaan now, Dr. Saab is getting, becoming angry.
